The $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit is Extended!
· Now, qualified first-time home buyers would receive their $8000 tax credit if they sign a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.
· The home purchased must be their primary residence
· Buyer cannot have owned a home during the past three years
· Tax credit is up to 10% of the home value (not to exceed $8,000)
· Annual income caps to qualify for the tax credit have increased ($125K for single filers / $225K for joint filers). Partial tax credit can be granted for incomes up to $145K for single filers / $245K for joint filers.


PLUS New $6,500 Tax Credit for Current Home Owners Purchasing a Primary Residence
· Eligible home buyers must have lived in their current home for 5 consecutive years of the past 8 years.
· The new home does not have to cost more than the old home.
· Eligible for homes with purchase agreements signed between November 6, 2009 and April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010
· Annual income caps to qualify for the full tax credit are $125K for single filers / $225K for joint filers. Partial tax credit can be granted for incomes up to $145K for single filers / $245 for joint filers.

Buy a piece of Twin Cities Hardcore History Part 2!

You missed out on Jaysin's house in NE Mpls - someone with no idea of the hardcore significance swooped in and scooped it up. So now's your chance to keep Columbia Heights Hardcore. Jason Parker (and his wife Tracy) are selling their home and moving to Milwaukee. You probably now Jason from his many years of volunteering at Extreme Noise on Thursday nights, from hosting Out of Step on Radio K, from his days of putting out THD records or maybe, just maybe from his enormous dreadlocks that he had 20 years ago.

(this is Jason, but not at the house)

3827 Reservoir Blvd NE, Columbia Heights $204,900

Features

• Fantastic 3 bedroom 2 bath Columbia Heights home - truly move-in condition!
• Well maintained, stylishly painted & decorated throughout + many updates including: ceramic tile floors, copper piping, water heater, garage roof, carpet, chimney swept & duct work cleaned
• Mother-in-law apartment in the walkout lower level with its own kitchen and family room
• Large living room with cork floors, cove ceiling and access to dining room
• Good sized kitchen with new appliances, breakfast bar and plenty of cupboard and counter space
• 100 amp circuit breaker electric service, gas furnace and central air - both new 2002
• Large lot with tile patio, nicely landscaped w/ plants, shrubs & mature trees
• All appliances stay: 2 x refrigerator, 2 x stove, dishwasher, washer and dryer
• Attached garage accessible from kitchen plus additional off street parking
• Two bedrooms on the main floor, bedroom and nursery up, plus bathrooms on both main and lower levels
  

Additional HC Cred... Andy Hart of Holding On, The Real Enemy, Martyr AD and the Box Thieves lived in the mother-in-law apartment

Buy a piece of Twin Cities Hardcore / Punk History... sort of.

Jaysin - the original singer of Kill Sadie and Bodies Lay Broken and the only singer of The Real Enemy, Hope You Choke and Getting Even (so far) is selling his house!

It's a nice little house up in Northeast Mpls, on the hill near Audubon Park and it qualifies for the MPLS ADVANTAGE Program. Really, you'd be stupid not to buy it.

Features 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, nice large yard for growing vegan treats, dining room, nice living room and a good sized kitchen. All appliances stay including the ideal refrigerator to support you breaking edge. New furnace 2009!

All this and so much more $140,000

I Want Free Money! I Want Free Money! I Want Free Money! I Want Free Money!




Attention first time home buyers - the government wants you to buy a home. What are they doing about it? How about an $8,000 credit on your taxes? If you owe $500 at the end of the year - you get $7,500 refund. If they owe you $500 at the end of the year - you get $8,500!

• Buy between January 1st 2009 and December 1st 2009
• Any type of home (condo, townhouse, single family home) - must be your primary residence
• Must make less than $75k a year as single person or $150k as a married couple - above that money still available, just less - up to $95k and $170k
• First time buyer is a first time purchaser OR someone who hasn't owned in 3 years
• No repayment if you own for 3 years (recaptured on sale if sold before 3 years)

Of course there is fine print and you should consult a tax professional - but this is a significant improvement over the plan previously approved.

