Search results for 'buying'

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended

Bru5W — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:51:00 GMT

November 5, 2009--It may be an early Holiday for some. Last night, the Senate unanimously passed a bill aiding the unemployed as well as to struggling businesses and prospective homebuyers. Most of the attention for this bill will center on the extension of unemployment benefits by up to 20 weeks to the millions who are running out of unemployment insurance benefits.

A 98 to 0 vote also extended the first-time homebuyer credit that was set to expire at the end of November by an additional seven months. Also part of this was a provision to include move-up buyers who have lived in their current residence for five years. The tax credit for move-ups is $6,500.

"The data on the present home buyer tax credit show that the credit has had its intended impact -- sales have jumped in recent months to a projected 5.1 million for the year and housing inventory has been trimmed, thus stabilizing home prices noticeably," said Ron Phipps, the association's first vice president, in Senate testimony last month.

This could be a great opportunity to get people off the fence. Is $8,000 or $6,500 enough to be a prod for those not thinking about buying? I don't think so. But for those individuals that had been thinking about it, or were waiting for the economy to stabilize, this could be just the program to get them to commit to buying instead of sitting out and waiting.

November 6-UPDATE: Today, President Obama signed the bill.

What do you think? Is the incentive enough? Too much? Too long?

Do Your Homework Before Buying A Foreclosure Property

tipsandtoolsadmin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:18:00 GMT

EDITOR'S NOTE: With foreclosure properties still dominating the housing landscape in the U.S., we've asked our friends at RealtyTrac® to guest author some articles to shed light on the foreclosure crisis. RealtyTrac is the most trusted source of foreclosure information in the country. We hope that the information provided here and in other articles will be beneficial to understanding, avoiding and even leveraging (as an opportunistic buyer) home foreclosures.

By Rick Sharga, Vice President of Marketing for RealtyTrac

There are two words that give pause to the most motivated foreclosure buyer: due diligence.

Those words mean researching all the risks involved in a property purchase, which in the past meant extensive legwork and expense. But that’s no longer the case, thanks to exponential advances in information technology and the establishment of Web-based property data aggregators like RealtyTrac.

Don’t be fooled – buying a foreclosure property doesn’t equate to easy money by any means. A savvy player in this market is willing to do a bit of homework. But the tools and resources needed to do that homework are much more accessible now than ever before.

"While buying a foreclosure property is certainly not without risk, the right examination and due diligence on the part of buyers can significantly improve their ability to make a strong investment," explains James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac, the leading online foreclosure marketplace.

Web-based services like RealtyTrac can help investors and homebuyers tap into the previously hidden foreclosure market by providing access to property data formerly available only to professional real estate brokers and investors. Today, homebuyers can use these services to identify and research potential home purchases, as well as to find the tools and professional resources they need to help them close the deal.

It makes sense to give any foreclosure property under consideration a thorough examination – possibly even more thorough than for a traditional real estate property. There are three stages of foreclosure that require different research strategies: pre-foreclosure, auction and bank owned.

Before buying a pre-foreclosure property directly from the owner, run a preliminary title check for all debts secured by the property. You can research the title online using RealtyTrac’s Legal and Vesting Report or Transaction History Report. Subtract the total amount owed from the estimated market value to determine the potential bargain. After making contact with the owner, arrange a walk-through of the property to evaluate its condition. Factor estimated repair costs into your purchase offer. Before you close the deal, hire a professional home inspector to inspect the property and enlist a title company to run a final title check.

In most states, you don’t have a chance to inspect a property before buying at a public auction, which makes this type of purchase more risky. But if you’ve researched the title and determined the amount owed is far less than the market value, you’ll have some margin to cover unexpected repair costs. Before you go to the auction, set a maximum bid based on your research and stick to that bid at the auction.

Although you’ll be able to inspect the property if it’s bank owned, the bank typically knows little about the property and will sell it in “as is” condition. This means the bank will disclose all the needed repairs it knows about, but is not held responsible after the sale for any repairs it did not know about. Factor the known repairs into your purchase offer and have a professional inspection conducted before closing the deal. You should also have a title company run a final title check before closing, although most banks will make sure the title is clear before selling.

