About Columbia County, FL

Fannie Mae now a landlord? They plan to lease to former owners after deed in lieu of foreclosure http://bit.ly/2ZmXEX They will be offering an initial one year lease and month to month after that. Freddie Mac will also be leasing... they will only be offering leases on a month to month basis. Read more by clicking on the link I provided above.

Today is the day! House is voting on extending the first time home buyer tax credit and extending it to non-first-time home buyers. Here is a letter to the House of Representatives from NAR http://bit.ly/3V8zdX

Probably the biggest question I get these days is "Has the $8,000 tax credit been extended??"

The short answer is NO. There are bills in the Senate right now that are anticipated to be approved in the coming days, but nothing is concrete at this point.

A few points about the proposed extension:

• The tax credit would still be $8,000 for first-time home buyers, but would allow $6,500 for move-up buyers.
• The new tax credits will be available from December 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010.
• The tax credit will end on April 30, 2010, but as long as you have a binding contract by that date, you will still qualify as long as you complete the transaction within 60 days.
• Move-up buyers are eligible, as long as the home they’re leaving has been used as their principal residence for 5 years or more.
• Income limits for both first-time home buyers and move-up buyers would be $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples.
• The maximum price of the home being purchased is $800,000.
• For purchases made in 2010, taxpayers can claim the tax credit on their 2009 income tax return.
• Home buyers would not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their principal residence for 36 months after the purchase date.
• The amendment includes a military waiver provision, meaning the recapture provision would not apply in the case of a member of the Armed Forces, military intelligence or Foreign Service who is on qualified official extended duty.
• In addition, members of the military who have been deployed overseas for 90 days or more in 2008 or 2009 would have until April 30, 2011 to claim the home buyer tax credit.
• The amendment also includes anti-fraud language that gives authority to the IRS to do greater oversight during the processing of the return rather than waiting for an audit situation. The amendment requires the taxpayer claiming the credit to be 18 years of age or older (no more 4-year olds filing for the tax credit), as well as requiring a HUD-1 settlement statement to be attached when claiming the credit.

This would be a good bill & would continue to stimulate the housing sector - I hope they pass this soon.

Please call me if you are in the market for a home loan. I can get it done!!

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I specialize in working with first-time homebuyers across the state of Florida. I know FHA, VA, USDA Rural Housing loans inside & out and would love to answer any questions you might have.

I can be reached at the following:
*Phone: 386-754-8500
*Email: dan@meridianFL.net

Many people are talking about repealing HVCC...the law stating that mortgage brokers cannot be involved in choosing the appraiser or ordering an appraisal on a conventional loan.

I truly hope they do repeal this, however the real news of the day is that FHA is now following in Fannie & Freddie's footsteps - As of Jan 1 2010 all FHA appraisals are required to be ordered through an independent third party with no loan officer involvement.

A couple notable points:

• FHA is saying that AMC's must pay appraisers normal market rates for their appraisals, which is good for appraisers, however the buyer will end up paying a higher price when the AMC adds in their fee.
• Appraisal reports will only be good for 4 months rather than 6 months.
• The only way another appraisal can be done if there is a value issue is the original report will have to be proven to be flawed in some way.

Many brokers were sending their loans FHA vs conventional because they could still choose the appraiser, so it was inevitable that FHA would also change over - They don't want any additional layers of risk than they already have.

There's never a dull day in this industry!!

Please call me if you are in the market for a home loan. I can get it done!!

=============================

Add as an Associate Subscribe to my Blog LinkedIn Profile

I specialize in working with first-time homebuyers across the state of Florida. I know FHA, VA, USDA Rural Housing loans inside & out and would love to answer any questions you might have.

I can be reached at the following:
*Phone: 386-754-8500
*Email: dan@meridianFL.net

This is great news for the Lake City, FL area... As you may know, the port in Jacksonville has experience growth & could be experiencing even more... The Panama Canal is expanding as well allowing larger ships to come thru from Asia & other area...
Click for news story link.. all credit ito JaxBizJrn

Lake City, Florida is primed area for distrubution & light manufacturing growth for many reasons... 1st the obvisous connection to the article above... When frieght comes into Jax to get to most of Florida, will load onto trucks & then onto the Interstates..
Well Lake City, FL sits at the intersection of 2 major interstates, I-10 running East West from Jacksonville, to Tallahassee, to Pensacola, and I-75 running down from Atlanta, GA thru Ocala and all the way thru Tampa to Naples...
2nd Lake City is a quality of life destination. The landscape, the people, the springs with fresh water & more make Columbia County a inviting place to live.
The size of our community is just the right size that we are aggressively looking for development opportunity to grow our town effectively.
Contact me, Chad Stewart at Westfield Realty for industrial, commercial, large land tracts & information on this area... http://www.chadstewart.com