Karen Church

Karen Church, your "Go To Gal" at Remax integrity updates you on the new tax credit if you currently are a home owner. RE/MAX Integrity's Principal Broker, Judy Thomas reports that "A homeowner does not have to sell his principal residence in order to qualify for the $6,500 Tax Credit. They need to have lived there 5 consecutive years of the last 8 years. If they perhaps want to downsize and turn their original home into a rental, it is definitely allowed. They don't even have to live in it now, as long as they occupied it 5 consecutive years out of eight. This is especially great news for "empty nesters" wanting to downsize!" This is great information. Let me know if you have any other questions that will help you make a decision to find a new home.

Karen Church, your GO TO Gal as RE/MAX Integrity, at www.eugenehomesgal.com, announces that the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit has been successfully extended. The other great news is that if you have owned your home more than 5 years and are looking to sell, you can qualify for some govt money too! READ ON......

Thursday, November 5th, 2009 Powered By RealTown.com

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Today's Top Story BREAKING NEWS: Congress Passes Homebuyer Tax Credit Expansion By Steve Cook RISMEDIA, November 6, 2009-After the Senate gave final approval last night without a dissenting vote, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly this afternoon to pass legislation containing an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, completing Congressional action and sending the tax credit to President Obama for his signature, possibly as early as tomorrow. The $8,000 homebuyer tax credit for first-time buyers, due to expire in 25 days, will be extended through April 30 of next year and buyers will have an additional two months, until the end of June, to close. First-time buyers who are in the process of making a purchase will no longer need to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 credit if they close after the November 30 deadline. The new legislation increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the level in existing law. For the first time, the new legislation makes buyers who already own a home eligible for a credit. A $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation limits eligibility for the existing homeowner credit to homes worth $800,000 or less. The legislation takes effect December 1 and is not retroactive. Both credits are available only for primary residences, not second homes or investment properties. For more information, visit www.realestateeconomywatch.com.

Karen J. Church, your "go to gal" with RE/MAX Integrity at www.eugenehomesgal.com is sharing an update from her Principal Broker at RE/MAX Integrity and MSNBC.com regarding the extension of the first time home buyer's $8000 Tax Credit.

Senators OK homebuyer tax credit extension

Set to expire at end of November, plan will remain until end of April

The Associated Press

updated 3:56 p.m. PT, Wed., Oct . 28, 2009

WASHINGTON - Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers.

The tax credit provides up to $8,000 to first-time homebuyers but is set to expire at the end of November.

Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years, said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The tax credits would be available to homebuyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes, said a congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the deal.

Senators were still negotiating the expansion of a separate tax credit that lets money-losing businesses get refunds for taxes paid in previous years, providing them with an immediate source of cash.

Senators in both political parties were hoping to add both tax provisions to a bill that would give people running out of unemployment insurance benefits up to 20 more weeks of federal aid. The Senate could vote on the overall bill as early as Thursday, but lawmakers were still haggling over several unrelated amendments Wednesday evening.

Popular bills like the one to extend unemployment benefits often attract amendments that would have a difficult time passing on their own.

Republicans were demanding that they be given a chance to offer amendments to restrict federal aid to the beleaguered community activist group ACORN and on requiring that people receiving unemployment insurance be processed through E-Verify, an Internet-based system that employers use to check on the immigration status of new hires.

Majority Democrats have refused to add the amendments.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33522046/ns/business-real_estate/

Karen Church, your "Go To" gal at RE/MAX Integrity at www.eugenehomesgal.com discusses the question of "Credit Remediation".

If you feel your would prefer to work with a credit improvement firm rather than try to tackle your credit challenges on your own, please give me a call and I can help you sort through your options. I will do my best to refer you to a reputable credit improvement firm and/or a lender that can guide you in the right direction.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTE) regulates credit repair services and provides free information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid doing business with credit repair companies that are not reputable. Their web site is located at www.ftc.gov.

You can also write to the FTC to request a copy of their fee brochure titled Credit Repair: Self Help May Be Best, which includes information about credit clinics. The address to write to is:

Federal Trade Commission

Sixth and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW

Washington, DC 20004

If you have any complaints regarding your credit report or credit remediation services that you wish to report to the FTC, contact them at:

Federal Trade Commission

Consumer Response Center, Room 130

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20580

This concludes the final part of Know Your Credit Score. I hope that this information has been beneficial and educational for you. This information has been obtained through the Real Estate Lending Group. Be sure to contact me if you need further assistance.

Karen Church, your "Go To" gal at RE/MAX Integrity at www.eugenehomesgal.com discusses the question of "Dos and Don'ts during the Loan Process".

When you fill out a credit application, a lender runs a credit report for the underwriter. Each lender and each loan program has different guidelines they must follow. You should not do anything what will have an adverse effect on your credit score while your loan is in process. We know it's tempting... if you're moving into a new home, you might be thinking about purchasing new appliances or furniture, but this is really not the right time to go shopping with your credit cards. You'll want to remain in a stable position until the loan closes and this gives the lender the opportunity to help you lock in the best interest rate that they can possibly get for you.

Here is a handy list of dos and don'ts that you should adhere to after you loan application has been submitted to the lender.

DON"T apply for new credit of any kind - If you receive invitations to apply for new lines of credit, don't respond. If you do, that company will pull your credit report and this will have an adverse effect on your credit score. Likewise, don't establish new lines of credit for furniture, appliances, computers, etc.

DON'T pay off collections or charge-offs - Once your loan application has been submitted, don't pay off collections unless the lender specifically asks you to in order to secure the loan and they recommend that you do everything possible to negotiate deletion in exchange for payment. Generally, paying off old collections causes a drop in the credit score. The lender is only looking at the last two years of activity.

DON'T close credit card accounts - If you close a credit card account, it can affect your ratio of debt to available credit which has a 30% impact on your credit score, and also your length of credit history which has a 15% impact on your credit score. If you really want to close an account, do it after you close your mortgage loan.

DON'T max out or over charge existing credit cards - Running up your credit cards is the fastest way to bring your score down, and it could drop up to 100 points overnight. Once you are engaged in the loan process, try to keep your credit card balances below 30% of the available credit limit.

DON'T consolidate debt to one or two cards - Once again, you don't want to change your ratio of debt to available credit. Likewise, you want to keep beneficial credit history on the books.

DON'T Raise red flags to the underwriter - Don't so-sign on another person's loan, or change your name and address. The less activity that occurs while your loan is in process, the better it is for you.

DO join a credit watch program - Your bank, credit union or Credit Card Company may be able to provide you with a free credit watch program that can alert you to any changes in your credit report. This can be a safeguard to help you intervene before the underwriter sees a problem.

DO stay current on existing accounts - Late payments on your existing mortgage, car payment, or anything else that can be reported to a CRA ca cost your dearly. One 30 day late payment can cost anywhere from 50-80 points on your credit score.

DO continue to use your credit as you normally would - Red flags are easily raised within the scoring system. If it appears you are diverting from your normal spending patters, it could cause your score to go down. Fore example, if you've had a monthly service for Internet access billed to the same credit card the past three years, there's really no reason to drop is now. Again, make your changes after he loan funds.

DO call your loan consultant - If your receive notification from a collection agency or creditor that could potentially have an adverse effect on your credit score, call us so we can try to direct you to the right resources and prevent any derogatory reporting to the credit bureaus.

(Source: Based on The Top 10 Credit Dos and Don'ts During the Loan Process, provided by Credit Resource Corp. www.creditresourcecorp.com)

This information has been obtained through the Real Estate Lending Group. Be sure to contact me if you need further assistance.

Stay tuned for Part 10: Credit Remediation