Could the Tax Credit Be Extended Again?
The pressure is increasing on Congress to renew the homebuyer tax credits for a third time. The first $7,500 tax credit was passed in 2008 and required first-time buyers to repay the credit over 15 years. A few months later in 2009, Congress expanded the credit to a maximum of $8,000 that didn’t have to be paid back. At the end of last year, Congress extended the benefit again until April 30 with... [Read more about this property]
IRS Clarifies What’s Needed to Claim Tax Credit
The Internal Revenue Service has clarified which documentation taxpayers need to submit to claim the first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit. While the IRS is still requiring the filing of Form 5405, it is not demanding that all parties’ signatures be on the HUD-1 settlement document in areas where requiring both the buyer and the seller to sign the document isn’t common. The IRS clarification... [Read more about this property]
World’s Most Beautiful Cities
Choosing the world’s most beautiful cities is a subjective enterprise. To identify urban areas where the architecture and the locale are both stunning, Forbes magazine turned to world-renowned architects. Here are their top choices: • Paris • Vancouver, Canada • Sydney, Australia • Florence, Italy • Cape Town, South Africa • San Francisco • Chicago • ... [Read more about this property]
Shadow Inventory Unlikely to Hurt Market
Nearly 5 million houses and condos, of which the mortgages are delinquent, will go through foreclosure over the next few years, a new study by John Burns Real Estate Consulting Inc. concludes. This represents more than half of the 7.7 million households now behind on their mortgage payments. The situation is worst in Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada. Burns calculates that there is an inventory... [Read more about this property]
Luxury Homes in Foreclosure Go to Auction
An increasing number of homes with multi-million dollar price tags are going into foreclosure and that’s driving desperate owners to sell at auction. In 2009, 18,817 properties worth at least $1 million faced foreclosure. That’s up 162 percent from 2008, reported foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac. Prices of $1 million-plus properties are down about 25 percent since 2007 with an increasing number... [Read more about this property]
Foreclosure Prevention Has Aided 116,000
The federal foreclosure prevention program has helped about 12 percent of borrowers who applied for help since the plans were announced a year ago, the Treasury Department says. About 1 million borrowers initiated the application process, and as of January, about 116,000 home owners–12 percent–had their loans modified. But administration officials say another 76,000 applications have been... [Read more about this property]
Top 5 Most Affordable U.S. Markets
How affordable or unaffordable is it to buy a home? Well, it depends heavily on the part of the country where the buyer chooses to live. Earning the U.S. median income of $64,000 a year is enough to allow buyers to purchase 70.8 percent of all homes sold in the country during the last three months of 2009, according to a joint report from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo. But... [Read more about this property]
‘Affordable’ Housing Less Attractive Now
Affordable housing projects all over the country have been a tough sell the last couple of years. Some of the reasons include hard-to-get mortgages and a dwindling difference in prices between affordable units and market-rate properties with no restrictions on resale. The problem is particularly acute in Far Rockaway, N.Y., where New York City housing officials and developers are frustrated by slow... [Read more about this property]
10 Home Features Buyers Want
Home designers and builders speaking at the recent International Builders Show in Las Vegas say that buyers are seeking cost-effective features and rejecting things that don’t have lasting value. “It’s all about family togetherness – casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces,” says Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio. Paul Cardis, CEO of Avid... [Read more about this property]
Home Price Reductions Level Off
The share of homes on the market with price reductions declined to an average of 21 percent as of Feb. 1, according to Trulia.com, which has been tracking the information since April 2009. This is a significant decrease compared to November 2009, when 26 percent of homes had at least one price reduction The total dollar amount cut from home prices dropped to $22.6 billion as of Feb. 1, down from $28.1... [Read more about this property]
Homebuyer Tax Credit Deadline Looming
The Homebuyer Tax Credit is set to expire this summer. The tax credit is available to both First-Time Homebuyers and Step-Up Homebuyers. The provision to make the tax credit eligible for Step-Up Homebuyers was added when the law was extended. There are some very important deadline dates that you should be aware of if you intend to take advantage of the Tax Credit. The first is April 30th, 2010.... [Read more about this property]
Commercial Loans Jeopardize Banks
The Congressional Oversight Panel reported Wednesday that commercial real estate loan failures could jeopardize bank stability. The panel said most of the bad loans were made at the height of the real estate bubble and are concentrated at smaller banks, which make 40 percent of all small business loans. “We haven’t seen the worst of the problems yet in terms of loan defaults. This is a large... [Read more about this property]
Construction Up Along With Builder Confidence
Construction of new homes rose to an annual rate of 591,000 in January, up 2.8 percent from December when the revised rate was 575,000, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday. Meanwhile, the monthly home builder confidence scale rose two points in February to 17. The National Association of Home Builders Chair Bob Jones said, “Builders are slightly more optimistic that the housing recovery... [Read more about this property]
Existing-Home Sales Down, but Prices Rise
Existing-home sales fell as expected in December after first-time buyers rushed to complete deals during the months leading up to the original November deadline for the tax credit. However, prices rose from December 2008 and annual sales improved in 2009, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—fell 16.7... [Read more about this property]
Housing Components Don’t Last Forever
Many aspects of a home last little more than a decade. Home buyers should be especially vigilant about inspecting these household components because they have a relatively short lifespan, says the National Association of Home Builders. • Aluminum roof coating: 3-7 years • Enameled steel sinks: 5-7 years • Security systems: 5-10 years • Carpet: 8-10 years • Smoke... [Read more about this property]
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About Me
Elliott Robinson, Esq. combines sound marketing principles and his legal acumen when helping clients purchase and sell real estate. Read more...
