Archive for June, 2009
What You Should Know About Buying A Home
Many people work their whole lives to fulfill the American dream of owning their own home. It is important to be sure you know everything you need to in order to get through the process without having any legal issues arise.
The process begins with deciding where to purchase your new home and ends with the final financial details the closing. Often finding a suitable attorney to help you with all of the details in between can save you a lot of frustration and heartache during the process.
Where to Buy
The first major decision you have after choosing to buy a home is where you want to look for one. There are several factors you should consider before making any decisions. Whatever your reasons to relocate are here are some things to consider:
Are you moving for a job transfer?
Are you retiring?
Are you making a lifestyle change?
What public transportation is available and how long will your commute be?
What reputation do the schools have?
Are there recreational facilities?
What is the cost of living in the area?
These are just some of the questions you want answered before considering any new location.
Financing
When opting to finance a new home there are different types of mortgages to consider. Fixed and adjustable rate mortgages 15 and 30 year mortgages conventional FHA VA and no document mortgages are the more common types available. It is important to talk to different mortgage companies and find out what they offer. Each type of mortgage has its own advantages and disadvantages.
If you opt to work with a mortgage broker be sure you have the following questions answered to your satisfaction before signing anything.
What is their experience and are they licensed if necessary in your state?
How much will they cost you?
How will they be paid for their services?
What are the details of your agreement with the broker and is it all in writing?
What is the interest rate in the final contract?
What are the payment terms?
Using an Attorney
If you choose to hire an attorney be sure they are experienced in real estate law. You are not required in any state to use a real estate attorney but in some cases it is customary to use one in real property transactions. However should any problems arise during your buying process it is recommended that you consult with a qualified attorney before moving forward or signing anything.
Some situations in which you may be wise to contact an attorney are:
The house has an illegal addition or unit attached to it
There are tenants living there
There are problems with the title to the property
Avoid any conflict of interest by refusing to rely on the sellers or sellers agents legal advice.
Where to buy and how to finance are only two of the decisions you will be required to make when purchasing a new home. There are down payment and insurance issues inspections repairs and closing details involved as well.
Whether this is your first or fourth purchase you would be wise to contact a real estate attorney to help you with making decisions that will affect your future.
About the writer: For more information in the Atlanta Georgia area please contact Robbins Associates PC.
What Should I Do To Ensure My Home Will Sell?
I want to sell my home. What should I do to ensure my home will sell? While the number of homes selling in the US Real Estate Market has decreased homes are continuing to sell. Homes are still selling in all parts of the country. The thing that is different now in comparison to two years ago is that you must understand the current market and make your home attractive in the current market conditions. Two or three years ago homes were selling pretty much regardless of list price and condition. Price and condition are very important now.
There are two primary mechanisms that a home seller has at his disposal to ensure that a home sells at a good price and in a timely manner. Those two mechanisms are price and condition. The bottom line in this real estate market is that if your home is not priced properly it will not sell! If your home is in disrepair and needs a lot of work it will not sell unless you want to sell it at a very low price! You need someone who shoots straight to give you the advice you need to properly price your home and get it in the condition that makes it attractive to the Buyer.
Pricing a home to sell in a slowing real estate market requires that you give strong consideration to comparable homes that have sold recently. Homes that sold two years ago will not provide a good comparison. After evaluating the price of comparable homes that have sold it is essential to compare the price you would like to sell your home for to homes that are currently on the market for sale. This step is very crucial. Your home must be priced more attractive to a potential buyer than all other homes that are comparable to yours. In the present market you might want to price your home 35 percent less than the most attractively priced home you find. After looking at the price of sold homes and homes presently on the market the home should be priced at the lower of the two prices.
