$8000 Home Buyers Tax Credit Extended and Expanded

$8000 Home Buyers Tax Credit Extended and Expanded
In the past 11 months I have been working with a lot of First Time Home Buyers to purchase their home in the Austin area. They have had some pretty good incentives like the $8000 tax credit, historically low interest rates and in some areas inflated inventory. The credit was thought to be coming to an end as of December 1, 2009.

On November 6th, the president signed the Worker, Home ownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. One of the major components of this act extended and expanded the $8000 Tax Credit for Home Buyers. Previously, home buyers that purchased a home between 1/1/2009-11/30/2009 would be eligible for a tax credit of up to $8000 if they met certain criteria. Under the new expanded guidelines, even more buyers are eligible for a credit.

The new Act breaks down in two major tax credits for home buyers with similar yet slightly different requirements.

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

• Purchaser is a First Time Home Buyer (or has not been on title for a principle residence for 3 years before the purchase.)
• The tax credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price up to $8000
• Buyer may purchase home up to $800,000 and get the credit.
• Income levels have expanded to include single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000.
• The home must be "under contract" on or before April 30,2010 and must close between November 6, 2009 and on or before June 30,2010.

The Act also includes a new credit for repeat buyers of homes-

$6500 Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit

• Purchaser must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.
• The tax credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price up to $6500
• Buyer may purchase home up to $800,000 and get the credit.
  Income levels include single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000.
  The home must be "under contract" on or before April 30,2010 and must close between November 6, 2009 and on or before June 30,2010.

This is great news for those home owners that are considering "moving up." In areas that have homes appealing to first time home buyers, this is an amazing opportunity for home owners to sell their home to a buyers that have a number of incentives (low interest rates, $8000 tax credit) and purchase another home to receive a $6500 tax credit for themselves.

If you are considering a move-up to take advantage of this tax credit, contact me today and ask for details about my "move up" special that will reduce your out of pocket expenses when selling your home.

Posted by Brian W Martin REALTOR for The Pinnacle Group of Keller Williams that loves to help people save money when buying or selling their home in Austin, TX

NORTHWEST AUSTIN HOMES: The Key to successfully selling your home

NORTHWEST AUSTIN HOMES: The Key to successfully selling your home

In today's housing market, the first impression a home makes on a buyer is very important. There are a lot of homes available leaving buyers with the chance to be pickier than ever. When I work with home buyers in NW Austin, I get to see all of the different ways that homes are showcased.
I set up my buyers with email notifications so they are aware of all properties that are available within their criteria. When they see homes that they like, we go to see them in person.

Obviously the first contact, and the most important, is on the Internet so an essential step when selling your home is making sure that your home looks great on the computer. How can you do it?

• Hire a REALTOR that will put your home on as many websites as possible? How many? You should be able to google your home address and have the first 3-4 pages come up with for sale info.
• Professional photos and virtual tours make a huge difference. Showcase all of the positive features of your home.
• Make sure that your listing in the MLS is FULL of information (it is all indexed by other websites and allows your home to come up when people search by feature)
• Make sure the info in the MLS is true. A GREAT home that is advertised as having a two car garage will leave a bad taste in the buyers mouth if there is not a 2 car garage (even if everything else is perfect.)

OK so now we have buyers interested in our home. Is that it? No, the Internet can only get buyers interested in seeing your home. Then the point is to keep them interested. How?

-Try to put yourself in the shoes of a prospective buyer. Look at your home with a fresh perspective. What needs attention?

• Curb Appeal: Landscaping, Walkways, Flowers
• Inside: Paint, Floors, Staging, Lighting, Scent (neutral is best)
• Overall: Cleanliness, Get rid of Clutter, Put away personal items.
  

The first impression is sometimes the only impression. Buyers that I work with tend to associate the home with the most memorable feature. Some are obviously better than others. If I were selling my house I would rather have it known as "the one with the big backyard" or "the one with the nice floors" instead of being known as "The funky paint" house or "the cat pee house". Homes with a positive first impression have a chance of being seen again and possibly being sold. Homes with a bad first impression stay on the market. Which sounds better to you?

If you are thinking of selling your home, contact me today for a no-obligation consultation which allows us to talk about all of the factors that go into successfully selling your home.

Posted by Brian W Martin REALTOR for The Pinnacle Group of Keller Williams specializing in helping home sellers make a great first impression in NW Austin, TX

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit: When will it end?

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit: When will it end?

