My New Blog

    Affordability for a home has never been this high. In relationship to income, housing is the cheapest it has ever been. The fact that prices might still go down kind of means nothing to the person who is going to live in a home for quite a long time, partly because the interest rates are historically low.

    I think buying a home now is a very bright decision. There is a very good inventory to choose from in most any price range. With the low interest rates you can buy more house with your income than ever before.

    Will the price of homes go down? I say, "Who cares?". You will be tying up an interest rate that is probably under 5 percent for thirty years and that may be the real bargain.

    One of the few sources of 100% financing USDA Rural Development changed from an eight tier income limit program to a two tier program Monday April 20, 2009. Effective this date a one to four member household can earn up to a max of $73,600 and still qualify for a USDA loan. Advantages for those who qualify are:

• possible 100% financing
• No mortgage insurance requirement

    Following is information from an article in US News and would report about the tax credit contained in the stimulus bill signed by the President.

   *The credit is equivalent to 10% of the purchase price of the home up to a cap of $8,000.

    *The $8,000 tax credit does not have to be repaid.

    *Available to first time homebuyers only. First time homebuyer is defined as not having owned a home as their principal residence in past three years.

    *Applies only to buyers who purchase a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.

    *Tax credit is subject to income limitations. Single buyers need a modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less to qualify for full credit, that's $150,000 for couples.

    *Qualified buyers can take advantage even if they do not have much tax liability.

    *Buyers will have to own the home for at least three years to capitalize on the credit. If they sell the home before then, they will have to RETURN the credit to the government. (Exceptions may be made in certain cases.)

Registering to view or search for listings

Over three years ago the Department of Justice filed a class action suit concerning the way REALTORS allowed access to the Multiple Listing System. Recently a settlement was reached establishing a deadline to require REALTORS to obtain and maintain records of certain information before allowing access to Multiple Listing System data.

We are in the process of designing our system to obtain this information. If you have not already, you will be required to register to gain access to the Multiple Listing System. We are not sure exactly how we will accomplish this feat. We will try to keep it as simple as we can. We promise we will not share your information. Nor, will you be under any obligation because you registered.

P.S. We send out a monthly newsletter we would love to share with you. It contains a little humor, life, education, and real estate. Click here to give us your mailing information. We will add you to our mailing list next issue.

                             Thursday, August 07, 2008                               

 3:47:42 PM

The two biggest selling points to a home are the kitchen and bathrooms. You don’t have to completely gut your kitchen and bathrooms in order to get a great look. You should take steps to make sure both are updated.

One way to quickly update a kitchen is the reface the cabinets. This is less expensive than installing completely new cabinetry and can provide great results. If your budget allows you might install more up-to-date appliances as well. Changing the cabinetry or installing interesting lighting in a bathroom can go a long way toward improving the look of this room as well.