DoorFly.com: 10 Common Reasons Houses Don’t Sell Quickly

DoorFly.com: 10 Common Reasons Houses Don’t Sell Quickly

POSTED ON APRIL 20, 2011 BY ADMIN

When a home doesn’t sell, there can be a number of reasons why, or there could be just one main reason. Sometimes the reason may be obvious to everyone except the seller. Below are ten common reasons why a home may not sell quickly.

1. Poor Location

When it comes to buying a house location is everything. No matter how beautiful a home is, if it is in a bad location, it will be hard to sell. An ideal location is a quiet neighborhood with a low crime rate, and a high-ranking school district. Also considered in location is how far away the house is from grocery stores and shopping areas. To compensate for a bad location a seller may reduce the price substantially if the home needs to be sold quickly.

2. Over Priced

In today’s economy everyone is looking for a bargain. With access to so much information on the internet, buyers cannot be fooled. It is very easy to compare prices. Many people won’t even bother looking at a house if they believe it is over priced. Therefore, you should make sure your home is not priced higher than similar homes on the market. However, if you are looking to sell your home quickly, you should set the price even lower than the competition.

3. Condition of the House

If you want to make your home more appealing to buyers, you should make any interior or exterior repairs that may be noticeable. While some buyers may be willing to negotiate on the price when there are repairs that need to be done, there are some who are looking for a home with a move in worry free condition.

4. Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is very important when trying to sell a home quickly. This is the first impression a potential buyer will have. If the exterior of the home is not well maintained, a buyer may assume that the interior has not been well maintained and may take caution as to what else may be wrong with this house.

5. Limited Viewing Opportunities

Whether or not you are in a hurry to sell your home, getting as many people as possible to view your home is important. Too much restriction on viewing times will naturally lessen the chance of selling the house quickly. Also, restrictions on viewing times may make a buyer may feel that the seller is not flexible and would not be willing to negotiate on anything else.

6. Poor Advice from a Real Estate Agent

Bad advice from a real estate agent can cost you in time and money. It is important to hire a real estate agent that you can trust to give you good advice. You should ask neighbors or friends for referrals. Make sure the agent has your best interest in mind, and not just concerned about his or her commission.

7. Clutter

Make sure your home is easy to view. Perspective buyers should not have to step over piles of clothes, boxes, bags, etc. Make sure all personal belongings are placed away in closets or storage areas. A cluttered room may have the appearance of being less spacious than it really is.

8. An Ineffective Marketing Plan

Today it takes a combination of several marketing techniques to sell a house quickly. Multiple listing services, flyers, newspaper ads are all still good to use. However, over the past ten years the Internet has had a great impact on real estate. Many buyers begin their search for a home on their computer. So make sure your real estate agent has pictures that display the best features of your home.

9. A Slow Market

When the market is slow it is known also as a “buyers market”. Buyers are expecting to find bargains during slow times. Some sellers will just simply wait until the market is more in their favor. However if you are unable to wait it out, you may have to sell at a lower price.

10. High Property Taxes

In tough economical times, buyers consider the cost of everything including property taxes. If you live in a town where taxes are higher than the next town, it is a disadvantage and unattractive to buyers. While a mortgage can be paid off, taxes keep coming every year, and never go away. Some towns allow homeowners to appeal tax assessments and request another appraisal in order to lower their taxes.

If you are planning on selling your home quickly, you should do as much you can to make your home appealing to buyers. Try thinking of your home from the buyers point of view instead of a sellers point of view.

Is the Buyer’s Agent Paid by the Buyer or Seller? | REALTOR.com® Blogs

Is the Buyer’s Agent Paid by the Buyer or Seller? | REALTOR.com® Blogs

Q: I am looking for a Buyer’s Agent and wonder if the agent is paid typically by the Buyer or the Listing/Seller?
- Curious in Guntersville

A: A Buyers Agent can be compensated in many ways. Typically, compensation to the Buyer Broker is agreed upon in the Listing Agreement and then offered via the Multiple Listing Service. The commission is usually paid to the Buyer Broker by the Closing company (Title, Lawyer, etc.) from the Seller’s side of the transaction, so then the Seller has agreed to pay the commission.

