Home Buyer Tax Credit

The new First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is incredible!! I know there are a lot of people with a lot of questions right now so, check out FAQs and I also suggest talking to a tax professional.


That said... here are a couple of highlights that I think are very important.


*This is a true credit and does not have to be paid back unless you sell within 3 years of purchase.


* Even if you buy in the first quarter of 2009 you should be able to claim this credit on your 2008 taxes.


* Even if you have already filed your 2008 taxes you should be able to file an ammended return.


* A person qualifies as a first time home buyer if they have never owned a home or if they have not owned a home in the previous 3 years.





Again, I highly suggest you talk to a tax professional about this credit but I personally think this is a great opportunity for buyers.





Give me a call today if you need to find a home and claim your $8,000 credit!

Brandi Nelson, Realtor

Century 21 Signature Real Estate

306 S. 16th Street, Ames, Iowa

515-291-0914

www.hill-nelson.com

Each office independently owned & operated.

Licensed salesperson in the state of Iowa.

Internet Home Buying #2

Let's cover another pitfall of internet home buying and searching. When you search for the perfect home online you may be missing out. The internet is black and white, cut and dried... if you search for 3 bedroom, 2 bath between $200,000-250,000 then you might miss out on the perfect 3 bedroom 1 and 3/4 bathroom that's priced to sell at $199,000. Also some search engines take 2-3 days to pull new listing information. You may miss out on the perfect house that was a steal just because another buyer's Realtor called them the second the house was listed and offered for sale, you didn't even know it was for sale yet. Many Realtors also know of homes that will be coming up for sale soon too. Maybe the sellers are still cleaning and decluttering, or they are waiting until the weather gets better... these homes you won't find on any website until they're ready.

Brandi Nelson, Realtor

Century 21 Signature Real Estate

306 S. 16th Street, Ames, Iowa

515-291-0914

www.hill-nelson.com

Each office independently owned & operated.

Licensend salesperson in the state of Iowa.

Internet Home Buying

Internet home buying and research is more and more common everyday. Although I do recommend using the internet to supplement your search and help narrow down the possibilities, I still feel that Realtors are a beneficial part of the process.

Pitfall #1 of Internet home buying... thinking you can do it all yourself. The internet makes all of us feel extremely capable! We can take on the world, afterall Google told us we could! Buying a home or property is a very big decision in your life and can have huge financial consequences. There are also a lot of legalalities involved. Both buyers and sellers should seek the help and opinions of a good Realtor that knows the current, local market and a legal attorney who works with the real estate sector and laws as their main business.

Brandi Nelson, Realtor

Century 21 Signature Real Estate

306 S. 16th Street, Ames, Iowa

515-291-0914

www.hill-nelson.com

Each office independently owned & operated.

Licensed salesperson in the state of Iowa.

Check your protection

Every year you should be meeting with your insurance agent and checking to make sure the coverages in your home (owner/rental), vehicle, life, etc policies is still adequate. I also suggest that every 2-3 years you have another agency quote your policies - but make sure you are quoting apples to apples! This will ensure you aren't paying too much and you'll get a second opinion on what's enough but not too much insurance.

I highly suggest The Scott Richardson Agency in Ames. Scott is a State Farm Insurance representative and can help you with vechicle, homeowners, rental, health, life, liability insurances and retirement planning. Give his office a call today at 515-232-0030 and tell them I told you to call! Or look them up on the web at http://www.scottrichardsonagency.com/

Brandi Nelson, Realtor
Century 21 Signature Real Estate
The Hill-Nelson Real Estate Team
www.hill-nelson.com
515-291-0913

Licensed Realtor in the stste of Iowa
Each office independently owned & operated

Home buyer tax credit

This is a great source for an explanation on the new 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit that the government recently enacted.

http://www.bankrate.com/baw/news/mtg/20080918-homebuyer-tax-credit-a1.asp

Brandi Nelson, Realtor

The Hill-Nelson Real Estate Team

Century 21 Signature Real Estate

www.hill-nelson.com

515-291-0914

Each office independently owned & operated.

