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$7,500 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit*
The landmark housing bill signed into law recently by President Bush included a $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers. The Gov't defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a home in the past 3 years. So even if you owned a home in the past, but have not owned one for the last 3 tax years, you still may qualify for the tax credit!
This is an excellent added incentive to buy a home, especially if you were already looking. The good news for recent buyers is it is retroactive to April 9, 2008, so if you already bought a home recently you may still qualify.
This incentive program is scheduled to expire on July 1, 2009. There are some income requirements, but the average first-time home buyer will likely qualify. Please contact me directly if you are interested in finding out more about this incentive.
Is It Safe To Buy A Home Now?
Times have really change, but the worst appears to be finally over for real estate in our area. Please understand that the media is hyping the foreclosure issue for their own ratings, but the truth is the real estate problems are primarily in 7 states and not the entire country. The media neglects to share this information. These are the 7 states that are still having serious issues: AZ, CA, FL, IN, MI, NV and OH.
Right now is the best time to buy a home in our area in many years. Just a few years ago home prices in our area were going up about $5,000 a month, sellers were offering no incentives to purchase a home, multiple buyers were lining up to buy the same home and they were more than willing to offer more than the seller was asking without blinking an eye.
Today that mindset has really changed; you will find that real estate in our area is now a buyer's market. Homes prices have pulled back over the past couple years and sellers are willing to deal to sell their home. Many sellers are more than willing to offer closing cost assistance as an incentive to buy their home.
Interest rates have been creeping up in recently months, so if you have been waiting on the sidelines, I would not delay a purchase any longer. If you are hoping prices continue to fall in our area, I think you will be disappointed and higher interest rates will cost you more money in the long run. Please remember the old Wall Street saying, "no one rings a bell at the bottom of the market." It applies to real estate too!
If you want to discuss this subject further, please contact me today at 757-287-3400 or shoot me an e-mail at Jorge@House4U.com.
House Hunting 2.0 - Save Gas & Time!
With gas prices still higher than any of us would like to to talk about, it is too expensive for most people to just ride around all day looking at homes. Since I am a card carrying technology geek, I wanted to share with you a pretty simple computer solution to house hunting. This is even a great way to visit neighborhoods if your relocating, but currently live somewhere else on the planet. The best part is you can do this right from your computer anytime, day or night and it's FREE!
Try using Microsoft Virtual Earth (using bird's eye view feature) and Google Street View online. Both websites are pretty simple to use once you get the hang of them. Just type in the full address (include City & State) of a property you are interested in and will find yourself at the house. Click on the house a couple of times to zoom in closer.
There are several types of views and ways to point and click to get closer to the house, change directions to view different angles of a home, and travel down the street like you were driving by. You can even fly over the house and the neighborhood as if you were in a helicopter by clicking and holding down the mouse button and dragging the mouse.
The best part is it is actually fun to do and there are some really awesome close up views of most homes! The Microsoft site is my favorite of the two because there is much more to see, but the Google site is interesting too. Give them both a shot and let me know if you found this helpful or not.
Not in the market to buy a home yet? Then just type in your own address and view your own house and neighborhood. Most of country has coverage, but the best pictures are in more populated areas. The Virginia Beach area has excellent quality pictures.
Final Last Words....
If you know of anyone needing my services, whether it be selling their home, buying a new property or property management, please feel free to forward them this newsletter by e-mail. Introducing me this way to some of your friends, neighbors and co-workers would be greatly appreciated!
Jorge Gonzalez, ABR, CRS, GRI
RE/MAX Hall Of Fame
Your Realtor For Life!
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