Getting in the Groove
by Craig Miller on Jan.05, 2010, under All Posts, Local, Misc., REALTOR Track
Hey there,
Just wanted to write a quick note to happily inform my readers, my Real Estate business has picked up amazingly, the true reason for my lack of posts. Sorry about the HUGE delays between posts, I’m going to try to start a routine of posting at least once a week.
I’ve been working with an investment group dealing with flipping properties (current deal we’re working on can earn these investors ~$34,000; my potential commissions, for the buy and then the sell total ~$5,900). Also, this investment group has asked if I knew anyone else that currently had money to invest, making for a quicker build-up of the investment group’s funds. With current funds, we are finding decent, but stressed properties in “so-so” school districts and horrible properties in hot school districts around Gwinnett Co. and immediate surrounding areas.
Other buisiness includes the short-sale of 2 residential quadraplex buildings in Snellville and (sad, but true) an old friend of mine having to short-sell his home a mile from Lake Lanier. Turned out not to be sad after all; we ended up negotiating with the mortgage company, they were willing to drop his monthly payments down to a number he could comfortably afford. Keyword = “comfortably”. Anyone needing assistance with the gloomy situation of not being able to afford your home, please go get help from a local REALTOR. Its difficult to ask for help for many reasons when dealing with financial woes, but talk to someone who works in real estate and remember that its NOT JUST YOU HAVING A FINANCIAL CRISIS.
Working with investors and the difficult talks to my clients who are financially distressed about their last options for saving their homes and/or credit has pretty much been a full-time job for me. Also juggling a submitted contract on a short-sale property, a seller which ‘had’ a close date, on their ranch home, of Dec. 30th from a legitimate buyer, somehow has been delayed for over a month, 4 buyer referrals received within a months time, 2 clients who either need to rent or find owner financing available properties and (believe it or not) I just had to take a 30 minute break away from typing this post while I took notes about another buyer referral sent to me. Yay!
Anyhow, I’d best get to working. Be back soon with more of my interesting “insider” articles & posts for you all!
God bless,
-Craig Miller
First Time Home Buyer – $8,000 Tax Credit
by Craig Miller on Mar.18, 2009, under All Posts, National
First-time home buyers who purchase a home this year can now take advantage of the stimulus bill’s $8,000 tax credit, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a news release on Wednesday.
Unlike the previous $7,500 credit available to this group of buyers, the credit outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 does not have to be paid back — if the home remains the buyer’s “main home” for at least 36 months after the purchase date, according to the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site. First-time buyers, for the purpose of this credit, are those who have not owned a home in three years.
Buyers have to purchase a home before Dec. 1 to be eligible, and the credit can be claimed on a home buyer’s 2008 or 2009 tax return. Tax returns for 2008 are due by April 15, but most taxpayers can get automatic extensions to Oct. 15 without citing a reason. (You must pay any estimated tax liability at the time the extension is filed.) Filing an amended 2008 return after you buy would also be an option for getting the credit sooner.
“For first-time home buyers this year, this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting another year to claim the tax credit,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, in a news release. “This important change gives qualifying home buyers cash they do not have to pay back.”
Buyers can claim 10% of the purchase price, up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately, according to the IRS’ Web site. The credit starts to phase out for those whose adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.
The IRS has posted a revised version of the form required to claim the credit, Form 5405, on IRS.gov. Visit IRS.gov’s first-time home buyer page.
“The expansion of the first-time home buyer tax break as part of the president’s recovery agenda gives money to taxpayers when they need it most, while also targeting an important group of buyers,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “We view our economic recovery plan, our financial stability plan and now this homeowner affordability plan as three legs of the same stool — an integrated whole that represents our immediate response to the current crisis.
Last year, almost one out of two home buyers bought for the first time, according to the Treasury Department’s news release. The addition of new homeowners helps reduce inventory by filling vacant homes and allowing the sellers of existing homes to move on to another home.
Real-estate industry groups are hopeful that the new credit will have an effect on the housing market. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said on Wednesday that the tax credit and other measures to stabilize mortgage rates and housing markets would probably boost home sales by about 900,000 this year. See Economic Report.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also announced on Wednesday that it will temporarily increase loan limits for Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages, also in accordance with provisions in the stimulus. The new FHA limits now go up to $729,750 in high-cost areas. The new limit on FHA’s reverse mortgage product also has been raised to $625,500.
The higher limits are in effect until the end of the year.
New Stimulus Package Signed Into Law
by Craig Miller on Mar.04, 2009, under All Posts, National
By: Weichert, Realtors
For: Weichert WIRE “The newsletter for the Weichert Sales Team”
Dated: February 18, 2009
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law Tuesday afternoon. The $787 billion plan is designed to stimulate consumer spending and create jobs, in order to help families recover and prosper.
Realizing that an economic recovery is contingent upon improvements in the housing market, the package includes provisions that will help attract first-time buyers, reduce inventory, stabilize home values and improve liquidity in the overall mortgage market.
The bill specifically helps real estate in the following ways:
– Increases the first-time homebuyer tax credit to $8,000 and eliminates the repayment requirement.
– Reinstates the 2008 higher loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Both provisions were championed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which estimates that the new version of the homebuyer tax credit could stimulate up to 300,000 additional home sales.
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