MIAMI — — When Efrain Hernandez couldn't seal a deal before the first-time home buyer tax credit expired this year, he lost faith that he would ever own a house in this real estate climate.
But the enforced wait got him more than the $8,000 federal tax credit.
Hernandez negotiated a contract on a five-bedroom, three-bath home in a development near Homestead, Fla., talking homebuilder Lennar into $40,000 off the list price, getting it to pay $18,000 in closing costs and scoring a $7,500 no-interest loan from Miami-Dade County to lighten his down payment.
"I was finally able to buy the house of my dreams," Hernandez said.
Though cash is now king, new homeowners such as Hernandez are finding ways to buy homes — well-kept ones with current mortgages.
After a long drought, money is becoming available to buy homes. Take Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Andre Brooks, vice president and regional sales manager for the bank's Florida operation, said his company has made more than $3 billion in mortgages this year in Florida, nearly 20 percent more than last year.
But lending guidelines remain restrictive, said Terry H. Francisco, spokesman with Bank of America, so making purchases often requires creativity and calculation.
Among the options:
FHA
Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration can require a down payment of just 3.5 percent compared with 20 percent many banks typically require.
But there are limits. For one, like other loans with a down payment less than 20 percent, the buyer must get mortgage insurance.
FHA loans also have a maximum and are available only to people who don't have an FHA loan and plan to make the property their primary residence.
Private loan
Made by a noninstitutional investor who does not advertise as a mortgage lender, this requires networking and personal relationships.
Grant S. Stern, president of Morningside Mortgage Corp., brokered a loan this summer for a condo buyer.
The borrower had made a preconstruction down payment of $90,000 on a two-bedroom, two-bath $300,000 condo. He had another $65,000 cash to close, but Fannie Mae's approval for the project expired with the the developer on the verge of default. With no time to get a conventional bank loan, so Stern arranged for a real estate investor to fund a five-year, fixed-rate loan.
"They said, 'Close in one week.' We closed in one week," he said.
Non Distressed Properties
Part of real estate agent Gene Mastro's strategy for buyers is avoiding foreclosures and short sales — especially by buyers who intend to live in the home they buy.
Owners of nondistressed properties are "more ready to correct problems, any minor deficiencies," said Mastro, who works for Coldwell Banker.
And they may be willing to pay all or part of closing costs, which can range from 2 to 7 percent of the purchase price.
Short-term loan
Another way to cover closing costs is a fast, short-term loan that doesn't show up on credit reports.
Todd Hills noticed that some users of his company, Boomerang Lending, wanted fast cash to pay closing costs. His Colorado-based business works like a pawn shop for those with pricier assets, including paintings and fine jewelry. A recent borrower offered a 1955 Picasso sketch.
"It's not something we've experienced before the last six months," said Hills, company CEO, but "it makes absolutely perfect sense. This is a way this consumer can get the cash that they need."
Lease to own
"It's a purchase agreement with a very delayed closing — three months or three years," Manausa said.
Tom Nisbet and fiancee, Greta Leber, have just such a contract on their condo. They are living in the 1,600-square-foot unit they hope to buy. It comes with two parking spaces, a pool and a gym, and it's close to the University of Miami, where Leber is working on her Ph.D.
After watching others' experiences with short sales and foreclosures, they steered clear. "This is by far the best place we saw on the market," Nisbet said.
State and local aid
While the federal first-time home buyer's tax credit ended months ago, it's not too late for house hunters to get government home-buying help.
Many city or county governments offer their own home buyer subsidies.
Government agencies with home-buying assistance programs say they are fielding lots of calls.
Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-23/classified/sc-bizspecial-1123-credative-homebuyi20101123_1_home-buyer-tax-credit-mortgages-condo-buyer
The Criscitos has been selling South Florida luxury and commercial real estate for over a decade and has sold over $1 billion dollars of property. They work as a multi-lingual team speaking english, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. They carved out a niche as a leading boutique real estate company with two distinct divisions -residential and commercial- both personally overseeing by Marcela and Anthony Criscito.
