Walnut, CA

If you purchase a newly built home from March 1, 2009 to March 1, 2010 as a primary residence, you may be entitled to a new state tax credit for $10,000 or 5 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less.

For example, if you purchase a $1.2 million dollar new home from Three Oaks in Walnut or Pine Valley Estates in Chino Hills, you may receive $10,000 state tax credit if you live in the house as primary residence for 2 years.

The credit will be provided in equal amounts (up to $3,333) per year, over three successive tax years, beginning with the year the purchase is made.

The taxpayer must live in the home as their principal residence for at least two years. If he/she does not, he/she will have to repay the credit.

For more info or to file a claim, visit state's website.

If you are first time homeowners, you may also be qualified for the additional federal tax credit of $8000.

If you interested in buying a newly built home, please feel free to call me and let me know what you are looking for so I can forward some new home info to you.

I have closed several deals for my buyers that were short sales and have sold a few homes that are short sales and I still don't consider myself the expert of that trade. I don't truly understand how anyone can call themselves a Short Sale Expert even though I know that it's almost purely for marketing. That I understand and I do it myself. No Realtor or Broker can be an expert negotiator with the banks unless they want to spend all day on the phone and usually the TC department handles that part for the Realtors and Brokers alike. Even if you have a direct contact with the right person at the bank, they must be backed up with short sales and unless that particular short sale agent knows that you close a majority of your short sales then usually it waits like everyone elses. Sometimes the short sale agent doesn't even know how long it'll take especially if there are two banks that you have to deal with instead of one.

*The opinions expressed here are solely the opinions of Mike Chou.