In 2009, we have seen many incentives to buy a home.

-Record Low Interest Rates
-In some areas, lower prices than we have seen in 5 years!
-Increased inventory so you have more to choose from
-Not least of all, the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers.

Due to all of these happening at once, there has been a much larger group of first time home buyers than ever before. I know that I have been working with a lot of first time home buyers.

By now you probably have a good grasp on what the $8000 Tax Credit is all about. If you meet the criteria, you have probably even thought about how you would like to buy a home and take advantage of it. You can actually get a rebate for up to 10% of the purchase price on some homes. So Why not? FREE MONEY!

Well, now is the time to act. The credit only applies to homes that close and fund before December 1, 2009.

Will the $8000 tax credit be extended?
-There are rumors that the government is considering a similar plan once this plan expires. I tend to be a bit more on the skeptical side and I think that the only way to be sure to receive it is to work within the guidelines we have set in place right now. They will most likely not make any announcements about a future credit until this credit has expired. Act now! The weeks days and hours are ticking down on this deadline as you read this.

Well, OK, How can I buy a home before the deadline to be sure to get the $8000 tax credit?
There are a few things that you must do if you are trying to find the right home in a short amount of time. Here is exactly what must be done in this situation,

• First, Enlist the help of a Professional.
• Second, use technology to your advantage
• Third, make sure you are working within a realistic time frame.

1. Enlist the help of a professional.
By professional, I mean a REALTOR. More specifically, A full time, really working for their CLIENT, hard negotiating, penny pinching (your pennies), motivated, working overtime, answer getting, YOU pleasing REALTOR. This is not the time to work with someone that is not entirely devoted to helping you make smart decisions and SAVE MONEY. I refuse to let my clients make bad (uninformed) decisions.

2. Use Technology to your advantage.
The best way to stay informed about what homes are available that meet your criteria is to have them emailed to your inbox DAILY. It is as easy as checking your email. When you see homes you like, respond to the email with times that work to see it and figure out if it is your (1st) Dream Home. I set up searches for my clients based on their criteria and constantly adjust the parameters to make sure they are looking at any available homes that will work for them. Contact me today to set this up. Think you aren't ready? Want more privacy? You control the search when you use The BEST Way to search for homes in the Austin MLS.

3. Make sure you are working within a realistic time frame.
Lets work our way backward. You need to buy a home before December 1, 2009, right? That means you will most likely need to close before the Thanksgiving Holiday which means shooting for November 25, 2009 at the absolute latest for a closing date. Most financing will take 30-45 days from contract acceptance so you are able to close. That means that to take advantage of this, it is in your best interest to have a home under contract by mid-October at the latest.
I wouldn't wait until the last minute if I were you. Lenders and Title companies are going to be FLOODED during this time and the home ends up costing $8000 more if you can't close until Dec. 1st or after. There is basically a little more than a month to find the right home and negotiate. For some that may be plenty of time. But for those looking at Northwest Austin Homes, start looking now. These homes sell quickly and in some areas there is very little inventory.

Contact me today if you have any questions about how the tax credit works, how to get started and to start a systematic plan to find the right home in a limited amount of time.

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For more on the end of the tax credit, check out another article by a fellow REALTOR who is the King of Central East Austin Real Estate: Mueller and More

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Posted by Brian W Martin REALTOR for The Pinnacle Group of Keller Williams who is dedicated to helping First Time Home Buyers make the BEST decision of their life.

FEATURED PROPERTY: Beautiful home in Cedar Park, TX

FEATURED PROPERTY: Beautiful home in Cedar Park, TX

THIS HOUSE HAS A BRAND NEW ROOF! BUYERS!, Take advantage of the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers when you purchase this beautiful home. The main level has PERGO and tile flooring throughout. The large kitchen has a huge pantry and utility room attached. The refrigerator and microwave can convey. The large (20x16) Master Suite has a huge walk in closet and space for a sitting area. This is a great home for a first time home buyer or a family!



Posted by Brian W Martin REALTOR for The Pinnacle Group of Keller Williams

How Accurate is Zillow when buying or selling a home in Northwest Austin?

How Accurate is Zillow when buying or selling a home in Northwest Austin?

If you are reading this then you know that people look to the Internet as a source of information for whatever it is they would like to learn more about. Hopefully that is why you are here. With Real Estate, a very large percentage of buyers and sellers head to the Internet and read articles, look at homes, etc. before they even speak to a professional.

