The first-time home buyers tax credit has been extended. It also has been expanded to include existing home owners. First time home buyers can still get up to $8000 and existing home owners can get up to $6500.
For existing home owners, you must have used the current house as primary residence 5 of the past 8 years.
In both cases you need to have a signed purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by July 1, 2010. For single people, the income limit has been raised to $125,000. For married couples the income limit is $225,000.
If you want more information, please click the CONTACT US link at the right.
Posted on November 6th, 2009 by Steve Hong
Filed under: Buyers, Featured, First Time Buyers, Uncategorized | No Comments »
This is one house in South Minneapolis that you don’t want to miss! So much has happened here that it is easier to list the things that have not been updated. But since I’m using recycled electrons for this webpage, I’ll try to list everything that has been updated.
Moving on to the interior, you need to check out the unique hardwood floors in the living room and dining room. The original floor has been refinished and you’ll immediately notice the unique border pattern in the floor. The floor contains at least 5 species of hardwood. Perhaps you can spot all five? The living room is, as far as living rooms go, a good sized room, with a great view. Corner windows allow lots of natural light in.
Now, turning the corner into the kitchen, you’ll be amazed with what you see. At 16×14 this kitchen is huge and fully updated. This kitchen will inspire you to become a master chef. You’ll want to fly to Italy to take cooking lessons, then come back and practice in your own kitchen. There is enough space to have separate preparation areas for several courses of dinner. The island is the centerpiece of the kitchen with a built-in stove and oven. The kitchen table is a butcher block top that was custom made by professional carpenter’s onsite. It is integral to the island, and provides a space to have breakfast. It is also the perfect height if you are kneading bread, or rolling out cookie dough. Sleek black appliances complement the cherry cabinets, and a tile floor rounds out the impressive kitchen. Be sure to check out the Chicago brick chimney that has been left exposed to the kitchen.
The master bedroom is truly impressive at approximately 13×15 in size, and has 3 closets and plenty of space for a large dresser or computer desk. Windows on 2 sides allow a nice evening breeze to flow through the room to keep the warm summer nights cool. The dormer addition played a large part in expanding the size of this room to where a queen bed easily fits in the room with plenty of space to spare.
Besides the fresh paint and carpet, and new 3 panel doors, this home has also been updated mechanically as well. The furnace and central air conditioner is brand new and efficient. The electrical system has been revised with plenty of capacity. The plumbing system was changed to the new pex tubing system and should serve the home well for many years to come.
I have written previous articles defining short sales and foreclosures. I will now compare the consequences to a homeowner of a foreclosure versus those of a successful short sale.
These days, you can’t read the headlines without noticing that there are many foreclosed homes around the country. Since it is so prevalent, we thought it would be best to offer a brief explanation of how the foreclosure process works. First of all, a little clarification. ”In foreclosure” is the process that leads up to being foreclosed. In addition, we are offering an outline of the process, and the actual timeline will vary from bank to bank. 
These days, in real estate, the term short sales is frequently heard. What is a short sale, you may wonder. Well, let me explain it to you by giving you an example. Let’s say you bought a house two years ago with a mortgage of $200,000. Let’s say you’ve paid of $5,000 of the mortgage. I’m just using random numbers, so don’t worry about the math. Fast-forward to now. Your boss is offering you a job in California. It’s more of an order, really, and you take it. You have to sell your home, and it’s now worth $175,000 due to the recession. So, after all the fees, you recoup $165,000. You are still $30,000 short on your mortgage, and you don’t have the money or assets to pay down the mortgage. This is a short sale. You and your agent will have to enter into short sale negotiations with your bank. 
You’re selling your house. It’s a big process, and you aren’t sure where to start. You need to price it correctly; you need to get it in tip-top shape for all the showings; you need to fix up a few things. Now, many people think of the last item last. In fact, many people put off the last item until after they have the house sold (on contigency, perhaps). There are several reasons why people put off making the necessary updates and fixes to their house, e.g., buying new appliances, sealing the windows. First of all, it’s time-consuming to fix up the house. If the house doesn’t sell, it may seem for naught. Secondly, it takes money. Again, if the house doesn’t sell, it might feel like money that wasn’t well spent. Why put in the time, effort, and energy if the house isn’t going to sell anyway, the thinking goes.
Selling a house is time-consuming and hard work, especially in today’s market. If you are thinking about selling your house, you might feel a little overwhelmed by it all. That’s why it is helpful to have a professional by your side–one who can guide you every step of the way. In this blog entry, I am going to give you a brief overview of how a realtor will help you sell your house. This is just an overview, so if you would like to discuss it in more detail, feel free to 
Minneapolis, MN