Silvia Rainaldi Real Estate Blog

A New Twist to the Tax Credit for Lehi Home Owners!

Silvia Rainaldi — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:40:00 +0000

Raise the roof Lehi residences! The door of Opportunity has been swung open for existing home owners and now you have a Tax Credit to move up to that dream house you’ve been wanting. The program now gives those who already own a Lehi residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. The incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified buyers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years. The COOL part here is the Higher Income Caps–the amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has increased….Single Tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. BUT, big but….the Single Tax filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible. Now the Joint Tax filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount and those who earn above the cap can still receive a partial credit. However, joint filers earning $245,000 and above are not eligible. Maximum purchase price for qualifying buyers is set at $800,000. Another stipulation for the credit is you’ll need to have a contract in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and have it closed by June 30, 2010.

Additionally, the First Time Home Buyers tax credit has been extended…with the same deadline dates as above. For Lehi FTHB the tax credit is up to $8,000 and will have the same income restrictions as stated above.

Now is the time for you to purchase that house you’ve been putting off! With the growth of Lehi City–residential and commercial–there has probably never been a better time to purchase. Make sure your family and friends know about these credits….they just may be ready to make that purchase. Feel free to email me any questions you have. Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Permanent FHA Loan Limits Key to Lehi Housing Market

Silvia Rainaldi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:07:04 +0000

Making the current FHA loan limits permanent would ensure liquidity in the Lehi housing market and make mortgages more affordable for qualified buyers at a time when the market is showing signs of a weak recovery.

Current FHA loan limits in Lehi are at $323,750, single family, and are set to expire at the end of 2009 and revert to lower amounts, greatly hindering the housing recovery process.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) strongly supports making FHA loan limits permanent, and has urged the subcommittee to quickly consider legislation that would do that—H.R. 2483 introduced by committee members U.S. Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Gary Miller (R-Calif.).

The FHA plays an important role with homebuyers in Lehi and for that matter as well as markets across the country. In the wake of the collapsing private mortgage market, FHA has been a key player in removing inventory from the market and helped stabilize home prices. Present FHA housing market share, nationwide, is approaching 25 percent, significantly up from 3 percent two years ago.

NAR said that FHA has performed remarkably well through the housing crisis locally in Lehi and the rest of the country, compared to Fannie and Freddie, because FHA has never strayed from the sound underwriting and appropriate appraisals that have traditionally backed up their loans.

The recent talk of the FHA capital reserve ratio falling below 2 percent has nothing to do with FHA’s current business activities. It is simply a reflection of falling housing values in their portfolio. The FHA recently announced that a 2009 audit will show that even if FHA does nothing, the cap reserves are expected to rise back to the required level within a few years. FHA total reserves are not in as dire straits as some have reported, FHA said, because the cap reserve fund is not its reserve fund – FHA also has a separate cash reserve that is higher than it has ever been – and the combined assets total $30.4 billion.

FHA is taking timely steps to protect taxpayers: implementing credit policy changes to enhance risk management; hiring a chief risk officer for the first time in the agency’s history; and shifting responsibility for mortgage brokers away from taxpayers to the lenders who use mortgage brokers.

FHA Loans-Streamline While You Can Lehi

Silvia Rainaldi — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:42:42 +0000

FHA or the Federal Housing Administration has just come out with new guidelines for the FHA Streamline Loan.

In the past most people that had purchase a FHA loan could streamline (refinance) to FHA at no cost…..to a lower interest rate without an appraisal or income documentation. But starting November 18, 2009 anyone with a FHA loan must qualify for a FHA refinance which will require an appraisal, income documentation and asset documentation. There is going to be a HUGE push to get these loans done because they MUST close before November 11, 2009. So if you have plans to refinance CALL your mortgage lender NOW and take advantage before this change. If you need names of some great lender email me and would be happy to help. Visit FHA GUIDELINES for more information or to see if you qualify now.

Lehi Real Estate: Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension

Silvia Rainaldi — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:38:59 +0000

Congress will soon debate if the home buyer tax credit should be extended beyond the currently scheduled expiration date of November 30th.

The key reason for the economy coming out of a recession is due to the upgrade in the housing market. The housing revival in turn was due to the first-time home buyer tax credit. But a sustainable recovery in the housing market requires home price stabilization, where we are very close to getting there. Given that the home price to income ratio and other metrics are showing that home prices have overshot downward and below the fundamental economically justifiable values, stimulus to get the financially healthy home buyers back into the market is well worth it.

Home buyers will naturally become hesitant to buy if they view (rightly or wrongly) that home values will continue to fall. That buyer hesitancy can lead to self-fulfilling prophesy of rising inventory and falling home values. Falling home values will in turn push the economy back into recession. Consumer spending will be weaker as homeowners continue to experience destruction in housing wealth. Bank balance sheet will turn for the worse and possibly lead to another round of severe credit crunch.

To offset that pessimism the stimulus money needs to be put on the table for homebuyers. As more buyers enter, inventory will be trimmed and home values will stabilize. From that point onward, no further stimulus will be needed. But we are not there yet.

The home buyer tax credit extension could cost the government about $10 billion more or less depending upon how long it is extended. That is a rather reasonable sum to stimulate the economy compared to the $700 billion in TARP funds that went to Wall Street and the $787 billion broader economic stimulus bill that was passed early in the year. The tax credit benefits main street consumers. Homeowners indirectly benefit as well, as housing equity no longer gets destroyed.

The resulting economic growth and job creation will automatically lead to a rise in federal tax revenue, thereby easily covering the cost of tax credit. The upcoming GDP forecast could easily get raised to 4% to 5% if the tax credit is extended.

Article by Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist

Wasatch Front Home Sales Up For Second Consecutive Month

Silvia Rainaldi — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:40:56 +0000

I wanted to share this article with all of you to give a snap-shot of the current Real Estate Market, specifically Utah County. Thank you for supporting me through this first posting….it’s all downhill from here.

“Sales of existing Wasatch Front homes were up for the second consecutive month, rising 4 percent in July, while Utah County sales increased by a whopping 22 percent, according to statistics released by the Utah Association of Realtors, August 25.

In July, Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber and Tooele County Realtors sold 2,352 single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums compared to the 2,261 properties sold in July 2008. In Utah County, Realtors sold 566 existing homes compared to the 465 homes sold last year.

The statistics mirrored figures released by the National Association of Realtors that said U.S. home sales were up 5 percent in July compared to July 2008. On a monthly basis, U.S. seaonally adjusted home sales increased 7 percent, the first time in five (5) years that sales increased for four (4) months in a row.

Along the Wasatch Front, sales were down 6 percent from June to July; however, the decrease was expected because sales are traditionally slower in July and the Utah statistics are not seasonally adjusted.

The median price of homes in the five-county area in July was $205,000, down 6 percent from last year. In a seperate report, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Utah home prices decreased nearly 12 percent for the second quarter.”

Article from UAR E-NEWS…September 9, 2009