New home buyer tax credit details
November 6, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Congress has extended and expanded the home buyer tax credit for 2009-2010, which is great news for sellers and buyers!
The modifications in the column labeled “December 1 – April 30, 2010” become effective when President Obama signs the bill. All changes made to the current credit become effective on that date, as well.
Contingencies in the Contract
August 20, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
In real estate contracts the contingency is a common element. Contingencies are clauses in a contract that give either the buyer or seller a way to get out of the contract if certain conditions or timelines aren’t met. A commonly used example is that of a buyer making an offer on a new home before selling his existing home. The buyer needs to sell his present home before being able to get financing on the new one. So he makes his offer contingent upon the sale of his existing home.
There will always be a time period associated with such a contingency. If the buyer is able to get his present home sold within that time period, the deal can go forward. But if he fails to sell within the specified time period, the seller has the option of getting out of the deal. In most cases, sellers won’t accept this kind of contingency, because they will most likely feel that they can find another buyer capable of closing the deal without needing to sell another home first. But new home builders are often willing to accept an offer contingent upon the sale of an existing home.
Selling One, Buying Another
August 20, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
In a perfect world, you sell your old home and buy the new one on the same day. Given that things rarely turn out perfectly, here are some things to keep in mind as you work to negotiate the sale of one house with the purchase of another.
Time it right
Fall and spring are the best times for homes to move and you want to consider the season of the year when buying and selling. And if the closing dates aren’t going to coincide, a gap rather than two mortgages is the better. Its easier and usually cheaper to find temporary housing than juggle two mortgages.
Using Tax Credit Towards Closing Costs
May 29, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Great news that will help speed up the housing recovery and offer buyers more incentive to purchase a home now.
FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.
Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to help cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put down more than the minimum 3.5 percent. The loans can’t be used to cover the minimum 3.5 percent, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning.
Buying foreclosed homes at auction
May 18, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
You can get a real steal at a house foreclosure auction sale, or you can overpay for a money pit. This video gives tips to avoid the latter.
Search price reduced homes on Trulia
April 23, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Today Trulia launched a tool that allows home buyers to search for “reduced priced” homes.
Home buyers, sellers, agents, investors and real estate junkies alike can now search for price reductions on Trulia.
Instead of talking about it, visit the Trulia website and read more…
Housing Stimulus Tax Credit Facts
February 27, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
First-Time Home Buyer 2009 Housing Stimulus Legislation Tax Credit Fact Sheet
Who is Eligible
- The $8,000 tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.
- The law defines a first-time home buyer as a buyer who has not owned a home during the past three years.
- All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.
Why Get a Home Inspection?
January 17, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
If you are buying a home, you need to know exactly what you are getting. A home inspection, performed by a licensed home inspector, will reveal any hidden problems with the home so that they may be addressed BEFORE the deal is closed. You should make sure the purchase contract has an inspection contingency. Then, hire your own inspector and pay close attention to the inspection report. If you aren’t comfortable with what he finds, you should kill the deal.
17 Tips for Packing Like a Pro
January 15, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Moving to a new home can be stressful, to say the least. Make it easy on yourself by planning far in advance and making sure you’ve covered all the bases.
1. Plan ahead by organizing and budgeting. Develop a master “to do” list so you won’t forget something critical on moving day, and create an estimate of moving costs. (A moving calculator is available at REALTOR.com)
2. Sort and get rid of things you no longer want or need. Have a garage sale, donate to a charity, or recycle.
Why you should own instead of renting
January 13, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
You’ve probably seen lots of financial arguments about why you should own your own home rather than rent. This includes budgeting (no rent increases) and the tax savings you’ll most likely have. Now I’m going to give you some reasons you probably haven’t heard.
Freedom to pursue other goals in life once the major goal of home ownership is achieved
Strange as it sounds, many of my first-time buyers have told me that once they bought the house, other things in their life started to fall into place. It’s as if not owning took so much of their mental energy that other goals were not worked on until that big goal was reached. So buy a home and get on with your life!
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