There are major corporations that are aware of this and they market their sites as "valuation sites". When I hear something like this, I can't help but be skeptical. If a website knew the value of every home, it would make my job so easy. If I was going to list a home, I could just look on the master website and look up the value of the home. No mystery in pricing, no advertising, it is worth what it is worth so a buyer would most likely put in an offer the next day. Obviously, a website can't do that. But, it could get close, right? Let's find out...

Zillow assigns a "Zestimate" to homes in its database and plots them over a map. It also includes basic features of the homes. For example, 123 Anywhere St. Zestimate: $179,500. 3 bedroom / 2 bath 1875 square feet. Seems OK but, how do they determine the zestimate?

Zillow says, on their own website, "We compute this figure by taking zillions of data points".

Oh!, OK so zillions of data points must make the results pretty accurate, right?

Now lets look at Zillow's Accuracy Rates (Also from their own website)

By the looks of this, in Travis County, 99% of homes have been given a Zestimate and only 16% of homes are within 20% of the actual sales price. 20%??? On an average priced home, which in NW Austin is around $200,000, 20% is a range somewhere between $160,000 and $240,000. I am confident that I can get within 20% of the value of a home in NW Austin if you tell me the street it is on and how large it is. I am not being trying to be arrogant but, $80,000 is a huge range. On top of that the median error is 60%. This means that half of the homes have an error larger than 60%. 60%?!?!?!?!?! On $200,000 that is a range of $80,000-$320,000. Who couldn't figure the value between a range like that? Williamson County is slightly better that that but still very, very inaccurate.

So, how does this affect buyers?

When a buyer looks at the "Zestimate" of a homes they like in NW Austin it is generally about 10-15% low based on actual sales data from the MLS. Based on the Zestimate, the buyer will most likely want want to put in a super low offer because the list price will seem 10-15% higher than the estimate. Guess what? This is a waste of every ones time! NW Austin is a SELLERS MARKET! If it is priced right, the home will sell! They will not consider an offer that is 15% below the list price based on a Zillow Zestimate.

So, how does it affect sellers?

Unfortunately, people that would like to sell their homes, look at Zillow and freak out! There is no way they can move based on that price. That is because in most cases, there is a difference of $15,000-$20,000 between the Zestimate and what they can actually sell the home for in today's market. So they don't even talk to someone about it....and don't sell...and don't move into their dream home.

What should we do instead?

The easiest answer is to contact a professional. Make sure you are speaking with someone that really knows your area. A real professional REALTOR does a lot of research. There are a lot of homes that are being under priced in Northwest Austin because they are working with an agent that does not know the area.

I meet with sellers and give them a complimentary (FREE!) consultation to talk about their homes. That doesn't mean you NEED to sell... I just LOVE talking to people about their homes.

Click HERE to request a FREE Consultation.

I also meet with buyers to talk about neighborhoods that may work for them based on location to work and schools, area amenities, price ranges and styles. No pressure..just talking.

Click HERE to talk to me about the possibility of buying a home OR

Don't feel like talking yet?

Search for Homes in the Austin MLS

Posted by Brian W Martin REALTOR for The Pinnacle Group of Keller Williams specializing in working with Buyers and Sellers who want to make smart decisions about their home in Northwest Austin.

NORTHWEST AUSTIN HOMES: Top 4 ways to NOT sell your home.

NORTHWEST AUSTIN HOMES: Top 4 ways to NOT sell your home.

There are a lot of opinions about what it takes to sell a home. I have the opportunity to work with not only home sellers in NW Austin but I also work with a lot of buyers. I always say that I learn much more about listing homes for sale when I am working with buyers and vice-versa. I get to learn their likes and dislikes and what attracts them to a property. I also work with other agents in trying to show their listings to these prospective buyers. Through these experiences I have learned ways to sell your home and the funny thing is, I have learned a lot more ways to NOT sell your home. Here are the Top 4 ways to NOT sell your home.

