The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan
Last week the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan was signed by the President as part of his Stimulas Recovery Plan. On Friday, Feb. 20th, I was fortunate to be invited to attend an interactive webinar which explained how the plan will affect the Real Estate business, but more importantly, how the plan will affect our clients. Attending the webinar were some of the best and brightest Real Estate Agents (some may think that's an oxi-moron) in the country. It's this kind of networking and the contacts I've made throughout my Real Estate career that is invaluable to me and my clients...but that's another story I'll touch on at some point. Anyhow, back to the purpose of this posting, and that is to explain, in a nut shell, what this plan is all about. For a detailed summary of the plan, I have prepared an article you can read by clicking on this link.
The plan essentially provides directives and funding to lending institutions for refinancing or loan modifications of struggling homeowners. The overall objective is to strengthen the housing market and reduce foreclosures.....significantly! In the coming days I'll add posts which detail the various aspects of the plan and my own comments on these issues. I hope you'll be back to followup. See you then.
Posted at 05:21PM Feb 22, 2009 by Glenn I Revheim in Real Estate | Comments[0]
First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit
It looks like the final version of Home Buyer Tax Credit provision included in the Stimulas Bill has been watered down. The original bill I spoke about in an earlier posting included a $15,000 tax credit to all home buyers. The final bill headed for the President's desk includes a tax credit of $8,000 for first-time home buyers only. The bill also eliminates the repayment obligation included in last years tax credit of $7,500. The new tax credit will be available for taxpayers that purchase homes between January 1, 2009, and December 1, 2009.
The provision would retain the credit recapture if the house is sold within three years of purchase. This proposal is estimated to cost $6.638 billion over 10 years.
This news will certainly catch the attention of first-time homebuyers looking to take advantage of this highly affordable Real Estate market in the State of California.
Posted at 04:19AM Feb 13, 2009 by Glenn I Revheim in Real Estate | Comments[0]
$15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit
Yesterday the Sentate passed an $838 billion Stimulas Plan which includes a $15,000 tax credit for home buyers. The plan still needs to get through Congress and to the President's desk for signing. If untouched, the $15,000 home buyer tax credit would be available to all purchasers of a principle residence for one year after its date of enactment. The tax credit would not have to be repaid and buyers could claim it against their 2008 and/or 2009 tax returns.
The $15,000 home buyer tax credit would replace and sunset a much narrower tax credit that was enacted last year. Available only to first-time home buyers, the current $7,500 tax credit works like an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a 15-year period. It is set to expire on July 1.
Hopefully, expanding the home buyer tax credit will spark the activity the economy needs to turn the declining housing market around and begin creating jobs.
The National Association of Home Builders estimates that the $15,000 tax credit would boost home sales by almost 500,000, create more than 255,000 jobs, generate $12.3 billion in wages and salaries and increase federal, state and local tax revenue by $8.7 billion.
Let's all keep our fingers crossed and hope this legislation remains intact and is signed by the President soon.
Posted at 05:32AM Feb 11, 2009 by Glenn I Revheim in Real Estate | Comments[0]
First-time home buyer tax credit
It's amazing to me how many Real Estate Agents I talk to that still don't know about the first-time buyer tax credit. In June of 2008, President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. As part of this act, there was a provision to provide a first-time home buyer tax credit up to $7,500. There are qualifying factors, but if you qualify, that means $7,500 extra on your income tax return check. The only drawback is that the credit has to be re-paid to the government over a 15 year period, at roughly $500 per year through your tax returns. It's kind of like an interest free loan. As part of the stimulus bill President Obama should sign in the near future, their is another provision for first-time buyers that close escrow on a home between Jan. 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009, won't have to pay the credit back. Anyhow, if you're a first-time buyer, considering declining home prices, extremely low mortgage rates, and now the tax credit, this may be one of the best times in decades for you to buy a home. For more information on this credit give me a call or follow the link below to read about the tax credit on the IRS website.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=186831,00.html
Posted at 08:40PM Feb 03, 2009 by Glenn I Revheim in Real Estate | Comments[0]
Welcome to ReddingBlogCentral!
For some time I've been meaning to add a blog to my Real Estate website, however, like many things in life, I just never got around to it.....until now. I'm not sure where this blog thing will go, but I do know I'm looking forward to interacting through my blog with clients, friends, and other members of our great community. My intention is to not only talk about Real Estate, but "all things Redding." As time goes on I will add subjects that pertain to life in Redding, for example, I've already added "Fishing" to my list. As far as I'm concerned, you can't talk about Redding without mentioning the world class fishery we have in the Sacramento River. You probably guessed it...I'm an avid angler, so you can bet I'll be chiming in on this subject alot. Well, that's it for now. Don't be shy...leave a post or two and lets see where this blog thing will go!
Posted at 09:37PM Jan 28, 2009 by Glenn I Revheim in General | Comments[0]
