Expanded & Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit
It’s not just for first time home buyers anymore. Experienced home buyers now qualify too. General Rules: A “first time home buyer” is defined as someone who has not owned a primary home in the last three years. If you are a “first-time home buyer”, your tax credit will amount to 10% of the purchase price of your new home not to exceed $8,000. A “long-time resident” is defined as someone who has lived in the same primary home for 5 out of the past 8 years. I

Harnessing Social Networks to build capital!
I came across a timely article in mortgage news daily today in which I am sharing with you.  The importance of harnessing online communities for relationship building / maintaining and marketing purposes becomes imminent and clear every day.  The small businesses and entrepreneurs who are early adopters of this tactic will be nicely rewarded.  Openness and transparency are the keys to unlocking the door of this new and exciting world.  It’s going to take time, effort and love to build your social network.  And there are many rules to follow as well.  If you don’t follow the rules, as in any society, you

Realtor’s – is Social Networking part of your 2010 Business Plan?
It should be!  I am hosting a Social Media and Networking Seminar for Realtor’s featuring industry pro Jerry Kidd.  Spend 45 minutes of your busy day with Jerry to learn how to integrate social networking into your real estate business.  You’ll get a great overview on why social media and social networking is tailor-made for real estate agents. You’ll learn what it is, who’s using it, why it’s important and how to go about learning how to use it effectively in your practice. When: Thursday November 19th, 2009        Â

Are you comfortable referring a friend to someone you’ve done business with?
Is it in your nature to refer your friends, family or associates to professionals that you have worked with recently or in the past? I believe that it is simply in some people’s nature to refer, and for other people, it’s not. This blog post sheds more light on the subject. It’s a two-minute read, and as a professional person who strives to earn referrals, I found it a good reminder and well worth the read! I hope that you will find value in it as well. Read Bill Good’s “Secret to Real Referrals” here. Please

Relief for Homeowners with Jumbo Mortgages
Not quite the relief that I am looking for - but it’s a start. Even though the availability for jumbo loans isn’t what it once was, the IRS has apparently decided to give a break to jumbo mortgage holders. More specifically, Forbes reports that the IRS has concluded that a taxpayer can deduct interest on the first $1.1 million of a home mortgage – which is $100k more than an earlier limit. Previously (or currently depending on when this goes into effect) interest on up to a 1m purchase, money borrowed, plus $100k equity borrowed, could be deducted. Either way you slice it, you can deduct interest on an extra $100k borrowed and that’s not a bad