For those of you who thought you missed the boat if you didn’t get to take advantage of the home buyer tax credits, think again! Read Jim Weiker’s article for RISMedia, Home Buyers Who Missed 8,000 Dollar Tax Credit Coming Out Ahead, to find out all the great reasons why now is a great time to buy a home.
Best~ Rosemary
Posted in Buying Tips, Finances, Home Ownership, Mortgages, Real Estate, Uncategorized
Tagged builder incentives, Interest Rates, mortgages, real estate, Tax Credit
Only time will tell, and we can hope for the best right? Let’s hope the recent upswing in new home sales signals hope for the entire real estate industry, including re-sales. In Alejandro Lazo and Don Lee’s RISMedia.com article, New Home Sales Bounce Almost 27% Higher in March 2010, they point out some hopeful statistics regarding March new home construction sales. However, they also question whether the increase in new home sales can be sustained with the home buyer tax credits expiring on April 30. Click here to read the article, and keep your fingers crossed that these March numbers turn into April numbers and the real estate industry as a whole can begin its comeback! I’m hoping for good economic news all the way around, and a healthy real estate industry is a big part of a good economy!
Best~ Rosemary
In our profession, Betsy and I often see lots of emotion on the part of buyers and sellers. Ahhh, although completely understandable and common, it is best to be as pragmatic as possible when searching for a home…just not always easy! As professionals, Betsy and I advise our clients when we see too much emotion creeping into the decision-making process, and I recently came across a great article on avoiding the emotional pitfalls that can be involved in searching for a home. I’m considering giving a copy to each buyer with which I work! Click here to read some very wise words from Amy Fontinelle for Investopedia…Top 8 House-Hunting Mistakes. This is a good read not only for house hunters, but for the realtors that guide them in their hunt!
Happy (and wise!) house hunting~ Rosemary
If you’re contemplating putting your home on the market come spring, now is the time to start getting your home ready. Yes, I know there is still snow on the ground, but in the world of real estate, spring is upon us! The experts are saying this could be a banner year (considering the last three!) for home sales. Betsy and I have three listing appointments scheduled for just the next week! Click here to read a very helpful article by Luke Mullins of USNews.com on 10 projects that you can undertake relatively cheaply to increase the appeal of your home, inside and out.
Curb appeal, folks, is sooooooo important, and this article addresses that aspect in suggestions No. 1 and No. 2. You want buyers to drive up to the front of your home and say, “Oh, I love it; I want to live here!” You want to draw them inside! The front of your home is a buyer’s first indication of how the home has been cared for; don’t let them just drive on by! So, time to get a jump-start; don’t make yourself crazy by trying to accomplish everything in a two-week time span!
Best~ Rosemary
For first-time homebuyers out there who purchased a home after November 6, 2009, your tax credits will be coming, but not nearly as quickly as last year! The delay will also apply to the expanded portion of the tax credit applying to repeat buyers. Fortunately, the revised tax credit Form 5405 is now available online at www.irs.gov. The revised form results from new IRS procedures (like no e-filing) that will slow the receipt of tax credits. Those new procedures were put into place due to consumer fraud…no fun for all the honest tax filers out there! Click here to view a CNNMoney.com article on the topic.
Hang in there; those refunds will arrive!
Best~ Rosemary
Hey, we made Forbes.com’s top 100 list of America’s fastest-recovering cities; Forbes ranked the Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area #70 out of its top 100 cities! Not bad!
Click here to read Forbes.com’s interesting article on the cities that made its list and why they made it…often “diversified industry and relatively stable housing”. Within the article is a link to the ranked listing of the 100 cities that made Forbes.com’s list and the methodology used to compile the list, or you can click here to view that separate article.
Best~
Rosemary
