BAP site syndication http://www.welcometolexington.com Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:42:13 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.welcometolexington.com/images/M_images/ http://www.welcometolexington.com BAP site syndication http://www.welcometolexington.com/timeline-for-the-homebuyer-tax-credit-by-lexington-sc-realtor-charles-6.html Timeline for the Home Buyer Tax Credit- 70 Days Remaining!!!!!!!!!! Feb18, 2010 (Bankrate.com) Time is running short for people who want to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credits. There are two homebuyer federal income tax credits: the first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000, and the move-up homebuyer tax credit of up to $6,500. Both come with deadlines. To collect either tax credit, buyers have to have homes under contract by April 30. That means that both buyer and seller must have signed the purchase contract by that date. After that, there's another deadline: The transaction has to close by June 30. If you want to collect the tax credit, don't wait until the last half of April to begin looking for a house. Yes, it's possible that you could do it all in a couple of weeks: find a house that you like, negotiate a price and secure mortgage financing. Possible, but not probable. "Don't wait till the last minute, and be prepared to stay on top of things from the very outset," says Neil Garfinkel, a lawyer with the law firm of Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson LLP, on New York's Long Island. Below is a timeline for homebuyers who want to complete the transaction on time to collect the federal income tax credit. The following dates aren't ironclad; the real estate agent, lender and title company will know if you need to deviate from this timeline because of your situation or location. Use this timeline as a general guide and as motivation to take action quickly. Now: Homebuyers wabting ti take advantage of the tax credit must act now. Now - Mid-March: Find a mortgage lender and understand what it takes now to qualify for the best rates. Mid-March: Find an experienced Realtor who can recommend an inspector, title insurance company and attorney. March 31: Federal Reserve plans to stop buying mortgage-backed securities and rates may rise. April 2: The new FHA insurance premiums rise to 2.25 percent, equal to $500 for each $100,000 borrowed. April 15: As the April 30 deadline nears, it will be harder to bargin with seller. Get the deal done now. April 27: Check your state laws to be sure there are no other roadblocks to signing a contract by April 30. April 30: Buyer and seller must have a signed purchase contract by this date for the buyer to claim the credit. For more information on everything dealing with Lexington South Carolina Real Estate (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com) visit our website at http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com) or fill out the following form and I will be in touch with you shortly. Blog - Buyer Info Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:10:08 +0100 http://www.welcometolexington.com/timeline-for-the-homebuyer-tax-credit-by-lexington-sc-realtor-charles-6.html http://www.welcometolexington.com/planning-to-buy-in-lexington-south-carolina-9.html If you are planning to purchase a home in Lexington, South Carolina (http://www.CharlesStill.com), now is the time to start looking. As you may be awary, we still have the Homebuyers Tax Credit that is available to first-time homebuyers as well as repeat home buyers that meet certain restrictions. From everything I see and read, the market is starting to turn around. It is going to be a slow recovery, but as things improve, the selection of homes is going to be decreasing slightly and sellers with homes in the price ranges and areas that are recovering are going to be less likely to take drastic price reductions. This does not mean that you can't still get a good deal on a Lexington, South Carolina (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com)home, but it does mean that there may be slightly less to choose from. Interest rates are still staying around 5%, but as always the can change daily. While we don't expect to see any drastic incresases in interest rates, we don't expect to see them drop much, if any, either. This means that this is the best time to move forward with the purchase of your first home or replace your existing home. For more information on everything dealing with Lexington South Carolina Real Estate (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com) visit our website at http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com) or fill out the following form and I will be in touch with you shortly. Blog - Buyer Info Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:36:45 +0100 http://www.welcometolexington.com/planning-to-buy-in-lexington-south-carolina-9.html http://www.welcometolexington.com/buying-a-lexingtosouth-carolina-home-in-time-to-get-the-tax-c-9.html House hunting usually slows down this time of year, as people put their searches on hold during the holidays. This winter could be different, however, thanks