This Month In Real Estate: 2009 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Special Edition
June 27th, 2009 Categories: First Time Home Buyer
Salt Lake City First Time Home Buyer
Tax Credit Special Edition
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Buying a Salt Lake Short Sale
February 20th, 2009 Categories: Buying
Buying A Salt Lake Short Sale
I get buyers sending me listings from web sites that just seem to be a really good deal and based on the way it is listed it is a good deal. Let’s face it, I look good on paper. LOL
Short sales are not very complicated as much as they are a time consumer. Most buyers can’t or won’t hang in long enough to actually close on a short sale.
The first thing that needs to be done is that the seller has to complete a short sale or a pre-foreclosure package. It is essentially a new loan application with the addition of a tear stained hardship letter. What I have found is that sellers are not very motivated to complete all the steps it takes for several reasons, one is denial, the other is they have to involuntarily MOVE. I don’t know if you have ever moved before but it is not fun under good circumstances.
In order to get the bank to start working on a short sale you have a complete package and then you have to have an offer. The only way you are going to get an offer on a short sale listing is to list it at a very low price. Then there are multiple offers and the bank works it and then starts countering and the price starts rising to near retail. This process can take 2-3-4 even 6 months to complete. The only reason for a buyer to go through a short sale process is to get it well below retail. So if you not going to really get it well below retail and it could take 4 months and you may not actually get the property then is it worth it?
IMNSHO Absolutely not.
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Stimulus Going Green
February 15th, 2009 Categories: 2009 Stimulus, Real Estate News
Stimulus Going Green
To promote green jobs and energy independence, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is investing significantly to make homes and buildings more energy efficient. The bill provides state and local governments with $6 billion in energy efficiency and conservation grants for energy audits, retrofits and financial incentives.
Through 2010, homeowners will be able to claim a 30% tax credit (up from 10%) for purchases of new furnaces, windows and insulation. That is a big one, if you were going to replace windows and your cost would be $8,000, you would save $2,400 on your income tax. You would also have to think that window installers and manufacturers are pretty competitive on the bids. These are opportunity times.
Another $5 billion will be available to modernize the nation’s electricity grid and install smart meters on homes that help to save consumers money.
There is also $5 billion for weatherization assistance for low income households and $2 billion for federally assisted housing {section 8}) efficiency efforts.
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Seller Paid Closing Cost Good or Bad?
February 15th, 2009 Categories: Buying
Advice for Salt Lake Home Buyers
Seller paid closing cost is it really good for the buyer? Let’s look at an alternative, increasing the interest rate and financing less after all rates are incredibly low.
Assumptions $200,000 Loan, interest rate is 5.25% and closing cost is $6,000.
To have the seller pay, you would have to increase the loan amount by $6,000
I say it is better to increase the rate, let the lender pay the closing cost and owe less money. Look at the table below and see for yourself.
$206,000 5.25% Payment $1,137.54
$200,000 5.75% Payment $1,167.15
I would rather have a payment that is $29 higher and owe $6,000 less. I know the argument of over 30 Years, but at $355.32 per year your breakeven point would be 16 years. The statistics say you will live there 7 years, if that were true that $6,000 would cost you $2,487.24 giving you a $3,512.76 savings.
Besides that, not asking for closing cost makes you appear as a stronger buyer and more appealing to a seller and could actually save you a little more money than just the closing cost. Seller’s aren’t just looking at the bottom line as important as it is, equally as important a buyer that can close.
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Stimulus To Set New Loan Limits For Salt Lake
February 15th, 2009 Categories: 2009 Stimulus, Real Estate News
New Loan Limits For Salt Lake Home Buyers
The bill will keep last year’s 2008 limits that expired on December 31st.
These limits were equal to the greater of 125% of the 2008 local area median home price or $271,050 for FHA and $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie, with an overall maximum cap of $729,750.
Also the bill includes language providing the HUD Secretary with the ability to increase the loan limit for any “sub-area”, i.e.an area smaller than a county.
The Secretary’s discretion is again limited by the $729,750 cap. These 2009 limits will expire December 31, 2009.
Below is a chart showing the 29 Utah Counties loan limits, with Salt Lake and Tooele being the highest. Tooele you ask? The smaller counties that are not given an MSA (metro service area) by the Dept of HUD are attached to another county.
If you have any questions on how to use this credit for your Down Payment Call Me at 801-694-4762.
Search For Your New Salt Lake Home, where you can search all listed properties, create a FREE account, save your search criteria, save your favorites, get email alerts when new properties come online all for FREE.
If you would like to get a FREE market analysis for your Salt Lake Metro Area Home simple complete the form.