But – a Buyers Broker (the Agent is paid by the Broker usually) can also be employed and compensated by the Buyer depending on the representation agreement and state/local laws. Often when a Buyer uses a Buyer Broker to purchase a For Sale By Owner property, the Buyer will directly compensate their Broker.

It is more what is typically done, than how it should/must be done. Compensation from the Buyer Broker to the Buyers Agent (designated Agent or otherwise) is then between the Broker and the Agent.

Maya Paveza is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Wilmington, DE.

A: If a seller under his/her listing agreement is offering an incentive commission to a buyer’s agent, than the commission will be paid by the seller at the closing. If you sign an agreement with your buyer broker that has a larger commission than is offered any particular seller or no commission at all to a buyer’s agent, than you will make up the difference.

Ralph Windschuh is a Realtor® with Century 21 Princeton Properties in Ronkonkoma, NY.

Short Sale Negotiations, Second Lien Holders, and Ping-Pong

Short Sale Negotiations, Second Lien Holders, and Ping-Pong

Melissa Zavala

Dealing with the Second Lien Holder

At my speaking engagement last week in San Marcos, California, one of the Realtors® asked me to share my experiences negotiating with second lien holders. If you like ping-pong or tennis where you are the ball, then you probably will not mind negotiating with second lien holders in short sales.

When the first lien on the subject property is not being paid in full, the short sale negotiations can sometimes be a little bit tricky. Remember that in a short sale transaction, the first lien holder generally makes an offer to the second lien holder of a certain amount of money.

Here’s an example: Bank of America is the first lien holder on the property. Bank of America offers three thousand dollars to the second lien holder in exchange for lien release.

What happens next? It is the short sale negotiator’s responsibility to then contact that second lien holder and see whether they will accept the three thousand dollars. Maybe they will, and maybe they won’t. It is entirely possible that the second lien holder will want more than three thousand dollars in order to release the lien.

If the second lien holder wants more than offered, what do you do?

You still need more money. And, so begins a game of ping-pong that rivals any of Forrest Gump’s matches. You call the first lien holder. You ask for more money. Maybe you even convince the first lien holder to offer the second $4000 instead of $3000. But, what if four thousand is not enough?

Sources of Additional Funds

It’s possible that the additional funds could come from the buyer, the seller, or the agent commission. That being said, there are rules and stipulations about the cash contribution to the second lien holder when the first lien holder is not being paid in full.

The cash contribution must appear on the HUD-1 (estimated settlement statement) and must be pre-approved by the first lien holder. So, if the seller agrees to pay the cash, this fact would need to be documented on the settlement statement and approved by the first lien holder.

Once in a blue moon, first lien holders will not allow additional cash contributions on the HUD-1. Remember that any attempt to circumvent the HUD-1 could be perceived as an attempt to defraud the first lien holder. Second lien holders, when they hear that the first has not approved the contribution, may suggest that the seller send a payment prior to closing. Be wary of creative solutions to settling the debt with the second lien holder.

Frequently, buyers may agree to contribute that extra bit of cash to the seller’s second lien holder. In circumstances such as these, if the buyer is obtaining a loan, then the contribution must be disclosed to and approved by the buyer’s lender.

When working short sales with cash contributions, it’s always good to have a lot of negotiation strategies up your sleeve. As you can see, there are many factors involved in getting short sales approved and successfully closed. Managing the second lien holder is just one of those areas that needs to be mastered in order to successfully close multiple short sale transactions.

Photo: flickr creative commons by zimpenfish

Homes' solar panels often boost values

Homes' solar panels often boost values

David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Shell out the money to install solar panels on your home, and you'll probably recoup that investment when it comes time to sell the house.

You may even make a little profit.

A study to be released today by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that solar boosts the resale value of homes, both new and old.

The researchers analyzed the sales of about 2,000 solar homes in California from 2000 through mid-2009 and compared the prices to those of 70,000 comparable houses without solar. On average, a solar system added about $5.50 per watt to a home's resale value. For a home with a typical 3.1-kilowatt solar system, that represents an extra $17,000 above the cost of a comparable, nonsolar home.

During the same period, the study found that a typical residential solar system cost about $5 per watt.

"On average, folks have effectively got out of the home sale the same value or the comparable value that they put in," said Ryan Wiser, one of the report's authors. That's in addition to saving on their electricity bills.

