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Michelle Bailey

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Federal Housing Tax Credit

11-13-09
Michelle Bailey
Here some great information on the new Federal Housing Tax Credit. Very cut and dry! 1. Who is eligible to claim the $6,500 tax credit? Qualified move-up or repeat home buyers purchasing any kind of home are eligible to claim this credit. 2. What is the definition of a move-up or repeat home buyer? The law defines a tax credit qualified move-up home buyer (“long-time resident”) as a home owner who has owned and resided in a home for at least five consecutive years of the eight years prior to the purchase date. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse. Repeat home buyers do not have to purchase a home that is more expensive than their previous home to qualify for the tax credit. 3. How is the amount of the tax credit determined? The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500. Purchases of homes priced above $800,000 are not eligible for the tax credit. 4. Are there any income limits for claiming the tax credit? Yes. The income limit for single taxpayers is $125,000; the limit is $225,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The tax credit amount is reduced for buyers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) above those limits. The phaseout range for the tax credit program is equal to $20,000. That is, the tax credit amount is reduced to zero for taxpayers with MAGI of more than $145,000 (single) or $245,000 (married) and is reduced proportionally for taxpayers with MAGIs between these amounts. 5. I read that the tax credit is “refundable.” What does that mean? The fact that the credit is refundable means that the home buyer credit can be claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no federal income tax liability to offset. Typically this involves the government sending the taxpayer a check for a portion or even all of the amount of the refundable tax credit. For example, if a qualified home buyer expected, notwithstanding the tax credit, federal income tax liability of $5,000 and had tax withholding of $4,000 for the year, then without the tax credit the taxpayer would owe the IRS $1,000 on April 15th. Suppose now that the taxpayer qualified for the $6,500 home buyer tax credit. As a result, the taxpayer would receive a check for $5,500 ($6,500 minus the $1,000 owed).
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Just Sold!!

10-13-09
Michelle Bailey

Beautiful Star home just SOLD for $210K

This was not a short sale or bank owned property.

Call Michelle if you're looking to buy or sell your property!

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Credit Scores---Great article

10-01-09
Michelle Bailey

"Scored Straight"

Credit scores, while crucial to one's financial health, are widely misunderstood. Some oft forgotten points to consider:

* They don't reflect your whole financial picture, but a snapshot of your debt at a point in time.

* It doesn't matter whether you carry a balance, but it does matter if you pay on time.

* The score you buy isn't necessarily the score lenders see.

* You don't need to apply for new credit for credit inquiries to show up on your report.

This is an excerpt from a recent Wall Street Journal Article that is attached to this email - "Tighter Lending Makes Cracking the System Vital; Benefits of Paying on Time" Good Information that everyone should have...

If you're interested in the WSJ article just shoot me an email and I'll send it to you.

Michelle@MichelleSellsIDHomes.com

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Improving market

09-08-09
Michelle Bailey

We don't often hear the good news. We've been hearing all the negatives about the market for a couple years now. Here's some great news about our local market!

Information from the Ada County Association of Realtors:

Sales are up 2% from last month; and up 8% from this same month last year. This is the third month in a row for an increase over last year's same month. This three month trend reverses 35 months of year-over-year decreases.

Short Sales and bank owned sales are up slightly. Short Sales were 15%. Bank owned sales were 20%. That is only 35% of the August sales! Our high was 48% in February, 45% in March and 44% in April. There are some indications that more short sales are being closed.

Median home price continues to hover in the $170K to $175K range. In August, the median was $171K. This is down 2% from July and 17% from 2008. There was a jump in the new home median in August compared to July; up 7%. Looking back at July we observed a big drop in new home medians. August seems to correct that.

AFFORDABILITY IS AT IT'S BEST EVER!!!!

Inventory is now at 2006 levels. We have 7.5 months of available inventory; 3289 resale and 755 new homes.

Lastly...home prices seem to be firming up. The discount between listing price and final sales price decreased to 2.9%.

How can you not love that!

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