first time home buyer – owner loan

January 18, 2011

Surrey, BC, Real Estate Opportunities for the First-Time Home Buyer

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 9:17 pm
Anderson S Larry asked:




There are many things that recommend Surrey, BC, real estate to the first-time home buyer. There’s the breathtaking scenery, there’s the uncrowded suburban atmosphere, and there’s the easy access to Vancouver all of which conspire to make Surrey a great place for the young, professional, first-time home buyer. There are opportunities here, and a qualified South Surrey realtor can move them for you from mere potentiality to actualized reality.

Surrey is situated on the Fraser River just south of Burnaby in the Lower Mainland area of Greater Vancouver and is the second-largest city in British Columbia. Its population of 395,000 is multicultural, with more than 30% of the population born in other countries, especially southern Asia. Incorporated in 1879, the city was named for the area’s resemblance to England’s county Surrey. Both the population and prosperity of the city have grown because of its proximity to Vancouver. Surrey’s motto is, understandably, “The future lives here.”

The chief difference between Surrey, BC, real estate and real estate in Vancouver is that in Surry housing has spread out rather than going up. Surrey is composed mainly of single-family homes located in natural-looking suburbs with quiet streets and plenty of yard space. And most of the few apartments are either flats or part of subdivided homes. Surrey is growing, but there’s still a lot of surrounding agriculture, almost 35% of the outlying land.

Another attraction of Surrey is that it’s not a featureless, monolithic metropolis. The city is divided into districts, or town centers, that provide the feeling of a collection of villages with distinct personalities. In addition, anyone who purchases in Surrey is only a very quick commute from Vancouver, owing in large part to the availability of the Sky Train. And Surrey real estate prices are generally lower than those in Vancouver.

Now, if you’ve succumbed to the many attractions of Surrey, then you’re ready for the next step of finding the new home that’s right for you. There are, or course, the fairly obvious questions you should ask early on:

1. Is this home affordable for me?
2. Will I qualify for a mortgage?
3. Will owning a home drastically change my lifestyle?

Beyond these considerations, there are others that are perhaps even more important when it comes to purchasing a new home.

1. First, you need to determine whether the builder knows his stuff, so check the builder’s history and experience. Look at how long the builder has been doing this kind of work (single-family home construction), examine the builder’s qualifications, check out references, and talk to other purchasers of this builder’s homes. Don’t leave any stone unturned.

2. Second, have a professional inspection conducted. The fact that this is a new home is not always a guarantee that everything is as it should be. Structural defects, shortcuts in the construction, inferior materials, plumbing and electrical problems all these things are hidden from view. And only a trained professional can help you determine whether they are or are not there.

Surrey, BC, real estate has a lot going for it. But purchasing a new home in Surrey is a big step and huge investment that requires the assistance of trained real estate professionals. So don’t hesitate to call on the expertise of a highly recommended South Surrey realtor.

Jerome

Eliminating First Time Home Buyer Fear

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 12:57 pm
Tranett Walker asked:




A first time home buyer may be terrified just thinking about the home-buying process…where to go, who to choose, can I afford it…how to get started. Homebuyer Classroom has identified some of the sources that cause fear and will share with you how to dissect this fear and keep moving forward with the home-buying process.

ONE:

There is no “perfect” time to buy, any more than there is a right time to sell. If you find a new home now, don’t try to second-guess the interest rates or the housing market by waiting. Changes don’t usually occur fast enough to make that much difference in price, and remember a good home won’t STAY ON THE MARKET LONG.

SIDEBAR:

“FOR SALE” signs in yards DO NOT guarantee that those homes are still available. Often times, real estate signs will remain in the yard until the home has officially “closed” and is off the market. This happens primarily because deals fall through (do not work out) and the home has to be put back on the market, after being taken off for that buyer. If you work with a Real Estate Agent you will be able to verify the true status of the property at all times. If the deal falls through and you’re working with an agent s/he can notify you immediately that the home is now back on the market. Find a Real Estate Agent today!

TWO:

Don’t try to be a “killer” negotiator. Negotiation is definitely a part of the real estate process, but trying to “win” by getting an extra-low price may lose you the home you love.

SIDEBAR:

If you are bidding on a highly desirable home, you want to make sure your offer is attractive, stands out and gets the sellers acceptance!

Always start by making an offer “lower” than the asking price for the home, but be careful not to “low ball.” Often times first time home buyers think that if the seller “really” wants to sell they’ll accept their offer. That is “improper” thinking. Sellers’ have a choice in the offer they’ll accept just as you have the choice in the home you’ll purchase.

If you love the home and feel that it is the “perfect fit” for you and/or your family negotiate appropriately, fairly and wisely. Why miss out on the right home because you keep going back and forth with the seller over $1,500? Besides, $1,500 divided by 30 years (360 months) is a mere $4.16 cents more per month. Don’t lose your dream home over dollars and cents!

THREE:

Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to get approved for a mortgage, investigate insurance availability, and consider a schedule for moving. Presenting an offer contingent on a lot of unresolved issues will make your bid much less attractive to sellers.

