For qualified service members who are ordered on a period of official extended duty , these deadline dates are extended for one year. For these home buyers, the tax credit applies to sales with a binding sales contract in place on or before April 30, 2011 and closed by June 30, 2011.

“Official extended duty” means any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010.

Read more about the tax credit extension and who qualifies…

source

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Who Qualifies

First Time home buyers can qualify up to $8000 if they:

• haven’t owned a home in the last three years
• make less than $125,000 individually or $225,000 as a couple (you may qualify for part of the credit if you make more)
• buy a primary residence that costs $800,000 or less

Current home owners can qualify up to $6500 if they:

• lived in their primary residence for five concurrent years out of the past eight
• meet the same income thresholds as first-time buyers

Military Service Members:

• Members of the U.S. armed forces, military intelligence, or foreign service on qualified extended duty get an extra year to take either credit. And if you or your spouse has been deployed overseas for 90 days or more in 2008 or 2009, you have until April 30, 2011 to claim the tax credit.

Caveats:

• You’ll need to stay in your new home as your primary residence for three years.
• You can’t buy your home from a family member.
• If your spouse has owned a home before, you will qualify for the $6500 credit.
• Many members of congress say this the LAST tax credit for home buyers we will see in a long time.

The National Association of Realtors says first-time buyers accounted for more than 45 percent of home sales in the past year. If we see those kinds of numbers for 2010, I believe we could really see a huge impact on the market and possibly work towards a speedy recovery.

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UPDATE: There is more and more talk every day about this extension. Nancy Pelosi mentions a possibility of extending it to all home purchases, while other bills have been introduced to extend to the end of 2010 with a gradual reduction.

With the tax credit deadline fast approaching, the tax credit is almost out of reach. The inventory of available homes are starting to dwindle as first time buyers are getting all the good deals as soon as they come available.  Any new buyers may as well forget about good deals that can be found with foreclosures or short sales because they take too long. There is barely enough time to find a home and get financing in our area. If you’ve planned on buying and taking advantage, you better act now.

I feel that the market is being helped by this “cash for houses” plan and to see it go will also see a downturn in the housing market and economy. With 1,400,000 new buyers this year thanks to this stimulus, it’s going to be sad to see it go.

Take action and write to your congressmen to extend this stimulus until the market is working on it’s own.

**There is no official approval for an extension or new tax credit for next year.

This is an article by the Canton Repository on the possibilities of an extension and the current market.

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This means if you do not have an accepted purchase agreement on a home by September 30th, 2009, it may be too late!

So how do you find your first home quickly and easily?

Get started today by using a free buyer’s agent to find and purchase your new home.

A buyer’s agent can help you by:

• Searching the market for properties that meet your needs.
• Showing you all prospective properties in one meeting.
• Keep you informed on the buying process.
• Negotiate for you when making offers.
• Give you factual market information on your potential new home.
• Make sure the deal is moving along smoothly and quickly.

Call or fill out this quick form to get started:

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“Joey is so awesome! I texted him 15 times a day about this house I really wanted, and on top of it I needed it by a certain day. Joey worked night and day for me. and pulled through. I got my keys the day I needed them! Thank you Joey, you are the best and you are now part of our family! We are forever grateful for your hard work. You are great at what you do!” – Silena S

You’re welcome Silena! I had so much fun helping you and you are a friend forever!

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First of all, get in contact with a free buyers agent and get prepared to buy a house. This can take some time, and you will miss out on a property of your dreams if you aren’t ready.

There are two types of sellers that will often sell property below market value; banks and estates.

Purchasing a property owned by a bank can be difficult and stressful, but the rewards are high.  First of all, be aware that these transactions could take more than a couple months to get accepted and closed, so if you want to get the tax stimulus, you will have to close by December 1st, 2009.  You will want to get started immediately, because you may not find a deal on a home you are interested in for some time. There are two types of bank-involved properties you can purchase, bank owned and short sales. 