Many homeowners did better than break even. People who installed panels on existing homes increased the resale price by more than $6 per watt, on average. In contrast, solar systems only added $2.30 to $2.60 per watt to the sale price of new homes built with solar included.

The study's authors did not try to find the reason for that difference. But Wiser, a staff scientist at the lab, said it could be a matter of motivation. Homeowners who pay to install solar on an existing house are keenly aware of the cost and don't want to lose their investment.

"The homeowner puts that $5 per watt investment on their home, and if they sell the home the next year, darn it, they want to get that $5 per watt back," Wiser said.

Developers who sell new solar homes, however, think of the system as just one of the home's attributes. "Their goal is not necessarily to recoup the investment on any individual item," Wiser said. "They want to sell that home and move on to the next."

The study will be welcome news to solar installation companies.

Gary Gerber, president and chief executive officer of Sun Light & Power in Berkeley, said customers interested in the financial pros and cons of a solar system often ask about the effect on a home's resale value. More important, home appraisers are often uncertain how to value residential solar systems, he said.

"I think appraisers are really casting about for guidance on this issue," said Gerber, who is also president of the California Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group. "They certainly set the price that the bank will loan. And if they and the bank aren't in agreement on the value, it really doesn't matter what the buyer and the seller want."

To read the report, go to sfg.ly/gyEqbR.

E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/21/BUJ61J4J4K.DTL

Real Estate Investing And The Human Animal

Real Estate Investing And The Human Animal: "

Ever noticed how when you walk in to a book store and find your way to the business or financial books all the views that are expressed in the titles are almost the same??? Almost all of them,in one way or another, call out for a monetary version of bloodshed. I mean the titles are about how you can crush the other guy, or it’s not personal its business. Years ago when I got into the real estate investment game I spent hours looking thru the book titles. Trying to find the one book that would teach me how to become a “REAL ESTATE INVESTING GOD” That I knew I could become. After reading most of the popular books of the time I actually would feel beat up over the content. I mean did I have to be a “take no prisoners ” type of investor? Did I have to prey on some one else’s misfortune?? No, of course I dont. However I did need to learn to take somethings to heart and NEVER let go of them. I had to build my investment suit of armor so to say. So I set out to build a list of my investment rules. We each should have our own set of investment rules. It will help you keep the animal investor inside of you in check. In my case,being that I am a VERY competitive aggressive alpha male type personality I need rules that would keep me “Human”. My own set of personal laws that would keep me on the “non- predatory” path. Doc’s Rules for investing:

1) Set up some personal guidelines: Define and follow these guidelines. This is the most important rule I have. . Things to include, but not limit you to, are: Top dollar amount and lowest dollar amount. Type of investment you want to deal with. Period of term for investment.. Etc etc. (You can even have a guideline about the amount of time you will work per-day)

2) Remember some ones family is behind the deal you?re working on. Simply put,whoever you are dealing with has mouths to feed. Don’t forget this. Just because you can get a great deal on a house because the current owner is in a facing some sort of adversity that is causing them to sell below market value, doesn’t give you license to kick them when they are down. Treat everyone with dignity and respect. If the price they are offering still falls within the personal investing guidelines you have set for yourself don’t use your position to abuse the seller. If you are getting the house for .40 cents on the dollar,don’t be a jerk and push for .38 cents. Always remember…it could be you in the sellers postion. (This rule DOES NOT come in to play when dealing with a bank owned property)

3) Always ask for what you want. Where does it say you can’t ask for something in an investment deal you like? I.E. if you’re looking at a piece of real estate, ask the seller if they would be willing to throw in new carpet to the sale. I knew a investor who was looking at a house that had been on the market for more than 6 months, when he went to talk to the seller he happen to see a 1954 Merc Coupe in the garage,so he asked if it was included in the deal. The deal eventually closed for the house AND the car. 4) Offer everyone the chance to make money as a bird dog for you. I always give several of my business cards to anyone I do business with and offer them a portion of any profit I make from any investments they help me locate. You would be amazed at how many people are willing to help you make money when they get a small part of it for doing very little work. (And if you follow rule #2 you will be amazed at how many of those bird dogs will sing your praises from the highest mountains)

These are just some ideas of things to keep in mind when you’re working on your investment mindset. These rules have worked well for me over the years,and in more cases then not, have gotten me more return and repeat networking opportunities then I can count.

