Nick's posterous

November 10, 2009

Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit 2009/2010!!!

Congress has passed new legislation that:

Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.

Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit?

First-time home buyers who purchase homes between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

Current home owners purchasing a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.

To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” the purchaser or his/her spouse may not have owned a residence during the three years prior to the purchase.

Which Properties Are Eligible?

The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, and townhomes.

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October 19, 2009

More ESCROWS than LISTINGS - 1st Time EVER!!

For the 1^st time in history, the number of properties in Escrow exceeded the number of properties Listed. The shift suggests contracting activity is outpacing the number of new listings.

During the 2^nd week of October, the number of listings reached 11,343, which represented a decrease of 194 homes from the preceding week and a dramatic 11,200-unit decline (-49.7%) from the same week of the prior year.

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October 1, 2009

Latest Numbers Exceeding Expectations

Listings Below 12,000 & Escrows Above 15,000

The past week, movement in the resale housing market followed its historical trend.

Compared to the same week of the prior year, inventory is down 10,008 units, or 45.6%.

Keep an eye on the Vegas market as there are multiple bids on most properties and most selling above listed price.

Even Appraisers are noting on their reports that Vegas is a stabilizing market.

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September 15, 2009

Vegas Breaking Records!!

Short Sales and Bank-Owned Properties (distressed units) represent nearly 60% (7,273 units) of total inventory. Short sales comprised 39.8% of availability while bank-owned homes represented 19.8%.

Contracted units (Contingent and Pending) continued to increase during the first week of September 2009, reaching a combined total of 14,632 units, the highest in history and double the amount posted one year ago.

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September 8, 2009

Listings Down - Short Sales Up

Availability has declined 32 out of the last 35 weeks, with the latest posting another decline of 185 units.

Available inventory = 12,368 – which is down 43.6% or 9,573 units from the same time in 2008.

Short sale closings have risen. Note that 7,800 short sale units have sales contracts in place (contingent or pending), but have yet to close. Short Sales represent 54.6 percent of all escrows.

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September 1, 2009

PLAYING WHERE'S WALDO - HOUSE HUNT EDITION!!

The latest weekly performance in the resale market mirrored trends witnessed during nearly every week of 2009 – the number of units under contract rose, while the number of available listings declined.

During the past seven days, the number of available properties dipped by another 105 units, bringing total inventory to 12,553 homes. Compared to the same week of the prior year, inventory is down 43.2 %, or a decline of 9,543 units (from 22,096). Availability is at its lowest level since December 2005, a period when the median resale price was nearly $285,000; for comparison purposes, the latest median price is nearly $125,000.

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July 7, 2009

NEW FICO Guidelines

Note: Earlier this year credit companies made some changes to how your FICO score is calculated.

What the FICO Score Measures:

Payment history (35%)-Aside from extreme events, like bankruptcy or tax liens, late payments have the greatest negative impact on your score. Recency and frequency of late payments count too. In other words, even though a 60-day late payment is not as risky as a 90-day late payment in and of itself, a 60-day late payment made just a month ago will count more than a 90-day late payment from five years ago.
Outstanding balances (30%)-Evaluation of your total balances in relation to your total available credit on revolving accounts is one of the most important factors in the FICO score. Owing a great deal of money on many accounts or "maxing out" on various credit cards can indicate that a person is overextended, and is more likely to make some payments late or not at all.
Length of credit history (15%)-Your score takes into account how long your credit accounts have been established in general, how long specific credit accounts have been established, and how long it has been since you used certain accounts.
New Credit (10%)-Research shows that opening several credit accounts in a short period of time does represent greater risk-especially for people who do not have a long-established credit history. Multiple requests will reduce your score because it looks like you are either trying to get a high amount of credit (possibly because of a cash flow problem) or that you are being rejected by lenders and having to apply elsewhere.
Types of credit (10%)-The score will consider your mix of credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and mortgage loans. Your score takes into account what kinds of credit accounts you have, and how many of each. The score also looks at the total number of accounts you have.

You can check your credit report for free at the three bureaus once per year. To generate a complete 3 bureau score report go to MYFICO.com.

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June 23, 2009

Let's Save Money!! -- Energy Efficient Mortgages

EEM, better known as Energy Efficient Mortgages.

