Let's Talk Real Estate

If you haven’t owned your own home in the past 3 years, you may qualify for MaineHousing’s Gift of Green . For a limited time, MaineHousing is offering eligible borrowers who use a MaineHousing mortgage: Up to $5,000 (not to exceed 4% of the mortgage amount) to help with the cash needed for closing, such as any required down payment, closing costs, and prepaids. A coupon worth up to $500 for a 2-part home energy audit. The Gift of Green is a gift, which will not be added to the loan amount, and it never has to be paid back . Because the Gift of Green promotion is part of MaineHousing’s mortgage program, you also may be able to use the Purchase Plus Improvement Option to fund home energy improvements as part of your mortgage. MaineHousing mortgages even come with payment protection for unemployment . Total Financial Incentives of Up To $15,000! Add the Gift of Green grant of up to $5,500 to the federal First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit worth up to $8,000. This, in turn, lets you invest

A friendly reminder for you first-time home buyers out there... In order to qualify for the government’s $8,000 gift in the form of a tax credit, your deal must close by Dec. 1, 2009. It's not too late! You should have a purchase contract signed by early October, so you have 45 to 60 days to arrange financing and safely close the deal. For more information on the First-Time Home Buyer $8000 Tax Credit, click here .

Before a home owner curses the troubled housing market, he or she should take solace in the U.S. tax code, which makes buying a home a good deal for almost everyone. Here’s why: Mortgage interest deductions, including in some cases mortgage insurance premiums, reduce home owners’ tax liability by reducing income. The deduction includes interest paid on both a first and a second home. Interest on home equity loans is also deductible — whether the borrower uses the money to remodel the kitchen or to take a vacation to Disney World. Profits from selling a house are potentially a huge windfall. When a home owner sells a primary residence, any profit on the sale of the property is tax free up to $250,000 for single home owners and $500,000 for married home owners filing. Any profit above that is nearly always a long-term capital gain taxed at 15 percent — less if the seller’s tax rate is less than 20 percent. Home owners can itemize. That opens up opportunities to deduct a host of other ite

If you follow my blog, you are well aware of the fact that the first-time home buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 has helped to move housing inventory during an otherwise sluggish real estate cycle. Now, both legislators and the business community are hoping to build on the incentive's success by expanding it! A number of bills have been introduced in the House and the Senate that lobby for an expansion of the measure. Among the proposed changes are: Setting a new cap of $15,000 Extending the tax break into mid-2010 Making the benefit available to all home buyers, not just first-timers Offering a separate tax credit to $3,000 for borrowers who refinance Let's keep our fingers crossed! These proposed changes will benefit many home buyers and really stimulate the real estate market!

The Pending Home Sales Index , a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7 percent to 90.3 from a reading of 84.6 in March, and is 3.2 percent above April 2008 when it was 87.5. Economists are saying that buyers are responding to very favorable market conditions. Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market. Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30 to get the credit, increased activity is expected in the months ahead Geographic Breakdown: Northeast: The Pending Home Sales Index shot up 32.6 percent to 78.9 in April and is 0.8 percent above a year ago. Midwest: The index rose 9.8 percent to 90.4 and is 11.1 percent above April 2008. South: The index slipped 0.2 percent to 93.0 in April but is 3.5 percent higher than a year ago. West: The index rose 1.8 percent to 94.8 but is 2.9 percent below April 2008. There are numerous buyer a

On May 14, 2009, the Obama Administration announced its Foreclosure Alternatives Program (FAP) providing incentives and uniform procedures for short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure under the Making Home Affordable Program. The Making Home Affordable Program is designed to help homeowners obtain modifications to their loan so they can afford to stay in their home. Where a modification is not possible, new incentives encourage a quick private sale or voluntary transfer of property, which will save homeowners money and protect their financial future. A uniform process for handling short sales and financial incentives should help facilitate this process. Click here to view a summary of the incentives and process.

Freddie Mac reports a drop in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.82 percent during the week ended May 21 from 4.86 percent the prior week. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate dipped to 4.5 percent. The Federal Reserve is working to hold down rates by purchasing upwards of $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in Treasuries. Mortgage rate premiums have declined substantially over the last couple of months even as Treasury yields climbed.

Real estate mogul Sam Zell believes that the decrease in real estate inventory and building slowdown will soon increase demand. He predicts that the U.S. housing market will turn around this summer because the building slowdown is increasing demand. "I can't tell you if it's June 29 or Aug. 1," says Zell, who made billions in commercial real estate by buying up distressed property. Zell said the housing downturn is international, but “the U.S. will recover and recover first around the world because we have a culture and we have an environment where we face up to reality quickly and effectively.” If Zell's predictions are accurate, this may be the best time buy ever! For those of you that have been waiting to buy, you might want to start making a move soon!

Many states have already started making bridge loans available to households who want to claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit! With the announcement earlier this week that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will allow consumers to obtain a bridge loan, repayable with proceeds from their tax credit, to help cover their down payment, consumers are anxious to "get movin’". HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan stated that guidelines for the new policy will be released shortly. But even before the announcement, nearly a dozen states were one step ahead of the department by providing similar bridge loans through their housing finance agencies. Many state REALTOR® associations were behind these proactive efforts and worked with state officials to set up programs. The Washington REALTORS® association was able to convince treasury officials that the money loaned to home buyers would not only be paid back when tax credits took effect, but also increase the state’s funds.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. Previously, most buyers could not receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit. If consumers have access to the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans the cash can be used as a down payment. Now FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table. At this point there aren’t yet any procedures in place to accommodate the “bridge” loan. But this should be available shortly. For those of you who qualify for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit should start looking for a home now. This should prove to be a significant benefit to the Real Estate purchase