Karen Reeber's Real Estate Blog | West Bloomfield MI | Short Sales, Foreclosures, First Time Home Buyers, Real Estate Market, Buyers, Sellers
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From 3/22/2009- 3/28/2009. 27 listed homes went under contract and/or sold in West Bloomfield last week from $35,000 to $550,000, 19 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
40 new listings came on the market last week from $64,900 to $1,365,000, 11 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 7 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 7 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent.
The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that about half of the mortgages applied for today are being turned down. Not great news for the buyers that are actually out there today willing to step into home ownership in this market.
However, there is some advice to be had if you have been one of the unfortunates that have been denied a mortgage loan:
-Do find out why your loan application was denied. If it is something that you can fix in a couple of months, get on the path to getting the issue handled and then try to reapply when the situation has been corrected.
Even if you are going to need another year to set things right, start now and that year will be over before you know it. Regardless of how long it is going to take, you have to get headed in the right direction today.
-Do try again with another lender if you think that you were wrongly denied. Perhaps another institution will not be quite as rigid as the one you originally applied with; or, maybe another institution will have a different view on how you can go about getting approved. It doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion in this case unless you know for certain that getting your mortgage today is just a lost cause (because your credit score is way too low or you don’t have current employment, etc.).
Try some different options. Is there a relative that could co sign a loan for you? Maybe you just need a little bit of help getting the loan today; and, someone else’s name on the mortgage would do the trick. In some cases a property owner might be willing to rent to you until you are able to qualify for your mortgage. These cases are not common; but, they are possible with the right set of people/circumstances involved.
Don’t give up on the possibility of home ownership. Make sure that you know what you have to do to get that loan approval; so, when you go out house hunting, you will be successful in getting into your new home of choice. All the preparation work will eventually pay off!
From 3/15/2009- 3/21/2009. 21 listed homes sold in West Bloomfield last week from $94,000 to $585,000, 14 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
40 new listings came on the market last week from $70,000 to $999,000, 10 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 8 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 4 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent.
1. First Time Homeowner is still 3 years. It also states if you are MARRIED THAT YOU & YOUR SPOUSE cannot own a home in the past 3 years!!!!!
2. Must live in it.
3. $75,000 individual/$150,000 married income limits for full $8000. Can get partial credit if income is sub $95,000 individual/$170,000 married.
4. Bond Loans are able to get credit now ($7500 did not allow it)
5. Nonresident Alien will not receive credit.
6. Acquired home by gift or inheritance does not qualify
7. Acquired home from a related person does not qualify. Related person is defined as:
a. spouse, parents, grand parents, children, & grandchildren.
b. own 50% or more of outstanding stock w/ another person.
c. have a partnership business in which you directly or indirectly own 50% of capital interest or profit interests.
8. Credit is $8000 if closed post 1/1/09. Credit is $4000 if married but file separately. Credit max is 10% of purchase price up to $8000. See IRS rules on Modified Adjusted Gross Income.
9. No repayment if:
a. live in home 36 months
b. also please refer to specific info on page 2 of IRS form (Homes purchase in 2009 section) on other situations on no repayment.
10. Exceptions to repayment rule (pre 36 mo’s):
a. if you sale home to someone you are not related to, the penalty is will be the gain on the sale up to $8000.
b. if home is destroyed, condemned, etc. & you get another home w/in 2 years no repayment.
c. in a divorce, the spouse who receives the home will be responsible for the repayment.
d. if you die repayment is not required. if you have a spouse they will have to repay half of their credit.
11. Form requires date you acquired the home. So must have property prior to getting credit.
12. You can close in 2009 & modify 2008 taxes so you get $ in 2008.
Again, please note US Bank is NOT a Tax Advisor. Above we itemized some bullet points & attached their 5405 Form. So any questions on the Tax Credit Info above HAS to be referred to a licensed CPA or IRS. I am sure more questions/answers will arise from the IRS . As we hear them, we will forward that info as it’s received.
From 3/8/2009- 3/14/2009. 9 listed homes sold in West Bloomfield last week from $80,000 to $475,000, 5 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
35 new listings came on the market last week from $59,900 to $3,000,000, 9 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 11 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 12 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent. I say ‘by an agent’ as we all know there are multiple means within which to rent a home. I can only access the ones where an agent is involved using the multi-list.