SIDEBAR:

Before you make an offer on a home have your business in order! Make sure you have a pre-approval letter, know how soon you can move (closing on a home usually takes 30 days from the date your offer is accepted). Therefore, you have to wrap up loose ends at your current residence. Sellers don’t like to have contingencies (i.e. stipulations) in the contract. For example, you can’t close on the property until 90 days from the date of the accepted contract.

Remember there are other buyers in line looking at the same houses you may be considering. Be prepared. Be ready to play ball. Handle your business to help ensure a smooth transition.

FOUR:

Factor in maintenance and repair costs in your post-home buying budget. Even if you buy a new home, there will be some costs. Don’t leave yourself short and let your home deteriorate.

SIDEBAR:
It would be wise to have an emergency fund set aside for repairs and maintenance in your new home. Trust and believe things will happen in your new home. Unlike renting, there is no one to call at the leasing office to fix the toilet. Keep in mind that these responsibilities are now those of the first time home buyer.

But, don’t be discouraged, because the benefits you receive as a first time home buyer FAR outweighs home maintenance. Remember, this is “your” valuable investment.

FIVE:

Accept that a little buyer’s remorse is inevitable and will usually pass. Buying a home, especially for the first time, is a big commitment, but it also yields big benefits!

SIDEBAR:

This one perhaps is one of the most important. Once you commit to one home (especially after looking at over 20) you’ll wonder if you chose the right one. You’ll wonder if you should have waited until next year and so on and so on. Understand that this feeling is common among the majority of buyers. Once you’ve chosen your home begin to settle, relax and start to visualize you and/or your family living in your new home. Those feelings of remorse tend to drift away.

Alan

January 15, 2011

First Time Home Buyer Tax Rebate Extension

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:29 am
Jim Ingersoll asked:




Nearly 1.5 Million people have taken advantage of the $8,000 tax rebate since it’s conception in January 2009. The tax credit has been available to all first time home buyers. The first time home buyer is defined as anyone who has now owned their own home for three consecutive years. Oh, one more criteria for eligibility… It must be for your primary residence which is unfortunate for investors. The credit is in the form of a tax rebate for 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to a total of $8,000. One of the great benefits of the tax rebate is that is FULLY refundable to the buyer. For instance if the first time home buyer owed no taxes on their taxes, then the first time home buyer can amend their tax return and capture the full $8,000.

The tax rebate has helped improve the national home sales. The current tax rebate is set to expire on November 30, 2009. This means that the purchase must be fully closed and completed in order to qualify. It typically takes approximately 30 days to close on a home transaction with conventional bank financing. The point is that in order to be confident your purchase will qualify you should plan to be under contract to purchase your home by November 1, 2009. If you are trying to capture the $8,000 tax rebate and have not yet put your home under contract or you dont qualify for conventional financing then you need to consider finding an alternate approach. One alternate approach is to find seller financing. If the seller is providing the financing and you do not need to wait the typical 30 days for bank financing, then you can still close by December 1, 2009 without many challenges.

What about the possibility of extending the rebate past December 1, 2009? There are currently several bills in Congress that would allow the extension. Each of the bills in Congress provide alternate solutions toward the extension. Of course there is a lot of politics involved in completing the extension, from all poitical parties. Here is a brief summary of the extensions:

S1230: Senator Johnny Isakson introduced Senate Bill 1230 in June. The Bill proposes a tax credit up to $15,000 that can be split over 2 year for everyone who purchases a home for their personal residence.

HR 2619: This one proposes to extend the existing $8,000 tax credit to July 1, 2010 and adds provisions for a tax credit of up to $3,000 for homeowners who refinance. This would certainly create a ton of refinances. Is this part of the recent mortgage issue? Many Americans seem to use their home equity as an ATM machine, pulling it out and spending it. I guess that would potentially help spur the ecomony in the short term.

HR 2801 – Similar to S1230 but it extends benefits to January 1, 2011.

Several key politicians are publicly making comments about getting the extension approved by early November. Those making positive comments include Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. They are hoping to extend the rebate along with unemployment benefits at the same time.

One thing for sure is our current Government is committed to spending an unlimited amount to try and stimulate our economy. Our Leaders appear to be committed to short term gains at the expense of future generations. That said, extending the first time home buyer credit will certainly help encourage American’s to own their own home.

Lucille

January 13, 2011

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 5:00 pm
Jacob Al Y Skinner asked:




Very first Time Property Buyers in Florida Should Act Now

The housing market across Florida has taken an unprecedented hit. The Sunshine State is 1 of the leaders in the U.S. in the amount of foreclosures and residence values have dipped 40% in a lot of places.

Whilst this has been difficult on the local economy it represents an unprecedented opportunity for first time property buyers in Florida to get a fantastic deal. Costs are as low as they have been in years and tax credit incentives from the govt make it even more enticing to discover a position of your own.

For a very first time house buyer it is critical to begin the research for a home by obtaining pre-qualified for a house loan. Lining up financing in advance will not only streamline the method but it will help you ascertain exactly what you can manage. The bank can tell you the size of the home loan you qualify for and that can assist you narrow your look for to homes that are in your price variety.