Showing posts with label Homebuyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homebuyer. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tax credit extension would help short sale buyers
Frustrated home buyers trying to complete short sales or get flood insurance stand to benefit most from an extension, which has not yet passed Congress, but is being pushed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Reid, who is up for re-election, said last week that buyers should have until the end of September to complete their deals because of delays beyond their control. As it is now, buyers who signed contracts by April 30 must close by the end of June to get the $8,000 first-time credit or the $6,500 credit for certain people who already own homes.
Only buyers who signed contracts by April 30 could take advantage of an extension. The Senate is expected to consider Reid's measure this week.
Short sales, in which sellers unload homes for less than they owe on their mortgages, often drag on for weeks or months while lenders consider whether to approve the deals. New federal guidelines introduced in April give lenders a 10-day window to respond to short sale offers, but some banks aren't complying, real estate agents and analysts say.
Reid's proposal would be a major benefit for buyers who need more time to let the process play out.
"I'm just twisting in the wind," said Smith. "I really hope this gets extended. It would take a lot of pressure off me."
His real estate agent, Ryan Love of Coldwell Banker, said they're waiting for a letter of approval from the lender.
"We keep getting the 'Oh, it's coming today or tomorrow' line," Love said.
Even people who aren't buying short sales are hoping for an extension.
Some deals are being delayed because buyers can't get flood insurance. Lawmakers let the National Flood Insurance Program expire three times this year. No new or renewal flood policies can be issued until Congress renews it.
Bill Mei, a loan officer for Element Funding in Pompano Beach, said the lack of flood insurance has killed one of his home sales and postponed two others. He's concerned about a few closings scheduled in the coming weeks.
"It's a big mess," he said.
The crush of buyers trying to complete sales by the end of June "is creating a clog in the system," said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. "It's taking longer to close transactions."
The national Realtors' group estimates that 180,000 buyers are at risk of not closing in time to receive the credits.
Meanwhile, the pending expiration of the tax credits has home builders feeling less confident.
The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its index measuring member optimism dropped to 17 in June from 22 in May. The index had risen for two consecutive months.
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-homebuyer-credit-extended-20100615,0,7986336.story
Paul Owers can be reached at Powers@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6529
Reid, who is up for re-election, said last week that buyers should have until the end of September to complete their deals because of delays beyond their control. As it is now, buyers who signed contracts by April 30 must close by the end of June to get the $8,000 first-time credit or the $6,500 credit for certain people who already own homes.
Only buyers who signed contracts by April 30 could take advantage of an extension. The Senate is expected to consider Reid's measure this week.
Short sales, in which sellers unload homes for less than they owe on their mortgages, often drag on for weeks or months while lenders consider whether to approve the deals. New federal guidelines introduced in April give lenders a 10-day window to respond to short sale offers, but some banks aren't complying, real estate agents and analysts say.
Reid's proposal would be a major benefit for buyers who need more time to let the process play out.
"I'm just twisting in the wind," said Smith. "I really hope this gets extended. It would take a lot of pressure off me."
His real estate agent, Ryan Love of Coldwell Banker, said they're waiting for a letter of approval from the lender.
"We keep getting the 'Oh, it's coming today or tomorrow' line," Love said.
Even people who aren't buying short sales are hoping for an extension.
Some deals are being delayed because buyers can't get flood insurance. Lawmakers let the National Flood Insurance Program expire three times this year. No new or renewal flood policies can be issued until Congress renews it.
Bill Mei, a loan officer for Element Funding in Pompano Beach, said the lack of flood insurance has killed one of his home sales and postponed two others. He's concerned about a few closings scheduled in the coming weeks.
"It's a big mess," he said.
The crush of buyers trying to complete sales by the end of June "is creating a clog in the system," said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. "It's taking longer to close transactions."
The national Realtors' group estimates that 180,000 buyers are at risk of not closing in time to receive the credits.
Meanwhile, the pending expiration of the tax credits has home builders feeling less confident.
The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its index measuring member optimism dropped to 17 in June from 22 in May. The index had risen for two consecutive months.
