Terry Iwaniw - S NJ REALTOR

The I-Team Homes has been marketing quite extensively in Berlin Boro NJ. We provide housing market analysis for our clients. The following is the most current data we have for Berlin Boro :

For the month of February 2009 -

• New Listings Added in February - 18 (30.0% of total listings added this month)
• Average asking price - $278,761 (100.8% of Total Avg Asking Prices)
• Pending Sales (Under Contract, Not Settled) - 1
• Average price: $239,900
• Properties that Settled in February - 5
• Average sold price - 240,180 (93.3% of average asking price)
• Average Days on the Market - 57

We can provide you with a complete and accurate market analysis for your home with an analysis of the market area it is located in. By knowing the value of your home you have a basis to start selling your home. If you want to know the value of your home and to receive a no-cost home evaluation, please call us at 609-417-1084 .

For first time home buyers, purchasing your first home can be a very stressful experience. We can help eliminate that stress and help you through the process. We work closely with many first time home buyers and understand your concerns. First Time Home Buyer Programs, 0% and No Money Down Programs, Conventional, FHA, and VA Financing (To Qualified Buyers). Seller Assist with Closing Costs, New Homes Existing Homes in Great Neighborhoods, Fixer Upper Properties. We search all of Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, and Atlantic Counties. Go to http://www.homes4firsttimebuyers.com/

Looking for a fixer upper property? Willing to put in some "sweat equity" to buy your next home at a bargain price. Get a complete listing of fixer uppers in your area by going to http://www.bestfixerhomes.com/

If you are interested in HUD owned homes currently for sale , go to: HUD Owned Homes Site.

Are you behind on your mortgage? We can help you! We are the Foreclosure Prevention Consultants. We've been where you are now, don't make the same mistakes we did. See what we can do for you at http://www.i-teamhomes.com/foreclosure.htm

Linda & Terry Iwaniw
REALTOR Associate
First Time Home Buyer Specialist
Foreclosure Prevention Consultant
ReSales & Investment Realty, LLC
856-795-3111 x263
609-417-1086
http://www.terryi.com/
http://www.snewjerseyhomes.com/

If you are thinking of buying a home, you might be confused about the many issues in the news from mortgage rates to mortgage bills in Congress.  But the fundamentals of buying a home really haven't changed and, in fact, there are new incentives on the horizon that should make home buying more attractive than ever.

There are plenty of homes on the market in every price range and if you want one of them, you need only do what generations of people have done. You just have to pay attention to these basics:

• First, cultivate good credit by prudent living. Pay your bills and pay them on time. Use credit sparingly.
  If you do this, you'll earn a good credit score, which is crucial to getting a good interest rate. Research shows that many consumers believe that they have to have a high income to have a high credit score, but that's not true. In fact, income is irrelevant to your credit score. Your credit score is a rating based on how well you live up to your obligations, pay your bills and use your credit.
• Second, save money for a down payment. In the current climate, most lenders will ask you to bring some cash to the table in a mortgage deal.
• Third, find a house you love but can also afford. One path to financial freedom is to buy a modest house and build equity. When you decide to move up, you can sell your house and take a large chunk of the money from the sale and apply it to your new home. Your payment is lower while you live better. It's the good, always-in-fashion way to live.

Congress is also planning some incentives for new home buyers. It appears first-time home buyers will get a tax credit of 10 percent of the purchase price of a home up to $8,000. That means in the year you purchase a new home, your tax bill could be reduced up to $8,000. Homeowners will not qualify for the credit if they sell the home in the first year and must live in the house for at least three years, or they will be obligated to pay back the credit.

To be classified as a first-time homeowner, you must not have owned a home in three years

In the last two days we have received numerous flyers in our e-mail from some local mortgage representatives telling us that First Time Home Buyers can receive their $8,000 credit UP FRONT and use this money as a DOWN PAYMENT. This sounded too good to be true so we checked it out - this was too good to be true. 