Doc Schmyz has done real estate deals all over the US and Mexico. He owns a free website that shares Real estate investinginformation for all over the US. Find real estate information by state

Article Source: SuperPublisher.com

REALTOR.com Tops Real Estate Search Sites in March

REALTOR.com Tops Real Estate Search Sites in March: "

REALTOR.com® was the top rated real estate website in the month of March, according to statistics released by Web metrics company Hitwise.

With a 6.51 percent market share, Realtor.com dominated the rankings of the Top 20 real estate websites as the No. 1 most visited real estate website.

Yahoo! Real Estate was in the second position with a 6.04 percent market share, while Zillow ranked third with a 5.36 percent market share.

Trulia and Rent.com are in the fourth and fifth spots respectively. Trulia received a 4.63 percent market share, while Rent.com came in with a 2.56 percent market share.

The remaining websites in the Top Ten were Homes.com with 2.30 percent, MSN Real Estate with 1.73 percent, AOL Real Estate with 1.67 percent, ZipRealty with 1.59 percent, and Apartment Guide with 1.50 percent.

The Hitwise list is based on a sample of visits by 10 million U.S. Internet users each month.

"

Be Prepared for Surprises When Buying, Selling Home

Be Prepared for Surprises When Buying, Selling Home: "

In today’s housing market, things can shift in a moment. This is something you need to remind yourself of constantly whether you are buying or selling a home says McLean Virginia Realtor Frederica “Freddy” Barney.

“Be prepared to be disappointed, and you won’t be.

Buyers can change their mind, and often do in this market. I have seen them sitting at the table ready to sign the offer and then they start asking me “If I change my mind how can I get out of this?” Of course at that time I caution them to get out now instead of putting all parties through a few days of an emotional roller coaster. Also, financing terms can change (and have recently) overnight making yesterday’s solid buyer unable to perform. If you are selling, your neighbor can decide they really need to move their property and drop their price 10 percent below yours, driving down market value, literally, overnight.

On the other side, even in this “Buyers Market,” I have seen things go under contract with a few contingencies outstanding and then another buyer comes along offering more. In this case, it often forces the existing buyer to drop any “claims” against Home Inspection or Radon Contingencies if they really want the contract to stay in force; otherwise the seller could walk (be careful here, however, as the language can be subtly different on different agency’s contracts).

And why is it in today’s market the sellers become so floored when any of the above occurs? Denial? I am not sure, but during the “hot market” buyers had to be prepared for the very same thing. If they were not outside of the sellers home ready to initial any last changes while contracts were being presented, they may have been passed over for the buyer who was available, even if their original bid was not as high. So whether you are a buyer or a seller, know that Real Estate is very fluid. In any market, conditions do change over night. So, hold your breath until settlement date!”

Click here to read more blog posts by Freddy Barney and the Keller Williams McLean Team.

Things to Consider for Your Home Improvement Addition

Things to Consider for Your Home Improvement Addition

If you are getting ready to add a home improvement addition to your house in the form of a room, car port, deck, or some other structure there are many things to keep in mind. It may look easy when others do a home improvement addition but if you do not mind your details then there can be damage to your house and potential problems with the town you live in.


When you do a home improvement addition there is much more to it than just throwing some walls up and then calling it a day, adding rooms and other features to your home require a great deal of planning on your part to not only make sure that the home improvement addition you are doing is up to code but that it is also going to mix well with the rest of your home. There are enough home 
improvement addition horror stories to fill a volume of large books so be careful.


The first step in an home improvement addition is to contact your local government and get the necessary permits for doing the work. There are a lot of reasons why permits are required and they are all required by law so make sure you get your permit and display it somewhere in your home where the officials can see it if the happen to be going by your home.


You may also need to submit blueprints for larger additions so check with your local government engineering department and ask them if the project you are considering will be requiring any submission of extra blueprints to revise the ones they may already have on file. It may seem a lot just to put on a home improvement addition but it does change the value of your house and can affect your taxes.


If Aren’t Qualified Then Get Someone Who is.  On my own home there was a car port that was built after the house was built and the car port was attached to the rest of the house by the roof. Over the years the poorly constructed car port was starting to sink into the ground and it started to slowly pull away from the roof.


