Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are interest rates GREAT?

2. Are there some GREAT DEALS out there?

3. Are there any GREAT HOME LOAN programs out there that can help me achieve my DREAM?

4. Could I use that TAX CREDIT?

5. Is this REALLY a GREAT time to Buy a home?

And the answer to these questions are YES!!!!!!

The tax credit is scheduled to expire Nov. 30. The bill would extend it to apply to home purchases under contract before May 1, 2010.

The tax credit is attached to a bill that would extend unemployment benefits by up to 20 weeks for people who have been out of work for long periods. Unemployment reached a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September, and the latest figures are to be released Friday.

The Senate could vote on its version of the measure as early as Wednesday night and the House could take it up for final approval this week, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The measure approved by the House Tuesday would expand the homebuyer tax credit to apply to people who have owned a home for at least five years. They could get a $6,500 tax credit on the purchase of a new home.

Income restrictions would be relaxed, meaning more people could take advantage of the program.

The extension and expansion of the tax credit would cost an estimated $11 billion in addition to the $10 billion that has been spent on the existing homebuyer tax credit. ]]> http://inside-real-estate.com/garyjones/2009/11/06/the-house-passes-the-new-tax-credit-extension-for-payson-utah-and-the-rest-of-the-country/feed/ 0 0473The New Improved And Revised Tax Credit]]> http://inside-real-estate.com/garyjones/2009/11/06/the-new-and-improved-revised-tax-credit/ http://inside-real-estate.com/garyjones/2009/11/06/the-new-and-improved-revised-tax-credit/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:36:03 +0000 Gary W. Jones http://inside-real-estate.com/garyjones/?p=121 I found this article from another site and thought that it was an awesome article and gave all of the info. I was looking for and I wanted to share it with my readers. This is awesome for all of the home buyers here in Payson, Utah and the rest of the country.

It looks like the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit may be sticking around a little longer than originally planned. There are still a few questions regarding amendments requested by the Senate Republicans, but if all can be smoothed over, the credit will be extended until April 30.

Introduced last February as a means of kickstarting the sluggish housing market, over 1.2 million borrowers have claimed $8.5 billion out of the original $13.6 billion allocated for the credit. Did the tax credit do what it was intended to do? Depending on which economist you speak to, an estimated 150,000 to 400,000 home sales were the direct result of the Home Buyer Tax Credit.

According to the latest proposed bill, the revised tax credit will contain new and improved features to reach a larger cross section of potential home buyers as well as extend the deadline to encourage more potential buyers.

Some of the features of the new Home Buyers Tax Credit include:

Deadline for current credit: Home buyers must close the deal on a home purchased in 2009 by November 30/09. As long as they live in the home for at least three years, the credit is not repayable.

Deadline for new & improved credit: Home buyers must purchase a new home by April 30, 2010, but as long as they were under contract by this date, would have up to 60 days to close the deal.

Eligibility and amount of current credit: First time home buyers are eligible for up to $8,000 in the form of a non-repayable tax credit. When claimed on a tax return, it reduces the amount of tax payable and results in a refund for the balance.

Eligibility and amount of new & improved credit: Same as above, however there is a new component that allows an additional $6,500 credit for those who have lived in their homes for five of the last eight years – thus not restricting the benefit to first time home buyers.

Those buyers with incomes exceeding $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for married couples are not eligible. Homes valued at more than $800,000 are also ineligible.

Fraud protection: As with any new legislation, there are those who attempt to take advantage or exploit. Thousands of false claims were received from children and teenagers. In the new and improved credit, applicants must be 18 years of age or over to apply.

Whether these new changes will make a difference in the housing market is up for debate. Some feel that offering it up to those who already own homes, isn’t really doing anything to reduce inventory since they will only be selling one home to buy another. However, it may encourage the fence sitters to take the initiative and invest.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, he is much more optimistic and believes, “The tax credit is not a very efficient tax cut, but not extending it would do significant damage to the still fragile housing market.”

Many in the real estate industry believe that extending the tax credit will help to sustain any momentum gained in home sales and carry it over into the critical spring buying season.

In Utah County in 2005 there were 6,793 homes sold and out of those 6,793 there were 393 homes sold in Payson, Utah.

In Utah County in 2006 there were 7,513 homes sold and out of those 7,513 there were 399 homes sold in Payson, Utah.

In Utah County in 2007 there were 5,933 homes sold and out of those 5,933 there were 292 homes sold in Payson, Utah. (GOING DOWN).

In Utah County in 2008 there were 4,568 homes sold and out of those 4,568 there were 189 homes sold in Payson, Utah. (AT THE BOTTOM).

Alright are you ready for these numbers? HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS!!!!

In Utah County from January 1, 2009 up to October 29, 2009 there has been 4,194 homes sold and there are currently 1,070 homes under contract and we still have 2 more months to go. I am projecting that by the end of 2009 there will have been approximately 5,600 homes sold in Utah County for 2009. (WE ARE MOVING ON UP).

Now out of those 4,194 homes sold in Utah County 131 were sold in Payson, Utah from January 1, 2009 up to October 29, 2009. There are currently 39 homes under contract in Payson, Utah and again we still have 2 more months to go. I am projecting that by the end of 2009 there will have been approximately 200 homes sold in Payson, Utah. (YEEE HAAA I THINK I CAN SEE THE END OF THE RAINBOW) or just winter coming on!!!!