Truly there are great deals in West Bloomfield today making some great pickins for the home buyers that are able and willing to purchase in the real estate market. However, some of these home buyers are finding out that just being able to afford the payments are not enough to be approved for mortgages any more in these trying times. A lot of home buyers are thinking that because the West Bloomfield market is so down, lending institutions have relaxed their requirements; and, that is far from what is actually happening.
With all the past bank fraud that has gone on and supposedly created the crumby economy that we are in, lending institutions have really tightened their lending requirements. These requirements keep tightening and changing even on a monthly basis. So, a home buyer who qualified for a mortgage a few months ago might find themselves not being able to successfully close on the house that they have chosen to buy in West Bloomfield today.
FHA financing is being used more than ever as the financing avenue to successfully get people into their new homes today; but, even these loans have their challenging requirements. A lot of the West Bloomfield properties that are available for fantastic prices today are foreclosed homes/HUD homes. These homes usually have some issues to deal with for the would be home buyer; and, sometimes these issues will not pass the appraisals and thus not get the financing approved.
Many would be West Bloomfield home buyers are actually having to settle for rentals because they are unable to get even FHA financing approved. Credit scores need to be in good shape and better be going up instead of down if you want to buy any time soon. Even though FHA is not credit score driven, so many other things are.
There are still many home buyers who are very qualified to buy in West Bloomfield today. Some good advice is to speak with a West Bloomfield mortgage representative, let them know your total situation and have them tell you how to proceed with your loan. Being prepared ahead of time can save a home buyer a lot of disappointment and make their house buying experience a good one.
Please let us know should you need any mortgage referrals and/or help with your buying process in West Bloomfield.
From 3/1/2009- 3/7/2009. 6 listed homes sold in West Bloomfield last week from $135,000 to $469,900, 4 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
57 new listings came on the market last week from $58,000 to $2,500,000, 14 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 9 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 12 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent. I say ‘by an agent’ as we all know there are multiple means within which to rent a home. I can only access the ones where an agent is involved using the multi-list.
From 2/22/2009- 2/28/2009. 16 listed homes went under contract and/or sold in West Bloomfield last week from $135,000 to $469,900, 9 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
46 new listings came on the market last week from $55,800 to $1,899,000, 13 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 7 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 9 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent. I say ‘by an agent’ as we all know there are multiple means within which to rent a home. I can only access the ones where an agent is involved using the multi-list.
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN when all the home owners of West Bloomfield are getting their notice of assessments in the mail. Many of you will not be happy with the way your taxes have been calculated and certainly not happy with the amount that you are going to be liable for in 2009 for your property. Many people in West Bloomfield are also wondering how the taxes might be going up when we are in such a depressed market.
Unfortunately, most assessors are not using the foreclosed or distressed property prices as comparable sales to those West Bloomfield properties that are privately owned. You can try and get some relief if you think that your tax bill is too high by going in front of the Board of Appeals for West Bloomfield and presenting your case. People who have lost their job, have a disability, or temporary circumstances that inhibit their income at this time might be able to get some temporary tax relief due to Hardship. A hardship case does have to be presented on a yearly basis to keep your property taxes from rising again to current levels.
Also, if you are living in your West Bloomfield property, do make sure that your “Homeowners Principal Residence” is marked as 100%. If it is marked 0% you are not getting the benefit of being an owner occupant and you are paying more than you should have to in property taxes.
Even investors might want to appeal their taxable values if they feel that the assessments for their investments are too high. An investor doesn’t get the Principal Resident Exemption; so, they need to be very aware that their taxes are in line with the value of their West Bloomfield property.
The West Bloomfield Board of Review will have days & times available for you to make an appointment to sit down with them and go over your assessment. It is a simple process where you plead your case as to why you do not feel that your assessment is in line with what it should be. It helps to have back up information to support your claim as to what you think the assessment should be. If you have comparable sold properties, try and have privately owned sold homes rather than just distressed sold homes to support what you think your value of the property should be. You might want to call West Bloomfield to see what months/years they are using for sold comparables to set the taxable values so you can have supporting sales for the right time frame.
As West Bloomfield property owners, we are all in the same boat. Sinking prices without the sinking taxes. We can try and do what we can now to get some relief and just look forward to the better days when our West Bloomfield properties will be worth so much more.
Avg. Sales Price: $246,028
Avg. Days on Market: 135 *From final list
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