Meyer Leibovitch, REALTOR Boyds, MD Realtor

If you have been considering purchasing your first home now is an amazing time to jump into the market. The federal government is offering an $8,000 tax credit for all first time homebuyers who purchase a home before the end of 2009. A tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction in your taxes not a deduction which decreases your taxable income. If the amazingly low prices, record low interest rates and the additional $8,000 tax credit isn't enough to make you take the leap consider the following...

7 Reasons to Own Your Home

1. Tax breaks. The U.S. Tax Code lets you deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage, your property taxes, as well as some of the costs involved in buying your home.

2. Appreciation. Real estate has long-term, stable growth in value. While year-to-year fluctuations are normal, median existing-home sale prices have increased on average 6.5 percent each year from 1972 through 2005, and increased 88.5 percent over the last 10 years, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. In addition, the number of U.S. households is expected to rise 15 percent over the next decade, creating continued high demand for housing.

3. Equity. Money paid for rent is money that you’ll never see again, but mortgage payments let you build equity ownership interest in your home.

4. Savings. Building equity in your home is a ready-made savings plan. And when you sell, you can generally take up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) as gain without owing any federal income tax.

5. Predictability. Unlike rent, your fixed-mortgage payments don’t rise over the years so your housing costs may actually decline as you own the home longer. However, keep in mind that property taxes and insurance costs will increase.

6. Freedom. The home is yours. You can decorate any way you want and benefit from your investment for as long as you own the home.

7. Stability. Remaining in one neighborhood for several years gives you a chance to participate in community activities, lets you and your family establish lasting friendships, and offers your children the benefit of educational continuity.

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Call or e-mail today if you need an experienced agent to help you negotiate the best deal on your first home!

Meyer Leibovitch
RE/MAX Realty Group
301-674-5227

On a happier note, this weekend I was able to show another couple a bunch of houses in Boyds, Rockville and Potomac. For about six hundred thousand dollars you can get a fairly new house in Boyds with about 3,000 sf on two levels. You will have an open floorplan, large kitchen, huge master bath, loads of closet space and a two car garage. There is a great chance that you'll get a finished basement. Think neoclassic colonials with crown molding, chair railing, center island kitchens, 10 foot ceilings, recessed lighting. But, most of the lots are going to be a little small between 7,000 and 12,000 sfand without a whole bunch of privacy. Some, however do back to woods or have upgraded landscaping.

In Rockville and Potomac you'll get an older home. Anywhere from 1965 up, for the most part. In Rockville, depending on the community you may or may not get a garage. Flower valley which is way east and really more like Olney all of the houses have two car garages, but Woodley Gardens and College Gardens you'll get a carport. There are a lot of split levels in Rockville too. Most people seem to shy away from the split levels. They don't typically have stately elevations like colonials. also the floorplans are split so it's like having a two level house that's been turned into four levels by cutting it in half, then staggering each half. Appraisers often comp split levels to ramblers because of that. I learned that years ago, and always found it interesting. You may be able to get between 2,000 and 2,500 feet on two levels in Potomac, but don't think new. Most everything in those homes at that price is going to be older, including bathrooms, kitchens, floors and possibly major systems. Oh, original windows can be drafty too.You can get some privacy due to mature landscaping.

The obvious benefit of Rockville and Potomac is vicinity to Washington DC if you have to commute. Boyds will get you the bigger more contemporary home.

As a real estate agent, I have the great pleasure to live and work in a community that I love. That community is the Vistas at Woodcliffe Park(legal subdivision Kings Crossing). Vistas at Woodcliffe Park is primarily a single family home community with 992 homes. It is located betweed Clopper Road and Shaeffer Road in Boyds.

The homes range from about 2,100 square feet to about 5,000 feet. The builders were Ryan, Ryland, Mid Atlantic, Richmond American, NV Homes, Washington Homes and Craftmark. There is a huge selection of floorplans and styles of homes to choose from so there is a house for just about any size family.

