First time home buyer credit details
February 12, 2010 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
You need to act quickly – The present tax credit program for move-up and first time buyers expires this spring. Sales contracts must be signed by April 30. With low rates and lower home prices, this is the time to act. Even the Federal Reserve Board has stated that rates are likely to rise this spring as they begin to unwind their support of the mortgage markets.
FHA loans to get tighter soon
February 12, 2010 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Just a few weeks ago, the Federal Housing Administration announced that major changes to its loan programs are on their way. The FHA is very popular right now with close to one-half of Americans using this government program to finance the purchase of homes. These changes will make it harder for the average American to purchase going forward.
NEW Realtor.com iPhone application!
January 16, 2010 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
If you’re a fan of using Realtor.com to search for homes and have an iPhone, you’ll love using the new Realtor.com iPhone app. Check out the video below and see how it can help you.
You can also check out a review of the Realtor.com iPhone app on AgentGenius
Why list on Realtor.com?
December 7, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Why should you list on Realtor.com? The answer is simple… Each month, Realtor.com attracts more than 13.7 million visits per month* from consumers interested in buying a home. No other real estate site even comes close to that number.
The most comprehensive national collection of homes for sale, Realtor.com is the most powerful site of its kind!
- Number 1 in page views
- Number 1 in time spent searching and your
- Number 1 online sales tool (for agents)
Nearly 14 million people don’t visit a Web site by accident. It takes a great deal of work, as Realtor.com is increasing awareness and driving traffic with its public awareness campaigns.
Initiatives include providing locally-themed real estate statistics and Top 10 lists to print, TV and Internet media outlets in cities both big and small, as well as investing capital to ensure that Realtor.com listings show up higher in online search engines that those of the competition. All that drives eyes to the site!
*comScore Media Metrix, average visits monthly 2008
NAR launches beta HouseLogic.com
November 11, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
The folks at NAR (National Association of REALTORS) just launched the beta version of their new consumer facing website HouseLogic.com
What is HouseLogic.com?
HouseLogic is a free source of information and tools—from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®—that can help you make smart and timely decisions about your home.
What can HouseLogic do for you?
With content covering home improvement, maintenance, taxes, finance, insurance, and even ways you can get involved in and enrich your community, HouseLogic can help you increase and protect the value of your home by helping you make confident decisions.
Why did NAR create HouseLogic?
NAR has been a champion of homeownership rights and opportunities for more than a century. Helping consumers become more informed, responsible homeowners is important to the stability and value of the housing market – and your overall enjoyment of your home.
The $8,000 Tax Credit: Where it goes
November 11, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
So you what to know what states are taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit? CNN has a cool page on their site that shows a breakdown of the states and how many buyers used the tax credit.
CNN reports that through August, 315,000 first-time homebuyers took advantage of a Recovery Act tax credit of up to $8,000.
Visit the CNN live map to view statistics on where the $8,000 tax credit is going…
Home buyer tax credit details 09-10
November 6, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Congress has extended and expanded the home buyer tax credit for 2009-2010, which is great news for sellers and buyers!
The modifications in the column labeled “December 1 – April 30, 2010” became effective when President Obama signed the bill. All changes made to the current credit become effective on that date, as well.
Buyer tax credit extension a go!
November 5, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Good news for home buyers!
The House today and the Senate yesterday passed legislation to extend the $8,000 home buyer tax credit to May 1, 2010, for first-time buyers and add a $6,500 tax credit for repeat buyers if they’ve lived in their home for five of the past eight years. Home prices are capped at $800,000.
Tips for creating a home video tour
November 4, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
If you are thinking of creating a video tour of your home, watch this video from Realtor.com for excellent tips and ideas to create a stunning video.
We now offer the ability to post your video on Realtor.com for a small fee.
How to claim your home on Zillow
October 28, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
This video will show you how to easily claim and edit your home facts on Zillow.com!
Get Your Finances in Order: To-Do’s
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Before starting your search for the perfect home, it’s a good idea to get your finances in order. In most cases, the process of buying a home involves applying for a mortgage, and you’ll need to have all your ducks in line to get approved.
1. Develop a household budget. Instead of creating a budget of what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget that reflects your actual spending habits over the last several months. This approach will factor in unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, as well as predictable costs such as rent, utility bills, and groceries.
Why you should own instead of rent
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
You’ve probably seen lots of financial arguments about why you should own your own home rather than rent. This includes budgeting (no rent increases) and the tax savings you’ll most likely have. Now I’m going to give you some reasons you probably haven’t heard.
