Homebuyer Credit Expanded; Obama Expected to Sign Tomorrow

Congress has voted to expand the tax credit until April 30, 2010.  Here is a link to the Bloomberg article with details. Here are two quick highlights:

1. Homeowners owing their house for at least 5 years to receive $6,500 credit.
2. Couples earning $225,000 per year allowed, up from $150,000.

Article on Increasing the Value of Your Home

Courtesy of Yahoo! Finance on-line, I read through this article and it suggests 10 projects to consider, with ROI included. Read it here.

Bathroom Remodel can yield up to a 71% ROI

Just keep in mind that there are no guarantees that you actually will recapture your return on investment, especially in the current market. This articles’ advice is for the long-term.

Will Tax Credit Be Extended?

A good tidbit from the Illinois Association of REALTORS® Weekly Connection email:

“With deadline looming, push is on to extend first-time buyer tax credit. REALTORS® continue to urge Congress to extend and expand the $8,000 tax credit that otherwise is scheduled to expire on November 30. Recent developments include:

• U.S. House voted to extend credit through 2010 for military, intelligence and diplomatic personnel. The measure now goes to Senate.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed favorable signs regarding an extension.”

Seems like there is a very good chance that it will be extended; the real question is “How long?”

New FHA Condo Approval Process

This info is courtesy of Ken Dickerson with RWF Mortgage.

Please Note: This info is NOT finalized at this time. The are still some changes that might come info effect by the deadline of November 2, 2009.

Highlights of major importance:

1. Right of First Refusal is permitted unless it violates discriminatory conduct
2. “Projects” consist of 2 Units or more:
   1. 3 units or less – max of 1 FHA loan
   2. 4 units or more – max concentration of FHA loans 30%
3. Minimum of 50% of total units must be sold or under contract.

In general, the guidelines are loosening. However, the qualifications for borrowers could be more stringent in the coming months. We’ll see.

The Brutal Truth of Short Sale Timelines

I have spoken to many agents in my office and throughout Chicago; I have represented a short sale client years ago (before it was a brutal, rampant reality of our marketplace); I have read articles from reliable “broker only” websites and sources. Here is the brutal truth:

“A short sale takes 6 to 9 months, minimum.”

I know there are people out there that will purport a short sale transaction can get done in 30-90 days. And, I have a personal friend of mine that completed one in about four weeks.

But, to ASSUME that the transaction WILL be done easily with a lot of communication, and with full disclosure, is a grave mistake.