6500 ways to cash in for the not so first time buyers

Sellers who couldn’t sell their home in 2009 should be feeling a little  lucky.  The housing stimulus bill that Congress just passed will undoubtedly put a silver lining on some of your clouds.  The newly expanded housing stimulus offers tax incentives to all buyers provided they meet eligibility. 

A $6500 tax credit will be available to buyers who have lived in their home for five consecutive years within the past eight years.  You must have a signed valid contract by April 30, 2010 and settlement (closing) must take place before July1.  The income restriction has been expanded to singles earning up to $125,000/year and couples with a combined income not exceeding $225,000.  The cap on the purchase price is $800,000; homes sold at even a dollar above will not be eligible. 

I am not sure this will have a huge impact on the $800,000 housing market.  Most buyers in this price range will not be swayed by less than one percent incentive.  The luxury home market faired a bit better in 2009 as people with cash stores took advantage of discounted properties.  I expect the mid range $300,000 to $600,000 sellers will benefit from this program through spring.  This offer will surely be beneficial to buyers as well as sellers who have had to sit on the sidelines waiting for a better market.  More importantly, we can remian optimistic that this may provide relief for sellers who are trying to avoid foreclosure.

$8000 home buyer tax credit extended and expanded

Not just for the first time home buyer anymore!  The oh so popular $8000 first time buyer tax credit will be extended and expanded officially at any moment.  Congress has passed a bill to extend the original Dec 1, 2009 deadline to include buyers who are under contract by April 30th and closed no later than end of June 2010.  This is great news for first time buyers who just couldn’t get it together or find the right home by now.

The bill will also allow all buyers to cash in, provided they have been in their home for at least five years and they are purchasing a primary residence.  Even more exciting is that the income limit has been increased from $75,000 annual salary for singles and $150,000 for couples.  The new income limit is $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for couples. 

The new policy will be official as soon as Obama signs the bill and shortly after the official website should be updated with the details.  www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com  Lawmakers are hoping that the extension will get the real estate industry through the difficult winter months and jumpstart the spring market while being short enough to be fiscally responsible.

$8000 tax credit making a comeback in 2010?

It is looking more likely that congress will extend the first time buyer tax credit into next year.  However, nothing official has been announced yet.  There is a huge push to get the bill passed for another year and also to expand the bill to offer incentives to other buyers.  A bill being considered will give a $6500 credit to second time home buyers.  I have read in several articles that the Obama camp is in favor of extending the program that has helped to spur on a still sputtering housing market.

It is great news, but it is not too late to take the sure thing.  You still have time to close if you are approved and your seller is willing.  If you are trying to close before the current credit expires, you better git goin!

Month by month “to do” list to save energy in 2009

I saw an interesting commercial regarding saving energy this week.  A teenage girl denied owning a cell phone after a friend calls her on leaving her charger plugged in when not charging her phone.  The ad ended with a note to parents to follow the example of their kids and look for ways to save energy.  I am as guilty as everyone and there are plenty of ways that I can reduce my energy consumption.

If you resolve to make a list of priorities and do at least one each month, by the end of 2009 you will be greener and you will have more money in your bank account.  To help, I am giving the list of suggestions but only you know where your biggest offenders are.

January: Invest in a programmable thermostat and use it.  Program to turn the heat down at night and even in the day if you have a home where no one is home all day.  At my home, we have gotten in the habit of keeping the house a little chilly and putting on a sweater before we adjust the thermostat.

February: Insulate your pull down attic stairs.  There are lots of  do it yourself options for this major offender in winter an summer!

March: Showers use less water than bathing.  Take shorter showers and install a flow restricting shower head and insulate your hot water tank to reduce the cost of heating your water.  Turn down your water temperature ifat all possible.  Many homeowners don’t realize how hot their water is.

