Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

The real estate market has all but bottomed out. Interest rates can’t go any lower. As the saying goes: ‘buy low, sell high’! For investors and buyers, now is a golden time to buy.

What if you need to sell before you can buy?

You can sell your home in today’s market, but only if you do three things correctly: price right, stage right and be in the right location. If you don’t properly price your home, it won’t sell. It’s that simple. There is too much inventory on the market. If you don’t stage your home properly, you may be delaying the sale of your property (some agents won’t even show it). And if you aren’t located in a fantastic area, you need to price even more aggressively.

Whether you are an investor looking to diversify your portfolio, or a buyer that wants to get in at the bottom of the market, consider these recent facts:
Interest rate projection by NAR:


In short, it’s never been cheaper to finance buying a home. And compare the prices for gold, which are at an all time high, to the prices of homes, which are at an all time low. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out where to put your money. Need more proof that we are at the bottom of the market? America’s leading economist, Mark Zandi, gave his thoughts at a recent NAR convention:

“The housing crash is over—nearly. We are now near the bottom,” Zandi said. “There will be no real price growth in 2010 or 2011. Whether home prices weaken is unclear, but it will take two more years to work off excess housing inventory at the current sales pace. Of course, if demand picks up, it would take less time for prices to rise.”
To get some perspective from the inside, we talked to Andy Skillen with Atlanta Intown Real Estate Services, on what he is seeing:

“Every buyer has different goals, some of which are competing”, said Skillen. We have a buyer who wants a great deal on a high rise condo, with the best resale value, and that can be easily rented out. The challenge is that it’s easier to get financing on a unit with rental restrictions, so the resale value is higher, but you can’t just turn around and rent it. The good news is that he can get a 2 bedroom, 2 bath off Peachtree with amazing Big City views for what used to be the price of a one bedroom. For those lucky enough to be buying, there are amazing deals, but it’s still a lot of work to find the best deal.”

An option that some home owners, who aren’t desperate to sell, are considering is to rent out the place they own, and buy another property at 30-40% off the market high. That helps owners offset the losses on the first home, and puts you in a position to make money off today’s low real estate prices.

Labels: first time home buyer tax credit, First Time Home Buyers, Forclosures, Foreclosed, foreclosed homes, foreclosed homes for sale, foreclosed land, foreclosed properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures, foreclosures for sale, Home Buyers, home buying, homes sellers, Real Estate, reasons to buy a home, sell my house, sell your home in a slumping market

There's a nice windfall for some homebuyers in the economic stimulus bill signed into law this week by President Obama. First-time buyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 - or 10% of the home's value, whichever is less - on their 2008 or 2009 taxes.
A big plus is that the credit is refundable, meaning tax filers see a refund of the full $8,000 even if their total tax bill - the amount of witholding they paid during the year plus anything extra they had to pony up when they filed their returns - was less than that amount. But there has been a lot of confusion over this provision. Adam Billings of Knoxville, Tenn. wrote to CNNMoney.com asking:

"I will qualify as a first-time home buyer, and I am currently set to get a small tax refund for 2008. Does that mean if I purchased now that I would get an extra $8,000 added on top of my current refund?"
The short answer? Yes, Billings would get back the $8,000 plus what he'd overpaid. The long answer? It depends. Here are three scenarios:
Scenario 1: Your final tax liability is normally $6,000. You've had taxes withheld from every paycheck and at the end of the year you've paid Uncle Sam $6,000. Since you've already paid him all you owe, you get the entire $8,000 tax credit as a refund check.
Scenario 2: Your final tax liability is $6,000, but you've overpaid by $1,000 through your payroll witholding. Normally you would get a $1,000 refund check. In this scenario, you get $9,000, the $8,000 credit plus the $1,000 you overpaid.
Scenario 3: Your final tax liability is $6,000, but you've underpaid through your payroll witholding by $1,000. Normally, you would have to write the IRS a $1,000 check. This time, the first $1,000 of the tax credit pays your bill, and you get the remaining $7,000 as a refund.

To qualify for the credit, the purchase must be made between Jan. 1, 2009 and Nov. 30, 2009. Buyers may not have owned a home for the past three years to qualify as "first time" buyer. They must also live in the house for at least three years, or they will be obligated to pay back the credit.

We are your Georgia real estate experts for buying or selling real estate in any of the following cities. Acworth, Atlanta, Alpharetta, Buckhead, Canton, Cumming,Dallas, Douglasville, Duluth, Dunwoody, Johns Creek, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Loganville, Mableton, Marietta, Milton, Norcross, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Smyrna,Snellville, Suwanee, Woodstock, and Vinings. I can also help you find real estate for sale in other cities in Cherokee County, Cobb County, DeKalb County, Douglas County, Forsyth County,Fulton County, North Fulton County, and Gwinnett County.

Labels: $8000 tax incentive, first time home buyer tax credit, First Time Home Buyers

For homebuyers who are eligible for the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, purchasing a new home before filing 2008 taxes will result in the fastest payback. Homebuyers who have not owned their primary residence in the last three years may be qualified to receive the credit.

The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit provides a tax credit of up to $7,500 for homes purchased between April 9, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Buyers who purchase their homes in 2009 may elect to treat the purchase as if it occurred on December 31, 2008, so they may receive their tax credits earlier.

Homeowners who meet annual income requirements (up to $90,000 for single and $170,000 for married can receive partial credits) will receive 10 percent of the price paid for their homes back as a tax credit, up to $7,500. After two years, recipients will begin to pay back the credit as a no interest loan over the course of 15 years. For example, homebuyers who receive a $7,500 tax credit with their 2008 filings will begin paying back the government $500 a year beginning in 2010. For most homebuyers, “paying back” will not require an extra payment to the government; rather it will mean a reduction in their annual tax refunds. For more information on the tax credit, visit www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

Labels: 2008, federalhousingtaxcredit.com, first time home buyer tax credit, new homebuyers, tax credit