Chance Gates' Blog

Understanding Pricing
I realize it is hard to stomach, but short sales and foreclosures have driven the value of homes way down. The good news is houses are starting to sell if they are priced right. It use to be: that a seller could find the highest price house that compares to his, price his house a little higher, wait a couple months and he would sell the house. Now if a seller prices his house to high and waits a couple months the actual selling price is less than before. In order to sell a house, the price must be accurately determined to get a fast sale for the most money possible. If the house stays on the market longer than 7 days, with no activity, a price adjustment is needed. A seller needs to stay updated on other houses for sale, in his neighborhood, at least once a week.

Marketing
The way to market a house has really changed in the last few years. A seller use to be able to put an ad in the newspaper or magazine to create interest in his property. Now only about 20% of home buyers go to a newspaper or magazine before buying a house. Wayne Gretzky once said “A great hockey player skates to where the puck is going”. In real estate that is also true, a seller needs to advertise where the buyers are going. That is the internet; over 80% of buyers start their search by looking at houses on line. A seller should get his house on as many web-sites as possible, over 200 different sites is highly recommended.

Internet marketing is a good start, however in today’s market a seller can not stop there. He needs to have fliers made up and passed out to all his neighbors. More than 50% of houses sold come from neighborhood activity.

Open Houses – Good or Bad?
This is a question that will be different for every seller. It is very true that less than 5% of open house actually sell the house. There is no telling if a potential buyer is actually inspecting the house to rob later. However, it does remind people that the house is on the market and helps create conversation about the house. It also gives potential buyers a noncommittal way of seeing the house.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional I encourage all questions and comment on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any article posted.  I can be reached by email at chance@ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

IR-2009-27, March 18, 2009

WASHINGTON — As part of the Treasury Department’s consumer outreach effort and with the April 15 individual tax filing deadline approaching, the Internal Revenue Service today began a concerted effort to educate taxpayers about additional options at their disposal to claim the new $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit for 2009 home purchases. For people who recently purchased a home or are considering buying in the next few months, there are several different ways that they can get this tax credit even if they’ve already filed their tax return.

The Treasury Department encourages taxpayers to explore these options to maximize their credit and get their money back as fast as possible.

“The new credit can get money in the pockets of first-time homebuyers quickly,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “For people who recently purchased a home or are considering buying in the next few months, there are several different ways that they can get this tax credit even if they’ve already filed their tax return.”

First-time homebuyers represent a significant portion of existing single-family home sales. The expansion in the first-time homebuyer credit will make it easier for first-time homebuyers to enter the housing market this year.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, qualifying taxpayers who purchase a home before Dec. 1 receive up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately. People can claim the credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.

The filing options to consider are:

File an extension. Taxpayers who haven’t yet filed their 2008 returns but are buying a home soon can request a six-month extension to October 15. This step would be faster than waiting until next year to claim it on the 2009 tax return. Even with an extension, taxpayers could still file electronically, receiving their refund in as few as 10 days with direct deposit.

File now, amend later. Taxpayers due a sizable refund for their 2008 tax return but who also are considering buying a house in the next few months can file their return now and claim the credit later. Taxpayers would file their 2008 tax forms as usual, then follow up with an amended return later this year to claim the homebuyer credit.

Amend the 2008 tax return. Taxpayers buying a home in the near future who have already filed their 2008 tax return can consider filing an amended tax return. The amended tax return will allow them to claim the homebuyer credit on the 2008 return without waiting until next year to claim it on the 2009 return.

Claim the credit in 2009 rather than 2008. For some taxpayers, it may make more financial sense to wait and claim the homebuyer credit next year when they file the 2009 tax return rather than claiming it now on the 2008 tax return. This could benefit taxpayers who might qualify for a higher credit on the 2009 tax return. This could include people who have less income in 2009 than 2008 because of factors such as a job loss or drop in investment income.
The IRS reminds taxpayers the amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers. Taxpayers can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.