After I had been in the house for a few years I noticed huge water stains were developing on the wall in my kitchen from the car port pulling on the roof. The moral of the story is to make sure your home improvement addition is constructed properly or else you could do your home more damage than good. It is always exciting to be doing a home improvement addition but if you do not keep a diligent record of what needs to be done, then you could be in for more problems than you ever expected.


Ade Perillo writes articles and press releases for OzfreeOnline – this piece she made served as an article exclusive for http://realestate.ozfreeonline.com – which offers a comprehensive list of office & commercial real estates, apartment and house for rent, online real estate, house for sale, real estate property listing, real property search and an apartment finder to thousands of properties
in Australia.


Article Source: SuperPublisher.com

Think Through Strategy Before Considering Home Purchase | REALTOR.com® Blogs

Think Through Strategy Before Considering Home Purchase | REALTOR.com® Blogs

Is it really the right time to buy your next home? Chicago Realtor® Marie Leaner shares her own recent experience with considering whether it’s time to buy or not.

“…Deciding whether it’s really the right time to buy your next home means taking a deeper look at where you are in your life and where you want to be over the next seven to 10 years. A big mistake homebuyers made over the last decade was to think about homeownership as a liquid financial investment.

But buying a home isn’t the same thing as day trading stocks, even though it felt like that for a while. Real estate is, by its very nature, illiquid. It’s been historically difficult to unload a home quickly without taking a huge financial loss.

Two years after my husband and I bought our first home (a vintage co-op along Chicago’s lakefront), I wanted to sell. I decided I wanted to plant a garden, something not necessarily compatible with living seven stories in the air. But by the time we had made that decision, our type of home had fallen out of favor. No one wanted to live in a vintage co-op. Everyone wanted to live in a single family house with a garden. So we watched our home grow stale on the market for about six or nine months, before pulling it off.

Two years later, we put the home back on the market and sold it six months later, feeling lucky to get an offer. Back then, in 1994, six months was a long time to be on the market, and while we hadn’t found a place to buy, we decided just to sell and rent so we’d be in better shape when we finally found the right property.

The early 1990s seem like a long time ago, but it was at the beginning of the upswing that culminated in the frenzied irrational exuberance of the housing bubble. And as every school kid knows, the bigger the bubble, the more bubble gum you get all over your face.

Our housing market is still gummed up, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing, once-in-a-generation opportunities to buy property. I was in Atlanta last week and someone asked me if I was planning on buying a condo or two in Midtown. There are condos selling for $30,000 to $50,000 that originally (three to five years ago) sold for $150,000 to $200,000 with granite countertops, great views, indoor parking, the works. I supposed I could buy something. I have the cash and available credit. Heck, at these prices, some of my colleagues are charging their real estate purchases on credit cards.

The question I have to answer is what are my long-term intentions with this property? What’s the business strategy? If the purchase is an investment property, what is the expected rental income and what’s my exit strategy? And how much time and energy do I have to put into this investment? You really have to think through any real estate purchase you make these days, and not let yourself fall in love with a property. Good judgment can’t be overruled by emotion.

And, don’t forget to pull out your crystal ball, because you should plan on a seven- to 10-year timeline, just in case. And in some cities, even that might not be long enough to see the housing market get all the gum off its face…”

Click here to read more blog posts by Marie Leaner.

Read more: Think Through Strategy Before Considering Home Purchase | REALTOR.com® Blogs

10 Types of Companies Involved with Foreclosures

10 Types of Companies Involved with Foreclosures: "

When a piece of property enters into the foreclosure process, there can be several different types of companies involved. Some of these companies are lenders who hold the mortgages on the property, other companies have differnt roles in the foreclosure process. Below is a list of ten different types of companies that might be involved in a foreclosure process and the part they would play.

1. Mortgage Companies. These are financial lenders who specialize in lending funds for real estate transactions. Most home mortgages are held with this type of company. Often times these mortgage companies are affiliated with a banking institution, but not always.


2. REO. Real Estate Owned, is what REO stands for in the area of foreclosure. An REO company is a company that owns the title to a piece of property after a foreclosure sale where there were either no bidders or no bidders willing to meet the minimum bid. Often times, the REO company and the mortgage holder are one and the same.


3. Banks. Not all mortgages are held by mortgage companies. Many times the company filing the foreclosure action is a local bank. It is becoming less frequent for banks to finance and hold individual mortgages, but it is still done.


4. HUD. If the mortgage was an FHA insured mortgage, then the Department of Housing and Urban Development may become involved in the foreclosure process and take it over from the lending institution.


5. Real Estate Appraisers. Prior to the foreclosure auction, the property will need to be appraised. Real estate appraisers may be hired to provide this service for the foreclosure.


6. Real Estate Brokers. Another means of appraising the value of the property is to get a BPO, a Broker’s Price Opinion. This is a price appraisal as well, but it is received from a real estate broker rather than an appraisal company.


7. Mortgage Insurance. If there was a mortgage insurance policy in place for the loan that is being foreclosed on, then the mortgage insurance company will also be involved. The lender will be filing a claim with the mortgage insurance carrier regarding the default on the loan.


8. Real Estate Investors. Companies that specialize in real estate investment will often be involved in bidding on foreclosed properties during the foreclosure auction. These companies generally have the capital necessary to make cash purchases. If they win the bid, they will then attempt to re-sell the property at a profit.


9. Process server. In most incidents, mortgage foreclosure papers are served by a sheriff’s deputy, but not always. Many times, law enforcement agencies do not have the personnel available to meet all the needs of the court in regard to legal service of documents. In this case, a process server will be hired to serve the papers on the homeowner.


10. Real Estate Attorneys. A lending institution will often hire an attorney to handle the foreclosure auction and the other legal matters involved with the process. The attorney becomes the legal representative for the lender during the bidding process also. Occasionally, the homeowner may also consult with an real estate attorney regarding their rights and how to handle the foreclosure process properly.

Regardless of the various types of companies involved in a foreclosure, the primary two parties are the lender and the mortgagee. They are the ones with the contractual agreement that has broken. The others are simply involved on the sidelines.

Beneficial Reasons To Work With A Real Estate Agent

Beneficial Reasons To Work With A Real Estate Agent

Beneficial Reasons To Work With A Real Estate Agent

Lots of people ask why they ought to go with a realtor instead of just selling real estate or buying a home by themself. The answer is simple. A realtor works as a trained real estate specialist with working experience and expertise in the neighborhood real estate market. This experience and understanding is of important importance when you’re aiming to obtain the most for their home sale, or finding the right possible deal when choosing a house. However, the realtors relevance goes much deeper than that, there are several more things how the agents expertise come into play which are quite often unconsidered or forgotten.
Some of the important matters that your realtor can do on your behalf, especially if the sale of the home is concerned, is provide you with promotion and current market coverage. This is the complicated project alone for many reasons. First of all an agent commonly has a previously developed web site. The real estate agents website is a good location to see information on properties available, specifics of the community and home finance loan selections. Your house will be prominently featured on this website, showcasing your own home to a significant market.
When choosing a house a realtor will essentially do the legwork for you. By informing them of what you’re in search of in a home you can save yourself valuable time. An agent will be able to sort through the homes that you can get and select precisely the homes that are great for your wants, life-style, and price range. They’re going to even have material concerning the area, neighborhood, and the homes in question.
Another essential part of both sales and purchase where the realtor’s expertise is very helpful is all through the closing of your home. This can be easily one of the most irritating element of a deal as many FSBO buyers and sellers are finding out. Real estate contracts are elaborately involved paperwork that require an understanding of not merely the agreements process, but real-estate law as well.
A normal closing calls for more than the realtor, legal professionals and notaries play a huge role with the transfer of your home from one owner to a different one. Realtors are competent in the ability of contracting home sales and, sometimes come with an proven group of legal representatives and notaries that they utilize to make all the procedure easier for the buyer or owner.
Would you let a car mechanic fix your piano? It will not make a great deal of sense would it? For similar reason you need to seek the expertise of an expert realtor when purchasing or selling a home. Their expertise, understanding and professionalism will save you time, money, and most importantly the anxiety of wondering if stuff has been done efficiently and in accordance with rules and practice.
For pointers on locating the best orange county real estate agent, stop by our web site at orange county real estate agent.
Article Source: SuperPublisher.com

First Time Homebuyer Credit Is Alive

First Time Homebuyer Credit Is Alive

"You mean to tell me that the First Time Homebuyer Credit is alive and well," said Michele. "Who qualifies?"