Purchasing REO (Bank Owned or Foreclosed Properties) 

With REO homes, you will want to watch the market very, very, very, very closely.  Look at all the new listings that come up every day in your desired market. A good real estate agent can help you with this by sending them to you in an email or other format. As soon as one pops up that you might like, take a look at the property that day if possible.  If you like it, put an offer on the property that same day!  When an REO property gets on the market, there are usually multiple offers on the first or second day if it’s priced well.

 Not all REO properties are listed below market value, but it does happen when the bank wants a quick sale.  An agent can help you identify a well priced listing. You will want to make your best offer up front because if you try to get an even better deal, you may get outbid.  You might consider giving an offer at or over asking price to help improve your odds of winning.  It can take a few days to a few weeks to hear back on an accepted offer, so break out the nail file, it’s going to be a stressful wait.  

Purchasing Short Sales

A “short sale” is when the owner of the property owes more on the home than what it’s worth and they need to sell it, for whatever reason. The bank they are borrowing from has to get involved and approve the purchase price.  We are running into these more and more these days.

 My brokerage has many short sale listings and we understand the process involved.  These banks all handle short sales differently.  Some lenders aren’t even accepting offers at the listing price or even contacting the seller for nearly a year about a submitted offer.  An agent that works with these entities are aware of which ones are better to deal with.  Keep in mind that multiple offers can be submitted on the property while awaiting acceptance. 

If you get outbid on a property, don’t be discouraged, an even better deal could make it’s self available.  You may want to keep an eye out for another property while waiting to hear back, you can always rescind your current offer and place a new one on a different property.

Buying Estates

An estate sale is when heirs have gained ownership of a property for many reasons including when a parent passes away or moves to assisted living.  Many times the property has a lot of equity since it was lived in and paid on for many years, allowing an aggressive listing price.  The heirs may wish to have a quick sale so they don’t have to make payments on the property. These sales are usually a lot easier to deal with than banks.  A great way to get a good deal at an estate is to purchase it at auction.  An auction requires a down payment.  A real estate agent can help you find and buy at auction.

 While the other types of sales do produce good deals on properties,  you will want to work with a buyer’s agent that can keep you informed on the market and help you recognize value.

Give me a call if you are looking in Stark or Summit County, Ohio to get started today! 330.412.2221

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Get started with a no obligation home buyer consultation now

The Buyer’s Agent:

Before you start searching, it is in your best interest to find a FREE buyer’s agent. It is important for you to have your own representation when purchasing a home.  There is no fee required to use an agent to buy property because the seller’s commission will be split between both agencies involved.

If you call the agents that have the property listed, they are obligated to be looking out for their seller’s best interest. The main reason agents put their names on their listings’ signs and ads is because they won’t have to split the commission if they sell their own listing. If you call the listing agent and walk through the property with them, no other agent will be able to write any contract with you.  This is called procuring cause.

Writing an offer with the listing agent will not help you get a better price. The listing agent cannot disclose any prior knowledge concerning what offer the seller would take without permission.  A good buyer’s agent will help you decide the best price for the home and negotiate on your behalf to get you the best deal.

It is the buyer’s agent’s obligation and duty to make sure that you get the best deal possible and make the transaction as easy as possible.  A good buyer’s agent can also help you find a property that suits your needs because they are constantly watching the market and know what you are looking for. They also have tools to update you on potential properties automatically via email.

Probably the biggest benefit of having a buyer’s agent, is that you can tell them what properties you would like to see, and they can show you many at one time. Otherwise, you would have to call every single agent, set up multiple appointments, at times convenient for all of them, and meet motivated salesmen trying to double their commission.

One little known fact, as a buyer you are responsible for turning on utilities and inspecting the property with professionals. You usually have 5-15 days to do this in. A good buyers agent can make sure this gets done correctly and on time.