IRS.gov provides more information, including guidance for people who bought their first homes in 2008. To learn more about the overall implementation of the Recovery Act, visit www.Recovery.gov.
As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

As a new buyer researches the Reno/Sparks real estate market, he will notice a lot of house are in foreclosure or are being sold as a short sale. A short sale is a home where the market value of the property is LESS than the loan amount owed to one or more lenders. And buyers often believe that these are the best deals, along with foreclosures. Don’t be scared off by these short sale properties as they may turn out to be a great deal for you.
If you are making an offer:
• Make sure you make the offer contingent on the short sale being approved by the lender and set a time frame for approval
• An addendum form is advised to outline the short sale contingency terms and conditions
• It is still prudent to conduct a home inspection even though the lender will probably require an “as is” sale – you still want to know what you are buying and what repairs need to be made
• It is possible the seller will not be able to do any repairs or even have the power and other utilities turned on for the inspections. So be ready to turn them on in your name. (After receiving short sale approval).
I would NOT recommend taking on a short sale purchase without your own representation of a knowledgeable licensed agent. There is too much at risk for you, the buyer.
As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

I like to meet my clients at my office. This allows time for me to answer all questions, to find if we are a good fit and to get the disclosures done. This is also the time to get them pre-qualified if they have not done so already. I find for a lot of my clients that it is more comfortable for them to talk to a mortgage broker at my office. This also allows me to inform them on the strengths and weaknesses of different lenders to determine which will be the best for them. After getting them pre-qualified, I do this first to get a price range, and then the discussion turn to what type of house is right for the client. This is where I usually like to end the first meeting.

I then enter all the information on what type of house they want to call home into the computer and email them houses that fit into their criteria. This way the clients can preview the houses on their own. Once the buyers have 4 or 5 houses they would like to see the inside of they call me. When going through the houses I like to point out every thing, I see, that is wrong with the house. If there is something wrong with the house that is going to be a problem, it time to move to the next house.

Once the client found the house they want, everything I pointed to wasn’t a problem, we make an offer on the house. This is the time to mention everything that the buyer needs to have checked. I always recommend having a home inspection, where I pointed out everything I notice, I’m not a home inspector. Getting a home warranty is also a very good idea, this is in case something breaks after the client moves in.

Skipping ahead in order to try and keep this article short (to late): Offers gets accepted, title gets opened, inspections are ordered and done, repair list is made, home warranty is ordered, repairs are done, appraisal is back, loan docs are drawn, final walk through is done, loan docs are signed, funds are distributed, purchase is recorded and title is place in the new owners name. Keys are handed over with the recommendation to change all locks and new owner moves in. Done with no glitches, yea right!! In real estate there is always glitches.

As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

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Washoe County Property Taxes are assessed once a year and cannot exceed property value. The way the assessor’s office determines the base price, to be taxed, of a person home is to take the value of the land add how much to replace the house new, and subtract deprecation. If this base price exceeds the property value a person can challenge the base price as long as the challenge is before the January deadline. The county assessor’s office has to send you the base price before the end of December. The assessor’s office phone number is (775)328-2233.

Example

A person receives a letter form the county assessor’s office and they base his house at $300,000. However this person just bought the house for $250,000 and made no improvements. Now the assessor’s office does not use Nevada real estate sales to determine the base price. However a person would have a great challenge because they could prove the base price exceeds the property’s value. If the challenge is not made before the January deadline, the homeowner will have to wait until next year to adjust the base rate.
As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

FHA interest rates down to 5%
First time tax credit of $8000

Low FICO score programs
First time home buyer programs
Rural housing 100% loan programs
As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

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■ For FICO scores between 550-619

■ 3.5% down payment

■ 30-year, fixed-rate FHA financing

■ Purchase and refinance

■ Gifts from close relatives acceptable

■ Job-loss insurance until 2011†

■ First-time homebuyers may qualify for up to $8,000 in

Federal tax credits‡
As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

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