"Members of the Armed Services" said Regina. "This includes the Coast Guard. The commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service are also part of this program."

"What about the National Guard?" Michelle wanted to know.

"The National Guard was not listed in the IRS First Time Homebuyer Credit literature I saw. It did mention the Foreign Service. The intelligence community in a number of agencies is also included" replied Regina.

"You have to serve on extended duty outside the United States for at least 90 days to qualify First Time Homebuyer Credit. This duty has to occur after December 31, 2008 and end before May 1, 2010.

"You have to purchase your home before May 1, 2011. Entering a binding agreement before May 1st and purchasing the property before July 1st qualifies for the First Time Homebuyer Credit."

"What if you build a house?" asked Michelle.

"That's ok. You have to make commitment before May 1st 2011 and move in prior to July 1st."

"The First Time Homebuyer Credit requires the main home be in the United States. A duplex or a house with a detached building used for business purposes only receives partial credit" responded Regina.

She added "The home cannot cost more than $800,000. If it does, you can't claim the First Time Homebuyer Credit at all. You and your spouse both have to be first-time homebuyers. This means not owning a home for the three years before you buy this time."

Michelle asked "Are there any other conditions?"

"Yes. You can't make more than $125,000 or $245,000 if you're married filing jointly. Over that it phases out until you reach $145,000 or $245,000 for married filing jointly. Other disqualifiers include being under 18, dependent on someone's tax return, nonresident alien, house is inheritance, bought from a relative or buying house from business you own more than half" explained Regina.

"You can claim 10% up to a max of $8,000 when you file jointly. There are a couple of other little-known features to this program:

• Unmarried individuals can buy a house together. They share the credit.
• "House" can be a houseboat, mobile home, cooperative apartment or condominium."

"So the first-time buyers program is alive and well for members of the armed forces, Foreign Service and the intelligence community. It has to be your main residence. You can't make too much or buy too much house. You can receive a 10% credit up to a max of $8,000. Sounds like speaking to a tax accountant would be a good idea" said Michelle.

The First Time Homebuyer Credit requires a binding agreement on a house prior to May 1, 2011. Call your mortgage loan officer now and get pre-approved for a loan. Time is running out.

Kathy Godin, Mortgage Loan Officer & publisher of http://raleighmortgagegals.com Easy-to-read articles on mysteries of FICO Scores, tips on buying/selling your home and insider information on qualifying for mortgages. She is still in the trenches writing mortgages in NC - http://alliedcorphome.com/kgodin. Come visit. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Godin

The Upside of Foreclosure | REALTOR.com® Blogs

The Upside of Foreclosure | REALTOR.com® Blogs

Las Vegas Realtor® John Brassner recently shared a story of how one person’s misfortune can become another person’s dream come true for a young first time homebuyer.

“My favorite part of selling homes is when you help people achieve their dreams. Back in September I got a call from Kevin Garda. He had just had a bad experience with another real estate agent and a short sale property that he put an offer on. I told him and his girlfriend, Christina, that I would be happy to find him a home and I was thrilled that he already had been approved for an FHA loan. When I met them, I knew they looked young but I didn’t know what age until recently; Kevin is 23 and Christina is 25!

Anyway, within just a few weeks we had an accepted offer on a great single-story previously foreclosed home in the very low $100’s. Kevin is paying less on his mortgage then he was paying rent previously. And the most exciting news: after putting the home in escrow, Kevin put an engagement ring on Christina. The two are planning to get married soon.

This transaction made me reflect about today’s market. Yes, there are a lot of foreclosures and short sales in our market. I should know, I have done plenty of short sales for my clients. But there is also a positive side.

With the median home price in February being $128,000, homes are more affordable than they have been in a long, long time. Kevin and Christina were able to buy their first home in a neighborhood they wanted to live in and pay less than rent. And, I look forward to helping others do the same. That couldn’t have happened in 2005.”

Click here to read more blog posts by John Brassner.

Read more: The Upside of Foreclosure | REALTOR.com® Blogs