Here are eight steps for doing a professional-level property examination for all stages of foreclosure:

Identify desirable neighborhoods – Find specific neighborhoods where you would like to live or own a home. This will limit the search to a manageable size for you and your agent, and give you a sense of relative property values.

Cast a wide net – There are a number of Web-based services like RealtyTrac that can put hundreds of thousands of foreclosure properties at your fingertips. But remember, the best savings are often found in pre-foreclosure properties; therefore, it’s important to check the percentage of pre-foreclosure (vs. REO) properties in any database before subscribing.

Determine the property value – Look at the original purchase price and recent comparable property sales to determine the current value of the property. You can obtain information on recent sales in the area via Multiple Listing Service (MLS) comps from your realtor or by ordering a report such as RealtyTrac’s Comparable Sales Report. Ideally, you should look at comparables sales in the area over the past six months. Then you can drive by each property on the list of comparables and note its condition, size, appeal and location. You should also look for properties that are currently listed for sale in the area and research the same information for them. From this information, you can get a good idea of what the property you are interested in is worth.

Find out the amount in default and the remaining loan balance – In order to determine a reasonable offer price, you’ll need to know – at a minimum – how much money it will take just to satisfy the debt to the lender. This information is available on the foreclosure documents filed by the foreclosing lender and from online foreclosure-tracking websites like RealtyTrac.

Check for other liens – Before purchasing any foreclosure property, make sure it is free and clear of any bankruptcies, tax liens or other financial liabilities. A title search will examine records used to determine the legal ownership of the property and all liens and encumbrances on it. A title company or attorney can run a title search for you. You can also research the title online using RealtyTrac’s Legal and Vesting Report or Transaction History Report.

Assess the condition of the property – In addition to visiting the property yourself, hire a professional inspector to inspect the property to make sure that the property is in acceptable condition, or to determine how much of a rehab budget you’ll need to build into your deal. If you buy during pre-foreclosure or directly from the bank (REO), it’s usually possible to conduct a thorough inspection. But if you buy at the public auction, it may not be possible to view or inspect the property beforehand.

Build a positive relationship with the seller – Before purchasing a property, try to make sure that you’re entering into a win-win situation with the seller, so that they’ll be more willing to do what they can to make the process easy and leave the property in good condition for you.

Leverage your timing – Knowing when a property is going to be auctioned gives you an extra bargaining chip when negotiating with a seller or a lender. You can sometimes contact the seller just before the auction to see if a last-minute sale is possible. At the very least, knowing the intended date can help you organize time to research the property as much as possible, review comparable sales, calculate values and potential profits and ultimately determine a bid price so that you’re well prepared to compete with other investors on auction day.

It’s sometimes said that in real estate, selling is about business while buying is controlled by emotion. While this may generally be true, it’s important to keep your head about you and think through the process so that you can make the most informed decision possible. Remember, a little preparation before the sale can help you reap huge benefits. So, it’s worth your time and energy to do a little homework!

Avenues of Growth in Dubai Property at Present Times

hunt — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:57:32 GMT

Dubai is well-known for the development in the sector of real estate in UAE. The ground-breaking technologies and concepts applied for the development of the city is remarkable. Therefore Investment in Dubai real estate is believed to be safer and most profitable way to double your money even at this moment of economic problems hovering all over the world.

Reason behind the expansion in Dubai property sector is the changes in laws and provision of flexibility for foreign investors provided by the government, which permits foreigners to buy, rent and sell properties in Dubai. Many real estate development organizations are offering resident visa for those who buy real estate from them. Several multinational organizations are currently establishing their offices in Dubai, which made Dubai a first-rate work market for professionals and skilled workers around the globe. More professionals are fascinated towards Dubai for the reason that the city provides attractive high salary. This phenomenon has created enormous demand for accommodation and office spaces. Especially Dubai apartments are very famous among the young and lively professionals and Dubai Villas are the hot choice of relatively affluent class. Laws in Dubai related to property are very understandable and formalities are minimum as compared to other countries.