INTERVIEW YOUR REALTOR!!!


Let's face it, there are a lot of Realtors out there - some much, much, much better than others. Most people know a Realtor or know someone who knows a Realtor and they just go with them - whether or not that agent is a good fit. Make sure it's a good fit - INTERVIEW YOUR REALTOR!!!

Generally when a seller hires a Realtor, the Realtor performs a market analysis. Besides providing information about the pricing of the home, the Realtor should review how they will market the home. Typically more than one Realtor does a market analysis - so you've made a decent effort at an interview process. Here are some things you can ask (though the agent should cover these things while presenting the market analysis):

1. How long have you been a licensed realtor or real-estate agent?
2. How far does your area extend?
3. Do you live in the area?
4. How many homes have you sold in the past year?
5. What services can you provide, specifically, in terms of marketing my home? (flyers, ads, open houses, etc.)
6. What other services or individuals can you recommend to assist in preparing my home for sale? (repair people, gardeners, painters)
7. How quickly will my home appear in the MLS? How quickly will the photos be added after it goes online?
8. What is the average number of visitors you expect to get through my home?
9. How long do you expect my home to be on the market? Why?
10. How will you go about setting the price of my home?

One extra step I wish more sellers would take is to look at listings online that a Realtor has. What you can see online might shock you - misspelled words in the description and a lack of photos or worse yet - BAD PHOTOS!! There are so many bad photos out there that people have made websites dedicated to actual real estate photos.

Because of the market analysis process, most sellers interview their future Realtor. Very few buyers (especially first time buyers) interview their future Realtor though. You want to hire someone with experience and ability, but you want someone who you can get along with. Beyond that, first time buyers might need someone who can take more time explaining the process and setting some expectations. Here are some questions that perspective buyers recently asked me:

1. Are you a full-time agent?
2. Whom do you represent (buyer or seller)?
3. What is your office size, support staff, etc. ?
4. How long have you been an agent?
5. Do you have a salesperson’s license or a broker’s license?
6. Do you hold any professional designations? Any courses/classes taken recently? How do you stay current?
7. What is your understanding of my home buying needs?
8. What do you think of the other agents I am interviewing?
9. How many buyers or sellers are representing at this time?
10. Do you work in partnership or use assistants?
11. Can you provide references?
12. Could you provide us an activity report for the last 12 months – concentrating on the areas we are interested in?

• Property address?


• Property type?


• Sales price?


• Date of sale?


• Was the buyer or the seller represented?

13. What was the total dollar value of the property sold during the preceding 12 months?

Another question for both buyers and sellers in regards to an agent with a "Team" is - Who will I work with? You might be hiring the super star Realtor in your area, but never look at a house or negotiate an offer with that Realtor, instead you get assigned to their less experienced underling.
In the end you want someone who you're comfortable with. Comfortable that they'll do a good job for you and comfortable with their personality. You're going to be spending a significant amount of time with your Realtor, you should be confident that they're the right person for the job.

I'm confident in my skills and I'm happy to compete for your business.

Interest Rate Update

Wow, the bond market is soaring with the news Tuesday from the Federal Reserve. The Fed announced that it will initiate a program to purchase toxic mortgages from Government Sponsored Enterprises (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks). Purchases of up to $100 Billion in GSE direct obligations under the program will begin next week. Purchases of up to $500 Billion in Mortgage Backed Securities will be conducted with the goal of beginning these purchases before year-end. The ten year treasury just went under 3% today. Last time it was there might have been in the 1950’s. So rates are now in the 5.25 – 5.375% range. The question is ~ for how long? Usually these events have a short life span. So here is something to keep in mind:

a 1% rate drop equates to around a 10% payment drop for a buyer.

If you are on the fence, this could be the push you've been waiting for.