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All Blog Posts (271)

It's Official -- Tax Credit Extended!

It’s official, on Friday President Obama passed the bill extending and expanding the first time homebuyer tax credit. As stated in earlier posts, the tax credit will continue to benefit first-time homebuyers with an $8,000 credit, and will also cover homeowners that have been living in the same residence for five of the past eight years. These homeowners can get up to a $6,500 credit. Eligible income levels were also raised from $75,000 to $125,000 for single buyers and from $125,000 to $225,00… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on November 9, 2009 at 12:02pm — No Comments

Cost of Real Estate in College Football Towns

The attraction of living in a college town is high, especially those who house a football team, regardless of their skill level. Many families move to the area until their kids are out of school, some older couples move their once their kids grow up and move out of the house, and of course there are the students. Across the US in more than sixty-two percent of college towns, the average four bedroom house with two and a half baths and twenty-two hundred square feet are going for less than $250,… Continue

Added by Leah LaCourse on November 6, 2009 at 11:23am — No Comments

President Set To Sign Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension

With the expiration of the first-time home buyer $8,000 tax credit set to expire in less than a month, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 403-12 yesterday to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. The U.S. Senate approved the measure Wednesday, and the White House said the President would sign the bill today. Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time home buyers, defin… Continue

Added by Rich Rosa on November 6, 2009 at 9:57am — No Comments

The Houses Passes the Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension

The House Passes the Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension The House voted 403 to 12 Thursday afternoon to extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit until April 30, 2010. The legislation will also expand the tax credit to include home buyers who are buying their second or subsequent home. The tax credit for existing or past homeowners will apply only to those who have owned and lived in their primary home for at least five of the last eight years. The tax credit for these… Continue

Added by Lewis J. Corcoran on November 5, 2009 at 4:36pm — No Comments

The Senate Passes the Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension

The Senate Passes the Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension The Senate voted 98 to 0 Wednesday night to extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit until April 30, 2010. The legislation will also expand the tax credit to include home buyers who are buying their second or subsequent home. The tax credit for existing or past homeowners will apply only to those who have owned and lived in their primary home for at least five of the last eight years. The tax credit for these ho… Continue

Added by Lewis J. Corcoran on November 5, 2009 at 8:57am — 1 Comment

Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Check out Rich Rosa's real estate blog. Here is his newest post. Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on November 4, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Sales and Prices Up Across the Country

RealtyTimes.com reported that according to the Case-Shiller home prince index, a report that measures home prices in twenty designated real estate markets, found the seventeen of the twenty regions it measures have seen a gain in home prices in each of the past four months. Some of this may have to do with the decreasing monthly supply of unsold homes. As of September there has been an eight month supply of unsold homes, down from a nine month supply in August. For the real estate market to be… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on November 3, 2009 at 2:12pm — No Comments

Big Savings in Renovation Projects - But Be Careful

The Wall Street Journal reported that some homeowners are saving as much as 20 percent on home renovation projects if building now as opposed to a few years ago. With the current housing market being much slower than that of a few years ago, contractors are competing over renovation projects, and homeowners are getting lower bids. One story highlighted in the article was about a couple in Texas that had renovation plans in place two years ago. At the time the lowest bid the couple received on t… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on November 2, 2009 at 1:50pm — No Comments

First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit Extension

With the first home buyer tax credit nearing its deadline, there has been a lot of talk about extending the end date, as well as talk about extending the credit to more people. At this time, there is still support in Congress and the Obama administration to extend the credit, but the terms are unknown. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said the Obama administration wanted to extend the credit for a “limited period”. CNN has reported a compromise is under discus… Continue

Added by Leah LaCourse on October 30, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

moving

Moving is never fun. Finding a new job, lining up Short Term Health Insurance to cover you during the interim, and changing all the bill addresses. It is a lot of work. We could buy a couple of Super Bowl Packages for what we are paying in deposits. Is there any way a… Continue

