Blogs

Hiring a decorating and marketing specialist to help sell a house might sound like a frivolous cost to homeowners desperate to salvage every dollar in a fallen market.

Hiring someone to decorate your home will always sound frivolous to certain homeowners. But it really can be too much to take for anyone looking to sell a home in an already depressed market.

To help stimulate home sales, both the federal and state governments are offering tax credits for Californians purchasing their piece of the American dream. Federal law offers up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for long-time residents. California law offers up to $10,000 for first-time homebuyers or buyers of properties that have never been occupied. Here’s a handy summary of the two tax credit laws:

HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT
FEDERAL
CALIFORNIA

Amount of Tax Credit
FEDERAL

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – March 4, 2010 – The word “as-is” can indeed be one scary phrase. Especially when buying a home in today’s market where foreclosures and short sales that need fix-up work are plentiful.

But a little-known Federal Housing Administration loan program that’s been around since 1978 can help take the sting out of “as-is.” Only a small number of homebuyers took advantage of the FHA’s 203(k) program in 2009. Not that many lending and real estate professionals are aware of the program, say observers.

WASHINGTON – March 3, 2010 – Signs of a recovery in the real estate market indicate this may not be the “Winter of your Discount Tent.” Home sales, value and mortgage applications have risen slightly as mortgage rates stand at a historic low.

This slight glimmer of positive news is offset by estimates that about 48 percent of all U.S. mortgages will be underwater by 2011. Foreclosures and short sales continue to plague the market, keeping a lid on home prices. As a result, 2010 will continue to be a buyer’s market.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Jan. 20, 2010 – If you bought a home in 2009, you could be eligible for a tax credit. Figuring out which one can be confusing.

There’s one credit for first-time homebuyers and another that primarily benefits homebuyers who owned a home before. But don’t mix it up with the first-time homebuyer credit in 2008, which actually was a long-term loan.

There are maximum income levels and maximum sales prices. And vacation homes or rental property don’t qualify.

Banks making short sales tougher

NEW YORK - Oct. 12, 2009 - Banks are backing away from short sales, forcing sellers to pay extra at closing or demanding a promissory note for the amount due. One-third of borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, according First American CoreLogic.

Fed all but declares recession over

WASHINGTON - Sept. 24, 2009 - The Federal Reserve provided its most upbeat assessment yet of the economy on Wednesday, suggesting the recession is over and growth could be more robust than it previously anticipated.

But noting the economy is still relatively weak, the central bank agreed to keep a key interest rate unchanged near zero and extended its financial support for the housing market until the end of the first quarter.

Economists: Extend the housing tax credit

WASHINGTON – If you're applying for a loan to purchase a primary or secondary
home, or planning to refinance, you should be aware of a little-publicized
new set of federal consumer-protection rules that take effect July 30.

Among other key changes, the new Federal Reserve guidelines require lenders to
provide you initial disclosures of your mortgage costs within three business
days of your loan application. If you don't get them, you can pull the plug.

Mortgage rates fall back from 7-month high

WASHINGTON – June 19, 2009 – Rates for 30-year home loans fell back this
week after soaring to the highest level in seven months a week earlier.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.38 percent this week,
down from 5.59 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said.

Young homeowners gain despite stagnant economy

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – June 15, 2009 – If the real estate bust has a bright side,
it’s this: People like Lilly Thomas, Stephanie Driskell and Dexter Wuller can
finally afford homes.

Falling home prices and an $8,000 federal tax credit are putting homes in
reach of young people who couldn’t afford them a few years ago. As a
result, real estate agents say starter homes are the only part of the real
estate market that’s showing some life.