Murray Real Estate & West Jordan Real Estate | Buying a Home, Selling a Home, First Time Home Buyers, Real Estate Market, Homes for Sale, Home Listings, Foreclosures » First Time Home Buyers

MORTGAGE RATES TIE RECORD LOW

Taylor Nelson — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:32:55 +0000

Mortgage rates are currently hovering around a 50 year low. Freddie Mac Vice President said, “With today’s rates, home buyers would save about $1,500 in payments each year on a $200,000 loan compared to rates last June.” Freddie Mac also reported that the average 30 year fixed rate was 4.57. If any of you are on the fence about buying a home keep in mind that home prices are relatively low and rates are also at record lows!

HOUSING MARKET IN SALT LAKE CITY

Taylor Nelson — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:15:16 +0000

So many people are asking how the housing market is doing in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake Board of Realtors states, KSL-NBC TV reported that “nearly every ZIP code in Salt Lake County saw increases in single-family home sales” in this year’s first quarter compared to last year. “Salt Lake’s west side saw the biggest jump of more than 122 percent,” the story noted. Sales of single-family homes climbed 15.3 percent during the first quarter of this year, according to the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS.”

So it looks like homes sales are up. A good reason they are up is because of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and low rates. We will have to continue to watch the market to see how it will respond with the $8,000 tax credit no longer available.

NATIONAL OPEN HOUSE DAY

Taylor Nelson — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:56:45 +0000

Saturday April 10th is National Open House Day. This is a day that is bringing attention to the fact that the $8,000 tax credit is almost gone. There will be a ton of open houses that day. If you are interested to see which homes will have open houses I would love to send you a list.

If you are looking to buy a home in Murray, buy a home in West Jordan, or buy a home in Salt Lake City these open houses would be a great way of finding a place or starting your search.

MORE INFO ON $8,000 TAX CREDIT

Taylor Nelson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:48:54 +0000

Just a reminder that the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is still available. Homes must be under contract by April 30th of this year and must be bought by the end of June 2010. If you have any questions or would love to get started please contact me at taylornelson@homerealty.com Also if you would like more info on the tax credit below is a great website with lots of questions and answers. http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq1.php

2010 HOUSING FORECAST FOR SALT LAKE CITY

Taylor Nelson — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:39:57 +0000

The Salt Lake Board of Realtors has released its 2010 Housing Forecast. There are many interesting facts and predictions. We were told that home sales were up 3% in 2009 as opposed to 2008. They also predict that homes sales could rise nearly 10% in 2010.

Many people ask about the price of homes and the Salt Lake Board of Realtors predicts that homes could continue to decrease 3 to 5% before starting to rebound. Even though the Salt Lake Board of Realtors predicts that home values will decrease it is still a great time to buy. Whether you are looking to buy a home in Murray, buy a home in West Jordan, or buy a home in Salt Lake County prices are relatively inexpensive and interest rates are still great. Also remember there is an $8,000 tax credit to all first time home buyers who purchase or have a contract in place by the end of April 2010.

$8,000 TAX CREDIT

Taylor Nelson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:29:07 +0000

Many of you are wondering about the $8,000 tax credit. This is just a reminder that if you are a first time home buyer and you purchase by April 30th, 2010 you will receive the $8,000 tax credit. In cases where you have a signed contract by April 30th and you purchase by the end of June you are still eligible for this tax credit. Whether you buy a home in Murray, buy a home in West Jordan, or buy a home in Salt Lake City, it is a perfect time to buy. Don’t miss out!!!

SALT LAKE COUNTY HOME SALES CONTINUE TO REBOUND

Taylor Nelson — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:57:01 +0000

The Salt Lake Board of Realtors reported that “sales of single-family homes in Salt Lake County were up 36.2% in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter last year.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that home prices are going up, but it does mean that people are out there buying homes. Some cities in Salt Lake County saw homes sales jump dramatically while others were a bit more steady. The Salt Lake Board of Realtors reported that “in Draper (84020) home sales soared by 51.7 percent. In Midvale (84047), sales were up 108.8 percent. In Herriman (84096), sales rose by 42.3 percent. In West Valley (84128), sales were up 38.5 percent. Areas of downtown Salt Lake City also saw big increases in sales. Sales in the Avenues (84103) were up 41.7 percent.”

WHAT DOES A TITLE COMPANY DO??? TITLE COMPANIES IN UTAH

Taylor Nelson — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:52:48 +0000

Many of you may wonder “What does a title company do”??? There are many things a title company does, but the main one is to be a facilitator during your home buying process. Once an offer on a house is accepted you will pick a title company and make sure they have a copy of the contract. They will also issue you title insurance to insure that when you purchase the property that you own the home free and clear. The title company is also who will prepare all of the closing documents. They will also walk you through those papers when you go in to the title company to sign the documents. Below is a list of many of the responsibilies of a title company.

Preparing the closing documents for all the parties
Paying off the loan of the seller
Walking you through the paperwork at settlement and answering questions
Paying off the seller’s loan
On occasion depositing the buyer’s earnest money check
Coordinating paperwork between all parties involved
Prorating annual property taxes and other items such as rents collected if necessary
Coordinating the funding of the loan
Dispursing checks and commissions
Preparing and recording deeds and other necessary documents

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOANS??

Taylor Nelson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:15:14 +0000

One of the first steps to buying a home is getting qualified for a loan. This is a very important step because once you are qualified for a loan you will know how much you are approved for, what type of loan you need, and how much you will need to bring in as a down payment.

Here are a few different types of loans:

FHA LOAN

An FHA Loan is a loan insured by a government agency called the Federal Housing Agency. Typically on this type of loan a buyer would need to bring in about 3% of the purchase price for a down payment. There are also still some programs out there today where you can get a loan for virtually nothing down. An FHA loan is very common today and is good to do if you do not have enough for a big down payment that other types of loans may require. One important thing to remember on an FHA loan is that there are limits on the amount of the loan.

VA LOANS

VA Loans are for those that are qualified by military service or other entitlements. This type of loan is not extremely common, but may be a good option for you if you have served in the military.

CONVENTIONAL LOANS

Conventional Loans are also another popular type of loan. Typically you need a 5% down payment so many people opt to go with an FHA loan. This type of loan in not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Housing Agency, but typically these types of loans offer good interest rates.

This is just a brief overview of loans. There are so many types of loans such as an ARM, 15 year, or 30 year loan. If you have questions feel free to ask or I can direct you to a loan officer who would be well qualified to answer your questions.

$8,000 FIRST TIME HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT, SETS RECORD

Taylor Nelson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:43:49 +0000

So the $8,000 tax credit was put in place to help stimulate the economy and help home sales. It looks like it is working. During the last year there have been more first time home buyers than ever before. The National Association of Realtors reports that ”the number of first-time home buyers rose to 47 percent of all home sales from 41 percent of transactions in last year’s study, and was the highest on record dating back to 1981. The previous high was 44 percent in 1991.”

For those of you that own a home hopefully this $8,000 tax credit will help keep home prices stable and help keep home sales moving. For those of you that are looking to buy a home and take advantage of low prices & low interest rates remember the first time home buyer tax credit expires the end of April 2010. Also, remember it doesn’t matter if you buy a home in Murray, buy a home in West Jordan, or buy a home in Salt Lake, you are eligible for this tax credit. To check out more info about this article I have attached a link. http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/11/survey_record