Larry Kaduce - Broker/Owner, Mankato MN

We are down to just weeks left to take advantage of a free 8 grand, just for being a first time homebuyer, or for not owning a home for the past three years and have an adjusted gross income of less than $75,000 or $150,000 for married couples. The program phases out for individuals that make between $75,000 and $95,000 and married couples that make between $150,000 and $170,000.

The credit applies to first-time homebuyers that will be using the property as their primary residence. It works as a true credit on your taxes filed for 2009 for 10% of the purchase price, not to exceed $8,000. For example, if you normally receive a $2,000 refund, now you will receive $10,000. If you usually pay in $2,000 each year, then now you will get a $6,000 refund.

These homes must be closed no later than November 30, 2009 to receive the credit. If you close on December 1st, sorry no credit. With November 30th falling on the Monday after Thanksgiving, plan to close no later than the week of the 23rd to allow for last minute delays and issues. It is now taking lenders between 30 and 45 days to process loans, so we are running out of time.

Many people have called or emailed me on the prospects of extending the credit. At this time, I know there are talks of it, but I'm afraid by the time they decide and vote, it will be too late. What I do know is that you can get it for sure NOW, we have historically low interest rates NOW, and great deals on homes NOW. Even if it does get extended, having all these other benefits are questionable, so the time to buy is NOW!

I plan on working evenings and weekends to help my clients find the home of their dreams and receive the credit. If you need help finding a home, please call my cell at (507) 351-6292 or email me at Larry@Kaduce.com and I'll get you in the schedule.

Nashville, TN-Larry A. Kaduce, RE/MAX Dynamic Associates, is among the top-performing Realtors® in the country to attend Accelerate '08. This exclusive program by personal finance expert, Dave Ramsey, inspired and motivated real estate professionals to even higher levels of outstanding customer service and achievements. The two day event in Nashville, Tennessee was held on December 2 and 3. As part of Accelerate '08, the realtors took part in a live broadcast of The Dave Ramsey Show, focusing on real estate topics. The invited participants are part of Dave Ramsey's Endorsed Local Provider Program, which connects local realtors, brokers, CPA's and health insurance agents with Dave Ramsey fans across the country.

For more information on Dave Ramsey's Endorsed Local Providers go to www.daveramsey.com.

Visit Larry's website at www.LarryKaduce.com.

About Dave Ramsey:

A personal money management expert, Dave Ramsey is an extremely popular national radio personality and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace and More Than Enough. He is also host of "The Dave Ramsey Show on Fox Business Network." Ramsey knows first-hand what financial peace means in his own life - living a true rags to riches to rags to riches story. By age twenty-six he had established a four-million-dollar real estate portfolio, only to lose it by age thirty. He has since rebuilt his financial life and now devotes himself full-time to helping ordinary people understand the forces behind their financial distress and how to set things right. Through his proven plan, Ramsey helps people eliminate debt and credit cards, learn to budget, avoid bankruptcy, build wealth and find financial peace.

Ramsey founded The Lampo Group, Inc. to provide financial counseling, through various means, to the public. More than 750,000 families have completed Financial Peace University with the typical family saving $2,700 and paying off $5,300 of debt during the 13-week course. More than 500,000 people have attended a Dave Ramsey LIVE event. Ramsey created Financial Peace Jr. and authored six children's books designed to help parents teach sound financial principles to their children. Active in more than 3,000 schools in all 50 states, "Financial Peace for the Next Generation" educates High School students on the importance of financial planning and the dangers of debt. Ramsey's syndicated newspaper column, "Dave Says" is read by nearly 6 million readers weekly. "The Dave Ramsey Show" is syndicated to more than 350 radio stations nationwide with more than 3.5 million weekly listeners. "The Dave Ramsey Show" on Fox Business Network launched October 15, 2007.

With home foreclosures at an all-time high, the government bailing out subprime mortgages and many homeowners falling further behind on mortgage payments each month, it's no doubt that there are many housing bargains in this market.

The most misunderstood aspect of housing deals is the "short sale". This occurs when a home is sold for less than what is owed to the mortgage holder, thus coming up "short". The lender signs off on the note as a complete payoff. Then everyone ends up happy, right? Well, if it's done right then that's the outcome. Unfortunately, many short sale transactions are frustrating and never get processed.

Short sales are more popular than ever, largely in part of the recent subprime market. Homes were over-valued in anticipation of high appreciation. Home buyers were sold on the theory that they could refinance a high-interest-rate loan in a short period of time and lock a better rate when their home was worth more than they paid. What happened, unfortunately, is that home values peaked and even started to decline leaving these people with bad loans they couldn't afford.

Lenders will likely consider a short sale if the home is several months behind in payments or if the sheriff's auction has already occurred and it's in the redemption period. Redemption periods vary by state and are usually around six months.

The department of the lender that handles short sales is called the "loss mitigation department." In other words, these people are hired to prevent the lender from incurring any further loss. If the home goes to foreclosure, lenders' losses can be anywhere from 10% to 50% of the home's value, depending on amount of neglect, weather damage and/or disrepair. By accepting a short sale, they are minimizing their loss by cutting a deal with the borrower. Lenders may have the right to sue the borrower for the difference between what they have against it and what they receive, so the most important feature of the agreement should be a "non-recourse release," which simply means that the bank will accept the terms of the sale and write-off the difference.

Having a successful short sale depends on key items, starting with a complete short sale package, prepared by a realtor or other professional experienced in processing short sales. The package will include a hardship letter by the borrower explaining why they can no longer afford the home, recent pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, market analysis of the home, list of repairs needed and financial statements. FHA-guaranteed loans have several more necessary requirements that must be included in the package. Bank staff in loss mitigation departments can each have up to 250 files on their desk at any given time. They will process the most complete packages and the sales packages that come closest in price to their value first.

To have an acceptable short sale, the bank must be convinced that the home has been properly marketed and it is the highest they can expect to receive from the proceeds. They will often hire an appraisal or Broker's Price Opinion (BPO) to confirm this.

A short sale approval can take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months from the time they receive the short sale package. The more complete the package is, the better the chances are that it will be processed quickly.

Despite reports to the contrary, a short sale will still damage a credit score, but not to the extent of what a foreclosure could do. Usually, the credit score is affected by about 50 points, which for most people, can take about 2 years to recover. A foreclosure will be reported on a credit report for 7 years, which can take several more years to re-establish credit.

This is a brief overview of the short sale process. If you need more information on short sales, please contact me at LarryKaduce@Remax.net or visit my website at www.LarryKaduce.com.