What I love about the community the most are the great friends we have made here. There is a diverse mixture of people here that lends to the charm of the community. Everyone is friendly and our neighbors all help each other out with lending garden tools or a stick of butter to giving a hand moving a tv or a piece of furniture.

I grew up in a community without a neighborhood pool. I really didn't know what I was missing. In the summertime, the amazing community pool here is a haven for all of the residents. There are three pools, a large lap pool for swim meets, a wading pool with fountains and a beach style sloped entrance and a baby pool. There is a place to eat and sit with friends and loads of upright and lounge chairs on the pool deck to relax in the sun. The entire area is clean, well maintained and the grounds are manicured. In addition to the amazing pool, there is a county park with plaground equipment and a baseball field great for spending time with your kids playing ball or a game of tag. Also, there are tot lots accesible from all areas of the community if you don't feel like waking to the park. The community is also located within minutes of shopping, restaraunts and entertainment. Whether you need to get to Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, DSW or dozens of other warehouse or specialty stores, you are just minutes away.

The South Germantown Recreation Park is within walking distance too. There are so many amazing public amenities there including: miniature golf, adventure playground, the fountain park, joggin and bicycle trails, 22 soccer fields where league play goes on every weekend and more.

We have been truly blessed to live in this community. If you are interested in seeing the area or getting information about housing here in Boyds, please feel free to contact me. I can give you a tour or get you in any houses listed for sale!

Both Dinosaurs and no doc loans are extinct. Pretty soon there will be an exhibit at the Smithsonian with a no doc loan under glass. Future generations will be astounded by the few pieces of paper that once qualified as loan documentation.

A few of years ago you could be approved for a loan with almost as little information as a credit score. That's why we are in the mess we are in now because so many people were encouraged to state incomes higher than their real income. When it came time to pay those loans back, the money wasn't there.

Since the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, lenders are adhering to strict qualifying guidelines that will help them ensure that borrowers can actually afford the loans they seek. If you are planning on purchasing a home or refinancing a home you can pretty much count on your bank to ask for the information below--by the way, your bank will probably ask for the same information if you are using a short sale to sell your house.

1. W-2 forms — or business tax return forms if you're self-employed — for the last two or three years for every person signing the loan.Copies of at least one pay stub for each person signing the loan.

2. Account numbers of all your credit cards and the amounts for any outstanding balances.

3. Copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements for both checking and savings

4. Lender, loan number, and amount owed on other installment loans, such as student loans and car loans

5. Addresses where you’ve lived for the last five to seven years, with names of landlords if appropriate

6. Copies of brokerage account statements for two to four months, as well as a list of any other major assets of value, such as a boat, RV, or stocks or bonds not held in a brokerage account

7. Copies of your most recent 401(k) or other retirement account statement.

8. Documentation to verify additional income, such as child support or a pension.

9. Copies of personal tax forms for the last two to three years.

If you are planning to purchase a home I can recommend some lenders that have provided good service to my buyer clients in the past.

Meyer Leibovitch
RE/MAX Realty Group
301-674-5227

Germantown Maryland Home Search

Should You Consider a Short Sale?

Facing foreclosure is not only stressful, it can be embarrassing and humiliating too. By choosing to utilize the short sale you can avoid the public notice of foreclosure and the public sale of your property at the courthouse.

The short sale will give you the opportunity to deal much more privately with this issue. However, you will be obligated to disclose it to prospective purchasers and agents that show the property.There are currently millions of homeowners in the exact same issue as you are. You are not alone. The short sale can help you take control of the financial problems you are facing.

A short sale occurs when the banks agree to take less of a payoff than you owe. The benefit to you is that you avoid foreclosure. Having a foreclosure on your credit can affect all aspects of your life from renting a home to getting almost all types of credit. Even potential employers are checking credit these days. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. It is best to avoid foreclosure if possible.

Remember— bad things can happen to good people and this too shall pass. Once you have completed your short sale and avoided foreclosure getting on with your life will be much easier and you will have a huge stress off your back.

For more short sale information go to www.reosandshortsale.com

Meyer Leibovitch
RE/MAX Realty Group
301-674-5227

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