Just wanted to share some great news for first time home buyers! 

Yesterday, President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which will help bring stability to the housing market and stem the rising rate of foreclosures.  Included in this is a $7,500 tax credit for first time home buyers.  The bill would extend the tax credit availability through June 2009.  Below I have included the guidelines.

HOUSING AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT OF 2008

What is a ‘Declining Market’?  A ‘Declining Market’ means that house values are continuing to drop in the market.  Lenders have declared certain zip codes, counties and even entire states as declining markets.  On a state and local level- Massachusetts has been declared a declining market by some national lenders, counties such as Worcester County have been declared declining markets by some local lenders and some have narrowed it down to zip codes.  

What does this mean to buyers?  It means that you will need to put down more money regardless of what your down payment requirement is with your lender.  This meaning if you are approved for a loan that requires you to put down 5%, you would now need to put down 10%.    It is important for a borrower to know which towns, counties or states their lender (bank) has determined are declining markets before they begin their home search in that town, county or state.  If you can not come up with the additional down payment, it is a waste of your time.  This is one reason it is important to speak to your mortgage broker and your real estate agent before starting your home search.  If you do find the right house in the ‘wrong’ market it will only be discouraging for all involved if the buyer can not move forward due to a financing issue (lack of down payment) that could have been prevented with some communication. 

Realty Executives, Tri County and Unison Financial will be sponsoring a Short Sale Seminar with Ruth Dillingham, Esq. on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 from 10-12 in the Community Room at the Bellingham Library.  Refreshments will be served.  Seating is limited.  Please contact Realty Executives, Tri County at (508)966-3563 or email at retricounty@comcast.net to reserve your space today!   

  Dec. 2007 – According to recent research by the National Association of REALTORS^®, 83% percent of home buyers say photos and detailed property descriptions are the most useful features when searching for homes online.² REALTY EXECUTIVES is taking advantage of this trend for its clients and agents with its recent commitment to enhance all properties it markets with multiple photos and customized property descriptions on the #1 real estate site¹, REALTOR.com^®.  The REALTY EXECUTIVES New England Regional Office will be covering the cost of enhancing REALTOR.com^® for all of the agents in the region beginning in 2008. Since REALTY EXECUTIVES is an agent centric company, all leads generated will go directly to the agents at no cost.  With changing real estate market conditions, REALTY EXECUTIVES is helping agents give consumers what they want most online and providing another reason why home sellers and buyers must insist on using REALTY EXECUTIVES. 

Listings on REALTOR.com^® with six photos are viewed 299% more often, on average³ and rise to the top when searched by number of photos. So REALTY EXECUTIVES feels it is important to make sure all its agents enhance all of its clients’ properties on REALTOR.com^® with multiple photos and detailed property descriptions.  These properties also receive this high-impact placement on other popular Web portals such as AOL^® and MSN^®, helping reach the largest audience of clients. 

REALTY EXECUTIVES understands that it is vital to reach the over 6.6 million consumers⁴ each month who, on average, spend 82% of the time they search for a home online on REALTOR.com^®1.  With 77% of all home buyers using the Internet at some point in their search for homes¹, REALTY EXECUTIVES is working to make sure its agents have their clients’ homes promoted where more consumers are searching online.  

Visit www.retricounty.com or call 508-966-3563 or email Kelley Byrnes-Benkart, Broker/Owner of Realty Executives, Tri County at kbyrnes-benkart@comcast.net to get more information about what REALTY EXECUTIVES is doing to help its agents with REALTOR.com^®and other programs.     

¹ Media Metrix – Based on reporting of the time online users spent during 2005 on REALTOR.com^® and other comparable real estate aggregation sites and excluding sites of franchisers/brokerages.

² 2005 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

³ Compared with non-showcase listings (listings without multiple photos). Based on REALTOR.com^® internal analysis of Showcase Listing Detail Page Views per Listing vs. Non-Showcase Listings Detail Page Views per Listing, for January 31, 2005.

⁴ Media Metrix – reporting the average number of unique visitors to the site each month of 2005.

In today’s market, it is very common to see many homes advertised as short sales, bank-owned, subject to third party approval, and numerous other comments indicating that a bank is or will be involved in the sale of the property.  Although we are seeing a lot of interest from buyers with these properties, it is extremely important for buyers to know what they are getting into when they are looking at these properties and especially when they are ready to make offers on these properties. 

First what is a short sale, foreclosure and pre-foreclosure?  Well, a short sale is when the bank agrees to take less than the mortgage that is owed on the property.  For example, the bank takes 300K even though there is a mortgage on the property for 320K.  In a short sale, the owner is usually still involved in trying to sell the home.  The foreclosure refers to the process of the bank repossessing the home due to the owner’s inability to fulfill their obligation (pay the mortgage).  Pre-forclosure is just the time before the foreclosure process has actually began but the owner is in default.   

A couple of things to know when looking at these properties:

1. If a home is being advertised as a short sale or third party approval needed, this means that the bank (lender) will need to agree to the price/terms that you are offering for the property.  This can sometimes take several days and sometimes even weeks.  The process can also becomes even more drawn out if another lender is involved (due to a second mortgage on the property).  These are not properties to look at if you have a short time frame or specific date that you need to be moved in by because it can be a lengthy process.   

2. If you have flexibility in your timeframe, these homes can be a good value.  However, a lot of these homes need quite a bit of work and have often been neglected which is often reflected in the price.  These properties usually sell cheaper because of the condition of the property.  So if you plan to look at these homes, be prepared to do some work. 

3.  Most bank-owned properties are sold ‘as is’.  This meaning the bank (lender) will not make any repairs to the property.  Once the price is negotiated, the property is delivered in as seen condition.  Make sure to keep the cost of repairs in mind when deciding your price range and what you can afford.  Remember that you may need to do some repairs BEFORE moving into the property.  Make sure to take into account the cost of repairs, you don’t want to get in over your head.  This is what happened to the previous owner!

There is so much more to consider before beginning the short sale, pre-foreclosure, foreclosure house hunt.  I would highly reccommend having a real estate buyer’s agent (CBR, Certified Buyer’s Agent or ABR, Accredited Buyer’s Agent) who is knowledgeable and experienced in dealing with these.  Just remember that it is a process so you need to have someone to help you along the way.   

Welcome to Kelley Byrnes-Benkart’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Bellingham/Franklin and surrounding areas.