to the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit . The new law extends the tax credit for first-time home buyers and opens it up to some existing homeowners as well: The credit is now up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and up to $6,500 for repeat buyers. All buyers must have a binding contract on a house in place on or before April 30. The purchase must be for a principal residence and must close on or before June 30. To be considered a first-time home buyer, an individual must not have owned a home in the past three years. And to be eligible, existing homeowners need to have lived in the same principal residence for five consecutive years during the eight-year period that ends when the new home is purchased. Income limits have risen as well. According to the Internal Revenue Service's Web site, www.irs.gov, the home-buyer tax credit phases out for individuals with modified adjusted gross incomes between $125,000 and $145,000, and between $225,000 and $245,000 for people filing joint returns. The inclusion of move-up buyers might inspire homeowners to take action and list their house if they've been putting it off. If they are happy in their current home, it is not likely to entice them to sell, but if they have been considering moving up or downsizing, it might cause them to go ahead and make the move. If you're thinking of purchasing a home, here are five tips: Don't procrastinate Start your house search now. Getting an early start will give you a better chance of finding the right house before the credit deadline. When first-time buyers thought that the credit would expire Nov. 30, people scrambled to find properties in September and October and in some cases there wasn’t inventory to fit their needs or they felt to rushed to make a decision. Before you start house hunting, get preapproved for a mortgage and do a realistic assessment of what you can afford. Buyers who have to sell an existing home should price it aggressively from the beginning to drum up interest and get a buyer as soon as possible. Pricing the home to high will cause it to sit on the market and the homeowner may not get it sold in time to take advantage of the tax credit when purchasing their next home. Don't count on another extension Some people may think that because the tax credit was extended, it will be again, but that is not likely to happen. All the sources that I have talked to seem to feel that when this tax credit ends, it will not be extended again. Be mindful of interest rates Interest rates are low right now, but will likely rise in the coming year. While we can’t say for sure when they will rise or by how much, we do know that higher rates will affect your monthly mortgage payments and the affordability of the house you are buying. Average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have been hovering around 5%. But when the Federal Reserve stops buying large amounts of mortgage-backed securities next year, interest rates could rise. The Fed plans to end its purchase program in March. Communicate with your lender Make sure you're speaking with your lender regularly to avoid any delays. If the lender asks for any additional documentation, turn it in as soon as possible. Delays in getting your lender the information they ask for will delay the closing and could jeopardize the closing. Think twice before pursuing a short sale. That's where someone sells a home for less than what he or she owes on a mortgage, with permission of the lender. The process can be lengthy and unpredictable because the homeowner's lender has to approve any deal and it can get complicated when there is a second mortgage associated with the property. Don't take shortcuts Don't forgo any of the steps you would normally take just to make the tax-credit deadline. That means making sure the house is a good fit and is in the right location and getting a home inspection. Skipping steps could cost you in the long run. Don't let the tax credit get you to make a decision to buy a house that you wouldn't otherwise want to buy. Don't shortcut the process to get the tax credit. For more information on everything dealing with Lexington South Carolina Real Estate (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com)visit our website at http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com) or fill out the following form and I will be in touch with you shortly. Blog - Buyer Info Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:01:39 +0100 http://www.welcometolexington.com/buying-a-lexingtosouth-carolina-home-in-time-to-get-the-tax-c-9.html http://www.welcometolexington.com/you-dont-have-to-be-a-millionaire-to-buy-a-house-6.html More than 70% of homes sold during the third quarter were deemed affordable. Now is a good time to buy. By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: November 20, 2009: 10:01 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney..com) -- The Great Recession has ravaged savings and boosted unemployment rates, forcing people become more conservative with their cash. It has also made homes a lot more affordable -- at least for those people still working. The typical American