Spurred by an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, first time homebuyers or buyers who have not owned a home for the past 3 years have been entering the market in droves to take advantage of the program. Nationwide home resales in September recorded the largest monthly increase in 26 years as buyers rushed to complete their purchases before the tax credit expires on Nov. 30.
Sales jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million last month from a downwardly revised pace of 5.1 million in August, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday. The association says the first-time homebuyer tax credit program has generated an extra 355,000 home sales. Prices, however, continue to be dragged down by foreclosures and short sales, where the mortgage exceeds the sales price. The nation’s median price last month was $174,900, down almost 9 percent from $191,200 a year earlier, and slightly lower than August’s median of $177,300.
Representative Kurt Schrader, Democrat from Oregon, and Representative Steve Driehaus, Democrat from Ohio, have co-sponsored a bill, H.R. 3842, that would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the first time homebuyer tax credit. The current first time homebuyer credit is set to expire on December 1st, 2009. Schrader’s bill would do two crucial things:
- The program would be extended to October 1st, 2010,
- Homes purchased “after 2008,” rather than “in 2009″ would be eligible.
There is also one other important change, you could treat the purchase of a home after December 31st, 2009 and before October 1st, 2010 as occurring on December 31st, 2009 for tax purposes. In other words, if you bought the house in 2010, you could take the credit on your 2009 tax return.
Call you representatives and urge them to support this bill.
Karen Sothoron
970-690-8680
http://www.KarenSothoron.com
If we thought home prices were leveling out, we may be wrong. In fact, many analysts expect prices to drop even more. The latest forecasts are at odds with the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index. The S&P/C-S index had given hope that most housing markets have already stabilized. Nationally, it found that home prices had actually gained 3.6%. Unfortunately, this is just a temporary anomaly. The tax credit for first-time home buyers helped support prices over the past few months but this is, by no means, a solid indicator of recovery.
This article helps clarify what happened to our economy:
Few attorneys know how to handle them. I’m just beginning to look into the process. Here are some of my latest findings:
Did you know that in certain mortgage loan transactions, a mistake in disclosure on the part of the lender may extend the recission period 3 years beyond the initial 3 day recission period! Think about it; this means that the borrower has the funds but might be able to reject the loan at any time during the recission period, if a mistake has been made. For instance, if a borrower discovers a relatively small mistake of non-disclosure in the loan documents and other records pertaining to the loan the borrower may be able to file a successful recission claim if done so within the extended time frame. Futhermore, the liability for a lender’s mistake can pass through to an assignee!
With the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) recent release of its National Delinquency Survey, the Distressed Property Institute sees continued difficulty for the residential real estate market.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has announced that half a million American families have participated or are currently participating in the home loan modification program put in place by the administration. However, the complexity of the paperwork required to modify a loan, the rising unemployment and depressed home prices, may conspire against many homeowners.
The first call you make should be to your lender, have the following information ready to discuss with them and call your customer service line to ask them what options you have available. You will need:
Chances are, you or someone you know in Northern Colorado is facing the possibility of foreclosure. But you need to understand that you are not alone and that it’s important for you to learn the nuts and bolts of foreclosure vs short sale.
The qualifications for a short sale include any or all of the following: