Marianne Bandy

The Federal first time home buyer's tax credit has gotten lot of attention this year, but states like Colorado have incentives out there for new homeowners as well. . At this time, the $8,000 credit has been extended until next April and expanded to include current home buyers, but the state programs for Denver home buyers can often be used in conjunction with the U.S. government program. Not all of the programs are confined to first time buyers.

First, Colorado through the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), offers fixed rate 30 year loans at market rates to homeowners on first and second mortgages through a statewide network of lenders. Part of the intent of the program is to educate buyers to be fiscally responsible, so new buyers must take the CHFA U First Time Homebuyer course while other borrowers must complete the online CHFA U Money Management course. CHFA offers the Home Opener program for first mortgage and the Home Open Plus program to help pay the down payment and closing costs. Both programs are good for any price home but have income limits. For the Home Opener Plus program, the borrower must pay $1,000 out of his own pocket. For the Denver metro area, the income ceiling is $76,000 for a one person household, $89,000 for two persons, and $98,800 for three or more; for income limits elsewhere in Colorado, click here.

CHFA Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program allows homeowners to claim 20% of their interest as a dollar for dollar tax credit on their Federal income tax returns, with the 80% going to the Schedule A deduction. The program has income and purchase price limits, but targeted areas based on census tracts have higher limits. With Denver County and Denver City, there are 45 qualifying areas. The MCC program, which is also good on refinanced property, is in effect until the home is sold and no longer used as a primary residence. If the home is sold within 10 years and other conditions apply, you might have to pay back some of the credit.

To facilitate coming up with the down payment on homes where the borrower was planning to use the $8,000 credit, Colorado offers the JumpStart Tax Credit Loan program. This loan is interest free if paid back by June 10, 2010 or 8% thereafter.

The State also offers two specialized programs: CHFA HomeAccess and CHFA SectionEight and SectionEight Plus Homeownership Programs to help disabled and low income persons. HomeAccess applies to People with disabilities or parents of a child with a disability; the other aids people who have lived in Section 8 housing for at least one year. Both programs have a second mortgage option to assist with down payment and closing costs.

Coloradoans can qualify for most of these programs with lower credit scores than most conventional loans will accept. Some critics of the programs feel that people are enabled to buy a home sooner than they can really afford to. Most of the programs have an educational requirement plus a credit score requirement to prevent them from getting in over their heads.

If you are interested in exploring how to buy a home with these programs, the pros at Bandy Homes can help you find an affordable home in the Denver metro area or the City of Denver.

Marianne Bandy

Denver - A Great Place to Relocate

Denver home buyers as well as the Realtors who would love to represent you are delighted that the $8,000 homebuyer's tax credit has both been extended until April 30, 2010 PLUS has been expanded to include repeat buyers. Current homeowners can qualify for up to $6,500. The maximum home value is $800,000.

For first time home buyers, this is particularly great news if you've been looking at homes and maybe even found one, only to realize that you won't get the deal done by November 30, the old deadline. (If you have a deal in progress, the needed completion date now will conform to the new rules.) If you've been thinking of buying but have been trying to do some last minute credit repair, been trying to build your down payment, or been unsure of whether to take the plunge, you have another chance. Now, that worry is gone and you will officially have more time to prepare.

If you are a current homeowner, now is your chance to move to a bigger home with a little government assistance. You can now receive up to a $6,500 tax credit. This credit is designed to aid homeownership, not reward house flipping, so you must have owned a home used as a primary residence for at least five of the last eight years. However, if you lived in a home for five years, sold it, and then either bought another house or rented for three years, you would still meet the qualifications to get help buying your new Denver home. This give a lot of flexibilty to people who have been transferred a lot or been divorced and made alternate living arrangements the past few years.

Though the credit expires April 30, 2010, the credit has a contingency that offers a few extra months to close. As long as you have a binding contract in place by April 30, 2010, you have until July 1, 2010 for all the details to be completed and the transaction closed. This means you can make offers on homes until the last minute - although doing so could backfire if another buyer snaps up your dream home while you are thinking. It even gives you an opportunity to buy a new home that might not be ready by the end of April but will be ready by July 1

The new law allows you to claim the credit with higher income levels than in the past. Now, you can earn the full credit if your income is $125,000 if you are single or $225,000 if you are married. If you make up to $20,000 more than that, the credit phases out.