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-homebuyer-credit-extended-20100615,0,7986336.story
Paul Owers can be reached at Powers@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6529
Friday, April 30, 2010
Homebuyers rush to beat tax-credit deadline
MIAMI -- Benjamin Kaskel, a would-be first-time home buyer, hasn't been sleeping much lately.
He and his wife Samira have to move out of their rented home - and they want to find a house to buy. By Friday.
That's when the sun sets on a discount for the proverbial American dream, an $8,000 tax credit to first-time home buyers who have a contract signed by Friday and close by June 30. Repeat home buyers can claim a $6,500 credit under the same deadline.
"We have to act quickly," said Kaskel, 31, a guitar teacher. "And so we definitely haven't been resting a lot."
Neither have real estate agents, who have been working long past dark and fielding middle-of-the-night e-mails from buyers desperate to get their share of the billions of dollars that have been doled out nationwide.
"I feel like there's a big clock," said agent Lisa Dority, who has been working with a couple for the past two weeks to find the perfect home in time for the deadline. "Tick, tick."
No one can say how much of the recent increases in home sales can be traced to the credit, but everyone agrees there has been some effect. Likewise, it's hard to predict what will happen once the credit disappears.
Analysts say the credit has, at the least, prompted potential buyers to make their move earlier than they might have otherwise.
"Did we stimulate overall demand or did we just move it around? We don't know yet," said William Hardin, professor of finance and real estate at Florida International University. "We know we've had a lot of first-time home buyers in the market. We know that that's helped. The question is: Is anybody left?"
The National Association of Realtors projects that 2 million buyers will qualify for the credit in 2009 and another 900,000 in 2010. Another 1.5 million are anticipated to qualify for the $6,500 credit for repeat home buyers.
Spokesman Walter Molony said sales are expected to drop in July after the credit expires, but the association still expects levels to be above the previous year's as the market continues to balance out.
Already extended once, the credit has been dangled in some form since 2008 as an incentive to prop up the nation's deflated real estate market.
Combined with low interest rates and a glut of low-priced property on the market, the incentive seems to be doing its job.
Existing home sales in Miami-Dade jumped 17 percent in March compared to the previous year; in Broward, sales were up 8 percent. Prices are still creeping down as analysts predict a tumultuous real estate landscape is starting to stabilize. With one in 46 homes in South Florida in some stage of foreclosure, deals abound.
The Internal Revenue Service says that in tax returns processed through late February, 128,517 filers in Florida had qualified for more than $936 million in credits on homes bought in 2008 and 2009. Nationwide, nearly 1.8 million returns had claimed almost $12.7 billion.
A 2008 version of the credit was essentially a $7,500 loan. By 2009, that turned into a credit of 10 percent of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000. The deadline was extended last year to April 30.
Ellen Tremper, sales manager at Century 21 Tenace Realty in Coral Springs, Fla., said the office has been busy for the last few months. She said she wasn't sure how much of that could be linked to the credit.
"Part of me is a little nervous as to see what happens after April 30," she said. "That'll really be the telltale everything."
In the meantime, says agent Zoila Zamora-Cruz, "I'm like crazy looking for properties."
Zamora-Cruz said this week that she had four or five people searching for homes by Friday.
Her clients Jose Gutierrez and Blanca Norda got in on time; they are scheduled to close on their $107,000 Kendall, Fla.-area home Friday.
Gutierrez, 46, said they have been waiting for the right time to buy, since the couple and their two kids moved from Cuba in 2002.
"That's the American dream when you get over here, to own a house," he said. The tax credit, plus lower prices and an affordable mortgage made 2010 the best time for the family to buy.
"There's a moment for everything," Gutierrez said. "The opportunity, you have to wait for it."
Good properties that are priced right - around $200,000 - are "like gold right now," said Anthony Askowitz, a broker and owner of two Re/Max offices.
Askowitz showed the Kaskels a home listed for $299,000 in Kendall Thursday. He brought a contract along just in case.
After seeing the home, the couple signed an offer for more than the asking price. The seller verbally accepted late Thursday. All that's left to do is get the contract in hand.
"I feel great about it," Benjamin Kaskel said. "It's just very stressful. A lot to do all at once."