1. Go Ahead, Overprice Your Home!
As a home seller you are free to price your home as high as you would like....but, it will remain your home if you price it higher than the market will allow. The list price of a home is all about advertising. More often than not, there is a difference between the list price and the sales price. Most often the two are pretty close. Now, when I am talking about list price vs. sales price, I am referring to the LAST list price not the original list price.
Once you place your home on the market, it has the possibility of being exposed to lots of qualified (and unqualified) buyers. Some of them are the PERFECT BUYER FOR YOUR HOME. If your home is overpriced, it may be out of the perfect buyers range. By the time you lower your price, they have probably already found another home. As I am writing this there are almost 4000 homes available in the City of Austin alone. That means that buyers have a lot to choose from.
I have been to homes where my client LOVES EVERYTHING ABOUT THE HOUSE except the price! They weren't looking in an area that was too expensive or looking at homes out of their range. In one example, my clients loved house A. Based on the comps, house A was overpriced by nearly 10%. Knowing they did not want to overpay, we kept looking and we found house B. It was very similar to house A in size, location, age, and quality however House B was priced at market value. Long story short, they put in an offer on House B and have been living there happily for the past two months. Meanwhile, House A is STILL on the market AND this is in an area that homes do not last long on the market.

2. Do It Yourself-
Ok, I would like to preface this by saying not everyone needs a REALTOR. I have worked with buyers to purchase homes where the seller is representing themselves or they have a "limited representation" listing (read:no representation). They get their home listed in the MLS and put a sign in the yard and voila! SOLD! Right? Not always...
If it is priced very well (low) it has a chance. Past clients of mine bought a home in Brushy Creek for well under market value because the seller had a limited representation listing. The seller paid about $600 to list their home in the MLS. It ending up costing them close to $15000 of built in equity because the home was undervalued.
More often than not, the seller in this case will overprice the home because they are not looking at actual sales data. These homes have no chance of selling. Anybody can give a home away but it takes a professional to make sure that you get every penny that your home is worth.

3. Bad Advertising
Advertising can affect a home for sale in a negative way just as much as it can help in a positive way. What is the number one way people look at homes for sale? They see a sign in the yard? (not really.) Read a flier? (Nope.) Heard about it from a friend (Rarely). That's right, they look on the Internet. So, if you want to sell your home, it should be easily found on the Internet.
This takes multiple steps-
-Make sure it is listed on EVERY popular searching site (and sites you may have never heard of before)
-Pictures are sooo important (the MLS allows 25 now.) How many does your listing have? (This is not always the agents fault. The house has to have things worth showing off too.)
-Make sure you are working with an agent that knows how to properly fill out the forms for submission to the MLS. For instance, in the Agent Remarks and Internet Remarks you are allowed up to 500 characters. I think a seller should be using all 500 because it is searchable data and, along with pictures, helps to get people interested in the home when they are first looking at it on the Internet.

4. Make it really difficult to show the home to prospective buyers.
How?
Have a tenant living there- Tenant do not want the home to sell. Then they have to move.
Only Showings by Appointment - Horrible Idea. Buyers want to see the house now not next week. It is fair to ask for notice but the longer notice that you expect exponentially diminishes your chances of showings. 24hrs? no. 1 hr? maybe 30 min. or less? YES!
Have a code or key with your agent that doesn't return phone calls-I have tried to contact listing agents with a key to the property with no response, ever. Those homes will not sell. The key should be on site.

If all of the other steps are in place and the buyer can't get in to see the home, they will find another one.

Like I have said before, no one can force a home seller to do any of these things and you don't have to, UNLESS you actually want to SELL your home!

Posted by Brian W Martin REALTOR for The Pinnacle Group of Keller Williams specializing in Helping Homeowners SELL THEIR HOME in Austin, TX

Can You Use the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit as a Down Payment? Yes!

Can You Use the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit as a Down Payment? Yes!
In an announcement made yesterday, May 12th, HUD (the department of Housing and Urban Development) said that they plan to allow First Time Home Buyers to use the 2009 $8000 tax credit as a down payment. HUD plans on releasing the official details next week but the idea is basically that FHA approved lenders will be able to monetize the tax credit in the form of a small bridge loan to allow a first time home buyer to use the tax credit toward the down payment of their home.
This is the most recent development in this program for First Time Home Buyers. It is a unique time in the market that a home buyer can purchase a home with an FHA loan and actually pay zero down at closing! This combined with historically low interest rates provides for quite a few incentives for the right buyer. I will update as more details get released on this program.

To read more about the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit read:
$8000 Federal Income Tax Credit: First Time Home Buyers can get an $8000 tax credit for buying a house this year. and
NORTHWEST AUSTIN HOMES: $8000 Tax Credit- How to get a 10% rebate of your homes value.
Posted by Brian W Martin REALTOR for The Pinnacle Group of Keller Williams specializing in Assisting First Time Home Buyers to take advantage of incentives like we have never seen before in Austin, TX