With the continuous and rapid surge in Dubai’s population, a substantial proportion of which consists of expats and temporary residents living in Dubai for employment reasons, the question of buying or renting a residential property in Dubai is the talk of the day. Both the potential tenants and home buyers may be troubled by the question. But still reports on Dubai real estate say that the changing picture of global financial markets shouldn’t deter the locals from buying Dubai property if their plan is to stay there over the couple of years. As for those who plan to stay in Dubai for more than five years, buying a property can prove to be the wisest decision they ever made given the prices of Dubai property climbing higher and higher with each passing year.
Dubai has also emerged as shopper’s ecstasy due to its open port policy with little import duties and superb logistic facilities. Dubai has a world class facility for conferences and exhibitions; it hosts many international conferences and exhibitions. The Real estate sector in Dubai is experiencing immense activity in the form of investments from public and private organizations which include worlds, largest amusement park, tallest building and largest man made islands etc. Dubai real estate sector is expanding day-by-day to the ground breaking levels by introducing more modern and ground breaking projects.

Property investment in UAE, especially Dubai, is sure to yield heavy returns for the investors. Seeing the current property trend, in which limited supplies fail to fully meet the burgeoning demand, it’s easy to deduce that the time is ripe for the foreigners to invest in the UAE. If you choose to buy a freehold property in Dubai, you’ll enjoy many advantages as a foreign investor. You’ll have the power to sell or rent your property as per your desire. Due to a huge influx of expatriate and temporary residents in Dubai, the demand for short-term rentals is continually shooting higher offering yields around ten percent. The good news for the lenders is that no taxes on income, including that acquired from renting property, are levied in Dubai.

Dubai for Rent | | Arabian ranches Apartments

How much DOWN needed for So. Cal. Conventional loan

POZEST — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:42:12 GMT

I'm excited to be in the market for my very first house. I have been pre-qualified with two banks (Wells Fargo and B of A) for an FHA loan as a first time buyer. Great.

The properties that I have been finding, have looked at, and have wanted to make offers on have all been 'short sales'(which I don't want to bother with due to the wait times) and "cash to new loan'. I told this to my Wells Fargo Mortgage consultant and have asked her what are my options to proceed with a conventional loan. That was 10 days ago. I'm a first time buyer so I don't know if in real estate these things take this long.

My question is, for a conventional loan, in Los Angeles (Southern California), how much of a down payment (in percentage) do I need? My FICA score is 813 and I have zero debt(other than bills such as cell phone, cable, etc.) otherwise everything is paid for. Single, no kids, 37, only have worked for two companies in the last 19 years.

While I don't want to touch my 401 or another pension fund that I have, they don't total up to much anyways($50,000) . My annual base salary is $55,000. The house I am looking at buying is going for $130,000. I think I make decent money and wouldn't have trouble paying off a $130,000 loan; so again back to the question: how much down?

Only 100 days left in 2009- Make it great!

Jennie James — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:51:00 GMT

The first time home buyer tax credit is expiring on November 30, 2009! It might be extended, but we don't want to wait around and see, because if it isn't, time will run out and buyers won't get their $8,000. Just a reminder, first time home buyers are actually anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last 3 years. A normal transaction in Southern AZ typically takes 30-45 days to close, so the latest that you and your agent want to be writing an offer is the week of October 12th! That's only about 3 weeks to find your next home! Better get started looking if you haven't already! There are some really great deals out there!

Speaking of great deals, have you seen some of the new home construction deals in the Tucson area?! One of them is offering to buy down your interest rate by 2% for the first year, so your interest rate could be as low as 2.5% for the first year! Several are offering bonuses, and quick move-ins that will let you close by November 30th!

It's really important to have a Buyer's Agent when buying a new construction home as the contract is usually really long and totally slanted towards the seller/builder, so your agent should be able to explain the contract to you and negotiate a few points. Plus, those agents that have sold new construction homes before know which extras will give you the best bang for your buck, and which things you may what to wait to do till after the home is done and all yours.

There are only 100 days left in the year, lets make the best of them that we can!

Sincerely,

Jennie James

Green Movin' Without Losin'

tipsandtoolsadmin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:19:00 GMT

By Gina Cappiello www.123Movers.com

One task most of us face every few years can create loads of garbage and pollution. That task? Moving! Everyone is hopping on the hybrid green bandwagon lately, here are some ways to keep your move a little greener:

Don’t Trash Everything: Before packing up your belongings, take a few hours every day before you move to sort through it all. Pack away everything you want to keep and put aside everything you do not want. Take everything you do not want and get rid of it in a green way. Set up a moving day garage sale, sell your items online, or donate them to a charitable organization. Not only will you be greening up your life, but your “trash” could be someone’s favorite find.

