San Diego real estate blog - Peter Toner

How to use your $8,000 tax credit

Peter Toner — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:54:35 +0000

Formal guidelines from the Federal Housing Administration …

…. have been issued regarding the first time homebuyer tax credit worth up to $8000. Many had hoped FHA would allow lenders to give the 3.5% down payment to buyers in the form of a 2nd loan on the property.

The 2nd loan would have then been paid off when the buyer received their tax credit. Unfortunately, FHA has decided not to allow what they consider a "no down payment" loan.

However, the good news is FHA will allow the tax credit to be used for closing costs and any additional down payment, which can help buyers to obtain a lower interest rate. FHA allows parents, employers and other government agencies to contribute towards the 3.5% down payment.

There are also a number of state housing finance agencies offering down payment assistance loans that can be used to meet FHA minimum down payment requirements. The FHA down payment can also come in the form of a 100% gift as long as it is from a blood relative and the monies need not be paid back.

You can give our office a call and one of our Buyer’s Agents would be happy to discuss your options regarding FHA loan programs! Call 858 551-3311

North Park Sellers -WHERE ARE YOU???

Peter Toner — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:13:40 +0000

Home buyers get frustrated in North Park / City Heights / Normal Heights

A client of our is getting pretty frustrated with trying to find a home in the area.

She had called about a home that was recently listed. We checked with the listing agent about the availability and was told there was already a pending offer. This isn’t the first time with this particular buyer either so I told her I’d check and felt sure I’d find additional properties.

Well…after searching the San Diego MLS for a 3bd/2ba home up to $400,000, I came up with a grand total of 5 properties and 2 already had offers. I increased the maximum sales price to $500,000 to see if I could find a few more and that is about all I found; 4 more listings and 2 of those had pending offers.

Hey, if I’m not immagining the reality we have a sellers market out there!

If any of you home ownersin the North Park / City Heights / Normal Heights area have been holding off listing your homes in the last few months, you may want to re-think that strategy.

It’s a good possibility you might get the price you ask for. Just be sure to call us first!!!

Written by Erin McBratney

Click over to see what’s homes are currently for sale in North Park etc

Remember-nothing lasts forever!!!

Peter Toner — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:29:47 +0000

New tax credit for buying a brand new home, but it won’t last …

Many first time homebuyers (those who haven’t had ownership in a principal residence for 3 yrs.) have heard about the $8000 tax credit included in the recent stimulus package. So many are taking advantage of this benefit that it is anticipated the program will certainly meet and exceed the 2 million target set by Congress before it expires on 11/30/09.

The original allocation was $13.6 billion and there is no provision to end the program early if it exceeds those limits.

Fewer people, however, are aware of a similar tax credit in California.

The state is offering a tax credit up to $10,000 to buyers purchasing a new home before this program ends March 1, 2010 or until $100 million in tax credits are approved. As of April 15th, state officials reported they had received applications totaling $34.9 million or a little over one-third of the program’s allotment.

UPDATE: There are no income limits and anyone, first time buyers and move up buyers are both eligable until the funds are exhausted! The credit will be up to to $3,333 per year off your taxes for 3 years.

The goal of selling at least 10,000 newly constructed homes will most likely be met.

Be sure to be one of the smart buyers to take advantage of both federal and state tax credits this year by contacting our office and speaking with one of our Buyer’s Agents today.

Remember-nothing lasts forever!!!

If you are out looking for a home with one of our buyers agents we will also include new homes on the tour - meet our team or Search here for San Diego Real estate.

Written by Erin McBratney

Real estate market reality

Peter Toner — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:48:28 +0000

Here in San Diego we have seen months and months of bad real estate news from the media.

Then all of a sudden (on April fools day - no joke) the San Diego Union Tribune writes a story entitled "Signs suggest county housing market recovering".

One of our team’s buyers agents Erin McBratney had an interesting observation based on her experience last weekend:

Erin reports - I was contacted last week by a client to go look at homes in Clairemont, Mira Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos. He sent me a list of 21 properties in those areas that he had researched on our San Diego property search site.

After many phone calls to the listing agents to check on availability there were only 5 that were actually available to show him! My research revealed that all of the other properties, which had been listed in the past 60 days, had multiple offers and many had stopped showings altogether.

Note: Many of the homes with multiple offers were short sales where the seller had accepted an offer but the Lender(s) had not yet approved the sale.

When we looked at the 5, it became apparent as to why they were still on the market with no offers. They either had structural problems or were in such poor condition that any buyer would have to put in considerable money to make them livable. Be aware the list prices for these properties were between $350,000-$400,000. Not exactly "bargain basement".

I did another search to see if by chance there were any just listed properties and was able to find 2 to show him. Both were in great condition (turnkey) and well priced with no offers yet. He looked at both and agreed they were wonderful homes but he decided to "just wait". I pointed out that both homes would likely have several offers by Monday (in fact, they did).