Freedom to pursue other goals in life once the major goal of home ownership is achieved
Strange as it sounds, many of my first-time buyers have told me that once they bought the house, other things in their life started to fall into place. It’s as if not owning took so much of their mental energy that other goals were not worked on until that big goal was reached. So buy a home and get on with your life!
Marketing: What Works Best?
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
The 2 primary factors that determine if and when your home will sell are Exposure and Price. Exposure that counts is exposure that reaches buyers who are the most willing, ready, and able to buy. Setting the right price is crucial because under-pricing is like giving money away, and over-pricing is just a waste of time because nobody buys over-priced homes.
The best possible exposure is MLS and websites that display MLS listings. This is where the vast majority of buyers are looking for homes, and where the buyers are the most ready, willing, and able to buy. MLS and public MLS websites ARE the real estate market. FSBO websites tend to attract investors looking for a steal and buyers looking for owner financing.
Improvements: How much value?
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Which home improvements give the best payback? If you’re thinking about remodeling your kitchen, or finishing your basement, you probably want to get your investment back when you sell your home. But when it comes to payback value of home improvements, some are definitely more profitable than others.
As a general rule, kitchen and bathroom projects usually get a nice return on investment, typically 90% or more. Things like adding rooms or finishing basements tend to pay back the least. Finishing a basement usually returns less than 50%, so it’s not a project likely to show profit at selling time.
Trouble Selling? Sweeten the Deal
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
If you’re having trouble landing a buyer for your home, maybe you need better bait. Crafty home sellers know incentives are the prize at the bottom of the box. By offering buyers something a little different, they can improve their chances of selling their homes quickly and for the price they want.
Here are just a few of the ways home sellers can sweeten the deal with extras.
Cover the buyer’s closing costs
Many buyers, preoccupied with saving enough cash for their down payment, overlook their closing costs which, at between 3 and 6 percent of the sale price, can amount to several thousand dollars extra. Offering to pay them on behalf of potential buyers may be just the push they need to close the deal.
Tips for handling buyer offers
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
What do I do when I get an offer? That’s a common question from sellers. If the offer is at or above your asking price, the answer may be easy. But remember money is not the only consideration. You may prefer a lower offer with better financing or a stronger buyer, or a more convenient closing date. When all factors are favorable, and the price is right, set the contract and reel in your buyer quickly!
Aim For A Sale
Remember while your aim is to get as much as you can for your home, the buyers aim is to find your lowest acceptable price. In the end, however, you’re both angling for the same catch: a sale on the best possible terms for both parties.
Evaluate Your Buyer
Find out as much as you can about whether the buyer can afford to purchase your home. You’ll gain peace of mind knowing your buyer is really qualified to pay the price you agree upon. Buyers who are pre-qualified have been to a lender and are more likely able to close on the loan.
Showing Your Home
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
To get your home sold quickly, it’s important that other agents in the area show it to as many potential buyers as possible. The first thing Realtors do when working with buyers is talk to them and learn about what kind of home they are looking for.
Then the agent will search the MLS for all the available homes closely matching what the buyer wants. Next, the agent puts together a list of the best matches to go show to the buyer. When a busy agent is compiling a list of homes to show a buyer, the agent will naturally tend to show those houses that are easiest to gain access to first. Many homes on the market have “lock boxes” on them.
10 things Realtors wont tell you
October 26, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Let’s face it, no one likes to pay a real estate agent 6% to sell their home. Tired of paying such high commissions, many home owners attempt to sell their homes themselves (For Sale By Owner or FSBO). However, many of them realize that not being listed by a REALTOR® means not being able to take advantage of the most powerful marketing method in the history of real estate: the REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Home sales rebound in September 09
October 23, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
Some good news for the housing market today. Home sales rebound to highest levels since July 2007.
To sum it up by region…
The West: Sales climbed 13% to an annualized rate of 1.3 million.
The Midwest: Sales were up by 9.6% to a pace of 1.25 million
The South: Sales were up 9% from August and 10.8% from last September to a rate of 2.6 million
The Northeast: Sales up 4.4% from August to a rate of 950,000
Sales of previously-owned homes jumped 9.4% in September after falling for the first time in four months in August, said the National Association of Realtors. Year over year, sales of existing homes were up 9.2% in September.
National home prices forecast shrink
October 20, 2009 by Fred Romano · Leave a Comment
National home prices are forecast to shrink another 11%. That’s tough news for Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix, reported to record steep declines, but a few cities will actually post gains.
If you thought home prices were bottoming out, you may be wrong. They’re expected to head a lot lower. Home values are predicted to drop in 342 out of 381 markets during the next year, according to a new forecast of real estate prices.
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