Full information and FAQ on The Tax Credit.

Everyone is strongly advised to discuss their specific situation with their tax accountant and/or tax attorney.

Tags: Idaho Real Estate, New Ideas, Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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The statistics vary widely, but the fact of the matter is FHA insures between one-in-four to one-in-five homeloans received in the past 12 months.  That is a huge portion of the market.  With increasing defaults and payouts on FHA insured loans, FHA is reporting that their reserves are falling below their required minimums, and the Federal Government is taking note.

FHA loans have a very low entry rate, 3.5% down minimum requirement and they’ve begun to cater to even those with minor credit challenges.   Their popularity and flexibility have been amazingly helpful over the past 12 months, a LARGE majority of the purchase I’ve written (and Listings sold for that matter) have been FHA loans.

Skeptics, sucha s Daniel Indiviglio a business writer for the Atlantic (link to article below under Sources), believe that:

“Bigger initial premiums would effectively cause home prices to rise for those seeking FHA-insured loans. The higher monthly premiums would mean homeowners mortgage payments would increase. And remember, the consumers that the FHA caters to are low-income borrowers.”

I tend to agree.  FHA loans are playing a vital part of our recovery.  Their relative flexibility (and I say relative sparingly as there are MANY homes that do not qualify for FHA finanicng but 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 is a pretty strong statistic) of FHA is allowing these homebuyers to buy homes and qualify for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.  After all – the next best alternative is a 90% loan to value (10% down) for qualified individuals and the ever elusive 95% loan to value (which has required underwriter approval on a case by case basis the last two times I’ve tried to use the program for a client).  How many first time buyers would be buying right now if the down payment requirement was 10% or even 20%?

What do you think?

Sources:
The Atlantic Online

Tags: Idaho Real Estate, New Ideas, Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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An ASP is an Accredited Staging Professional.  ASP’s work with sellers to stage their home to strict industry standards making the home more presentable and saleable.

Most of us have sold a car before.  We spend hours detailing and q-tipping the smallest areas.  We take all our personal CD’s out, photos of the kids off the spedometer dash, your leopard print seat covers are removed revealing a sparkling clean car sans your personal touches.

That is very similar to what we do when we stage a home.  It’s quite common that people will detail their car more than they detail their home for sale.   Usually the word “Staging” strikes fear in sellers’ eyes.  “It’s going to be expensive,” many will say.  I say, “It doesn’t have to be.”  We can repurpose old items and remove unneeded items to make the home more presentable.  For the small investment of time and sometimes funds you must look at the Return on Staging Investment.

Statistically, homes with staging have a shorter market time and in some cases sell for a higher price.  We’re simply removing your personal items so the potential buyer can imagine their belongings in your house, rather than being distracted by yours.

Staging isn’t a replacement for pricing competitively, it’s just another tool in our arsenal to sell homes faster and for more money in a tough market.

Want to know more?  Give me a call or shoot me an email.  (509) 990-7653 in WA or (208) 699-7390 in Idaho.  Please use the contact link above to send an email.

Tags: Idaho Real Estate, Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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