6 Tips for Buying a Home in a Short Sale
I was recently forwarded this article about buying short sales and thought it was good enough to share! Thanks to BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com, By: G. M. Filisko, Published originally on March 19, 2010 Short sales can be lengthy and difficult, but if you know what you're doing, you can end up with a great deal. Image: fotog/Getty Images By preparing for a real estate short sale, you can emerge with a great home at a favorable price. When sellers need to sell their home for less than they owe on their mortgage, they’re shooting for a short sale. Short sale homes can sometimes be bargains,... [Read more...]
Will Short Sales FINALLY Become Reasonable?
As a busy agent in the south King County area and down into the Tacoma/Puyallup Pierce County areas, I both list properties for Sellers and assist Buyers in finding their “dream home,” whether it be a first time purchase or a repeat purchase. While definitely not unique to these geographic areas, price points and demographics of buyers and homeowners for these areas seem to especially target short sales and bank owned properties. Or maybe it’s just the clients with whom I’ve worked over the last few months. Sellers need to sell–usually as quickly as possible–and... [Read more...]
8 Requirements for the New Homebuyer Tax Credit, Effective NOW!
Okay all you first time homebuyers, you’ve been given a second chance! The Homebuyer Tax Credit passed and was signed into effect on Friday, November 6th! What GREAT news! And it gets even better! Not only do first time homebuyers benefit from the tax credit … to the tune of $8,000! … any homebuyer could potentially benefit, up to $6,500! Here are some of the highlights. Of course you’ll want to verify this information with your own accountant; as with most bills of this sort it’s many pages long and there are requirements that must be precisely met. A first time... [Read more...]
Not Buying? You’ll Still Benefit From the Home Buyer Tax Credit!
Since the beginning of 2009, first time homebuyers have benefited from an $8,000 gift directly from Uncle Sam. Qualifying for the gift was easy and thousands of people benefited. As I write this, plans are in place to extend and modify the tax credit into next Spring (thank heavens), which will continue to help economic recovery for more folks than just those stepping up to purchase a home. I’ve been amazed while hearing our various elected officials and economists speak shortsightedly, in my opinion, about why the tax credit should not be extended, nor should have been in place to begin... [Read more...]
Homebuyer’s Tax Credit Has NOT Yet Passed — Not Quite!
As I write this at 4:45 PDT, our local news station, along with several lenders and title companies are reporting that the Homebuyer’s Tax Credit has passed and will be extended to April 2010. While that’s GREAT news, it’s not quite right yet, from what I can see. Looks like the Senate has agreed to pass a resolution that would extend the $8,000 tax credit to First Time Homebuyers, a $6,500 tax credit for repeat homebuyers, both with qualifying issues. However, a vote hasn’t actually taken place that passes the resolution as a stand-alone bill. At the moment, it’s... [Read more...]
Senate Activity on Extending the $8k Tax Credit
Like almost everyone I know that works in the housing industry, I’ve been chasing myself around for the last few weeks trying to get all of the First Time Homebuyers in my client list qualified and under contract so that they were eligible for the $8,000 tax credit … due to expire on November 30th. It’s been a wild ride, full of both elation and disappointment! And, of course, absolutely full of the question “Will it be extended?” I’ve been diligently trying to follow along with activities in the legislature while listening to other opinions about why it will... [Read more...]
Don’t Move Money Around
I sometimes hear frustration from buyers who are being asked to produce the papertrail that supports the source of the money being used for the downpayment and closing costs. The underwriter (the person that issues final approval for your loan) requires this information as one method of eliminating the possiblity of fraud, to meet the requirements of investors with whom they work, and for quality control. They’re just doing their job, but sometimes meeting this requirement is difficult and tedious. You may have been diligently consolidating money from various accounts so that it’s... [Read more...]
Impact of King County Furlough Days on First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
I received a message late last week from one of my helpful resource folks, Garrett Huffman of the Master Builder’s Association, regarding real estate closings and King County furlough days. Earlier this year I posted a blog entry listing the days various King County offices would be closed in an effort to help minimize budget overruns. One of the most troublesome dates on the list is scheduled furlough for November 25th … just 5 days prior to the end of the First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit, as it is currently defined. Add in the typical Thanksgiving holidays of November 26-27,... [Read more...]
Still on the Fence? — 10 Reasons to Get Moving!
I know, I’m a broken record. Buy now. Don’t wait. Get going. Don’t look back on 2009 as the year you “should have” bought and didn’t. Here are 10 reasons why you may not want to wait any longer to buy a new home: 1. The number of houses available from which you can choose is staggering. Just a few years ago Buyers had to choose from a handful of houses in their price range. Not so much right now. There are a lot of houses in inventory! 2. In fact, you can take your time (a little bit!!). Generally at least long enough to go home and have dinner and... [Read more...]
