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April 29th, 2010
San Diego and South West Riverside Real Estate Market Trends
APRIL-2010 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter
Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.
The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau and Realtor.org reports, videos, key market indicators and real estate sales statistics, a video message by a nationally recognized economist, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.
Please click here to view the APRIL-2010 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter.
If you are interested in determining the value of your home, click the Home Evaluator link for a free evaluation report.
April 7th, 2010
Tax Credit Questions and Answers
Top 4 Questions Home Buyers Have About the Tax Credit
San Diego home buyers are active as the April 15 deadline to file 2009 federal tax returns approaches, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is providing answers to some of the questions home buyers are most frequently asking about the home buyer tax credit.
“NAHB’s website that provides information about the home buyer tax credit, www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com, has received more than 8 million visits,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “We are doing everything we can to make sure home buyers are informed about this outstanding opportunity to benefit from buying a home before it expires April 30.”
Some of the more commonly-asked questions, and the answers, include: 
1. How does a home buyer claim the tax credit?
The credit is claimed when the home buyer files or amends their federal income taxes. For qualifying homes purchased in 2009 or 2010, the taxpayer must complete IRS Form 5405 and attach a copy of the settlement statement. In most cases, the settlement statement is a properly executed Form HUD-1.
In circumstances where a HUD-1 is not provided, such as purchasing a mobile home or a newly constructed home, the IRS will accept an executed retail sales contract (mobile homes) or a copy of the certificate of occupancy (new homes).
2. Does the home buyer have to sell their current home in order to qualify for the $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit?
A home buyer does not need to sell their current home in order to be eligible for the repeat buyer credit. They can continue to own both homes, and rent or use their former home for something else, as long as it no longer serves as their principal residence. The taxpayer is required to use the new home as their principal residence, and live in it for at least 36 months, or they will have to repay the credit.
3. Do married couples both have to meet the eligibility requirements in order to claim the credit, even if they file taxes separately?
Both spouses must fully meet all the eligibility requirements for either the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit or the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credit, regardless of if they file joint or separate tax returns. However, if an unmarried couple purchases a home and only one person qualifies, the eligible person may claim the full credit.
4. Do all home purchases need to be completed by April 30, 2010, in order to be eligible for the credit?
There are two exceptions to the April 30 deadline. If the buyer enters into a binding contract by the deadline, they have until June 30, 2010, to complete the purchase. The deadline has been extended a year, to April 30, 2011, for members of the uniformed services, Foreign Service or employees of the intelligence community who have been on qualified extended duty outside the United States for at least 90 days between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010.
For more information about the tax credits or to take advantage of them yourself, call or email me today. JennBurroughs@gmail.com or 858-521-7277
September 15th, 2009
Chardonnay Hills Market Update
A quick review of the Year To Date market statistics for Chardonnay Hills show an optimistic outlook. In evaluating the market trends for Chardonnay Hills, there are positive signs that the market is shifting.
Some of the highlights include a reduced average market time and lower inventory. Year to date, the average market time for homes sold in Chardonnay Hills is 37 days, as compared to an average of 75 days in 2008.
There is 1 homes in the “back-up” status, which indicates that there is an accepted offer, but the sellers are waiting for an approval from their lender. These sales tend to have a longer average market time, than a sale that does not require a lenders approval.
There are 4 homes “pending” in escrow, these homes were on the market for an average of 34 days!
See Chart Below
September 10th, 2009
The Truth About Short Sales
In my previous Blog I shared with my first unexpected short sale scenario. This time, I will tell you about another scenario that happened one week later.
The second scenario… The Buyer is a first time home buyer who falls in love with a 1 bedroom condo. She is putting 20% down and gets Sellers acceptance on a short sale in March. After 5 months of patiently waiting on Bank approval of the short sale, the bank finally comes through and authorizes the short sale. Ten days before the scheduled closing, the Listing Agent informs me that the Seller is talking to an attorney about the possibility of being held liable for the deficiency. Keep in mind, we have a fully executed contract, an opened Escrow, a completed home inspection, completed appraisal and a Buyer who has given notice to her current landlord that she will be moving out. At this moment, we are still anxiously awaiting the decision of the Seller as to how we are going to proceed.
My Buyer has retained legal counsel and is in the process of exploring her options.
Lesson Learned: It is becoming more obvious to Sellers that more Banks are exercising their recourse options, causing more sellers to give short sales a second thought. It is becoming extremely important for Buyers and their agents to make sure that the Sellers are doing their due dilligence at the beginning of the short sale process to ensure that the short sale is the best option.
September 2nd, 2009
The Truth About Short Sales
Over the past 3 years Buyers in San Diego and Southwest Riverside Counties have noticed a huge influx of short sale listings hitting the Real Estate Market. In some market areas, in lower price ranges, as much as 90% of the inventory can be a Short Sale or Bank Owned Listing.
Most Buyers who with the guidance of an experienced, educated Agent who understands the contract, bank addendum’s, and truly represents their clients best interest can maneuver their way through the bank owned process with a minimal to moderate amount of surprise. Buyers and agents know that you are buying properties in an “as is” condition and that the perceived “deal” in in the listed price. We all know that banks will not do repairs, they threaten a Per Diem, and we never close on time.
I like to think of myself as one of those agents who understands this process and can articulate to my clients what to expect. I am the agent who talks with clients up front about the truth in the real estate market. The fact that you may have to write 10 or more offers to get an accepted offer, get prequal’d with multiple Lenders, and come up in price to compensate for the closing costs that you are asking for the seller to pay is standard conversation that my buyers understand.
Just SOLD