Rent Reusable Boxes: Sturdier, stackable, and more reliable than their cardboard cousins, reusable boxes are a great way to green up your move. Not only are they delivered to you, but they are also picked up when you are all done unpacking them at your new home. This means no boxes cluttering up your new home or extra waste being thrown into our already overflowing landfills. Along with renting reusable boxes, utilize your suitcases and bags for packing. You’ll be surprised how many things a purse can hold!

Avoid using Non-Biodegradable Packing Materials: Styrofoam packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and foam are useful during a move, but not for the environment. If you’re looking to go green on your next move, try utilizing old newspapers to wrap fragile items, and then recycle the paper when you unpack. Wrap pieces of furniture and art with blankets to ensure they do not get damaged during your move instead of packing them in foam. If you must use non-biodegradable packing materials, ask around to see if anyone has any from a past move to give you. Reusing is always better than buying new for the environment and you wallet.

Use Eco-Friendly Movers: With the green movement in full swing, movers are getting in on the ground floor. New specialized green moving companies are springing up all over the USA to help end useless pollution from moving. Some provide eco-friendly packing services while others only use trucks fueled by BioDiesel that only drive where they must. Less air pollution and waste, here we come!

Offset Your Carbon Footprint: If you are unable to be green during your move or just want to contribute more to the cause, you can donate money to an environmental group to “offset” your carbon footprint. There are calculators you can use online to figure out what your footprint is and how much it would be to “cover” it up. Your donation goes towards protecting land, animals, or planting trees. It is an easy way to contribute even more to the green cause without moving.

Being green during a move does not have to be pricy or difficult. Follow the tips above to keep waste and toxins from polluting your moving day and the Earth.

I need a Realtor for Johnstown, PA

Chad Carter — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:21:01 GMT

I have a client the is buying a home in Phoenix, AZ. He needs to sell a home in Johnstown, PA. I'm looking for an agent to co-broke with.

In The First Place: Packing and Paint Swatches

jasoncook — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:44:00 GMT

I think today is the first day - so far - that hasn't involved any activity specifically related to our new home since we signed the contract on Thursday. Since then, it has been a steady diet of home buying procedures. That's not necessarily a bad thing, either. As I said to my wife on Friday evening, this will probably be the most exciting move we'll ever make. The process of moving from one home to another is daunting and doesn't always elicit the most positive emotional response. Moving into your first home, I imagine, will feel altogether different. Yes, the manual labor is still...well, manual. The disagreements over what should be packed for the move and what should be donated to Goodwill are going to fill the air as always. But, underneath the mundane tasks will be the anticipation of landing in our first home. That's something we've never had before and will never have again.

Which may be why we "broke ground" in the moving process on Saturday - nearly 1 month before our earliest possible close date and nearly 2 months before the expiration of our current lease. So apparently buying our first home has magically cured my procrastination! Ok, maybe not. Still, it was fun to officially start the process. We began with the bookshelf in our office - a hodge-podge of textbooks, computer supplies and any other random item that didn't quite seem to have a home. The plan is to transition to our formal dining room and pack all non-essential items there - clearing the way for the dining room to become the moving day staging area. Seeing as how we rarely use the dining room now, it is the most logical place to build our mountain of boxes.

I've gotten ahead of myself, which is not unlike me, and failed to mention our action-packed Friday evening. Of course, we had our customary dining-out ritual - potentially the last of those for awhile! - which was filled with conversations about what would go where, etc. Then it was off to The Home Depot® and a visit to the paint department. One of the things that we like about our new house is that the seller opted for a basic white on almost every wall in his makeover. Now, I know what you are saying? That's boring!. I agree. But it is also, among other things, livable and flexible. No fuchsia bedrooms to prime and triple coat. No navy bathrooms or dark red dining rooms to cover up. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Just a basic white. We can decide what, if anything, we want to paint and know that we'll be able to easily make it happen. While I don't mind painting, I don't care to do it multiple times. In the same room.