This can take place with FHA loans, Conventional loans, and VA loans, but I am going to go over the particulars when using an FHA loan – the most popular loan type right now.

Eligibility Requirements

Properties that are eligible are One to Four unit existing and new construction properties.
Borrowers are approved through the normal FHA mortgage guidelines for obtaining a mortgage.
The cost of the energy-efficient improvements that may be eligible for financing into the mortgage is the lesser of 5 percent of the property's value, depending on 3 different equations. Please refer to these changes above.
To be eligible for this mortgage, the energy efficient-improvements must be cost effective, meaning that the total cost of improvements is less than the total present value of the energy saved.
The cost of the energy improvements and the energy savings must be determined by a home energy rating report which is done by a home energy rating system (HERS) or energy consultant. The HERS report usually costs from $150 to $350 and can be paid by the seller, the buyer, or sometimes included into the mortgage.
The energy improvements are installed after the loan closes. The money is placed into an escrow account and is released once an inspection verifies the improvements are completed and that the savings will be achieved.
Because of this program, the final loan amount can exceed the maximum mortgage limit by the amount of the energy-efficient improvements. Here is a list of the FHA max mortgage limits
.

Example:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	New Home/Purchase Price	Same home w/ energy cost of improvements
Purchase Price	$250,000.00	$250,000.00
Loan Amount	$245,471.00	$253,471.00
Cost of Energy Improvements		$8,000.00
Monthly P&I at 5.5% - 30 yr	$1,393.76	$1,439.18
Monthly Payment for electric/gas/ etc, etc	$375.00	$253.00
Total Monthly payment include (Mtg Payment & electric bill)	$1,768.76	$1,692.18
Monthly Savings		$76.58

As you can see, in year 1 you would save $918.96! Plus the cost of the energy improvements that were added into your mortgage now become a tax write-off!!

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June 23, 2009

Energy Efficiency Rebates - Just Released

Making your home more energy efficient can help reduce high energy bills while improving your level of comfort. As an added bonus, it's good for the environment we all share. NV Energy offers a number of programs and services designed to help our customers save electricity and money. These programs include cash rebates, load-control, weatherization, energy efficient lighting and educational programs.

Start saving now.

Refrigerator Recycling

Old refrigerators or freezers in your garage can use three times as much energy as newer ones. But you can pick up $30 in cold cash just by recycling your older appliance with NV Energy. We pick it up for free and you get $30.

Cool Share (Southern Nevada )

Cool Credit is now Cool Share. Earn incentives and save money on your bill -- while saving energy for us all -- with Cool Share, a program designed to help reduce electricity demand and keep prices low during the peak summer season. Customers already participating in Cool Credit should continue to call 702-402-1111 for maintenance, troubleshooting, or other questions about the program.

Air Conditioning Rebates for Homeowners (Southern Nevada)

When you replace your old air conditioner with a more efficient system (14.5 SEER or higher), you may qualify for a cash incentive ranging from $140 to $ 1125 depending upon the size and efficiency of the air conditioning unit you choose.

ENERGY STAR Lighting

One of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce your energy bills is to replace your existing incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). Right now, NV Energy is working with participating retailers to offer our customers discounts on energy-efficient CFLs. Savings are offered on the types of CFLs at participating retailers while supplies last.

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June 23, 2009

Most Undervalued Housing Markets

"The good news is that the declines are happening as consumer confidence is rising and housing sales and [building] starts seem to be bottoming out," said Jeannine Cataldi, senior economist for IHS in a statement accompanying the study.

The report claimed the most undervalued metro area in the nation is Vero Beach, Fla., where the median home price has fallen 29.7% since the first quarter of 2005 to $125,400. That is 42.5% below the expectation. Houma, La., prices, at a median of $113,500, are undervalued by 41.4%. Las Vegas prices have dropped more than 46% since 2005, and the city is now undervalued by 40.9%.

5 Most Undervalued

Home prices in these cities are well below normal:

1. Vero Beach, Fla.
Median Home Price: $125.4K
Percent Overvalued: -42.5%

2. Houma, La.
Median Home Price: $113.5K
Percent Overvalued: -41.4%

3. Las Vegas, Nev.
Median Home Price: $140.0K
Percent Overvalued: -40.9%

4. Merced, Calif.
Median Home Price: $106.0K
Percent Overvalued: -40.1%

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