The $6,500 Existing Home Owner Tax Credit and the Home Sale Contingency
Yay! The tax credit got extended and…now hear this…expanded to include existing home owners that want to buy another home.  Yep. That’s right. if you have lived in your home 5 consecutive years out of the last eight you may get to claim up to $6,500 as a tax credit when you buy another home.  What’s not to like, huh? Well There May Be Something Not to Like

Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension Awaiting Obama’s Signature
Good news?  You bet. Both houses of Congress have passed the extension for the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit and have expanded the credit to include current home owners that have lived in their home for five consecutive years out of the past eight years.  They have also raised the income limits for those who are leigible for the credit.  This is a huge plus for people currently in the process of buying a home and for those who have been “on the fence.” The catch is that you must be under contract by April 30th and settled by July 1st.  This gives some breathing room to a lot of people to get their ducks in a row and take advanatge of a credit I am

The Winter Real Estate Market and the Tax Credit
We all know that the November and December holiday season is the make or break season for retailers everywhere.  They’re really gearing up for the holiday sales and, this year, it looks like it’s going to be pretty anemic.  On the other hand, real estate usually takes a break beginning in late October and doesn’t really start picking up again until late March or early April.  It seems no one but the most hard core home sellers and home buyers have their home on the market during the winter months. I can understand why.  It’s cold.  It’s either rainy or snowy or sleety.  It gets dark way early. It’s also the holidays when people are thinkin

Home Sellers with Equity…RULE!
Here’s something that’s a little bit on the counter intuitive side.  Sitting down?  Feet firmly planted on the floor? If you have equity in your house and you have a desire to sell it, you are in the catbird seat. There.  I said it. Why is this true?  Well, as we all know this is a strong bu

Unlocking the Code – What Home Sellers Mean
I run into it all the time. “I’m in no hurry to sell.” “I don’t really need to sell right now.” “I need [x] dollars to be able to sell.” “I’ve made [x] home improvements and that makes my house worth more.” “The neighbor’s house sold for [x] dollars and my house is nicer.” “The neighbor’s house was under priced and sold too fast.” “I hear the market is improving.” “This will be a great house for [fill in the blank for the type of buyer you think will buy your house].”