BusinessWeek has an interesting article about a little known program that will allow first-time home buyers (technically, those who have not owned a home in three years) to use the 8k tax credit to offset down payments or closing costs.
real estate
County Sells Wachovia Bank For $16,900 For Failure To Pay Taxes
By 5.29.09
When Wachovia closed its bank branch in Shoemakersville, PA, last month, a spokesperson made it sound like it was part of a normal review of locations. Local newspaper the Reading Eagle, however, found out that the bank lost the branch last September in a tax sale, when a local company bought the building for only $16,900.
Apartment Listing Service Sells Database Of Scammy And Outdated Rentals
By 5.22.09
The Illinois attorney general’s office has filed suit against a Chicago-based rental property listing service for allegedly “charging consumers a membership fee for access to a property database populated largely with fraudulent or outdated rental listings.”
New York Times: Walking Away From Your Mortgage, Not So Bad After All
By 3.22.09
Great news, distressed homeowners! If you aren’t eligible for the President’s homeowner assistance package and can’t negotiate a better deal on your mortgage, the New York Times says that turning in the keys and leaving your home may not be the end of your financial world. The Times mapped out a guide for dealing with the various players controlling your mortgage…
Videos: Getting Your Property Value Reassessed
By 3.12.09
Filing an appeal to get your property value reassessed so you can pay less property taxes appears daunting, but this video series from the California State Board Of Equalization is here to helps walk you through the process. It’s designed for California, but there’s things in here that you can learn from regardless of where you live.
Top 10 Foreclosure States
By 3.12.09
Rising unemployment is exacerbating the already critical foreclosure crisis, because sadly, while you can return your Hyundai if you lose your income — you’re kinda stuck with that 4 bedroom ranch with the in-ground pool.
Scrizzle: New Homeowners Can Get Up To $8000
By 3.11.09
First-time home buyers can get a tax credit of up to $8,000 thanks to the stimulus bill Obama signed back in February. You qualify if you bought between April 9, 2008, and November 30, 2009. To get the credit, use IRS Form 5405, “First-Time Homebuyer Credit.” Since house prices are going down, the credit isn’t anything to go and sign for a new crib this afternoon. But if you already got a home or were planning to, it’s extra jingle in your coin-purse.
Reduce Your Property Tax
By 3.11.09
Instead of having a Boston Tea party in your kitchen, check out the Homeowner’s Property Tax Reduction Kit (PDF, 1.4 MB). It’s got ways for you to check your assessment, identify errors, and how to appeal it. A state-by-state guide gives you the breakdown and specific laws for where you live.
By 2.25.09
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U.S. National Home Price Index Dropping Like A Rock S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price, released today, shows a record plummet of 18.2%. “…home prices are at their lowest level since the third quarter of 2003.” [CR]
Top 10 Most And Least Affordable Cities
By 2.20.09
The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo have put together an index of the most and least affordable metro areas. The index was created by calculating what percentage of a city’s residents making the median income can afford a house in that city.
Make The Bank Prove It Really Owns Your Mortgage Before You Let Them Toss You Out
By 2.18.09
We’ve written about this before, but as more and more people face foreclosure (last year’s foreclosures totaled 2.3 million, according to the AP) its a good time to remind people of this strategy.
Hey, Let's All Go To School At A Vacant Circuit City!
By 2.6.09
The Realtor handing Circuit City‘s soon to be empty real estate is suggesting that the stores be converted into schools. Awesome.
Faces Of Foreclosure: The Nonagenarian (He's 92.)
By 2.5.09
Our sister publication, Consumer Reports, put together some video interviews with people who, for one reason or another, are facing foreclosure. They are the human side of this financial meltdown.
Fannie Mae Relaxes Standards For Refinancing
By 2.5.09
Bloomberg says that Fannie Mae will loosen standards for refinancing in the hopes that more homeowners will be able to take advantage of historically low interest rates.
New York Real Estate Firm Dumps A Year's Worth Of Client Info On The Street
By 1.28.09
What are those papers blowing down Columbus Avenue? Why, those are your tax returns, driver’s licenses, credit reports, bank statements, and 401k statements. It seems that your real estate company, Citi Habitats, dumped an entire years worth of sensitive client documents in the streets of New York.
