First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible

First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible
Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson that would raise the credit amount to a maximum of $15,000.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada favors an extension of the current credit. He was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun saying, "It's something we can get done."

Odds are that the credit will be extended and broadened to cover all buyers next year, but the chances of the amount increasing aren’t as good, observers say.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (08/22/2009)
Source:REALTOR.org

"Making Real Estate Simple!"

Barbara Ann Wibe, e-PRO, REALTOR
Cell: 619.850.4174 e-Fax: 619.512.5156

www.MyRealtorBarbie.com
Barbarainc@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Nautilus
9535 Mission Gorge Rd #E
Santee, Ca 92071

ZILLOW.com vs Your REALTOR

I was helping one of my favorite clients this morning, when this topic came up. What is the difference between ZILLOW and other listing websites. Well here ya go...

There are 3 different ways to look up homes for sale. Most people start on a listing website like Zillow, Trulia or Realtor.com. (I know you will start at barbarainc.com though RIGHT!) They all start the same way; sign up, enter search criteria into the search box, and the search comes back with all of the listings that match the criteria. Zillow, Trulia and other real estate search engines all work the same way. In fact - your realtor will do the same exact thing - enter the search criteria into the local Multiple Listring Service (Aka: MLS.) But what is the difference??

Let me Take a moment to break it down for you as follows:

MLS - This is the tool that REALTORS subscribe too, to list homes for sale and invite other REALTORS to sell the listed homes to their clients. The MLS is updated in real time and has everything in the county listed; Mobile Homes, Manufactured Homes, Lot/Land, Condo's, Houses, Apartment Buildings and even Business Opporitunities and Commercial Office Leasing.

There is a Spot for apartment managers to list their apartments for rent too, but 95% of them do not want to pay the monthly fee's for the MLS, for a rental that will be taken in 3 weeks, and then have to pay a realtor a sevice fee for finding them a warm body to fill that apartment. For this reason, my renter friends, there are not very many rentals available on the MLS. I would try Craigslist!

The MLS is a powerful tool. The only thing I have found that it lacks in is the "For Sale By Owner" (Aka: FSBO - pronounced fizz-bo) Information, which there are very few of anyhow. If you are searching with a REALTOR and see a FSBO that you like - Let them know. Don't be afraid. Chances are they have seen it, but just in case they have missed the ad, let your agent know.

The coolest part of the MLS is that your agent can set up an automatic search to send you an e-mail anytime something new comes on the market. You may want to weed out all of the Short Sale's for example, or you may only want foreclosed homes in your list. Either way it is the fastes and most accurate way of staying up-to-date with your local market.

REALTOR.com - Probably the best site available to consumers to search property all over the Nation! This site is updated a few times per day with all of the MLS feeds from around the continental United States. It is the ONLY direct MLS feed site that I advise using. The downfall is that you cannot sort out thedifferent types of sales. Such as Short Sales, Foreclosure, or traditional sales. Bummer Dude!

ZILLOW.com, TRULIA.com, Etc. - These are by far some of the worst places to look for homes. They are fun, and pretty, and provide a little bit of insight... but not much. These sites are NOT... I repeat ARE NOT linked to ANY MLS FEEDS!!!!! Thses sites are only user updated, and the information can be WAY OFF! Especially if you are using it to find the value of your own home. It is misleading and most people have no idea how far mis-lead they are. For instance I had a client who exhausted the available inventory in Santee on REALTOR.com, and started looking on Zillow.com for more listing that might be available. Sounds Innocent enough. But the listings she broght back to me were SOLD anywhere from 5 months to 15 months earlier. The problem here, is that the agent who manually entered the information for the listing that they wanted to sell - forgot to (or decided not to, because they love the phone calls) - go back in and edit the listing as SOLD. The agent also forgot to tell us how much it sold for, which throws off the neighborhood values in that area, creating a domino effect.

Another awesome example of the accuracy of these websites is the listing that was on "Honey stop the car" street and another on "Spacious" in santee. They were mearley an ad that an agent put up to get calls about a listing that didn't even exist.

Needless to say, If you are looking for a house on Spacious St or Honey Stop The Car Ln in santee, I am now the Listing agent for those awesome homes on zillow.com. If this is your home, please call me ASAP! - I have put the Links below:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Honey-Car-STOP-THE-Santee-CA-92071/2140043925_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Spacious-Santee-CA-92071/2140043919_zpid/

"Making Real Estate Simple!"

Barbara Ann Wibe, e-PRO, REALTOR
Cell: 619.850.4174 e-Fax: 619.512.5156

www.MyRealtorBarbie.com
Barbarainc@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Nautilus
9535 Mission Gorge Rd #E
Santee, Ca 92071

Buyers--> Foreclosure vs Short Sale

I was councilling a client today and wanted to post a blog to review the differences between the two WHEN YOU ARE THE BUYER:

-Bank Owned Property-

*Often called REO or Foreclosure property

*The Lender owns the property (duh =) and they are required to transfer clear title (NO LIENS)

*Once the property has reverted back to the bank, the price is at it's lowest!

*Banks will not counter offer, They accept the highest and best offer submitted.

*Banks are easy to work with and usually respond to your offer within 24-72 hours. The longest response time I have seen was a week. (not the case when dealing with a short sale.)

*Banks can close in 30-45 days (not the case when dealing with a short sale.)