Also over on the right sidebar there are links to preview the state approved form that REALTORS use to write offers with.
|
County |
FHA |
Fannie/Freddie |
| BEAVER |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| BOX ELDER |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| CACHE |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| CARBON |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| DAGGETT |
$292,500 |
$417,000 |
| DAVIS |
$397,500 |
$417,000 |
| DUCHESNE |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| EMERY |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| GARFIELD |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| GRAND |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| IRON |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| JUAB |
$323,750 |
$417,000 |
| KANE |
$383,750 |
$417,000 |
| MILLARD |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| MORGAN |
$397,500 |
$417,000 |
| PIUTE |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| RICH |
$286,250 |
$417,000 |
| SALT LAKE |
$729,750 |
$729,750 |
| SAN JUAN |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| SANPETE |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| SEVIER |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| SUMMIT |
$729,750 |
$729,750 |
| TOOELE |
$729,750 |
$729,750 |
| UINTAH |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| UTAH |
$323,750 |
$417,000 |
| WASATCH |
$431,250 |
$431,250 |
| WASHINGTON |
$372,500 |
$417,000 |
| WAYNE |
$271,050 |
$417,000 |
| WEBER |
$397,500 |
$417,000 |
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Gary Keller shares his vision for 2008
February 18th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
I attended Keller Williams Realty’s Annual Family Reunion last week in Atlanta. It was a long exhausting week, a lot of fun but it was good to get back home.
I wanted to share an article that was put out giving Gary’s views on the market.
Gary Keller shares his vision for 2008
Real Estate at the Crossroads: Choosing to Thrive 
Recapping the shift in the real estate market at Family Reunion, Gary Keller urged attendees to seize the current market to their advantage. Keller explained that the 10-year run-up in real estate that began in the early 1990s, led to an environment in which homes were no longer affordable, lenders were willing to take unreasonable risks and inventory rose to record levels.
This chain of events led to mortgage lenders pulling back, followed by a credit squeeze, increased inventory, dropping prices, rising defaults, slipping consumer confidence and reluctant buyers.
Viewing the market from another angle, Keller observed that since 1981, household incomes have increased by an average of 3.6 percent per year. During that same time period, U.S. home prices have increased by an average of 4.6 percent per year.
“Affordability is, and always will be, the primary real estate issue,” Keller emphasized. “As homes become less affordable, the number of qualified buyers declines. Rising inventories result in an eventual decrease in home prices.
Existing U.S. home sales in 2007 were down by 13 percent over the previous year, and down 20 percent from 2005, when they peaked at 7.1 million. The decrease in new home sales was even more dramatic – down 25 percent from 2006 and a two-year decrease of 37 percent.
NAR’s forecasts for 2007 were overly optimistic by an average of 9.4 percent, while the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) was overly pessimistic by an average of 8.8 percent in 2007.
Despite last year’s 13 percent decline in U.S. home sales, membership in the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) dropped by only 1.4 percent. In the current market, there is approximately half the number of residential real estate sales per agent compared to 10 years ago. Noting that the correlation between home sales and NAR membership has historically been very strong, more competition for fewer available sales is expected to accelerate the trend of agents leaving the business in the near term.
Keller said that for agents who are determined to stand strong and build market share during the shift, opportunities are wide open. The key: “Become a productivity warrior and a market maker; know that there is enough available business for you to achieve your goals; and become the local economist of choice.”
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Keller Williams Realty and Yahoo
February 15th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Our Mission: To build careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living.
Our Vision: To be the Company of choice for a new generation of real estate agents and owners.
Our Values: God, Family then Business
Keller Williams has done it again, they have made an agreement with Yahoo. KW is the only Large Brokerage that has it’s own Listing System, called KWLS. When a KW Agent enters their listing into the KWLS it propagates to over 100 web sites, including major sites like Google Base, Trulia, AOL and more recently Yahoo.
Because of their economic and culture models KW is truly the Company of Choice for Agents and owners alike.
If you are interested in a career at Keller Williams Realty call me at 801-694-4762 or email me rob@aubrey.net
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The Tale Of Two Markets
January 6th, 2008 Categories: Selling
Below is a seies of Slides that I hope will give a visual to the current state of the market.
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5.75 Reasons Why It Is Time To Buy A Home
January 5th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Is This A Good Time To Buy A Home?
Let’s Take a Look at the Facts
Interest Rates Are 5.75% (depending on credit score)
Inventory is Ripe
Unemployment is Low
There Are Deals To Be Made
Stop listening to the media.
Dave Fox of KUTV News was involved in a loan fraud scheme. He made no money and was responsible for all the payments on a house. Are you going to listen to the media now?
Now I am aware there are some parts of the market that are still going to correct itself and prices are going to slide back. Back that is less than half the available homes and are way above the reach of the average buyer.
If you think prices are going to drop in 362,000 and under range (FHA Loan Limit) good luck.
Search over 15,000 Homes for sale along the Wasatch Front
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Mortgage Rates In Salt Lake City
December 14th, 2007 Categories: Mortgage
Rates have gone up a little in the last week, or should I say last rates dipped a little below six. There are deals out there.
Conforming mortgage rates mentioned below are considered with loan amounts up to $417,000 for a single family residence and is owner occupied. It is with proving your income and a “full document borrower”.
The rates quoted are based on a purchase price of $200,000 on a 30-day lock. On these conforming loans, there are no prepayment penalties involved.
|
Program |
Rate |
APR |
| 95% | 6.25 | 7.43 |
| 100% With Mort Insurance | 6.38 | 7.78 |
| 100% No Mort Insurance | 7.00 | 7.19 |
| My Community 100% | 6.88 | 7.80 |
| VA 100% | 6.00 | 6.81 |
| FHA 97% | 6.00 | 6.17 |
If you would like any additional scenarios done, please call for that information at 801-747-1233 and ask for Cindee or email to Cindee@CindeeStone.com
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