family, making the nation's median income of $64,000 a year, could afford to buy 70.1% of all homes sold in the United States during the third quarter, according a quarterly report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500). That's down slightly from the previous quarter, when 72.3% were considered affordable, but way up from the third quarter of 2008 when only 56.1% qualified. The NAHB judges a home to be affordable if a family making the metro area's median income could buy it if they devote no more than 28% of their gross pay toward housing costs. The affordability pushed many buyers into the market last quarter. Plus, they wanted to take advantage of the $8,000 homebuyer's tax credit that was scheduled to expire on Nov. 30. Those that procrastinated, however, got lucky: The credit was recently extended and expanded to include more buyers. "At a time when housing is at its most affordable, we applaud the recent actions taken by Congress and President Obama to stimulate housing by extending the federal tax credit beyond its Nov. 30 deadline and expanding it to a wider group of eligible home buyers," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "With interest rates now lower than last quarter, the tax credit will encourage even more home buyers to enter the market and help stabilize housing and the economy by creating new jobs, stimulating home sales, reducing foreclosures, cutting excess inventories and stabilizing home prices." Extremes of affordability All real estate is local, of course; it doesn't matter much to someone buying in Peoria what homes sell for in Pawtucket. The fact is, though, that housing markets across much of the nation have been and remain quite affordable for most working households. In Indianapolis, for example, the median household income is $68,100 a year. Figuring conservatively that no more than 28% of household income should go to pay for housing expenses, buyers could afford a house costing well over $250,000. Although, they could do much better: The median home price in the Indiana capital -- which has been the nation's most affordable town for 17 consecutive quarters -- was a mere $105,000. Affordability is highest in the industrial Midwest, where home prices have been kept down by slow population growth -- even population loss -- and wages that remain relatively high. The second most affordable metro area found by NAHB and Wells Fargo was the Youngstown, Ohio, area. The median home price there came in at just $72,000 last quarter and the median income was $54,300. That meant some 93.9% of homes sold were affordable. At 92.2%, Detroit was the third most affordable metro area with household income averaging $57,100 and the median home selling for $84,000. The least affordable metro area was New York, where prices are high (a median of $425,000) and income is moderate ($64,800). Only 19.2% of homes sold there were affordable to households earning the median income. Second least affordable was San Francisco, followed by Honolulu and Santa Ana, Calif. One man's meat . . . What's good for buyers is pure poison for sellers, who are the big losers as affordability improves. Prices have fallen more than 30% from their peaks, according to the S P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index and many people selling their homes these days are taking losses. According to data from Zillow.com, the real estate information Web site, 27% of all sellers during the quarter received less than what they paid for their homes. The losses were especially common in erstwhile bubble markets. Nearly two-thirds of sellers in the Orlando, Fla., metro area took losses; as did 60% of Lakeland, Fla. sellers; and 57% of those in Stockton, Calif. Less than 5% of Fayetteville, N.C., sellers took less than what they paid; and slightly more than 5% of those in Yakima, Wash., sold for less. For more information on everything dealing with Lexington South Carolina Real Estate (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com )visit our website at http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com or fill out the following form and I will be in touch with you shortly. Blog - Buyer Info Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:43:14 +0100 http://www.welcometolexington.com/you-dont-have-to-be-a-millionaire-to-buy-a-house-6.html http://www.welcometolexington.com/is-now-the-right-time-to-buy-a-lexington-south-carolina-home-3.html Roth on Real Estate December 8, 2009, 4:01PM EST text size: If You Don't Buy a House Now, You're Stupid or Broke Interest rates are at historic lows but cyclical trends suggest they will soon rise. Home buyers may never see such a chance again, writes Marc Roth By Lexington South Carolina Real Estate (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com)visit our website at http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com (http://www.WelcomeToLexington.com) or fill out the following form and I will be in touch with you shortly. Blog - Buyer Info Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:10:11 +0100 http://www.welcometolexington.com/is-now-the-right-time-to-buy-a-lexington-south-carolina-home-3.html