Nick Libert

It's October 1st, and the Homebuyer's Tax Credit expires in 60 days (you must CLOSE on your new property by November 30, 2009). So--did you miss out? Is it too late to research, find, negotiate, and CLOSE on a new home at these rock bottom prices and at record low interest rates? The answer, unequivocally, is NO! And if you are stretched for cash, read part 2 about all the options to get in with VERY LITTLE MONEY DOWN!

PART ONE: TIMELINE

I'm already hearing from many potential buyers that "it is too late, right?" and "I don't want to be rushed so I'm just giving up". To dispell this myth, I have put together the following timeline based on my years of experience working with buyers ASSUMING YOU JUST THIS WEEK DECIDE ITS TIME TO BUY!

1. Get in touch with us to initiate your search. This requires just a quick call, text, or email to let us know your criteria (areas/neighborhoods, # of beds and baths, any amentities you really want, price range, etc). If you are not preapproved, see item #2 below. We will then INSTANTLY set you up on a daily, automated search that sends you everything new or currently on the market matching your criteria. You will have your first list within minutes. You can also browse all available properties online to see what's currently on the market (for free) at my team's website, www.nicklibert.com TIME: 10 MINUTES BY PHONE/EMAIL; INSTANT SEARCHING
2. Determine your price range/preapproval. Again, just a quick conversation and application by phone or email will let you know how much you can afford and what price range you should be looking into. I have a mortgage team who can get you a preapproval without an in-person meeting just by filling out the online application. Email/call/text me to get situated with my lending team...TIME: 15 MINUTE APPLICATION ONLINE; 12 HOUR TURNAROUND FOR PREAPPROVAL
3. Begin selecting properties to view. My team works 7 days a week, around your schedule! We can begin seeing properties literally the next day after you start selecting your favorites. Our technology allows you to select every property electronically that you are interested in, making it easy to browse and schedule from home or work. Most of our clients see 12-24 properties before making a decision. Sometimes, depending on your criteria, it can be more or less. We just want you to be educated on the market and feel no pressure until the time is right. That being said, you will HAVE to be under contract by the end of October to close by Nov. 30th and get the tax credit. There is PLENTY of time in October to view all the inventory in your range, so get us your criteria today! TIME: 2-3 WEEKS TO SEARCH AND SELECT PROPERTY
4. Contract to close. It takes approximately 30 days from the time you negotiate a contract to physically close/take posession of a property. During this period, the property will be appraised, and you will have the right to a home inspection (by a licensed inspector) as well as an attorney review period, where your attorney reviews the contract and supporting documents.

PART TWO: COSTS AND CREDITS

1. FHA loans require only 3.5% of the purchase price down! FHA is now the best way to get into a property with very little down. For example, if the property you are looking at costs $100,000, you would only need to put $3500 as your down payment. Think how much you would be throwing away in rent next year instead of investing in yourself with just 3.5% down!!!
2. Using the Illinois HOME START program tax refund anticipation loan, you can GET THE $8000 TAX CREDIT NOW AS YOU BUY! USE IT TOWARDS YOUR DOWN PAYMENT! See HERE for more details. In other words, if you do not have the full 3.5% down, you can get your tax credit UP FRONT as a loan towards your down payment, until you receive your true tax credit next year after filing your return. The link above gives you complete details.
3. Have the seller pay up to 6% of the price of the home towards your closing costs and prepaids! There are other costs besides your down payment when you buy and mortgage a home. They include transfer taxes, appraisals, loan fees, etc. FHA loans allow the seller to contribute up to 6% of the purchase price towards closing costs and prepaids, so why not ask for this in your negotiations? Again, this is getting you in with next to nothing down!
4. You qualify for the $8000 tax credit as long as you have not owned property in the past 3 years and intend to use the home (condo, single family home, or townhouse) as your primary residence. See HERE for the full details on qualification.

PART THREE: WHY IS THIS THE BEST TIME TO BUY IN A DECADE?

1. Tax incentives! Never before has the government given you $8,000 back on an investment in yourself.
2. Drastically lowered prices! Whether its a developer closeout, foreclosure, short sale, or just a frustrated seller, prices are down 20-50% from their highs in 2006 and the opportunity to buy for a huge discount is in EVERY neighborhood and criteria.
3. Record low interest rates! Just last week, interest rates dipped again to near historic lows. This combined with reasons 1 and 2 make this a PERFECT STORM until November 30th.

CALL TEXT OR EMAIL ME TODAY! 312.493.0920 OR NICK@NICKLIBERT.COM. DON'T MISS OUT! THERE IS PLENTY OF TIME IF YOU GET IN CONTACT WITH ME TODAY!

While the below Chicago Sun-Times report is a breath of fresh air for sellers, it should signal to buyers that the bottom has potentially passed, and the enthusiasm for the first time homebuyer tax credit and foreclosure inventory have fueled stabilization. This means that it's time to buy while prices are still low! Please contact me for further information, or check out ALL Chicago real estate inventory on my website, www.nicklibert.com.

CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Home prices in the Chicago metropolitan area rose 1.1 percent in June over May, but were down 16.7 percent from a year earlier according to the latest Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home price index.

Nationally, prices rose 2.9 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter, the first quarter-over-quarter improvement in three years. But prices were down 14.9 percent from a year earlier.

"For the second month in a row, we're seeing some positive signs," David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a statement. "There are hints of an upward turn from a bottom."

The 10-city and 20-city composite indexes were each up 1.4 percent in June over May, their second consecutive monthly increases. But they reported annual declines of 15.1 percent and 15.4 percent respectively. Still, that was down from recent record losses of 19.4 percent and 19.1 percent. Eighteen of the 20 metropolitan areas saw improvement in their annual returns compared to those over May and the same 18 showed positive month-over-month returns.