The new bill requires you to attach documentation of your purchase to your tax return. You cannot apply for the credit without actually making the purchase. Whether you make a mistake based on plans that fell through or purposely try to put one over on Uncle Sam, the IRS will not be amused. This new requirement is in response to rising cases of fraud by non-qualifying home buyers who tried to use the credit without buying a home.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), two million people will take advantage of the credit by year's end. The credit has contributed $22 billion to the economy and is credited with stabilizing the housing industry. In parts of the country, housing prices are increasing and housing inventories are decreasing. NAR estimates that 350,000 sales would not have occurred without the credit.

Though sales have decreased somewhat in Denver since January, 2009 when distressed properties are included, sales of non-distressed homes have increased 7%. In Denver, as elsewhere, inventories of lowered priced homes are lower than more expensive ones. Even though the credit provides more time, those who shop early will get the best selection. The Bandy Team can help you find your first or your next home in the Denver metro area, whether you have set your sites on Cherry Creek, Castle Rock, or Stapleton,

Marianne Bandy

Help for New Home Buyers

Now that fall is here, many Denver-area homeowners decide it's a great time to plant a tree or do some project that involves digging in the yard. Perhaps it's running an electrical line out to your detached garage or installing a fence. This economical do-it-yourself project could be a costly venture if you dig without considering what could be buried beneath your lawn.

Telephone, gas, and electrical lines are the most likely hidden dangers; striking one of these lines can knock out service to the home (yours and the neighbor's), result in a leak, or even cause a fire or death if an electrical wire is severed. Often, these lines were buried long before you moved in, so you do not know the location or how deep the wires are buried. It is estimated by Common Ground Alliance, a group concerned about underground wire safety, that Americans strike underground utility lines once a minute. Fortunately, homeowners and the professionals they hire can prevent service disruptions (and worse) by calling their utility companies before digging. It's actually a law that you must call. There's even a national call-before you dig number 811 that maintains 62 call centers throughout the United States and DC to dispatch someone to come out within two days and mark the location of lines with spray paint. If you hit a line, you get a bill!

Call 811 can't help with hidden lines for systems installed after the home was built. If your yard has an automatic sprinkler system, for example, there is very likely a grid of PVC pipes buried a few inches below the surface. Experts suggest you find the main water supply pipe and then carefully dig up the area around where pipes might be hidden before digging any deeper (or with any power tools!) Hitting a water delivery line will not kill you like slicing a power line might - but repairs are messy, time consuming, and potentially expensive. Similarly, if you have landscape lighting along the driveway or wiring that leads to a lighted outbuilding, dig cautiously! Better yet, call a professional who can scope out the area for any hidden lines.

Especially in older neighborhoods, oil tanks or even gas or chemical tanks could lurk below the surface and leak remnants of fuel or chemicals into the soil. If you suspect there may be an old tank in the yard, you should call the local EPA for directions on how to remove, test, or officially abandon the tank before digging. Click here for a fuller discussion of how to deal with an old tank. Your attempt to plant a tree could cost thousands in environmental damage if you hit a tank.

If you're thinking of buying a home in Denver or a neighboring community like Parker or Highlands Ranch, the pros at Bandy Homes can help you find your next home quickly and easily. We even offer free buyer reports with tips for buying a home with no unpleasant surprises.

Marianne Bandy

Local Denver Resources

Who would have thought that the nearness of your Denver home to grocery stores, schools, and parks would make your home more valuable? In this "green" conscious age, "walkability" is an asset as it reduces the dependence on cars, impacts global warming, and promotes healthy living. According to a recent study of 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 U.S. cities, homes in close proximity to social and shopping amenities sold for $3,000 - $34,000 more.

