Buying Real Estate

THE EXPANDED HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT

Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 6:33pm. 147 Views, 0 Comments.

The Homebuyer Tax Credit has created a lot of buzz since becomming law and now the extended or Expanded Tax Credit could help to cure the winter blues for many first time home buyers.

Ken Trepeta the Director of Real Estate Services at RISMEDIA, the leader in real estate information systems, yesterday wrote a very informative article detailing the expanded home buyer tax credit. For those considering buying a home for the first time, it is well worth investigating, but time is of the essence because a binding contract must be written by 30 April, 2010 and it must be closed by 1 July, 2010.

The article can be found by clicking HERE.

THINKING OF BUYING A FORECLOSED PROPERTY?

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 1:34am. 81 Views, 0 Comments.

The lure of purchasing a 'short sale' or foreclosed property might seem highly compelling, but before considering such you might heed the old classic warning of Caveat Emptor or let the buyer beware. Because foreclosures are traditionally sold as-is, it is extremely important that you have done more than the usual due dilligence, especially here in South Florida. Known as R.E.O.s (Real Estate Owned), there can be many pitfalls that you need to avoid.

If you are purchasing at auction, it is imperative that you have inspected the property along with someone who is qualified to to render an opinion about the major equipment, such as the air conditioning unit(s). This sometimes can be extremely difficult becuses in many cases the power to the home has beenoff…

HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT ADDED BENEFITS FOR ARMED FORCES

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 5:07am. 155 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…

GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE HELP EASES HOMEBUYERS FRUSTRATIONS

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 6:40am. 134 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.

EXTEND THE FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER'S TAX CREDIT?

Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 2:49pm. 210 Views, 0 Comments.

There is concern that the first-time Homebuyer's Tax Credit due to end in November might not be extended. There ia a bit of a ground swell to extend, and from our perspective, it certainly makes a great deal of success.

It is estimated that with the way the it stands now, the credit will account for some 400,000 buyers coming into the market, which has helped to stabilize the real estate market. It is reasonable to assume that an extension will only help to further stabilize the market., bringing in even more buyers.

There has been a bit of a ground swell in the past week to push for an extension and we certainly support that!

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE RETURNING TO THE MARKET

Saturday, September 12th, 2009 at 9:55am. 194 Views, 1 Comments.

This summer has seen a surge in homes sales in Collier County and it certainly bodes well for the upcoming season as well.

The Naples Area Board of Realtors (N.A.B.O.R.) has released its statistical report for the month of August and the figures are very encouraging. Total home and condo sales rose by 40% compared to the same period last year and pending sales are up by 47%, which shows that overall consumer confidence is building. Single family home sales rose by 86%, a stunning figure, while pending sales by over 106%, again compared to the same time last year.

The under $300,000 market has to date been a driving force in the market. Short sales and bank foreclosures are accounting for much of the market and the good inventory is disappearing rapidly at…

DON'T WANT TO SAY WE TOLD YOU SO...BUT

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 8:42am. 217 Views, 0 Comments.

Last Sunday, the Naples Daily News re-published an article written by Holden Lewis from Bankrate.com that essentially said the same things that we have been saying for the past year or so...it ain't easy buying distressed properties. The article focused primarily on foreclose properties and one of their points was that there was minimal room for negotiation.

We have said that aside from that point, there are a lot of other issues regarding 'short sale' or foreclosed properties, especially here in Florida. One of the main issues of concern is the fact that in many cases the air conditioning has been turned off for an extensive period of time and that can certainly lead to mold in unseen areas such as walls.

There is also the issue of destruction caused by…

OLDE NAPLES...PRESENTS EXCEPTIONAL VALUE IN TODAY'S MARKET

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 8:41pm. 142 Views, 0 Comments.

Downtown Olde Naples has always been one of the most desireable, yet least affordable places for a home or condominium in Naples until today. One of the primary reasons is that it is the only area of Naples where every avenue, (running east and west), ends at the public beach. It also houses both 5th Avenue S. and Third Street, two well-known streets for world-class shopping and dining experiences, not to mention the world-renown Naples Fishing Pier, a top attraction itself for many years.

How the market has changed from its height in '05/'06. Back then you would be hard pressed to find a lot, never mind a house, for much under $1,000,000. Today there are currently 99 single family homes for sale in Olde Naples, and despite the fact that it remains a highly…

NAPLES REAL ESTATE - PRIME TIME TO BUY!

Sunday, August 16th, 2009 at 8:37am. 161 Views, 0 Comments.

The greater Naples Real Estate Market currently presents some amazing opportunities to purchase property in every area and in every category of product. The decline of the days on market for listings that we have seen over the past 6 months shows that the public has gotten the message that pricing is not about to go lower and may even be inching upward in some communities. The time for fence-sitting is over, and if ever you thought of purchasing property in Naples, now is the time. Inventory levels have been declining over the past several months, as has been the price per square foot.

Prior to the current market and over the last four or five years, finding a condominium on the beach for under $1,000,000 was nearly impossible no matter what the age,…

FORECLOSED PROPERTIES MAY NOT BE YOUR BEST BET!

Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 7:55am. 259 Views, 0 Comments.

We have talked previously about some of the pitfalls in purchasing foreclosed properties and more and more we stand by our attitude that they are not the great deals that people perceive them to be. Backing up our contention was a recent article in the Naples Daily News about foreclosed properties being stripped clean.

Recently I was in a property in the community of Berkshire Lakes and viewed a single family home that literally sadly had everything taken out of it. Not only had the appliances been removed, but the former owner had removed sinks, vanities, toilets, molding and more. Even the switch plates had been taken.

The home was a complete disaster and coupled with the fact that it did not have a pool, abutted Radio Road and had the air off for well…