Another thing to keep in mind is, most agencies charge a transaction fee. This is approximately a $200 fee, in Canton, Ohio area, that is charged at closing and is totally unnecessary. My company and I do not charge this fee, saving you money. Ask your potential agent if their brokerage charges this.

I am a dedicated and trustworthy buyer’s agent with years of experience. I can help you find a home in the least amount of time for the best value.

Contact us or fill out the quick questionnaire to get started today.

Phone: 330-412-2221
Email:  joey@whippleauction.com

Read my first time homebuyer’s guide from the beginning

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What makes this the best time to buy?

• Prices are incredibly low
• Interest rates are so low that borrowers are saving hundreds of dollars a month
• The quantity of available homes is mind boggling
• The government now has tax credits and down payment programs for first timers

The question I come across most often from first time home buyers is “How do I get started?”. This series of blogs will get you up to speed on what you need to do to get prepared and walk you through the whole process.

Step 1: Get your hands on some cash.

The days of 100% financing are gone like the wild west. You will most likely need some sort of down payment. Keep in mind there are Ohio government programs like OHFA that you could qualify to get most of your down payment paid for. The lowest down payment I have seen lately is 3.5% of the purchase price for FHA financing. Conventional is right behind that with 5% for good credit.

To put that into perspective, lets say you buy a $100,000 dollar home (which is a lot of home in my market) you will need minimum $3,500 for a down payment or $1,750 for a $50,000 home. Most lenders accept gifted money as well, so if you can borrow from Mom, Dad, Grandparents, Uncle Rob, that will work. There are also government programs to help you with the down payment. OHFA is a state program in Ohio that will pay your down payment and charge you a slightly higher interest rate on your loan.

There are a few additional items you may need to pay for, but many costs can be paid for by the seller if you ask them to. These fees are unique for every market.

• Appraisal – Approximately $150 – $400 depending on which appraisal the lender requests.  The appraisal is required by your lender to make sure your new home is worth what you are borrowing.  Most of the time, the appraisal comes in at or above the purchase price. You will likely be paying for this.
• Inspections – I will be going more into detail about inspections in this series, but you may wish to get your new home inspected by professionals. There are a few typical inspections. These include general home inspections($200) and wood destroying insect inspections($50-$75). There are other inspections available if you are concerned such as mold, radon gas, and lead based paint.
• Title Fees – approximately $500 – $1500 depending on your purchase price and loan amount. In order to own the property, you will need to transfer the title to your name. This is done by a third party title company.
• Lender Fees – Varies depending on the lender and the loan amount. You can work with your loan officer to keep these down.
• Homeowner’s Insurance – Your first year will need to be paid by or at closing if you are getting financing.

Again, you can ask for the seller to pay for your closing costs and inspections at the time of the offer. So in essence, you might only require the money for part of the down payment, appraisal, and homeowner’s insurance. If the seller is unwilling to pay the closing costs, you could always raise the purchase price on a counter offer so they net the same amount. This way you don’t have to pay out of pocket for most of the costs of the transaction.

There is something called earnest money deposit that you could put forward with your offer to show you are earnest in purchasing the home and will be applied to your costs at closing. This can help to get your offer accepted, if the seller sees you are willing to risk money.  If you rescind on your offer for no apparent reason, this money is forfeited to the seller. If you fail to get financing, the inspections are unsatisfactory, you lose your job, or any other good reason for breaking the contract, you will get this money back. This deposit can be any amount you chose and is optional, however, many foreclosed properties have a minimum amount required for acceptance.

It’s a good idea to have the first couple months of mortgage payments saved up also. You can also recoup the costs of buying a home if you purchase one in 2009 thanks to the stimulus package. First time home buyers are eligible if they or their spouse haven’t owned a home in the previous three years. They are eligible for $8000 tax credit that you don’t have to pay back if you own the home for more than three years.

Step 2: Getting Prequalified with a Lender

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