Decatur Old House Fair - Is for you if you have an old house and want to ideas, insight and advice from the pros.   There are hands on sessions as well as speakers including how a Historic Wood Window Restoration workshop, Greening your old house, and much more.   For more information visit the Decatur Old House Fair site for directions and ticket information.  

March 6, 2010  - from 9 am to 5pm at the Holiday Inn on Clairemont Ave.

 Fundraiser is at the Jungle.  Doors open at 6:00pm and the first Bingo numbers will be called at 7:45pm.   $20 to play Bingo ($5 donation to go), cash bar & food bar.  There are group packages available too.  GREAT CAUSE!  Want more details - P.A.L.S 20th Anniversary Bingo.

There is still time to buy home and take advantage of the tax credits for buyers!  Home Buying  Tax Credits end April 2010.

The October 2009 surge benefited from the last push for the first time buyer tax credit.  With the extension of the first time buyers tax credit and the addition of the buying tax credit for other qualifying buyers and the low interest rates - we will hopefully see a surge in 2010’s number.

South is definitely seeing some improvement and movement in the market.  While we will have to wait a few more weeks for the December 2009 numbers - what will be more important is the cumulative numbers for the year 2009.The following information is provided by NAR in their November 2009 update.  Data was released at the end of December.   The data is for resales.

Regional Sales by Price Existing Single Family Homes November 2009 % Change in Sales from 1 Year Ago Region $0-100K $100-250K $250-500K $500-750K $750K-1M $1M+ Northeast 29.1% 75.3% 50.5% 31.7% 9.4% 30.2% Midwest 44.0% 70.0% 47.6% 29.9% 10.7% -13.1% South 24.5% 53.6% 37.9% 55.2% 60.6% 28.4% West 28.9% 46.8% 24.3% 35.9% 58.2% 64.2% U.S. 32.4% 60.0% 38.8% 38.2% 40.7% 39.0% Sales Distribution Region $0-100K $100-250K $250-500K $500-750K $750-1M $1M+ U.S. 20.8% 49.8% 22.1% 5.0% 1.2% 1.1%                             ]]> http://www.leighhays.com/2010/01/existing-sales-november-2009/feed/ http://www.leighhays.com/2010/01/lockridge-forest-for-sale/ http://www.leighhays.com/2010/01/lockridge-forest-for-sale/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:19:34 +0000 heighlo http://www.leighhays.com/?p=863 Great house for sale - 3928 Locklear Court.  Priced to sell at $247,000  $239,900.  Home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths (plus 1/2 bath in laundry), sun room, partially finished basement and tons of storage.  Home has been well taken care of and has new windows.  Lot is very private with mature trees and on a cul de sac.    Great Neighborhood with excellent swim & tennis available.   3928 Locklear Court Virtual Tour.

There are some great options for folks looking to buy and live in the home - such as the HUD programs which allow for owner occupied bids over investor bids for the first 2 weeks of property being listed.  The catch on some of these homes is the bidder needs cash to cover any overages and/or closing costs. 

I had a client this past fall who successful outbid the other offers on the table with a financing contingency.  We went over on the asking price but he has moved in and has a great house in a great area.  And though he paid over the asking price, the house was still below what has sold in the area and needed minimal repairs.

Remember the tax buyer credit is still out there!

Forbes used several different sources and based their rankings on 6 different categories.  The Forbes article is here and has the details on the category rankings and the sources used to gather the information.

FIRST TIME HOME BUYER CREDIT:

• $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers - which is defined by IRS as someone who hasn’t owned a principal residence during the three years prior to this purchse.
• Tax credit is up to 10% of the home’s purchase price - maximum of $8,000.
• Home price must be less than $800,000 sales price.
• Applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.  However - if binding agreement is reached on April 30, 2010 - you just have to close by June 30, 2010 to be eligible.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and by April 30, 2010 - the income has been increased to single filers at $125,000 and married couples filing jointly at $225,000 to qualify for the full tax credit.

MOVE-UP BUYERS:

• To be eligible to claim the tax credit - buyers must have owned and lived in previous home for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years.
• Tax credit doesn’t have to be repaid
• Tax credit is equal to 10% of the sales purchase price up to $6,500
• Tax credit applies to homes with purchase prices of $800,000 or less
• Applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.  However - if binding agreement is reached on April 30, 2010 - you just have to close by June 30, 2010 to be eligible.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and by April 30, 2010 - the income has been increased to single filers at $125,000 and married couples filing jointly at $225,000 to qualify for the full tax credit

This should help continue to move inventory along with the great low interest rates.  And if you are selling your home - this will also help open doors to buyers who might need just a bit more incentive to buy!  As always - contact me if you have any questions or are interested in buying or selling!

You can visit the Federal Housing Tax Credit site here.