What’s New With the East West partners Properties?
As mentioned in my blog, several posts down, East West Partners has filed for Chapter 11. This has put excessive price pressure on the properties in Old Greenwood and Grays Crossing. There are some very good deals, with the associated risk, that are popping up. Shared ownership properties in Old Greenwood are selling for under $30k in some cases. Lots and homes in Grays Crossing are severely depressed from a year or two ago.
If you’re not completely risk adverse, let me know if you want to go check out some homes or land.
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Qualified 2009 and 2010 first-time home buyers can get up to 10% of the home’s purchase price or a maximum of $8,000. In November 2009, legislation extended a tax credit of up to $6,500 (or up 10% of the home’s purchase price) to long-time residents of the same primary residence if they purchase a new main home. To qualify, eligible taxpayers must show that they lived in their previous homes for a five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the closing date of the new home.
Important details to remember:
1) You don’t have to pay it back (as long as you stay in your qualified home for at least 36 months).
2) If you qualify for the credit, you can still apply it to this year’s taxes, even if you’ve already filed your returns, or save it for your 2010 returns.
3) This is a true tax credit, not a deduction. If you qualify for the full credit, there will be an actual dollar-for-dollar reduction of up to $8,000 (or up to $6,500 for qualified repeat buyers) on your tax bill now or in 2010.
4) New income qualification limits have been put in place that expanded the pool of qualified buyers.
5) If you purchased a qualified home or plan to after reading this article, you must have a contract in place by April 30, 2010 (with closing to take place by June 30, 2010), so don’t wait!
There are, of course, other details and qualification requirements and restrictions that you’ll need to consider. But don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions. Also, if you happen to have your completed 2009 tax return handy, we’ll help you calculate how much money you can get if you purchase a home and qualify for the full credit.
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Article written by:
Kimberly Wydra
Broker Associate #00981565
Delta Home Loans
Phone: 530-478-8383
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The following information was obtained from Glenn Rodriguez [glenn@cahomefinancing.com]. Contact Glenn if you have any questions about financing!
On November 6, 2009, President Obama signed a bill to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) through June 30, 2010. The bill also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time.
Tax Credit for Homebuyers
First-Time Homebuyers (FTHBs): First-time homebuyers (that is, people who have not owned a home within the last three years) may be eligible for the tax credit. The credit for FTHBs is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8,000.
Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.
Current Owners: The tax credit program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years.
Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.
What are the New Deadlines?
In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010.
Losing your home to foreclosure due to an inability to keep up with your monthly mortgage payments is one of life’s most unpleasant experiences. It is also an event that keeps on affecting you long after your home is history by devastating your credit score. Regrettably, most people cannot be 100% sure that they will remain safe from foreclosure because they can’t foresee the unexpected. Occurrences such as serious illness, a major accident, divorce or job loss can happen to anyone. So it’s a good idea to understand the available alternatives should the worst occur.
Of all available options, foreclosure is the worst
The inevitable result of a foreclosure is the lender taking your house. Not only will you lose your house, but the lender can get a judgment against you for the arrearages you owe plus his costs for the foreclosure action. If that isn’t enough, your credit report will be in terminal condition for many years to come, worsening an already bad financial situation and making it very difficult to obtain any other kind of credit. There is no upside to foreclosure. It should be avoided at all costs.
Consider a short sale when foreclosure seems inevitable
A short sale is a popular option for homeowners mired down with financial problems. In this case, you would sell your home for less than what you owe your lender; the biggest problem you will face is getting your lender to agree to a short sale. In many situations, they will not. Experts advise pursuing this option the minute you realize that you are falling behind in your payments and most likely won’t be able to catch up. The longer you wait and the greater the amount you are in arrears, the less likely it becomes that your lender will even be willing to discuss a short sale.
short sale has disadvantages too
While a short sale will save you from foreclosure, it will also have a negative effect on your credit score, frequently lowering it by as much as 200 points. This can be overcome more quickly than the black mark of a foreclosure, especially if you manage to retain one or two credit cards and keep them current. Perhaps equally distressing, the Internal Revenue Service frequently deemed the difference between the mortgage balance and the amount realized from the short sale to be taxable as income despite the fact that the debtor never saw a dime of it. There is new federal legislation called the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act 0f 2007 that just went into effect on January 1st, 2008. The new act essentially eliminates this problem.
Almost any option is better than foreclosure
Simply stated, do everything you can before foreclosure occurs and do it as quickly as humanly possible. Don’t sit back and keep thinking, “What can I do?” Instead, consider that short sale and check with your lender before your options become more limited.
The One Best Tip I Can Give You: Don’t Do This Alone
You can short sell your house, and the single biggest reason will be your real estate agent. Having someone who can work on your behalf will help you.
Send an email to TruckeeRealEstate@gmail.com or call Gary at 530-448-1100 for additional information and assistance.
By John Morrel, Street.com
Admit it, you’ve Zillowed your house. And if you haven’t, odds are a friend or relative has but you don’t know about it.
Launched in 2006, Zillow.com has become a must-visit Internet site for anyone interested in real estate. It’s not so much information on financing, discussion boards or its blog on real estate news that draw millions of views each month. It’s the Zestimate, which is what the Seattle-based company calls its estimated appraisal of a piece of property.
Just punch in an address and Zillow’s hard drives dig through comparisons and public records to give you an estimated selling price in seconds. Just take that to your Realtor and say, “I want that price.” Right?
“Wrong,” says Gregg Swan, a Phoenix, Arizona-based Realtor who created DebunkingZillow.com not long after the original site was started. “Their information is coming from public records, which can be notoriously inaccurate, and comps which may not be anything like the house you’re trying to price.”
Web sites like Zillow and Trulia.com, which gives detailed neighborhood information, depend on the reliability of county record offices and census bureau statistics. If a house or street is a little different than average, there can be differences in price.
Swan says the average Zestimate is often too low or too high because the company doesn’t take into account essentials that give a house that extra “oomph.” Say, for instance, you own an older home on a large lot in an upscale area surrounded by some very nice houses around the same size on your street. The Zestimate could show that your home is on a par with your neighbors’, even though you haven’t painted it since the Carter administration, the roof is ready to collapse and the landscaping needs a bulldozer to correct it.
Zillow’s staff continues to tinker with software, trying to come up with the most accurate real estimates this side of an appraiser. The most recent overhaul took place early this year when Zillow allowed people to make their own changes to the data points that make up a Zestimate.
“If your Zestimate says your home has three bedrooms and you actually have four, you can change that information, which will help make the system more accurate,” says Spencer Rascoff, CFO and vice president of marketing for Zillow. “Nearly 1.3 million homes have had data points changed this year and we’re expecting many more next year.”
Where Zillow shines is in areas of tract homes, where you’ll find lots of similar-sized and appointed properties. In that case, there are plenty of comps to choose from and property records are fairly new, which helps create accurate Zestimates. Things get murky when you’re trying to value a one-of-a-kind beachfront home or a historic property with unusual features.
The site claims its Zestimates get within 5% to 20% of a home’s selling price about 90 percent of the time, nationwide. In some communities, like San Jose, California, the rate is higher, at 94.3%, but in others, like Pittsburgh, the accuracy rate drops below 85%.
“Web sites like these are fun, but they’re just for general information. I wouldn’t bet my house on what they tell me,” says Elizabeth Blakeslee, a vice president with the National Association of Realtors. “If you want a deeper look at how much your home is worth, you’ll need a formal appraisal.”
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