*Banks will usually give the buyer closing cost assistance and usually always perform all termite damage repairs.

-Short Sale-

*Also called a Pre-Foreclosure or Short Pay

*The Owner of the property is trying to sell the property for less than what the owner owe's the bank on the existing mortgage(s)

*Often there are 2 lenders who need to agree to the short sale. (95% of short sale's that don't go through are because the 1st lender will only allow the 2nd lender to get $1,000 - and usually the second lender doesn't agree to these terms.) TRY to make offers on homes with 1 lender - you will have a better shot at a successful short sale.

*Seller may not be transferring Clear Title, due to the fact that they are in distress and often months behind on payments, Sometimes Liens appear on the title month after sale from debt that the original owner may have had with someone else. The paperwork takes time to process and sometimes liens pop up later that you may need to take to court and deal with.

*Often times (since the seller is in a distressed situation or facing a hardship like job loss, medical bills, or divorce etc.) the buyer has to bring additional funds into escrow to close the property. I have seen a short sale get down to the last few days in escrow, and the appraisal comes back high-right before closing, and so the price of the house has to be raised to meet the appraisal value. Since the sellers have no money, the buyer was asked to come up with an additional $6,000 within the week. Needless to say the deal was cancelled.

*If in fact a short sale does work out you can get a really good deal, (but if the same house foreclosed you will get the best deal)

*Although the seller of a short sale has accepted your offer, they have to submit it to the bank and you may have to wait 2-9 months for a response from the bank about whether or not they will accept a short sale on the property.

*Once escrow is opened you will need 45-90 days to close it. Short sales are never guaranteed to close (- So what happens if you have given your landlord your 30 day notice??)

*Short Sales have NO Closing costs credited to the buyer

*Short Sales have NO repairs done to satisfy Buyer regardless of what the Inspector says about the condition of the property.

*A common problem with short sales is the buyer losing out on money paying an inspector up to $450 to inspect a property that they will never own.

If you are searching for a home and would like a daily list of what is going on in your market excluding all the short sales, please send me an email at barbarainc@gmail.com

"Making Real Estate Simple!"

Barbara Ann Wibe, e-PRO, REALTOR
Cell: 619.850.4174 e-Fax: 619.512.5156

www.MyRealtorBarbie.com
Barbarainc@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Nautilus
9535 Mission Gorge Rd #E
Santee, Ca 92071

Stimulus Projects to Slow Down Traffic in Santee

Federal stimulus money is making its way to Santee in the form of asphalt overlay projects along N. Magnolia Ave. and Mission Gorge Rd. Starting August 24, work will be going on along N. Magnolia Ave. between Mast Blvd. and El Nopal between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. The work will include filling and patching cracks and potholes, putting in video detection cameras, and putting on a rubberized asphalt overlay. The project should be completed around September 4, but it will cause delays during that time – but access will continue during the work.

From about September 14 to October 9 similar work will go on along Mission Gorge Rd. from Fanita Dr. to the Post Office. Most of this work will be done during the night to avoid major traffic delays. If and when I get more specific details I will post them.

(Source: Scouting Santee Blog 8/20)

"Making Real Estate Simple!"

Barbara Ann Wibe, e-PRO, REALTOR
Cell: 619.850.4174 e-Fax: 619.512.5156

www.MyRealtorBarbie.com
Barbarainc@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Nautilus
9535 Mission Gorge Rd #E
Santee, Ca 92071

Buyers Rush to Beat Tax Credit Deadline

Real estate professionals report that first-time home buyers are flooding the sale market, pressed to finalize a deal before the federal government's $8,000 tax credit offer expires on Nov. 30.

Because mortgage approvals, residential inspections, and other steps in the buying process typically take about two months, buyers hoping to take advantage of the incentive will need to have a contract by the end of September.

The new flurry of activity now as house-hunters try to meet the deadline is triggering bidding wars and energizing the property market, which historically is slow at the end of summer. As a result, more homes are getting their full asking price.

Source: REALTOR.org & Chicago Tribune, Kathleen Lynn (08/14/09)

"Making Real Estate Simple!"

Barbara Ann Wibe, e-PRO, REALTOR
Cell: 619.850.4174 e-Fax: 619.512.5156

www.MyRealtorBarbie.com
Barbarainc@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Nautilus
9535 Mission Gorge Rd #E
Santee, Ca 92071

JUST SOLD - LOS COCHES RD.

Sonic vs In-N-Out – The Results Are In

--> CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY... http://tiny.cc/BURGERS503

"Making Real Estate Simple!"

Barbara Ann Wibe, e-PRO, REALTOR
Cell: 619.850.4174 e-Fax: 619.512.5156

www.MyRealtorBarbie.com
Barbarainc@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Nautilus
9535 Mission Gorge Rd #E
Santee, Ca 92071

$280,000 LAKESIDE 4/3 +FIREPLACE, SM YARD

$280,000 LAKESIDE 4/3 +FIREPLACE, SM YARD




CALL TO SEE TODAY

"Making Real Estate Simple!"

Barbara Ann Wibe, e-PRO, REALTOR
Cell: 619.850.4174 e-Fax: 619.512.5156

www.MyRealtorBarbie.com
Barbarainc@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Nautilus
9535 Mission Gorge Rd #E
Santee, Ca 92071