The cautionary tale is this;

Our client started looking approximately 18 months ago and decided to wait (well called). While he was wise to wait to purchase at that time, he seems to think the market is continuing to drop even when the evidence is pointing to the contrary (i.e. multiple offers bid up over list price).

I believe that now is actually the best time to jump into the housing game because no one will absolutely know for sure when the bottom of the market is until it has already passed and they are looking behind.

To search for homes click over to our San Diego real estate search site here.

Take the Fed’s money!

Peter Toner — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:50:53 +0000

THE GOVERNMENT PAYS YOU TO PURCHASE A HOME!!!

The new economic stimulus plan that became law recently gives first time home buyers a tax credit up to $8000. According to the new rules, you have to buy your first home between Jan. 1st and Nov. 30th, 2009, or have had no ownership interest in a home for the last 3 years.

You will still need to come up with your down payment first; however, if you borrow that money from a relative you will be able to pay it back with the monies received when you file your tax return and claim the $8000 as a tax credit. Home buyers this year can receive $8000 without any obligation to repay the money as long as they live in the home 3 years.

And if you buy a home soon, you can receive your $8000 quickly by claiming it on your 2008 tax return. Even if you already filed your return, you can still claim this credit for 2008 by filing an amended return with form 1040X. If you plan to buy a home later this year, you have 2 choices: request an extension for your 2008 taxes and claim it when you file by Oct. 15th or claim it when you file your 2009 return.

Contact us for further information on first time home buyer programs, and don’t forget we have one of the best real estate search programs available!

Stimulus Plan Passed by the House of Representatives for $819 Billion

Peter Toner — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:05:29 +0000

This week President Obama’s Stimulus Plan was passed by the House of Representatives. Since being sworn into office Obama has been working hard to promote the bill in hopes the Republican reps would support him. The plan passed at 244-188, not a single Republican supported the plan and 12 Democrats voted against it. Those opposing the plan felt it was lacking necessary tax cuts and involved too much spending. Those Democrats who did vote for the plan support the President and believe the spending within the plan is necessary to save the nation’s struggling economy.

Chip Reid, CBS News chief White House correspondent reported that President Obama expressed disappointment that both parties were not in support of the bill, but that he still felt that this was the appropriate plan of action for the nation’s economy. The plan still must run through the Senate for final approval. Much of the plan is geared to help those who have been hit hardest by the changes in the economy. A new website www.recovery.gov will be provided by the government so that Americans can actually follow the spending of the money in the Stimulus Plan.

A Bit of Sugar Helps the REO’s Go Down

Peter Toner — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:53:38 +0000

Today’s real estate news is saturated with talk about REO’s, short sales, foreclosures and the troubled real estate market, but just how bad is it? Some propose the market is nearing bottom, others have a more doomsday approach and expect the market not to bottom out for another couple years. Rather than try to predict the future we’ll just discuss the numbers.

Inman News quoted today that FDIC-insured banks had a total of $23 billion dollars
worth of real estate on the books, and those stats are from the end of September. That figure is a 134 percent jump from just a year prior! Banks are currently being bombarded by foreclosures and REO’s hitting their books. So much so that loan servicers have to act carefully by not flooding the market with the properties, but slowly dispersing them instead. It has to make you wonder just how many are out there that haven’t been put up for sale yet by the lenders who own them.

In contrast sales are continuing to moderately increase according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales from November to December rose from 4.45 million to 4.74 million. Nationwide sales were up 1.1 % from the year prior. On a more local level, this week the California Association of Realtors announced an even more interesting figure – detached resale homes increased by 84.9% in December 2008 compared to the number of sales in December 2007. With the median homes sales prices in California dropping a staggering 41.5 percent, perhaps more Californian and San Diegan home buyers are venturing out to take advantage of the distressed properties on the market. The little bit of sugar that helps it all go down a bit easier.

Real Estate Myths All Buyers and Sellers Should Not Be Fooled By

Peter Toner — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:31:25 +0000

This morning the Today Show interviewed Barbara Corcoran, a well known and very successful entrepreneur who gained her success by creating her own real estate brokerage group. She has since sold her business for a very pretty penny and now spends her time writing books, contributing to the Today Show on NBC, CNBC, The Daily News, MORE magazine as well as Redbook. She is known for her extremely inspirational and success driven personality that isn’t afraid to tell her clients or audiences the truth about real estate and all aspects of gaining success in life and business. Below is the full list of Real Estate Myths she shared on the Today show. List is courtesy of MSNBC.com.

10 Real Estate Myths For Buyers and Sellers

The truth about the housing market
In today’s uncertain market, fear runs rampant on both the buying and selling sides of the fence. Many myths need debunking. Here are five untruths held by buyers, and five held by sellers.

