Michelle Frericks, Realtor®

Archive for April, 2010

WASHINGTON – April 28, 2010 – Members of the military, foreign service and intelligence communities may have an additional year to buy a home and claim the homebuyer tax credit – up to $8,000 – that expires for most Americans on April 30.

To qualify for the extended tax credit deadline, service members must have served on official extended duty outside of the United States for 90 days or more at any time between Jan. 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010. If so, they have until April 30, 2011, to sign a sales contract, and until June 30, 2011, to settle and close on the home. The rule includes both the $8,000 first-time and $6,500 repeat homebuyer tax credit.

Under the law, “qualified service members” includes those serving in the uniformed services of the United States military, a member of the Foreign Service of the United States or an employee of the intelligence community.

The rule that requires buyers to repay the credit if they move out of their home within three years has also been waived for qualified service members if they must sell their home after receiving government orders for extended duty service.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

Fair Isaac, the company that developing the FICO credit scoring system, recently gave details about how late or missed mortgage payments, short sales, foreclosures and bankruptcies impact an indivdual’s credit score.

Click here to learn more.

Final figures are not yet in, but mortgage professionals are reporting that the current homebuyer tax credit has not spurred as many mortgage applications as the original tax credit program. Experts believe this is because first-time homebuyers benefit the most from the tax credit and many of them have already taken advantage of it during the intial offering.

To read the full text of the article, click here.

A 27% increase in new home sales was great news for the real estate industry and economy. Experts think the government tax credit and an end to the winter weather contributed to the sales increase. To read the full article, click here.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 16, 2010 – In an effort to attract additional buyers and accommodate the demand for homes within the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), an additional two homebuyer workshops and housing fairs will be held on April 27 and 28 to help educate interested homebuyers about the NSP.  Both lenders and developers will be on site to provide mortgage qualification information and to showcase homes available through the program.

The April 27 event is scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. at the Main Library Downtown at 303 N. Laura St. The April 28 event is scheduled for 6:30-8 p.m. at the Gateway Mall at 5000 Norwood Ave.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program is a $26 million program utilizing Housing and Urban Development (HUD) money to buy foreclosed houses.  Developers purchase the homes and renovate them to strict standards.  The homes are then sold to qualified homebuyers. 

Homes are available in the 32206, 32208, 32209, 32244 and 32254 zip codes.  Prospective buyers must make their NSP home their primary residence and complete a mandatory eight-hour credit counseling program.

Families and individuals with an adjusted family income of up to 120 percent of the area household median income are eligible to participate.  A family of four can earn as much as $78,000 and qualify for an NSP home.  Buyers can own for as little as $500 down and may qualify for purchase assistance.

There are currently more than 70 homes in the rehabilitation phase, soon to be available for purchase.  All homes are renovated to include Energy Star-rated appliances to lower electric bills.  For more information about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, go to www.nspjax.com or call 904-398-HOME (4663).

Faced with several homeowners that are unable to cover the costs to maintain their sizable new homes and all the toys that came with them, producers of the show are making changes. Rather than supersize “McMansions”, the goal is now to make smaller, more easy to maintain homes that are focused on energy efficiency and less extras like swimming pools that can be costly to maintain.

To read the entire article and view a slideshow of Extreme Makeover homes facing foreclosure, click here.

WASHINGTON – April 6, 2010 – A Massachusetts family is billed by the landlord because their children played in an outdoor common area, and then fines the family when they file a fair housing complaint. An Alabama landlord is charged with turning off the water and evicting a white family because one tenant has an African-American boyfriend. An Illinois university student who is vision impaired and epileptic is refused dormitory housing because she has a trained service dog.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and private groups investigate these and other discrimination cases under the Fair Housing Act, 42 years after it became law in April 1968. In honor of Fair Housing Month, celebrated each April, HUD has declared 2010 a “Time to Act!”

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate in housing transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, disability or familial status. Each year HUD and communities and organizations across the country recognize Fair Housing Month by hosting an array of activities that enhance the public’s awareness of their fair housing rights. The theme for this year’s activities is “Fair Housing in 2010: Time to Act.”

HUD’s fair housing initiatives include an expanded effort to work with states and local communities to reinforce a federal requirement that they promote diverse, inclusive housing opportunities when spending federal funds. And for the first time, the Department is examining the prevalence of housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and discrimination based on a tenant’s use of government assistance to pay rent.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – April 15, 2010 – Prior to purchase, a vast majority of first-time homebuyers (88 percent) believe that they have accounted for all expenses related to owning a home.

Seemingly contradicting that notion, among those who had purchased a home in the past 12 months, just over half indicate that the expenses were more than they had calculated, causing a change in lifestyle.

The information comes from the BBVA Compass First Time Home Buyers Online Survey, which polled American consumers about the thoughts, emotions and hurdles related to owning and enjoying a first home.

Key first-time homebuyer findings include:

• Nearly one third have anxiety over the affordability of owning a home.

• 7 in 10 indicate that the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit has not truly factored into the timing of when they decide to purchase a home.

• 92 percent of respondents indicate that having additional time before their first payment due date would be helpful.

Regarding first-time homebuyers who have purchased a home in the previous 12 months, key findings included:

• 51 percent indicated that the monthly expense of owning a home was more than they calculated.

• Although 7 in 10 respondents said that the unexpected expenditures leveled out over time, another 87 percent said that they changed their lifestyle as a result of the additional expenses.

• Nearly one third indicated that they paid for these unexpected expenditures with a mixture of cash and credit, perhaps indicating a lack of liquid funds.

Both segments of first-time homebuyers were also overwhelmingly in favor of mortgages that allow breathing room between closing and the due date of the first payment. With this financial cushion, the First Time Home Buyer indicated that they would be in a better position to pay off credit cards and other bills, as well as make some of those unexpected purchases (household items and improvements) that come along with owning a home.

Research firm Qualtrics conducted the online survey of 300 first-time homebuyers between Feb. 21, 2010 and Feb. 25, 2010.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

New flood maps have been released and many properties that have not previously been in a flood zone are now in one. If you own a property in a flood zone, you will want to get flood insurance coverage. Check with your homeowner’s inurance agent for details and information.

To search your property’s flood zone status, click here.

Con artists are increasingly using an online scam to bilk renters out of deposit money for rental properties. Using popular online real estate search sites, the con artists gather information about a property, then create their own ad. When prospective renters reply to the bogus ad, they get an automated email back requesting that the prospective renter complete a simple form and send a cash deposit to the phoney landlord.

I personally saw this scam in action today, right here in Jacksonville. The con artist gave a lengthy explanation that he was out of the country, stated that any other ad run by a real estate agent would be removed soon because the agent had just been fired and requested that a simple application form and the deposit and first month’s rent be sent back. In this instance, the con artist also had the real name of the previous tenant at this property.

Beware when searching for apartments online and trust your judgement if something doesn’t seem quite right.

To read the full article, click here.