Mark Corbett

Photo by Mark Corbett.

Here is a photo I took in the summer in Providence, Rhode Island of one of the gondola slowly going down the river. I not sure which one of the gondola it is. I have never been on one, since I am single and would feel funny since most people that ride them are in love. Someday I can see myself taking my girl friend on a romantic ride down the river.

Check out their website at http://www.gondolari.com/

A little trivia the gondola the "Cynthia Jacob" was constructed and shipped from Venice, Italy, in the spring of 1997 while the first one The "Cynthia Julia" was constructed in Manchester, Massachusetts in May, 1996 and completed in October, 1996 It's believed to be the first truly authentic Venetian gondola ever built in the United States

Photo by Mark Corbett.

Here is a photo I took in the Summer in Providence, Rhode Island at the Water Place Park during one of the Waterfire events held in Providence RI.

I like this photo because the beauty of the city of Providence and the glow of the fire light shining on the river. I can hear the classical music playing in the background. If you have not seen a waterfire in Providence, it one of the many sight to see.

A little trivia the waterfire is an award winning sculpture by Barnaby Evans. It has 100 bonfires lighted in the river. He created the first waterfire in 1994 which was commissioned to celebrate the tenth anniversary of First Night Providence. Waterfire has had over 10 million visitors. Check out their website at http://www.waterfire.org/

I read an interesting article, "Stimulus plan has tax benefits but check the fine print" by Michelle Singletary personal finance columnist for The Washington Post, which appeared in the Rhode Island, Providence Journal on Monday, February 23, 2009.

In her article she writes about the new $8,000 first time home buying tax credit. She states that it does not replace the $7,500 tax credit, which was passed as part of last year's Housing and Economic Recovery Act. She writes that there are two first time home buying tax credit now. The one they can use depends on when they have purchased their home.

She states that you do not qualify for the $8,000 first time home buying tax credit if you purchase your home on or after April 8, 2008, and by Dec. 31, 2008. She writes that you can take the $7,500 tax credit, but you have to pay that back, since it not really a tax credit but a 15 year, interest free loan from the IRS. She also comments that she did not like the $7,500 tax credit, "...I've never liked the $7,500 credit because of the lengthy loan feature. Repayment for the $7,500 begins the second tax year after you take the credit. So if you claim the credit on your 2008 tax return, you have to begin paying back the money in 2010..."

My opinion on the $7,500 tax credit I agree with her that it is a 15 year loan interest free and has a lengthy loan feature, however if I purchased in 2008, I would still consider using the $7,500 since I would not be eligible for the $8,000 tax credit. Even though the new $8,000 tax credit is better and it is a true credit, as you don't have to repay it as long you don't sell the property in 36 months. The $7,500 Tax credit comes out to be $500 per year over 15 years. As long as you understand that the "tax credit" is really a loan secured by the house and it must be repaid under most circumstances, it is probably worth considering. Using this money as an interest free loan for upgrades to the house that would increase the values of the property would be a good use of the money, rather than borrowing the money to do that. If you spend it on a vacation or purchase consumer goods, you may not want to use $7,500 tax credit program. If you are disciplined an can take the money an put it in a high- yield savings account or CDs for 15 years, that might be a good way to go too.

She also comments that the new $8,000 first time home tax credit for qualifying home purchases made from January 1, 2009 to December 1, 2009 not the last day of the year. I agree with her that it is strange that they cut if off on the 1^st.

She also comments that "...If your status is married filing separately, you can't get the full $8,000 or $7,500 credit, Instead, you get $4,000 of the 8,000 credit and $3,750 of the $7,500 credit. People filing as single are eligible for the full credit..." which I found very interesting. She recommends calling the IRS if your not sure which one you qualify for.

I would also recommend that you consult with a professional tax advisor regarding these tax credits, which they will be able to give you direct answers to your specific circumstances.

If you have excellent credit, and will be purchasing a $300,000-$1,500,000 or more home or condo in the Providence, Rhode Island area, or surrounding RI neighborhoods or Southern Massachusetts in the next 90 days and would like to be represented by the Corbett TEAM of Certified Exclusive Buyer Agents (Trained in "Negotiation" for representing ONLY BUYERS 100% of the time!)"Call us at 401-725-5608 for a phone consultation!

