Welcome Back Readers! It’s been a hugely busy month for me in real estate, with the end of the Federal Tax Credit for Homebuyers the Lancaster County real estate market has warmed up with the spring! Even as we close the door on the tax credit, there are many, many other incentives still available for buyers though as we proceed through summer.
For example, I wrote a post a few months ago about Fannie Mae offering 3.5% closing costs assistance/appliance credits for buyers. Due to the popularity of this program (according to Fannie Mae that is), they have extended the program through June!
Click through the “Read More” link after the jump for all the details!
Welcome Back Readers! It’s time for a Market Update, The Lancaster County Association of Realtors® (LCAR) just released their monthly recap of real estate market activity in February 2010 and there were a few good things to point out.
I’ll tell you what those are after the jump, but in the meantime just a note, March was busier than February, April will most likely be too. As a reminder, if you are buying a home, as a first time buyer or a repeat buyer, you have 29 days left to place a home under agreement to ensure that you qualify. Buyers who want to claim the credit must have a home under agreement by 4-30-10 and must settle by 6-30-10. Call me if you’d like more details, now on the the market report!
Welcome Back Viewers!
Thanks for stopping by, it’s time for another video blog post here on www.TheLancasterConnection.com, there’s some great info in there on tax credits that will save you money, check out the video to find out more and click through the jump to get the links mentioned in the video!
Welcome Back Readers!
I apologize in advance for the negative tone of this post, but it is information that people who plan on buying this year need to have. Let me start with this: There are many solutions available to FHA’s problems, and there are other programs that allow cash poor buyers to still purchase homes. It is not the end of the world, FHA is still a fine program, but I have an issue with their changes not offering a solution to their problem.
Call me if you want to find out how low money down programs can still benefit you, in the meantime please be aware of the following info.
FHA has announced policy changes today that will potentially have a negative impact on the housing market. Read on after the jump to see excerpts from a release by NAR:
Waiting. Sometimes a wise strategy, sometimes a foolish one. When it comes to home buying, waiting will surely cost you. There are a number of reasons why, but before I go into that, let’s get one thing clear…. if you aren’t in a positions to buy, if you truly can’t afford it, don’t do it. But if you are unsure, if you are “thinking about it”, if you are planning to “start looking” in a few months, you need to hop off the fence and start now. Waiting is a mistake. Here’s why:
… and he plans to use it to take out the US Housing Market!
I know, very dramatic. Maybe even a little uncalled for. On the other hand, there is really no other way to describe how potentially dangerous the policy changes that HUD Secretary Donovan is proposing this week. What are those changes?
This past Friday, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3548. This bill, at it’s heart a bill to extend unemployment 
benefits {which, by the way, is being completely overlooked as the critical step it was to help the unemployed workers in this country, but that’s a topic for another day (see, I’m overlooking it too!)} contained a roundly supported amendment to Extend and Expand the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit that was set to expire this month. Unless you were hiding under a rock, by now you’ve no doubt heard countless talking heads telling you that this bill will either (A) Save the US Economy or (B) Lead the US Economy into a head on Collision with the ever growing Mountain of National Debt.
Well, if you were looking for someone to support Choice (B), you should probably look elsewhere. But if you were looking for someone to explain just why this bill is critical to the recovery of the nation’s housing market and just may save our entire economy, then keep on reading!
With a quick and resounding “Yes” vote, the House today passed HR3548, extending and expanding the Home Buyer Tax Credit! All we need now is for President Obama to sign the bill into law!
Fees. It’s an interesting word and many
people don’t know just how many fees are involved in a real estate transaction. Lender fees, title fees, inspection fees, notary fees, administrative fees, recording fees, if you’ve ever looked at a settlement sheet you’d be amazed at just how many there are. Why so many?