Again remember that none of these numbers reflect the homes that were sold by (For Sale By Owner) and I am not a betting man so please don’t hold me to my projections. Now that you have seen these numbers with your own eyes, you decide what you think the Real Estate Market is doing in Utah County and Payson, Utah. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

1. When you purchase a piece of Real Estate that is for sale by owner, a Buyer should always ask for a copy of the county tax records to make sure that the square footage is correct and that the Seller is actually the owner on title and has the right to sell the property. You can get this info. from your local county office or your local title company. (Your Local Title Company will be able to give you more detail of ownership of the Real Estate).

2. There are many other reasons to have your local Title Company to run a preliminary Title Report such as Liens, easements & anything that may encumber the sale of the Real Estate.

3. Go online and look for a copy of  Sellers Property Condition Disclosures. For Sale By Owners are not held to the same standards as Professional Realtors. The Sellers Property Condition Disclosures are designed to make sure Sellers disclose any previous or current defects in the home.

Here is a quick story. I had a Seller call me and ask me to give him a Comparable Market Analysis on his home in Payson Utah, he told me that they had bought the home from a For Sale By Owner and the owner told him that the square footage was over 3,000 square feet and that it was one of the biggest homes in the neighborhood and that the home was built in 1998. Well, I started my research on the property and behold what I found out was that the home was infact only 2,500 square feet and it was built in 1991. Had the Buyer checked the county records, he would have found out the actual square footage and year built. To make things even worse he was also told that everything was in GREAT working order, well about $1,800.00 later and a new furnace and another $500.00 for roof repairs, needless to say he was not a happy camper. Moral of the story is hire a professional Real Estate Agent to help you through the process and protect your best interest. He thought he would save money by not hiring a professional Realtor to represent him, looks like it cost him a lot more in the long run.

Thank you for your time and Happy Home buying and remember be a SMART home Buyer.

1. Find a Mortgage company or Loan Officer and give them all the info. that they may require in order to get the ball rolling. By doing this you not only get the process moving in the right direction, you also will find out what you are actually qualified to buy, (Payment & Purchase Price). You will also have an ideal of how much money you will need for your down payment & closing cost. Remember when you search for a Mortgage company it is like searching for a new car, interview more than one Mortgage company and see who has the lowest loan cost. Ask for a good faith estimate from each lender.

2. O.K. this is a hard one, find a good Real Estate Agent that lives or works in the areas that you may be looking at. Now #1 & #2 can be done at the same time but it will help your Real Estate Agent in his/her home search for you if he or she knows what they are looking for price wise.

3. Alright, we are ready to start looking for your dream home. Try not to over whelm your brain by scheduling so many homes that you can not remember which one is which. Even as agents we can go through so many homes and it is hard to keep up with all of them, so looking at 7 to 10 homes in a day is plenty, unless you are really pressed for time (Out of State Buyers).

4. Carry a camera with you and a note pad to help you remember each home. I like to use a scoring system for location, paint, condition, bedrooms, layout ect……. from 1 to 10 this has proved to be very helpful in comparing homes especially when its gets down to your top three or four picks.

5. Remember it is not your agents job to sell you on any specific home, the right home for you will sell itself. As an agent, I will point out some of the positive and negative points of a home if there are any.

6. You have found your dream home and it is time to write an offer. Writing an offer is not guess work, your agent will do a CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) to see where this home should be priced at to insure you the Buyer  are not going to offer to pay to much. The home has to appraise or the banks will not lend on it. Once you have an offer on the table, time is of the essence, meaning if you do not respond A.S.A.P. there could be another offer come in and buy the home.(So Move Quickly)!!!

I would want a Real Estate Agent that works hard in his/her profession full time. This insures me as a buyer or seller that I am getting his/her full attention and that my agent will be working hard for me.

This would also insure me that my Real Estate Agent is spending his/her time getting to know the Payson Utah Real Estate market  and the area that I want to sell or buy a home in.

I would want to find a Real Estate Agent that lives and specializes in the area that I am looking to buy or sell a home in. Knowing the area is very important when buying a home. Knowing the schools, doctors, dentist, shopping ect…..

I want a Real Estate Agent that understands team work, because a Real Estate Agent and Buyer/Seller have to be able to work together as a team.

I want a Real Estate agent that is not going to be pushy and try to sell me on every home that we walk through just to get me to write an offer.

I want a Real Estate Agent that is very knowledgeable  of  the Real Estate Contracts.

I want to be able to call my Real Estate Agent  anytime during the work day and get my questions answered and get a timely response  from her/him. There is nothing worse than not being able to get a hold of your Realtor when you need them, because if you can’t get a hold of them, who to say other Realtors can and how are they going to show your home to potential buyers.

I want a Real Estate Agent that is most importantly HONEST.

So to recap I would look for a Real Estate Agent that is (Honest, Hard Working, Full Time, Reachable & Knowledgable).

My personal feelings are that it is not a Real Estate Agents job to sell a buyer on a home. When a buyer walks into the home that they have been looking for, that buyer will know right away. The home will sell itself and the buyer will get that, this is the one for me feeling.