Buyer myth No. 1: The longer the house is on the market, the more you can negotiate.
When buyers ask, “How long has this property been on the market?”, they think “six months” means they can negotiate the price down. It more often means the seller is stubbornly holding on to their price.

Buyer myth No. 2: The sellers today are desperate.
Most aren’t. Always ask why the sellers are selling. It’s the key to finding how motivated and anxious they are. “I’m being transferred to Dallas” is a very different answer than “We’d like to find something bigger.” The first homeowner is hot to trot.

Buyer myth No. 3: You can’t buy a home today with less than 20 percent down.
FHA loans require only 3.5 percent down, and you can even ask the seller to pay the closing costs.

Buyer myth No. 4: You need good credit to get a good loan.
Once again, the FHA to the rescue! They’re happy to lend money to buyers with bad credit.

Buyer myth No. 5: You shouldn’t buy before prices have bottomed.
You can’t sharpshoot the real estate market. Once you identify the “bottom,” prices have already moved up.

Seller myth No. 1: Now’s the absolute worst time to sell.
Not necessarily. It depends upon where you live. Many of the worst hit markets, like Las Vegas, Phoenix or San Diego, are already beginning to turn around. And if you’re a homeowner who wants to trade up, the loss you’ll take on your current home will be more than offset by the bargain you’ll get on the next one.

Seller myth No. 2: Never respond to a low-ball bid.
All buyers today feel obligated to put in low-ball offers to see if the seller bites. If you respond with a reasonable counter offer, most buyers can be convinced to come up in price and make the deal.

Seller myth No. 3: The first offer is never the best offer.
Most sellers believe that it’s smart to hold out for something better. But four times out of five, the first offer is the best you’ll ever see.

Seller myth No. 4: ‘I can always reduce my price later.’
Sellers often price their home high for a few weeks just to test the market. But buyers shop by price bracket and if your house is in the wrong one, you’ll just help sell everyone else’s home while yours sits there overpriced. And reducing your price later in small increments puts you in the position of chasing the tide as it goes out.

Seller myth No. 5: Before you refinance, shop around.
You can if you want, but you’ll usually get the best deal from your current lender. And you’ll be able to negotiate your closing costs.

To search for your new home in San Diego check out our website: www.SanDiegoRealEstateAgent.com.

Good Morning President Obama… Just Sign Here

Peter Toner — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:31:01 +0000

It’s been a busy first day for the new President and one thing is certain; he’ll continue to have his plate full… especially with new measures from lawmakers. In the recent months before Obama’s swearing in, lawmakers have been working quickly to create
solutions to our struggling real estate market. Many of these new measures lawmakers hope to get in front of the new President as soon as possible. Below are just a few of the new measures that will soon be presented to Obama for his approval signature.

Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP) needs approval to use the balance of the $700 billion dollar program that will be working towards foreclosure relief, solid loan modification guidelines to ease the process for homeowners as well as continuing the efforts of “Hope for Homeowners.”
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, if put into work will allow for 3 million to 4 million jobs as well as up to $275 billion worth of tax cuts and approximately $550 billion to put towards unemployment benefits, and investments in science and technology.
HR 230 promotes Fannie and Freddie to provide fixed rate mortgages of 4% or less in efforts to provide more affordable mortgages.
HR 600 will once again allow down payment assistance programs to be seller funded when using FHA backed loans.
HR 514 in essence new rules for lenders to follow and live by, in efforts to regulate the industry many feel played a huge part in the distress we are seeing today in the real estate market.

Variations in Home Prices in San Diego County

Peter Toner — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:04:24 +0000

As the real estate roller coaster ride continues, MDA DataQuick is discovering some interesting statistics. Although much of the San Diego County has seen price declines, there are some areas that have not been hit and are actually experiencing some median price increases.

San Diego real estate that is being hardest hit by foreclosure: the ones experiencing the pain of median price declines. Logan Heights 92113 for instance has seen their median home price decline as much as 48 percent. As a whole East County
’s prices have dropped 26.8 percent from the year before. The same holds true for San Diego North County Inland, where Escondido’s zip codes 92025 and 92027 were the hardest hit at 40 percent.

MDA DataQuick reported that at least some of San Diego’s zip codes have been able to fend off price declines. Solana Beach 92075 actually saw an increase of 25% for its median home sale price. Rancho Santa Fe 92067 saw a small increase of 2.3 percent raising the median home sale price of the area to $2.4 million.

A peculiar increase was seen in Downtown, thought to be flooded with available condos. 92101 saw an increase of 7.4 percent, perhaps due to new construction that was sold in 2005 and 2006 and finally being completed. Those properties sold at top market dollar which perhaps may be the reason for the increase in median sales price.

So what’s the moral of the story? Those interested in purchasing a home in San Diego and hoping to take advantage of an area that has had a decrease in median home price; your best bets are North, East and South San Diego communities. The coastal regions (for the time being) continue to hold on to their value.