April: Use your dishwasher instead of washing by hand.  A dishwasher is much more efficient because it only fills once to do an entire load of dishes.  You can gain additional savings by letting dishes air dry as the heated dry cycle uses more energy, adds heat to the home in the summer and increases chemicals in the air by releasing vaporized detergents in the rinse water.  Invest in more dishes if you can’t fill your dishwasher before needing to run it.

May: Spread mulch over your garden to reduce the need for watering.  Choose natural products like shredded pine bark, pine straw, cypress or coconut husks.  An inch or two of mulch will beautify your garden and help plants survive drought, reducing your water consumption.  Gravel is not a suitable mulch as it can get very hot and damage shrubs in warm climates.

June: Plant shade trees on the southern exposure of your yard.  Adding deciduous trees (trees that drop their leaves) will provide shade in the summer and reduce cooling costs.  When trees drop their leaves in winter, you will still have the benefit of the sun to heat your home and provide light for shorter days.  Contact your local planning department to see if there are any scheduled plant rescues.  Many communities offer free plants for the taking prior to clear cutting for development.

July:  Appliances and small electrics use up to 40% of your power.  A small investment in power strips and instead of turning off the computer, the tv, the everything… will shut the power down.  If you don’t think you will unplug your chargers, put them on a power strip and you will be more likely to turn off the strip than to unplug the charger.

August: Replace your most outdated appliance with an energy star rated product.  If your appliances are more than ten years old, you will be amazed at how much appliances have improved in recent years.  A front loading washer would be my first choice for energy savings because it will do two to three times the volume with less energy and use as little as 7 gallons of water.  A standard washing machine can use up to 30 gallons/load.

September:  Put your screens in and turn off the air conditioning.  Crickets and tree frogs are a much nicer white noise than the drone of a motor.

October: Rake leaves and mulch them.  They can be added to compost or spread as much around acid loving shrubs such as rhododendren, azaleas, hydrangeas, camelias, and most evergreens.  Shredded leaf mold can make up the 50% hard to find “brown” layer in the compost pile.  Using compost and leaf mold as mulch eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers in the garden and it is free! Raking is great exercise and a strong calorie burner.

November: Before the year ends, take advantage of some of the tax credits for energy efficient upgrades.  Thermopane windows and energy star appliances will provide comfort, energy savings and beauty to your home.  If you can’t afford the upgrade, check windows for leaks and replace all leaks with caulk for just a few dollars.

December: Give up the garbage disposal and start composting.  Many towns and cities are trying to stop people from using garbage disposals because they burden the sewage treatment plant with excessive solid waste material and costly to treat oils.  Garbage disposals are polluters.  Composting will save you elecricity, the cost of repair or replacement and provide a chemical free fertilizer and mulch for your garden.  If you are not ready to compost, consider properly disposing of household waste.

I want to encourage all to take a moment to think about how we affected our planet in 2008 and consider improving on that in 2009.

Top 10 home improvement projects with payback potential

According to the recent statistics pubished by the National Association of Realtors, home renovations are still a good investment.  Improving curb appeal with quality exterior upgrades was one of the best decisions for homeowners.  Quaity Siding, windows and decks topped the list for sellers who recouped the cost of upgrades.  Of course, kitchen remodels are always the best place to spend your renovation budget indoors.   

Here is the list that appeared in the article:

Top 10 Project Paybacks 

 1. Upscale fiber cement siding (86.7%)

2. Midrange wood deck (81.8%)

3. Midrange vinyl siding (80.7%)

4. Upscale foam-backed vinyl (80.4%)

5. Midrange minor kitchen remodel (79.5%) 

6. Upscale vinyl window replacement (79.2%)

7. Midrange wood window replacement (77.7%)

8. Midrange vinyl window replacement (77.2%)

9. Upscale wood window replacement (76.5%

10. Midrange major kitchen remodel (76.0%)

 If you would like to read this article in entirety, please follow this link:
http://www.realtor.org/rmohome_and_design/articles/2008/0812_costvsvalue_2008?id=bcaa4b804bfb44b98fe18f66fe42bfc9&wcm_page.resetall=true&cache=none&contentcache=none&connectorcache=none&srv=page

