Friday November 6, 2009
Eureka. President Obama signed today the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit legislation approved yesterday by Congress.
The key provisions are:
- The $8,000 home buyer tax credit is extended to April 30th, 2010, with another 60-day extension for those home buyers who have entered into a purchase contract by April 30th, providing it closes by June 30, 2010.
- Buyers who are not first-time home buyers can apply to receive a tax credit of $6,500, providing these buyers have owned and occupied a principal residence for 5 out of the last 8 years.
- Income levels for those who buy a home on or after November 6, 2009 is raised to $125,000 for a single person and $225,000 for a couple, with phase-outs above those levels.
I wonder if some buyers will now cancel existing escrows because they felt pressured to buy before November 30th? Some buyers might have settled for a home they did not truly want or avoided trying to buy a short sale home based on the expected expiration date of November 30th . . . read more about the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit.
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Friday November 6, 2009
Unless you're Martha Stewart, you've got to do a lot of planning and work to get ready for an open house.
You can't just pluck a date off the calendar and circle it. First, you want to make sure the day you choose is an appropriate day and time -- not a holiday or a day that conflicts with major sports events or community celebrations. The weather should be perfect, too. If snow, rain or extensive heat is in the forecast, buyers may stay away. Some sellers draw a lot of traffic by holding a twilight open house, in the early evening, often on a Thursday, accompanied by food and music.
After you select the day and time, try to give yourself enough time to get the house in order. It's easy to become overly enthusiastic once you decide to sell, and it's difficult to be patient, lining up all your ducks in a row before that first buyer enters your home. But studies show the first few weeks on the market are the most crucial, which means you might not get a second chance to showcase your home during an open house if you don't do it right the first time . . . read more about getting ready for an Open House.
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Wednesday November 4, 2009
Two of my favorite subjects are home remodeling and pets, so it's only natural for me to take the needs of our cats into consideration when remodeling.
I have one client who doesn't have a living room, for example. Well, he and his new wife do have a living room, but it isn't used for people. The room is filled with cat trees, cat posts and cat runs. There is no furniture. Just cat trees. Dozens of them. Enough so it looks like a jungle of cat trees.
When I replaced all the windows in my home, I installed two windows with my cats in mind. In retrospect, I suppose I'm not much better than the client with the cat-tree living room. My family room windows ran floor-to-ceiling, and they didn't open. I broke up the space by installing double windows on the bottoms that slide open. Not only do these windows provide much needed air circulation in the room, but my cats love them . . . read more about home remodeling and pets.
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Monday November 2, 2009
Homeowners should know that their tax deductions for mortgage refinancing may be somewhat different from the tax deductions that are available after taking out an original purchase money mortgage.
The tax deductions may be restricted, especially if a homeowner is tapping equity through mortgage refinancing. It's what we call a cash-out refinance. On top of this, there are costs associated with mortgage refinancing. If those costs are added to the mortgage balance and not paid out-of-pocket, the unpaid principal balance of the mortgage will increase
I went through a mortgage refinancing about a year after I bought my home. It lowered my interest rate by a full percentage point . . . read more about tax deductions for mortgage refinancing.
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