Novato, CA

With less than 30 days left until April15th, many Novato homeowners are scrambling to get their paperwork together for their tax preparer appointment. In all the frustrated and anxiety filled moments before the meeting, many homeowners may forget a few of the tax deductions they may be allowed. As a reminder, here are just a few that may help you with your income taxes this year. Be aware that before you make any of these deductions, you need to speak with a tax professional first before doing so.

1. PMI - Private Mortgage Insurance is an extra insurance that lenders require when a homeowner puts less than 20% down payment on a home. in essence, lenders would prefer an 80% Loan-to-Value, however those borrowers with an LTV higher than 80% must pay an insurance premium each month. But the good news is that Congress extended the deductions for PMI through 2010. The one restriction to this deductions is that you must have purchased or refinanced your home after January 1, 2007 and have an adjusted gross income of less than $110,000.

2. Points Paid - Deducting points that you may have paid to get a lower rate must be treated differently whether you purchased a home or refinanced. If you purchased a home last year, the points you where charged at closing are deductible on your income tax for that year. Even if the seller paid all or only some of your points you may be eligible to deduct those points also. If you refinanced last year you might be able to deduct those points also. However, you will have to deduct the points over the life of the loan, meaning a 30 year fixed loan, the points will have to be deducted over 30 years.

4. Real Estate Taxes Both State and Local - Both of these are deductible in the year actually paid.

5. Mortgage Interest - The interest that you pay on your home mortgage is usually tax deductible. Check with your tax adviser, but normally it is fully deductible for that year paid.

There are others that deal with home offices, health related improvements, capital gains, moving expenses, vacation homes and home improvements. Again, you should talk with a professional tax advisor before attempting any of these deductions.

Scott Dovala Branch Manager Ascent Home Loans

As of March 8, 2008 22% of available listings in Novato are in escrow.

For the month of February 2008, 26 homes sold in Novato for an average final selling price of $662,735.

The average original asking price of these homes was $744,147.

It took these homes an average of 104 days to sell.

Of the 26 homes that sold, 2 sold at their original asking price and 2 sold over.

For more information about this area, visit my website, or feel free to contact me directly.

With the new stimulus package being nearly passed by the President, now is the time to start thinking about refinancing out of those higher interest option arm rates or purchasing a new home.

We all know how California has suffered through this housing slump, mainly because of our higher median home prices. The majority of Californians could not even think about refinancing their homes due to the fact that our homes are still to far above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. While we sat and watched many parts of the country such as the Midwest and Southern portions of the US refinance into lower conforming rates, we were basically held hostage by the secondary markets where loans are bought and sold. Since the credit crisis became news, the secondary market has virtually closed down the jumbo loan market by hiking the interest rates in some instances up to 11%.

For homeowners and future homebuyers, the new package will raise the current conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from $ 417,000 to $729,750. Most importantly, for those homeowners with less than perfect credit scores, the package will also raise the loan limits on FHA loans from $362,790 in California to $729,750. Now with these changes Californians looking to refinance out of those high adjustable rates hovering between 7.00% to 11.00% will be allowed to apply for a lower rate. First-Time Homebuyers along with previous homeowners will now be able to purchase a home, seeing how this change should settle down the fluctuations in home prices.

One thing that both future and current homeowners must be made aware of however, is that the days of applying for a stated income/stated asset loan have all but gone to the wayside. Yes, there still are some stated income loans around, but the requirements are much stiffer then when borrowers previously applied. Fico's for most of these programs will not allow a borrower to be approved with less than a 720 credit score and 25% down. What will this mean when applying for a loan? You must be prepared to be fully documented. When applying for a loan a borrower or co-borrowers will have to supply 2 months of their most current bank statements along with 30 days of their most current pay-stubs along with 2 years W-2's. Those that are self-employed will also have to supply 2 years of 1040's. As the loan progresses the underwriter may ask for additional paperwork if clarification is needed, but most times, depending on your credit score, the above initial paperwork is all that is needed to achieve approval. For those with lower credit scores, FHA is the way to go. FHA is far more forgiving when it comes to a borrowers credit problems and misfortunes. A word of warning though, make sure the lender that you use to apply for an FHA loan is approved to close FHA loans.

For those wishing to learn more about the above programs or those looking to get a nife no-obligation pre-qualification, please call Scott Dovala, Branch Manager at Ascent Home Loans in santa Rosa CA toll-free at 877-392-0674 or 707-494-8532. Scott can also be reached by email at sdovala@ascenthomeloans.com, or visit my website at Ascent Home Loans.

As of February 2, 2008 18% of available listings in Novato are in escrow.

For the month of January 2008 only 14 homes sold in Novato, for an average final selling price of $661,143.

The average original asking price of these homes was $750,571.

It took these homes an average of 133 days to sell.

Of the 14 homes that sold, all sold for less than their original asking price.

To learn more about this area, visit my website, or feel free to contact me directly.

Novato Market Overview, Week of January 23, 2008

At the end of January, 2008; Novato is still in a buyers market. The good news for the sellers is that the inventory is about 1/4 (90+ units) lestt than that four months ago, in September, 2007. The % in Pending also increased in almost all categories, even though some are very slightly.

My office reported a healty January, both in # of listings and # of getting into escrow. A very positive and encouraging sign for all!

• Buyer's Market < 25%
• Neutral 25% - 40%
• Seller's Market > 40%