Robert Mickalson of The Robert and Brian Team discusses how quite a few Santa Clarita home buyers have been discouraged lately due to the low inventory of homes available to purchase. This low inventory has created multiple offer situations, frustrating many buyers. Robert says to have hope, and be encouraged, more homes will be available in the coming months and year, and we may see an increase in the inventory. Plus the first time home buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 just got extended and expanded.

Hey everyone! We will be posting a new listing to the Saugus / Plum Canyon area in the coming days this week. It's a beauty and was previoulsly foreclosed on! Single family home, single story, 2,150 sq ft, and built in 2006! This home is part of the Sienna Hills community of Pum Canyon, which is just south/southeast of Bouquet Canyon Road.

We do not have a listing price yet, but it should be $420,000ish. It should sell fast, mainly because it's a nice, and large single story home, which are very popular and not as common.

For a single story, this home feels HUGE. The kitchen is very large and has a nice tiled center island.

Contact us @ 661-964-1760. Let's set up an appointment to view it! The property, and many more photos, will be posted to our main Santa Clarita real estate website soon. Check us out @ TheScvAgents.com.

Here are a few photos of this home located on Paige Place in Saugus (Plum Canyon).

Today President Obama signed the bill that extends and expands a tax credit to home buyers. For all the details on the tax credit you may be eligible for when purchasing a home now, or in 2010, check out our blog post from yesterday: Santa Clarita Home Buyers: Congress Passes Tax Credit Extension.

Call The Robert and Brian Team for assistance with your Santa Clarita home search. Reach us @ 661-964-1760. Or always feel free to shop for SCV Homes @ TheScvAgents.com!

Thursday turned out to be a great day at The Robert and Brian Team HQ! I was greeted on the way out of our Westridge Valencia office to this beauty. Enjoy!

Sent from my iPhone

Robert Mickalson
Realtor
License# 01313126
The Robert and Brian Team
Realty Executives Valencia
Office Direct: (661)964-1761
Cell: (661)373-2374
Fax: (661)222-7007

For expert Santa Clarita real estate assistance, please visit www.TheScvAgents.com .

Posted via email from The Robert & Brian Team

Attention all Santa Clarita home buyers! Today, Congress almost unanimously passed the extension of the home buyer tax credit. They also expanded it to include existing homeowners. There are several other details that added flexibility to the tax credit, which hadn't been included in the first go-around for most of 2009 when the first time home buyer tax credit was implemented.

Here is what you need to know:

• The Senate and House of Representatives have now both passed the extension and the expansion of the home buyer tax credit. It is now up to President Obama to sign off. It's likely he will, and soon.
• The federal tax credit will be extended through April 30, 2010, with a 60 day extension if a binding purchase contract is in place prior to the April 30th deadline.
• First time home buyers will continue to be eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000.
• Existing homeowners will be eligible for a reduced credit of up to $6,500, so long as they have lived in their current residence for at least 5 years, of the last 8.
• This bill also increased the income levels for recipients of the tax credit. For individual tax filers, you can now earn up to $125,000 (previously $75,000), and joint filers can now earn up to $225,000 (previously $150,000). The purchase price of the home can be no more than $880,000 in either instance.
• You can claim this credit on your 2009 tax return.
• You do NOT have to repay the tax credit, so long as you live in the residence for 36 months after the purchase, and this requirement is waived for active duty military personnel who move due to a military order.

Nationally, just over a million first time home buyers become homeowners as a result of the Federal Tax Credit, which started in February 2009.

As always, please check with your accountant, CPA, or financial adviser, and see how this tax credit may, or may not fit into your own personal situation.

We expect this tax credit, especially with it having been extended to existing homeowners, to continue to stabilize home sales and moderate the housing inventory in the Santa Clarita Valley. The inventory level of homes for sale in Santa Clarita is at historic lows right now. There is quite a bit of demand, and not enough supply. Due to that fact, prices aren't dropping as much right now, and in some cases, not at all. All real estate is local, and some communities within Santa Clarita are certainly fairing better, or worse, than others.

You need a local expert to help you decipher what's going on in our local Santa Clarita real estate market. Contact The Robert and Brian Team @ Realty Executives for assistance, 661-964-1760. You can visit their local real estate website @ TheScvAgents.com!

Full post and details tomorrow on this, but today the Senate voted to extend and expand the home buyer tax credit through Spring 2010. It's off to the House of Representatives now for their vote, and then off to the President for finalization. Looks as good as done, but, it's not done yet. More on the details on this extension and expansion of the tax credit, on a new post Thursday.

Keith Renno, with The Renno Lending Team @ Prospect Mortgage explains the difference in interest rates, between FHA loans, and Conventional loans. A question that we get asked all the time from our home buyers! Keith also clues us in as to where interest rates are headed.

 Contact The Renno Lending Team @ Prospect Mortgage at 661-290-3817 or visit them at their Santa Clarita Mortgage Blog.

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We had a great time interviewing Mike Terry, of Verengo Solar. Mike gives us some great insight into the real cost of using Solar enegry in the home, and the benefits of going Solar vs. traditional energy use. Thanks for your time Mike!

For more information on Going Solar…please contact Mike Terry @ 661-755-9549

For information on Santa Clarita Real Estate, always call The Robert and Brian Team @ 661-964-1760.

Disclosure of material connection: http://cmp.ly/0

We just completed our first Wetoku interview! So much fun. That's the inner-geek in us. Today, I interviewed Keith Renno from The Renno Lending Team @ Prospect Mortgage. We discussed the "State of the Mortgage Market." Keith is very knowledgeable about the mortgage industry, and is very well versed on how best to advise his borrowers, when they come to him, and his team, for their home loan needs.

 Contact The Renno Lending Team at 661-290-3817 or visit their SCV Mortgage Blog

Contact The Robert and Brian Team for all your Santa Clarita Real Estate needs @ 661-964-1760.

Disclosure of material connection: http://cmp.ly/0

Here is a glimpse of our newest listing in the Saugus area of Santa Clarita, that should hit the market within a few weeks. It was recently foreclosed on, and is Corporate owned.

First it needs to be cleaned up, and readied for showings. It's a single family home, off of Alaminos, in Saugus. Great neighborhood and this home particularly has no rear neighbors. The house itself has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and features just over 1,500 sq ft of living space. Some upgrades include newer windows, hardwood floors, and a private pool in the backyard. Call or email The Robert & Brian Team @ Realty Executives for more information, such as pricing and to be put on an interest list for showings.

Contact us @ 661-964-1760, or just visit us on the web @ www.TheScvAgents.com.