Licensed sales agent in the state of Iowa.

Pending Home Sales Rise

The National Association of Realtors reports that pending home sales are up sharply. Check out the full article below.

Daily Real Estate News October 8, 2008 Pending Home Sales Up Sharply
Pending home sales activity surged as buyers took advantage of low home prices and affordable interest rates, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in August, jumped 7.4 percent to 93.4 from an upwardly revised reading of 87.0 in July, and is 8.8 percent higher than August 2007 when it stood at 85.8. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it stood at 101.4.

Improved Affordability
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says home buyers were responding to improved affordability. “What we’re seeing is the momentum of people taking advantage of low home prices, with pending home sales up strongly in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island, and the Washington, D.C., region,” he says.

“The improvement also reflects the drop in mortgage interest rates after the government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. It’s unclear how much contract activity may be impacted by the credit disruptions on Wall Street, but we’re hopeful most of the increase will translate into closed existing-home sales", adds Yun.

The PHSI in the West surged 18.4 percent to 109.5 in August and remains 37.8 percent above a year ago. In the Northeast the index jumped 8.4 percent to 79.8 and is 2.0 percent higher than August 2007. The index in the Midwest rose 3.6 percent to 84.5 in August and is 6.6 percent above a year ago. In the South, the index increased 2.3 percent to 96.0 but is 2.1 percent below August 2007.

Yun notes the unusual timing of contract activity in August. “Home buyers in July were hampered by overly stringent lending criteria in the months before the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie,” he said. “August shows some unleashing of pent-up demand before the credit crisis accelerated in September.”

He cautioned that the sampling size for pending home sales is smaller than the track on existing-home sales, so there is more volatility in the forward-looking series. “We need to see just how much of this gain holds up,” Yun adds.

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord says despite all the turmoil in world financial markets, home mortgages are available. “The recently enacted economic stimulus package should help housing by gradually freeing the flow of credit," he says.

Yun now expects growth in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to contract for two consecutive quarters, in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2009, before expanding in latter part of 2009 as the housing market begins a steady improvement.

Existing-home sales projected to rise next year
Looking at middle-ground assumptions, existing-home sales are forecast at 5.04 million this year and 5.41 million in 2009. Following national declines of 5 to 8 percent in 2008, home prices are projected to increase 2 to 3 percent next year.

New-home sales should total around 503,000 this year and 471,000 in 2009. Housing starts, including multifamily units, are likely to fall 28.2 percent to 973,000 units this year, and come in around 843,000 in 2009 as builders continue to clear the accumulation in inventory.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will probably average 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter and rise gradually to 6.6 percent by the end of 2009. NAR’s housing affordability index is expected to average 18 percentage points higher this year than in 2007.

The unemployment rate is projected to average 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter and then average 6.6 percent in 2009. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is estimated at 4.0 percent for 2008 and 2.0 percent next year. Inflation-adjusted disposable personal income is forecast to grow 1.7 percent this year and 1.0 percent in 2009.— NAR

Brandi Nelson, Realtor

The Hill-Nelson Real Estate Team

Century 21 Signature Real Estate

515-291-0914

www.hill-nelson.com

Each office independently owned & operated.

Licensed Realtor in the state of Iowa

Buyer Beware

Buyers beware... interest rates are going up. Two weeks ago we saw rates under 6% and this week rates are around 6.5%.

If you are on the fence on whether you should buy now or later, keep this in mind... a $200,000 house at 6% fixed over 30 years would be a payment of $1,199.10 P&I, the same house at 7% interest would have a P&I payment of $1,330.60. That's a difference of $131.50 per month.

Another way to look at it is... if you want to keep your P&I payment around $1,200 each month you can afford a $200,000 house at 6% but only a $180,000 house at 7% interest.

Please don't wait. Interest rates are still very good and there are a lot of homes to choose from on the market right now.


Brandi Nelson - The Hill-Nelson Real Estate Team
Century 21 Signature Real Estate, Ames, Iowa
Each office independently owned & operated.
515-291-0914 (cell phone) www.hill-nelson.com