Here is a photo I took in the Summer in Providence, Rhode Island. The Statue of Roger Williams located at the Prospect Terrace Park.

The statue is overlooking the city of Providence. The park is located at 60 Congdon Street in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. I like this photo because it looks like he is blessing the city of Providence. A little trivia his remains were moved there in 1939

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors, which I'm a member had it second panel forum discussing strategies in a tough market called, "RI Surviving Tough Times Part II forum panel." On the panel were Allen Gammons of Prudential Gammons Realty, Jo Anne Samborsky of Keller Williams Realty, James Caruolo Esq., Steve Tetzner of Homestar Mortgage and Karl Martone of RE/MAX Properties, who is also our President Elect for the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

The two points that I received from the panel is it is a great time for buyer! What great opportunities are available and that communication is very important and that agents need to go back to the basics.

I was not able to attend the second forum, but was able to watch the video which is posted on their website.

http://www.rirealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/NewsArticle.asp?newsID=582

Here are some of the comments I found interesting, and my point of view.

One of the discussions was about short sale properties. Short sale properties are properties that are still owned by the seller, however for the seller to sell the property they need the bank's approval of the sale, since the seller is upside down in the property. The house is worth less in the current market than what is owned on the property, they need the bank to forgive that shortage for the sale to go through, since the seller does not have the funds.

The panel agreed that short sale properties are a long time consuming process and the banks are not equipped to respond quickly, and the panel do not see the time frame changing anytime soon. I would have to agree with them on this statement, since I explain to my client that with short sales you have to be very patient since bank are taking months to respond. A member of our National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agent has had as long as 60 to 90 days to hear a response from a seller's bank which is typical. He stated that in 2008 out of his 15 short sale transactions he has had only 1 closed.

The attorney on the panel gave some interesting statistics of foreclosed properties in Rhode Island area. James Caruolo Esq.said "... Second quarter of this year of 2008 from Realty Trac 1,700 foreclosures in the state of Rhode Island. Third quarter of this year of 2008 from Realty Trac were 2,100 that's on top of the 1,700 a 3 month period of time. In January, of this year 2009, foreclosure 782..." I found this to be incredible numbers. I would have to agree with the panel that there are great opportunities for buyers. I would add that buyer who purchase these kind of properties have to be patient and willing to buy a property in "as is" condition with no warranties.

The panel felt that opportunity right now is the most positive thing about this market. James Caruolo Esq., commented that, "Crisis for some people some people should not have bought properties they were in but he said that it is a huge opportunity for people to go out and buy these properties and buyers to meet Realtors who are ready to do the hard work and get the properties sold..."

Because of the way the banks are acting with short sale and many do not close, as a buyers agent I inform my buyers that before you get involved in a short sale, why not see if there are other properties that meet your needs that are either already owned by the bank or is owned by a seller who is not in a short sale situation. If they do want to do a short sale, I recommend that they get a real estate attorney involved that understands how to protect them legally in a short sale, since this is not a typical transaction and our association at this time does not have an addendum to protect buyers who enter into a short sale. The Corbett Team does have a short sale addendum that one of our NAEBA members provided us, but we still recommend that and attorney who specializes in short sales look it over for the client needs.

One of the points the panel made was that the property needs to have a paper trail of documentation for the bank to show them of the time the property has been marketed and to show the bank this documentation and what you as the listing agent has done to market the property. Allen Gammons of Prudential Gammons Realty said, "that the bank wants to see that the property has been properly marketed, advertised, and the history of the property with its price reductions, and feedback from the agents showing the property, which Karl had also said. They want to see a track record and history, before they approve the sale." So when he takes the short sale listing he markets the property at the same time starts the process with the attorney or facilitator who will be negotiating with the lender. Attorney stated that banks want to see that the property has a track record for the property with time on the market before they agree to anything. The bank will also do an affordable criteria, to make sure that the seller meets the requirements for a short sale.

One of the things we do as the Corbett team when a clients want to submit an offer on a short sale is to email a list of questions to the listing agent to help the buyer before writing an offer, to help them make their decision. One of the questions we ask is, "How close to foreclosure is this property?" We have learned this from one of our NAEBA member who does many short sale sales, the closer it is to foreclosure the better it is for the buyer.