Added by Cindy Fallsen on October 29, 2009 at 11:54pm — 1 Comment

New Foreclosure Capitols Rising in the US

CSMonitor.com reported yesterday that with foreclosure rates finally slowing down in the worst foreclosure areas in the country, new areas that were not of concern a short while ago are now contending for the top 10 foreclosure capitols of the US. Everyone knows Las Vegas has been one of the worst foreclosure areas in the country, with roughly 1 in every 20 homes foreclosing. However, now there are areas like Reno-Sparks Nevada and even Salt Lake City that are posing a threat to the most forecl… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 29, 2009 at 12:12pm — No Comments

Massachusetts Sales Up in Third Quarter

The Warren Group released a report yesterday showing an increase in single-family home sales over the last three months as well as an increase in third quarter sales compared to last year. Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. stated “The increase in home sales for three months straight is giving us some hope that the housing market is truly on the mend. We believe that some of these gains were the result of first-time homebuyer tax credit which is due to expire in several weeks.” With the be… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 28, 2009 at 10:57am — No Comments

Homeowners - Look Beyond Your Walls for Home Renovations

In many old homes there are several problems that are often easy to see -- a cracked foundation, old siding, or a leaky roof-- but more often than not the electrical wiring of an old house is easy to look past. RealtyTimes.com recently reported that re-wiring is a must-do renovation for any home that has not had new wiring within the last 40 years. Not only is this a renovation that will save you on energy costs, but it will also save you from the threats of a fire. Since the 1950’s electrical… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 26, 2009 at 2:04pm — No Comments

Mortgage Relief Efforts Include Short Sales

The U.S. Treasury is planning on expanding mortgage relief efforts to help with the process of short sales. The short sale transaction usually takes several months to be completed, most of that time waiting on the lender to make a decision. The Treasury is now putting incentive in place that will encourage both lenders and homeowners to complete short sales. The plan is to offer $1,500 to homeowner that agree to short sell… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 23, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

Foreclosures Down in Massachusetts 3rd Quarter

The Warren Group reported earlier that the third quarter of 2009 produced nearly 30 percent less foreclosures than the same time period in 2008. In quarter 3 of 2008 there were 2,903 foreclosures while the past quarter was down to 2,048. Looking at the first nine months of both 2008 and 2009 there was also a near 30 percent decrease in foreclosures, from 9,610 in 2008 to 6,778 foreclosures… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 21, 2009 at 10:47am — No Comments

A Persuasive Letter for an Extension

Three major Housing associations recently sent a letter to senior Obama administration officials. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) sent out a letter pointing out the reasons the first-time homebuyer tax credit should be extended. They also mention they wish for the credit to apply to all “purchasers of principal residences,” to increase the size of the credit, and to make the credit available t… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 20, 2009 at 11:36am — No Comments

Mass Home Buyers in a Rush

With the first-time home buyer's tax-credit nearing its end date Massachusetts home buyers are trying their hardest to find a good deal before time runs up. NECN reported that many bidding wars are going on due to the volume of people trying to find their perfect house before November 30th. Realtors say there is still time to cash in! Check out the NECN video clip and article on… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 19, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Why You Should Buy a Frat House

Looking for a solid, long term investment with high and steady returns and minimal work necessary? If so, try buying and renting out a frat house. If done the right way, buying and renting a frat house can provide large and solid cash flows, most of the time requiring no maintenance and effort on your part. Unlike regular property rentals, fraternities are often maintenance free to the owner, with the fraternity members being responsible for all maintenance and upkeep of the home. Also, with pa… Continue

Added by Leah LaCourse on October 16, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

3rd Quarter Had Most Foreclosures Ever

The third quarter of this year has had the highest amount of foreclosures of all time. This was not a big surprise to most however. With the government slowing down foreclosures over the summer and getting banks to attempt loan modifications for defaulting borrowers, the properties that could have been foreclosed last quarter accumulated and were pushed into the third quarter. In the third quarter there were 937,840 homes that received foreclosure letters. In other words, every 1 in 136 homes i… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 15, 2009 at 1:36pm — No Comments

The Tax Credit Debate

An article was written on CnnMoney.com talking about the pros and cons of extending the $8,000 tax credit. First off, those that want the tax credit to be extended believe that this credit will be responsible in keeping the housing market afloat. Not only do they want to extend the credit but increase the maximum credit to $15,000 and allow almost any homeb… Continue

Added by Andrew Firger on October 14, 2009 at 11:43am — No Comments

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