Consider this. How do some Realtors approach finding a home for a Buyer? After discussing the wants needs and dreams of the Buyer some locate a few homes that interest the Buyer preview the homes to show and arrange them in the order thought that the Buyer will like them. The home that thought to be liked best by the Buyer will like is shown first and work down in that order. It is not uncommon that a Buyer selects the first home shown. While the Buyer may choose the first home shown you should look at a few more homes just so you will have confidence that they made the right decision later on. When the US Real Estate Market was at its hottest a seller could have their home at number 4 or 5 down on the list of comparable houses on the market and it might still sell. In today’s market whether you are looking at homes in the Roanoke VA Real Estate Market or homes in the Atlanta GA Real Estate Market if a home is not priced number One in comparison to similar homes it will take a very long time to sell if it will sell at all. The graph below shows a key relationship that illustrates what this means to the home seller. The sample market discussed below is taken from the Roanoke Real Estate Market. This sample market may represent the trends in the US Real Estate Market. The average Days on Market for Roanoke area homes that have sold has increased to 85 days August 2008 from 61 days June 2006. Note this Days on Market figure is based on homes that have sold not homes that are on the market. There is a dramatic difference between Days on Market for homes that are SOLD or Under Contract and those that are Active or on the Market and available to be shown. Again the Average Days on Market for Sold or Under Contract is 85 days for Actives the Average Days on Market is 161 days. Price is very important in determining the length of time your home will be on the market. The bottom line is: get the price right or your house almost certainly will not sell in this market.
About the writer: Vox Real Estate is a popular source for information about Austin real estate. Visit VoxRealEstate.com to search Hyde Park real estate listings and find information about local schools and neighborhoods.
What Is A 1099-c Form And How Does It Relate To A Foreclosure?
Historically when a homeowner goes into foreclosure and the only resolution is the lender getting back a deed this likely results in a deficiency between the amounts owed from the final judgment when the property is eventually sold. This “deficient” amount can be handled by the lender in two different ways.
The lender can get a “deficiency judgment” from the court against the homeowner and try and collect this deficiency amount using common collection methods. These methods include attaching assets by court order garnishment of his pay working with a collection agency which attempts to get the homeowner to pay and selling the steeply discounted judgment to someone who believes he can collect the funds within the next 5 or more years.
Homeowners usually have not made mortgage payments for many months before the foreclosure eviction and have “saved” this money somewhere and this “somewhere” can become a target for the collection agency. The collection agent may have to wait a few years but most often the homeowner is back on his feet in a few years and has money somewhere. This is when it is up to the collection agency to find it and get a court order to collect this money!
In the last 8 10 years lenders have not been getting deficiency judgments against homeowners most of the time because in most cases their attitude has been “we cant get blood from a turnip” because of the homeowners financial condition. However in December of 2007 President Bush signed into law a bill that essentially protects homeowners from having a deficiency judgment issued against them if it is from the foreclosure of their personal residence. But this legislation goes a step further in allowing the IRS to “forgive” the amount of the deficiency judgment issued to the homeowner in the form of a Form 1099C which is considered as ordinary taxable income to the homeowner.
If the lenders so choose they issue an IRS Form 1099C Miscellaneous Income to the foreclosed homeowner. This amount was considered ordinary income to the homeowner in that specific year and the amount forgiven was taxable as ordinary income to the homeowner on his tax return. For example if the lender was owed 200000 as the final judgment amount and he sells it for 150000 later the homeowner is looking at a 50000 deficiency judgment or his being issued a Form 1099C in the amount of 50000. If the homeowner was in the 20 tax bracket he would owe an additional 10000 in income taxes that year and payable immediately or with payment terms and interest over a few years.
There is no exception for an investor or homeowners second property. So the lender automatically does a search of the credit report of the homeowner to see if he has any other real estate or mortgages he is paying. If the lender concludes that the homeowner has other assets that can be garnished or forfeited to the lender the lender will get a deficiency judgment and pursue the collection of the final judgment amount.
So if you are a homeowner in foreclosure you can expect to have the deficiency amount “forgiven” by the IRS through the end of 2009. However if you are homeowner who has investment property you should take action to secure this property from creditors before you go into foreclosure. Again consult with a local attorney to see what your rights are in your state.
About the writer: Dave Dinkel is the author of “32 Ways to Quickly Stop Foreclosure” and has helped thousands of foreclosure victims for nearly 33 years. If you are facing foreclosure visit http://www.StopMyForeclosureMess.com for guaranteed solutions.