The attorney on the panel stated that the bank will send out an affiliation letter for the seller's to sign stating they are not afflicated with the buyers or they are related. He recommends that Realtors, do not become involved in the sale if they are, since you maybe involved in a fraudulent sale and get sued by the lender. If you suspect it, just ask the seller the question, if it is, step away from the transaction, but DO NOT violate your seller's confidences by telling the lender, just get yourself out of the situation.

One of the audiences questions were about buyers who want to get out of the short sale because it taking to long what should they do? James Caruolo Esq., commented that if an agreement has been signed by seller and buyer on both sides, they would not be able to get out until the agreement has taken its course. He suggested that buyer agents take control by "...putting in an end date, don't necessary have to put in time of the essences You can put in wording that basically puts the seller as well as their lender on notice that if the transaction does not take place by a certain date that the contract becomes void unless an extension is authorized and executed by both parties. That way you don't have a situation were your buyer is locked in..."

One of the recommendation to the agents in the audience was that it my be a good time to start meeting the appraisal at the property and provide the appraiser with current comparables to support the contract price.

Another question from the audience was if you have an accepted offer from the buyer and seller and after you get another offer does this need to be sent to the bank too? Karl, stated, "...You are still negotiating with the seller, the seller still owns the property, sign a release with the seller..." Karl also stated, "...that you need to track the property, because what the seller at one time will reject an offer later on he may take a lesser offer. It also has to do with timing.. If agreement has been sign by both it's pending subject to approval by lender. Communicate with the listing agent on a daily bases..." Alan stated, "... it is in the seller's interest to keep marketing the property, he explained that he had a property with a signed offer, and two backups and after a couple of month, the first buyer bought something else and the other buyers were gone. He continues marketing the property and informs the buyers that there is signed contract, but we are accepting backups.."

Do you submit multiple offers to lenders? The attorney said that it depends on what your seller and lender agree upon. The listing agent with authorization needs to clarify with the lender if they want them to submit multiple purchase and sales agreements/offers to them. If that's the case, he would suggest be honest and up front with buyers. This is subject to approval with the lender and all offers will be sent to the lender. The comment from an audience member stated that it's the seller that should make the decision which offer is sent to the lender. The Attorney, commented that in Rhode Island not all agents use a two step process, like Massachusetts with an offer form and then Purchase and sales agreement, and if the seller signs a Purchase and Sales agreement with a buyer they are under agreement to sell to the buyer. The seller would have sell to the buyer regardless of the lender acceptance of the short sale unless it is stated in the agreement.

I agree with him in that it is very important that the agreement is subject to approval from a lender in a short sale or your seller will be on the hook to sell the property to the buyer. I do not agree with the attorney regarding the Massachusetts's offer form that he insinuated that it would not be binding as a Rhode Island Purchase and sales agreement. There was a law suit in Massachusetts regarding if an offer is binding that stated otherwise McCarthy vs. Tobin http://masscases.com/cases/app/44/44massappct274.html

In my opinion I feel that an offer signed by both buyer and seller can be legally binding, it has all the elements of a legally binding contract.

Karl stated that you need to know who you are dealing with, and in this process the lender want the seller to provide them all offers/ agreements then you need to follow their rules. If second offer comes in higher, then first sign agreement is still good as long as it last. He feels that it is still case by case and depends on what the lender wants. This has not happened to him as of yet.

Alan commented that a lender will not start the process for a short sale until they have a signed purchase and sales agreement with deposit pre-qualification letter and a legitimate buyer. He also said that the bank do verify the pre-qualification letters.

Foreclosures are a diffent process. As I mentioned before I prefer foreclosed properties, because the bank has an incentive to get them off their books and it costing the bank money to own the property. I enjoyed watching the video, which was very informative and hope that they have many of these programs.

If you have excellent credit, and will be purchasing a $400,000-$1,500,000 or more home or condo in the Providence, Rhode Island area, or surrounding RI neighborhoods or Southern Massachusetts in the next 90 days and would like to be represented by the Corbett TEAM of Certified Exclusive Buyer Agents (Trained in "Negotiation" for representing ONLY BUYERS 100% of the time!)"Call us at 401-725-5608 for a phone consultation!