November 2009

HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT ADDED BENEFITS FOR ARMED FORCES

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 5:07am. 179 Views, 0 Comments.

The $8,000 homebuyer tax credit that was was set to expire at the end of November now has added benefits for our military. Anyone in the foreign service, intelligence service or a member of the armed services either on active duty or in for 90 days during any part of 2009, now will have until May 1st, 2011 to purchase a home.

An additional benefit for those who qualify is that the time of occupancy is waived. Normally the residence must be a principal residence for those using the tax credit and they must stay in the home for minium of three years before they sell, or the credit must be paid back. Qualified military personnel have that time frame waived if they sell in less than three years and move due to official business.

The National Association of…

SALES CONTINUE THEIR UPWARD CLIMB

Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 1:27pm. 192 Views, 0 Comments.

Overall pending home sales increased at least 100 percent in October 2009 compared to October 2008 in each price category under 2 million, according to a report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).

“The number of contracts written in October 2009 (904 contracts) was more than twice the number of contracts written in October 2008 (409 contracts). The volume of activity is significant at what is usually a slow time of year,” acknowledged Mike Hughes, Vice-President of Downing-Frye Realty.

The properties in the under $300,000 market have led the way in sales for the past few months. However, the market recovery is now working its way up to the higher priced…

GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE HELP EASES HOMEBUYERS FRUSTRATIONS

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 6:40am. 153 Views, 0 Comments.

Many times purchasing a home and the whole mortgage process can seem like a mystery and very frustrating, but with the new (GFE) Good Faith Estimate the federal government has done a makeover on helps to demystify the process. The intention of the Good Faith Estimate is to give the consumer an estimate of the settlement charges once they are approved for a loan. The revision along, with other mortgage reforms, was a long time in coming and the first time the government had addressed the issue in more than 30 years.