The study, Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities, conducted by CEOs for Cities, used the Walk Score concept developed by Sightline Industry, to analyze transactions by a large real estate company. What makes an area walkable? According to the Sightline Institute, a walk-friendly area has these characteristics:

•· There is a center like a "main street" where businesses are clustered.

•· The businesses are close enough to the street to encourage people to walk into directly, in contrast to entering from the parking lot.

•· Population density in the area should be substantial enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to run frequently.

•· The area should featured mixed-use housing for residents of different income levels that is near workplaces, schools, and other popular destinations.

•· The streets should be handicapped accessible

•· The city should be built on a grid to allow easy access to different locations from several direction by car or on foot.

•· Streets should feature pedestrian medians, protected bus shelters, and bike paths.

Walkability scores are determined by how accessible services are; any amenity within .25 miles is considered walkable until it is one mile away. The composite scores are organized on a 100 point scale. The Walking the Walk study also considered home size, the number of bathrooms and bedrooms, age, neighborhood income levels, distance from the Central Business District and access to jobs in the calculation. They found that a one point increase in the walk score increased the home's value by $500 to $3,000.

Though Denver was not among the 15 cities studied, it did appear on a Brookings Institute report of the Ten Most Walkable Cities, as it offers an average of five walkable places per person. The walkability of Denver as a whole has walkability score of 66, but within the city, some neighborhoods score in the high 90's: Lodo - 97; Golden Triangle - 96; Capitol Hill - 93; and Cherry Creek - 90. These Denver areas are considered Walkers' Paradises, but the whole area fares well as 43% of Denver residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above, 81% have a Walk Score of at least 50, and only 19% live in Car-Dependent neighborhoods. (Click to see an interactive map of the Walk Score for Denver neighborhoods.)

The walkability for a particular address can be obtained by entering the exact address at www.walkscore.com. Homes in one development laid out over 10 acres would have different walk scores according to where they were located. Based on the Walking the Walk study, a home nearer to the entrance to the development would sell for more than a home a mile or two from the entrance. Homes on winding streets with big lots will probably score lower than housing units that are close together.

The walk score of a property is only one consideration when you are buying a home. The pros at Bandy Homes will help you consider -all the factors effecting values homes in Cherry Creek or any of the the communities in the city of Denver or its suburbs like Parker (Walk Score 91), or Castle Rock (83).

What is your walk score?

Marianne Bandy

Relocate to Denver

The beauty of the area alone might compel you to buy a home in greater Denver, but recent market statistics underscore that you will be making a sound investment as well as getting a great view! Denver real estate has generally fared better than it has elsewhere over the last year or so, but a number of signs in the market indicate sustainable economic recovery.

•· Housing inventory is falling. In fact, the current active single family and condominium inventory of 20,850 is the lowest October inventory in more than 5 years. This inventory drop is a good sign that the market is coming more into equilibrium and is positive for prices.

•· The average number of days on the market has fallen for both single family homes and condos. Currently, single family homes remain on the market 94 days and sell for an average of $273,972. Condos are on the market 98 days and sell for an average of $167,090.

•· The average list to sale price in Denver is 96.8% of current list price. (Previous price reductions may have been made.) A big difference in the selling and asking price means that the market is out of balance. Now signs are that the "buyer's market" of the last couple years is giving way to a more balanced market, especially in home priced under $250,000.

•· Though number of properties sold between August & September decreased by 1.4%, this is much less than the 3-5% reduction seen in prior years for the same month.

These figures are encouraging to both buyers and sellers. Buyers, spurred on by the $8,000 first time homebuyers tax credit, have bought up much of the current inventory in their typical price range. Homeowners who were reluctant to try to sell their homes in anticipation of having a long wait time to sell for a reduced price may now have incentive to put them on the market and move up. There is talk in Washington that the tax credit may be renewed and/or expanded, which would continue to sustain buyer interest.

For more insight into these numbers, contact Bandy Homes today. We can show you breathtaking homes with mountain views in Denver , great family homes in Castle Rock, or trendy urban condos or townhomes in downtown Denver (LODO).

Marianne Bandy

Consider Relocating to Denver