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Don’t Miss Out on Free Money

Posted in General Real Estate Info,Governmental Issues by Karen Rhodes on April 23rd, 2010

There is only one week to go to take advantage of the home buyers tax credit. First time home buyers can get up to $8000 and repeat buyers can get up to $6500. Don’t miss out. You need to be under contract by 4-30 and close by 6-30. There are some great deals available right now and the extra cash is the cherry on top! Call me today :)

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Yee Ha!!

Posted in Buyers,General Real Estate Info,Governmental Issues by Karen Rhodes on November 6th, 2009

Home buyers tax credit extended and expanded to include  current home owners.  Lets go!!!!

The House voted 403-12 Thursday to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. The Senate approved the measure Wednesday, and the White House said President Barack Obama would sign it Friday.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers — or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years — would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers in both groups have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30.

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Home Buyer Tax Credit: Final Deal?

Posted in General Real Estate Info,Governmental Issues by Karen Rhodes on October 29th, 2009

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers would be extended and some people who already own residences could claim a benefit under a proposal by Senate Democrats.

An agreement reached and passed by the Senate would let homeowners who buy a new home qualify for a $6,500 credit if they have lived in their prior residence for five years.

A quick summary of some of the highlights include:

— The tax credit would be $8,000 for first-time home buyers and $6,500 for move-up buyers (from December 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010).

— Move-up buyers will be eligible, so long as the home they are leaving has been used as their principal residence for 5 years or more.

— The tax credit would sunset on April 30, 2010. However, there would a binding contract rule that will permit those with contracts as of April 30th to qualify for the credit as long as they complete the transaction within 60 days.

A House Democratic aide said House leaders would likely adopt whatever language the Senate approves.

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TN drawing first time home buyers

Posted in General Real Estate Info by Karen Rhodes on September 22nd, 2009

According to a report by the Internal Revenue Service, “Tennessee has the 13th highest rate, in the nation, of residents taking advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit”  See the full story on the Nashville Business Journal

I know I talk about it a lot but time is running out.  If this credit isn’t extended it will disappear the end of November.  If you are a first time home buyer there are some great deals to be had!

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Make yourself heard!

Posted in General Real Estate Info by Karen Rhodes on September 15th, 2009

The $8000 first time home buyers tax credit is set to expire soon.  If you haven’t closed on your purchase by November 30th you may loose out.  It takes longer to get to closing now and with this deadline looming more and more people are going to be in the system thus making the contract to closing time even longer.  So even if you are currently under contract you may not make the Nov 30th closing deadline.

If we all contact Congress to extend and expand this program so that more buyers can purchase the small uptick seen in the economy will continue and grow.  The above link is a very short video put together by the National Association of Realtors with real agents expressing the need for an extension and expansion of the program.  Take a look at it then contact your representatives and urge them to extend this program in the interest of the entire country.

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New Appraisal Rules Hurt the Consumer

Posted in General Real Estate Info by Karen Rhodes on June 10th, 2009

Trying to figure out why you’re still waiting on your appraisal and you didn’t have a say in who is doing it?

Home appraisal

Read the story here

I called a broker who I work with quite often and most of their lenders have not increased the costs to the consumer for the appraisal but some have added an additional fee and are calling it something other than what it is.  I can’t give names but one large bank in the area told one appraiser I know that if he wanted to work with them he would decrease his fee to them to $200 yet they were still charging the consumer the full amount.

The level of corruption and greed never ceases to amaze me.

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HUD: Tax Credit Can Be Used on Closing Costs

Posted in Buyers,General Real Estate Info by Karen Rhodes on June 2nd, 2009

FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.

Get the full article here.

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Best Places to Buy Foreclosed Homes

Posted in General Real Estate Info by Karen Rhodes on March 24th, 2008

Last week, FORBES.COM published a news story listing the 10 "Best Places To Buy Foreclosed Homes." The nation’s 100 largest metro areas were studied in the process of selecting the Top 10. Basing their analysis on recent data from RealtyTrac, the report identifies markets where properties in foreclosure may, in fact, be a good investment …because the markets in those areas are stabilizing and "foreclosures aren’t symptomatic of local economic ruin."

TWO Tennessee cities (and surrounding areas) made the Top 10 List:

        1. Charlotte, NC

        2. Raleigh, NC

        3. NASHVILLE, TN

        4. Oklahoma City, OK

        5. San Antonio, TX

        6. Albuquerque, NM

        7. KNOXVILLE, TN

        8. Seattle, Wash.

        9. Indianapolis, Ind.

        10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria

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Worst Markets in 2008

Posted in General Real Estate Info by Karen Rhodes on January 22nd, 2008

As bad as things are it’s expected to get worse and Housing Predictor has released their prediction for the worst markets this year.  Fortunately we aren’t on the list.  Business actually seems to be picking up in our area.

"The Worst 25 are composed of cities that have the highest probability of reaching their forecast deflation in 2008". 

Miami is leading the list.  No Tennessee market is listed but Atlanta is in the 10th spot.



October Foreclosure Rates

Posted in General Real Estate Info by Karen Rhodes on November 29th, 2007

RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its October 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 224,451 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported during the month, up 2 percent from the previous month and up 94 percent from October 2006. The national foreclosure rate for the month was one foreclosure filing for every 555 households.

Tennessee is still running in the 11th highest rate in the nation with 1 in every 580 households entering some state of the foreclosure process.  This figure represents an increase over last month of 12.79% and 23.92% over last October.

10.  Illinois
9.  Indiana
8.  Arizona
7.  Colorado
6.  Michigan
5.  Georgia
4.  Ohio
3.  Florida
2.  California

And the winner is
1.  Nevada




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