Cheryl Thomson

Need a break?

In Northern VA, before Thanksgiving? Visit Old Town Manassas on October 3 - 27th Annual Fall Jubilee and the Fall Gallery Walk 2009 on Nov 6. For more details: www.manassasgallerywalk.com.

Just the other day I read a featured blog that triggered my mind to an incident that happened to an associate 2 months ago. After all the hollering and venting that was conducted all I could do was look at him with a confused and sorry look that said YOU SHOULD OF KNOWN...then after that thought the next thing I said to myself was...MAYBE THERE WAS NO WAY TO KNOW.

Now most of us already know that when dealing with investors that own property and a buyer wants to purchase the investor has to have ownership for at least 90 days before a contract is written if they are utilizing FHA financing right? Now my other question I'm going to ask may seem ridiculous to some but just the same I got to ask it. We all know what the rules are of your particular mortgage company that is your preferred lender, right?...right?

Here's what happened...Buyer was out looking at homes and happened to stumble upon the listing agent just as they were leaving a property that they wanted to buy. Agent was not quite ready to list the property...buyer somehow got the listing agent to list the property and submitted a contract immediately. Buyer was already preapproved with their lender. Buyer is utilizing conventional financing and put down a substantial amount of money. I was told almost 40% of sales price...is this the type of client we all dream of...or do we?

Property was listed for $440,000. This property was a foreclosure that was previously owned by an investor. Everything was going well until the title work came back. Associate calls up buyer and says "I'm sorry to inform you but a second appraisal has to be done..." you really don't want to know what was said or done...

...Title work shows property was purchased at $340,000 and bank owned it for 78 days. A waiver was requested to lender and granted...needless to say a second appraisal did NOT have be done because the buyer's LTV was only at 60%. Company policy of that particular mortgage company varies from type of loan product being utilized, to LTV, to number of days property is owned. I ask each of you reading this blog...could this have been prevented?

Wow I can't believe it! Just a while ago I decided to go through my pile of old newspapers that I haven't had a chance to read in some weeks when I realized I had never received this paper before. That's right communities in the city of Manassas and a number of adjacent communities tied to the city now have their own newspaper.

The Manassas Observer just published their first issue on August 28, 2009...The paper states it will be mailed directly to all households and businesses in zip code 20110 as well as 3700+ households and businesses near zip code 20111. Published twice each month, generally every other Friday. For more information email editor@observernow.com.

If some reason you weren't clear or did not not know the answer this may clear it up for you.

Qualifying first-time homebuyers can claim 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately. The credit is available for purchases completed on or after January 1, 2009, and before December 1, 2009. The credit is refundable, meaning recipients receive a check for any claim amount beyond what's owed in taxes.

Eligibility for the first-time homebuyer credit is determined by the date of the completed purchase, not the date of occupancy. One exception is if the home is being constructed, then the date of occupancy is considered the date of purchase. The home must be used as a primary residence (generally defined as where an individual spends more than 50% of their time). To be eligible, the buyer, or either spouse, cannot have owned and used a home as a primary residence within the last three years. A taxpayer who owned a rental property but not a primary residence within the past three years is eligible for the credit.

The credit does not have to be repaid unless the home is sold or ceases to be the primary residence within three years. There are some exceptions: homes sold as part of a divorce settlement, homes destroyed in a natural disaster, homes subject to condemnation, etc.

To be eligible for the credit, the home cannot be inherited, received as a gift, or purchased from a spouse or related person. The credit applies to any type of new or existing dwelling. Even some houseboats and manufactured homes used as primary residences are eligible. The $8,000 tax credit phases out for individuals with modified annual gross income (MAGI) of $75,000 to $95,000 and married couples with MAGI of $150,000 to $170,000.

If any of your clients qualifyfor the first-time homebuyer tax credit, they can fill out the IRS Form 5405 and claim this amount on line 67 of their 1040 income tax form for 2009. For more information, visit the IRS Newsroom.

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