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/29/1605369/as-home-tax-break-expires-mad.html
By HANNAH SAMPSON
McClatchy Newspapers
He and his wife Samira have to move out of their rented home - and they want to find a house to buy. By Friday.
That's when the sun sets on a discount for the proverbial American dream, an $8,000 tax credit to first-time home buyers who have a contract signed by Friday and close by June 30. Repeat home buyers can claim a $6,500 credit under the same deadline.
"We have to act quickly," said Kaskel, 31, a guitar teacher. "And so we definitely haven't been resting a lot."
Neither have real estate agents, who have been working long past dark and fielding middle-of-the-night e-mails from buyers desperate to get their share of the billions of dollars that have been doled out nationwide.
"I feel like there's a big clock," said agent Lisa Dority, who has been working with a couple for the past two weeks to find the perfect home in time for the deadline. "Tick, tick."
No one can say how much of the recent increases in home sales can be traced to the credit, but everyone agrees there has been some effect. Likewise, it's hard to predict what will happen once the credit disappears.
Analysts say the credit has, at the least, prompted potential buyers to make their move earlier than they might have otherwise.
"Did we stimulate overall demand or did we just move it around? We don't know yet," said William Hardin, professor of finance and real estate at Florida International University. "We know we've had a lot of first-time home buyers in the market. We know that that's helped. The question is: Is anybody left?"
The National Association of Realtors projects that 2 million buyers will qualify for the credit in 2009 and another 900,000 in 2010. Another 1.5 million are anticipated to qualify for the $6,500 credit for repeat home buyers.
Spokesman Walter Molony said sales are expected to drop in July after the credit expires, but the association still expects levels to be above the previous year's as the market continues to balance out.
Already extended once, the credit has been dangled in some form since 2008 as an incentive to prop up the nation's deflated real estate market.
Combined with low interest rates and a glut of low-priced property on the market, the incentive seems to be doing its job.
Existing home sales in Miami-Dade jumped 17 percent in March compared to the previous year; in Broward, sales were up 8 percent. Prices are still creeping down as analysts predict a tumultuous real estate landscape is starting to stabilize. With one in 46 homes in South Florida in some stage of foreclosure, deals abound.
The Internal Revenue Service says that in tax returns processed through late February, 128,517 filers in Florida had qualified for more than $936 million in credits on homes bought in 2008 and 2009. Nationwide, nearly 1.8 million returns had claimed almost $12.7 billion.
A 2008 version of the credit was essentially a $7,500 loan. By 2009, that turned into a credit of 10 percent of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000. The deadline was extended last year to April 30.
Ellen Tremper, sales manager at Century 21 Tenace Realty in Coral Springs, Fla., said the office has been busy for the last few months. She said she wasn't sure how much of that could be linked to the credit.
"Part of me is a little nervous as to see what happens after April 30," she said. "That'll really be the telltale everything."
In the meantime, says agent Zoila Zamora-Cruz, "I'm like crazy looking for properties."
Zamora-Cruz said this week that she had four or five people searching for homes by Friday.
Her clients Jose Gutierrez and Blanca Norda got in on time; they are scheduled to close on their $107,000 Kendall, Fla.-area home Friday.
Gutierrez, 46, said they have been waiting for the right time to buy, since the couple and their two kids moved from Cuba in 2002.
"That's the American dream when you get over here, to own a house," he said. The tax credit, plus lower prices and an affordable mortgage made 2010 the best time for the family to buy.
"There's a moment for everything," Gutierrez said. "The opportunity, you have to wait for it."
Good properties that are priced right - around $200,000 - are "like gold right now," said Anthony Askowitz, a broker and owner of two Re/Max offices.
Askowitz showed the Kaskels a home listed for $299,000 in Kendall Thursday. He brought a contract along just in case.
After seeing the home, the couple signed an offer for more than the asking price. The seller verbally accepted late Thursday. All that's left to do is get the contract in hand.
"I feel great about it," Benjamin Kaskel said. "It's just very stressful. A lot to do all at once."
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/29/1605369/as-home-tax-break-expires-mad.html
By HANNAH SAMPSON
McClatchy Newspapers
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