Once you know how large of a house loan you can pay for, you can begin to narrow the lookup for your initial property to particular neighborhoods based on cost. In most metro locations, the best way to start off is by means of an on line research of houses on the marketplace.

You can set in your price tag array and the functions that you want in your new home to discover listings that might meet your requirements. After you have identified neighborhoods that fit into your price variety it is time to do some study on those areas. What is the crime rate? How is the nearby school system and what kinds of city services are supplied?

An experienced realtor can help you evaluate your selections by getting you via specific properties and neighborhoods. You ought to realize in advance that no home is going to be best and you will have to be realistic in evaluating the house. It is usually a very good notion to employ a residence inspector to go by way of the house with you if you are contemplating creating an present. first time home buyer assistance

You are also well inside your rights to ask the seller to supply a warranty on the home which would cover any main repairs that might be necessary following you move in. We are in the middle of a purchasers industry so you would be wise to take your time in your research and be selective.

Mario

January 8, 2011

Get Aided With First Time Home Buyer Grants

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:20 am
Kelsey Wilson asked:




Considering the period of recession, the first time home buyer grants have become extremely popular in the U.S. The federal government in the country has Homes and Communities program under the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help first time buyers. In addition, there are state wise programs and grants available for those looking to buy homes in different states.

First time home buyer grants are available for the low income residents. As obvious, the loan received through these grants is not paid back by the buyer. If you are also planning to buy your first home, here are some useful aspects of these grants.

Learn About Grants in Your State

First of all, it is important to learn whether your state provide home buyer grants or not. And if yes, then what is the nature of the program. For example, the state of Arkansas offer Down payment Assistance Program and the state of Kansas offer First Time Buyers Program. Some of the states, which don’t have home buying grant programs, provide home loans at low interest rate to the first time buyers.

Also, it is worth learning about any type of stipulations associated with these grants in different states. For example, in the state of California, the home owner is required to repay the grant, if he or she wishes to sell the house in future. Similarly, there are some states, where the buyer is not liable to sell the house purchased with the help of government grants before a period of 20 years.

Applying for Home Buyer Grants

You can visit the website of Department of Housing and Urban Development to apply for the federal Home Buyer Grant. Also, at least 48 states in the country have their individual websites, where one can apply for state level home buying grants. The eligibility conditions for these Grants are that the applicant must be a U.S. citizen and he or she should not already possess a home.

It is a matter of concern to write the perfect grant application to enhance your chances of getting the grant approved. You must know that there are hundreds of other applicants who would apply for first time Home Buyer grant. Federal and state governments have been participating efficiently to make the dream of first time home buyers true.

Willie

January 7, 2011

First Time Home Buyer Stimulus

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 6:12 pm
Sonia Less asked:




The first time homebuyer stimulus is a recently approved Tax Credit bill. The proposed $15,000 homebuyer tax credit between the House and the Senate did not prosper, but recently President Barack Obama signed into law a smaller measure to help revive the real estate market.

The tax credit for first time homebuyers is equivalent to getting a tax return of $8,000.00. This works great if you do not owe any money from the government and you usually get a tax return. When you purchase a home for the first time, the government is going to send you a tax refund of $8,000.00.

This is only good for the year 2009, so if you are planning to buy a home, do it now to avail of this tax credit refund.

Who can qualify for this? Below is some further information of the First Time Home Buyer Stimulus Tax Credit.

1. All US Citizens who file for taxes can qualify. First time homebuyers mean that he or she has not owned a residence for at least three years before purchasing a house. The date of transfer is considered the actual date of purchase.

2. Only homebuyers who purchase a home between January 1 and December 1, 2009 can qualify for the credit. Those who purchase a home before the specified date will not be able to avail of it.

3. The home purchased must be used as the main or principal residence. This includes all kinds of houses such as townhouses, single-family detached homes, manufactured homes or mobile homes, condominiums and houseboats. The home buyers must live in the home for the next three years to fully take advantage of the tax credit.

4. The cost of the home should be at least $80,000.00 or more. According to the plan, a homebuyer receives ten percent of the home purchase. To receive the full $8,000.00 credit, the home should be bought for $80,000 or above. Married couples who file separately will receive a maximum of $4,000.00.

5. The tax credit has income limits attached to it. To qualify for the full credit, single buyers must have a gross income of $75,000.00 or less and $150,000.00 or less for married ones. Those earning more may qualify only for reduced credits.

6. The tax credit is refundable, so buyers can take full advantage of it even if they have lesser tax liability.

7. In order to capitalize on the credit, buyers have to maintain ownership of the home for at least three years. This means that you do not sell your home within those years. If you do sell before the three-year term is up, then you have to return the credit back to the government. There are exceptions however, such as divorce or death.

If you qualify, you can claim for the tax credit when you file your income tax return. For the tax credit, you can claim when you file your income tax return. Take into consideration that when you purchase a home this year, you will only see it reflected after you file your income tax in April 2010.

Jeanette
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