So, we show up at Depot and I'm thinking "This will be fun to pick out a few potential colors.". What I forgot about was the pure entertainment that one can get from display after display of paint swatches. I guess we were both excited by the display and so we headed off on separate missions. Occassionally we'd shuffle over to the other person and present a flashy new option for the living room or the guest bathroom. I started to collect swatches of colors that caught my eye. I'm kind of all over the map when it comes to my color preferences. Mostly, I prefer the brown/yellow families. I will occasionally venture into blues and greens, mainly due to my obsession with the beach, I think.

I probably ended up with several different swatches that I thought would make a good fit in any number of rooms in the house. If I had a dozen swatches, my wife had a dozen dozen. It was like nothing I had ever seen...since the last time we looked at paint swatches! She was on a mission to find the right color and, by the look of things in her hands, every color was the right color! We took a quick survey of what we had both collected and decided that - wait for it - we probably had enough swatches to cover our needs. Finally, my wife said to me "I really think you need to get me out of here, I can't stop picking out swatches.". Being an accommodating husband, I agreed and we started walking towards the end of the aisle. Almost as if she really, truly couldn't help herself, she stopped and picked out a final swatch and followed the act with a simple "I know. I know.". Good times!

Whew! That's a lot of home buyer fun for one weekend and we still haven't talked about our adventures on Sunday. I guess I'll save that for another time.

Remember, if you missed any of our previous In The First Place posts, you can find them all here.

Your Way Home AZ & Tucson's Birthday!

Jennie James — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:23:00 GMT

A new program started last month that I think is pretty exciting! It is called Your Way Home AZ. The gist of this program is that if you meet certain income guidelines and can be approved for a mortgage you could get 22% in purchase assistance from the Arizona Department of Housing when buying an eligible foreclosed home. Basically the state will loan you 22% of the purchase price at zero percent interest, that you do not have to pay back if you live in the home for a certain amount of time. If that 22% is $15,000 or less that the amount of time you have to stay in the house is 5 years, $15,000 - $40,000 you have to live in the home for 10 years. Eligible foreclosed homes are basically ones that have no major issues but may need a little cleaning before moving in, or move in ready homes. Trust me, while there are a lot of forecloses that need a lot of work there are also eligible foreclosed homes on the market right now. In order to get this money from the program you have to use a lender that is approved to do this program and they will explain it more thoroughly to you. You will also have to attend an 8 hour home buyer education class at a Non profit. When else have you basically gotten $15,000 or more for sitting in a class for 8 hours?

In other exciting news Tucson has been celebrating it 234th birthday all month, and there will be a big party on August 20th in the Downtown area! To celebrate Tucson's birthday, the 4th Avenue underpass is being reopened at 4pm on August 20th! The 4th Ave. underpass has been under construction for the past 2 years and has made it difficult to walk from the 4th Ave. area to Downtown. Something I usually only do during Club Crawl, twice a year, but that extra several blocks really kills my feet, no matter what shoes I am wearing. If you have never made it down to 4th Ave., or it been at least a decade you may enjoy attending this event in which several City Council members including Karen Uhlich and Nina Trasoff will be there along with live music, an Antique and Hot Rod car show and merchant specials. My personal favorite spots in the area are Bison Wiches and The Shanty ( on 4th) and Hotel Congress (Downtown). If you can't make it at 4pm, it sounds like the festivities will be going on most of the night. I hope to see you there!

In The First Place: Checking The Residential Property Disclosure Statement Can Be Fun...Kinda

jasoncook — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:41:00 GMT

Today we received the residential property disclosure statement for what could be our first home! Very exciting stuff. Not so much because it is fun to go line-item by line-item and scour the check boxes, but because it represents a behind the scenes look at what we hope will be our new home. It is funny that such a simple form can provide so much excitement. Unless you are buying a foreclosed property, the disclosure statement is mostly just a formality.

As would be expected, our seller stated that he is "not aware of any concerns" with the house. Again, nothing surprising here, but it is comforting to have that legal document stating that nothing major is known to be wrong with the property. And it just reminds me that we are closer to being first time homeowners. Keep that in mind when you get to the 10th check box and remind yourself that something much more interesting is at the end of this process!

Remember, if you missed any of our previous In The First Place posts, you can find them all here.