Chatham home revaluation will happen in January

Chatham County property owners will see their home revaluation in January in the form of a new tax value on their tax bill.  The state mandates that home values must be adjusted every four years to be sure that home owners are paying their fair share of property tax.  County commisioners considered a proposal to delay revaluation one year due to the state of the economy.  After further investigation, it was decided that a one year delay would not be a significant enough savings to provide relief to taxpayers.  Chatham residents enjoy low taxes, sometimes less than half of what our Chapel Hill and Carrboro neigbors are paying.  Although it is likely that homeowners will see an increase in home value, given the low tax rate, changes in tax bill should not be too painful.

Job of pest management going to the dogs

Mark Twain once said, “if you want a friend you can trust, get a dog”.  Perhaps now he might say, “if you want to be sure you don’t have termites, get a dog”.  We have all heard of drug sniffing dogs but did you know that dogs are now being used in the home buying process?  I recently met the sweetest dog named Bella who has had special training and now she works for a pest management company.  She can sniff out termites, bed bugs and mold and as she demonstrated, she is very good at it.  The great thing about this little girl is that she was a rescue at one time.  Her owner had given her up because she had too much energy.  Now that she has a job, she is calm and she is worth $10,000.  If you would like to hire Bella to work for you, she is available throughout the triangle.  Please contact me for details. 919-357-6064.

Durham’s top neighborhoods for resale in 2008

Durham real estate market held its own this year.  Now that the 2008 season is winding down, some market data is available. Prices remained stable with zero growth or depreciation.  Number of homes sold was down significantly over 2007.  Current inventory is about an eight month supply.  The neighborhoods that did the best on resale, dominating the number of sold properties were:  Woodcroft, Hope Valley and Grove Park, in that order.  As a realtor, this comes as no surprise as these communities are conveniently located with a short commute to Duke or UNC and offer an affordable price point that appeals to residents, grad students and first time home buyers.  Spring brought multiple offers on many properties and quite a bit of competition, keeping home values stable.  A couple other favorite neighborhoods that ranked near the top were Woodlake, with a slightly higher price/sf and Chancellor’s Ridge, with a significantly higher average home price.  All of these communities have a history of good resale and offer location and amenities that have broad appeal.

Visit NC website says it all!

My new favorite website is visitnc.com.  If you are considering a visit to or move to NC, you must check out this site.  This well designed, comprehensive plethora of information is easy to navigate and serves a broad audience from tourist to resident. Whether you want information on recreation, parks, lakes, beaches, the mountains, small towns, B&Bs, hotels, festivals, concerts, cook-offs…its all there.  To learn about living in the Raleigh Durham and Chapel Hill area, navigate to the links to the Piedmont area or just search by city.  One of the incredible things about living in NC is that we enjoy a very diverse landscape.  Living in the triangle, we are just a couple hours from the beautiful NC beaches and a couple hours to the majestic Great Smoky Mountains and the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.  The Piedmont is a very special place.  North Carolinians enjoy year round golf, gardening, boating, hiking, biking, nature and bird watching.  As a community, we support the arts and preserve our heritage.  So check out this website and find out what is so special about living in North Carolina.

www.visitnc.com

For some of my other favorite links and local tourism information, please go to my website or contact me directly at 919-357-6064.

Buying a duplex can provide a way to afford a starter home

Buying a duplex as your first home may be a good way for some to get started in this tough economic environment.  Many lenders will consider rental income to qualify for a loan.  For those just starting out who have a good credit score and are on the fringe for qualifying income, a duplex may be the answer.  For rental to be considered income, you will need to show rental history and a signed lease.  Adding  the first time home buyer tax credit into this mix may stir up a win/win.  I will be placing a Chapel Hill/Chatham duplex with great rental history on the triangle MLS on Monday.  If you want to learn more about this property, please check my website www.mariescheuring.com or give me a call 919-357-6064 to receive the property details by email.