My wife, Linda, personally phoned the IRS this morning, February 27, 2009 and spoke with an IRS expert on the First Time Home Buyers Credit.  This is what we learned:

• The 2009 tax credit is for $8,000 and for properties purchased in 2009 by first time home buyers and does not have to be paid back provided the buyer lives there for 3 years. 
• The buyer can apply for the 2009 tax credit on their 2008 income tax return if they have not filed yet.  If the buyer has already filed their 2008 return and received their refund or paid their taxes, they can file an amended return and receive the $8,000 tax credit without having to wait to file the 2009 taxes. Of course, the buyer can wait and apply for the $8,000 tax credit when they file their 2009 income taxes next year.
• This provision, while a little confusing, was designed to jump start housing market. However, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES can a buyer apply for this $8,000 credit BEFORE THEY CLOSE ON THE PROPERTY AND USE THIS MONEY FOR A DOWNPAYMENT.  They are not a FIRST TIME HOME BUYER until they have (bought) closed on the house and have the keys in their hands.

If you think about this logically, you would realize that if in fact this was an $8,000 gift for a down payment, it would be all over the news.  We wouldn't need some mortgage representative to tell us about it. This very loose interpretation of the First Time Home Buyers credit is just another attempt to get around the rules.

We can think of some serious ramifications of applying for a tax credit you have yet to earn.  We can sum it up in two words TAX FRAUD.  We do not want any mortgage representative telling our buyers to commit fraud.  We can imagine some nightmare scenarios that we do not wish to be involved, the least of which the buyer does not settle, for whatever reason, and has applied for and received the $8,000 credit.  The worst of this is that when the ‘buyer' is audited the following year, for applying for a tax credit that they did not earn and they tell the auditor that their real estate agent told them to file for the money.

We suggest that anyone who is interested in finding out the FACTS regarding this $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers, that they call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 and ask to speak to an agent who is familiar with the FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS CREDIT and ask the direct question, "Can a first time home buyer apply for the $8,000 credit before they close on a property and use this money for a down payment?"  The answer will be NO.  But check it out for yourself.  If you have a buyer who has been told this by a mortgage rep and does not believe you when you tell them they cannot apply for this credit before they close on the property, give them the IRS number.  Keep in mind that you are calling the Federal Government and will be on hold for 15-20 minutes.  But it is worth the wait to learn the facts.  Use your speaker phone, the time will fly by.

If something sounds too good to be true, it is our responsibility to wade through the muck and verify, verify, verify.  The last thing we need is another mortgage catastrophe a few years out.

Did you miss out on a bargain? If you are NOT our customer, then you did.
Well, there are many more for you to purchase! Look at what these great deals went for.

	SOLD 108 COLUMBIA DR ATCO, NJ 08004 This 3 Bedroom Home was appariased at $160,000. HUD listed it at $144,000 ($16,000 under appraised value). HUD accepted an offer of $110,565! The buyer saved $49,435
	SOLD 14 NORTH DR PINE HILL, NJ 08021 This 3 Bedroom Home was appariased at $150,000. HUD listed it at $135,000 ($15,000 under appraised value). HUD accepted an offer of $115,000! The buyer saved $35,000
	SOLD 58 AUTUMN RIDGE DR GLASSBORO, NJ 08028 This 3 Bedroom Home was appariased at $205,000. HUD listed it at $184,500 ($20,500 under appraised value). HUD accepted an offer of $151,000! The buyer saved $54,000
	SOLD 878 S MILL ROAD VINELAND, NJ 08360 This 3 Bedroom Home was appariased at $125,000. HUD listed it at $100,000 ($25,000 under appraised value). HUD accepted an offer of $97,000! The buyer saved $28,000
CALL US NOW!	In Total, these buyers paid $166,435 LESS THEN the appraised value of the properties. This advertisement is not a guarantee that HUD will accept any specific offer.

Every Friday, HUD releases new properties they received and reduces property prices on homes that are just NOT moving.  Every week you get new opportunities to purchase one of these bargains . Some HUD homes are in good shape and need only cosmetics to get top dollar.  Call us and we will be happy to take you out to look at any one of them so you can see for yourself how much or how little work is required. Search out the current HUD Owned homes here.

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Linda & Terry Iwaniw
============================
REALTOR Associates
ReSales & Investment Realty, LLC
http://www.sjerseyhomes.com/
Cell: 609-417-1084
Office: 856-795-3111 x263
============================

We just read a news article that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are planning on toughening up their credit score and downpayment rules.  As of April 1, they will implement new guidelines for loans backed by them.  The new guidelines will require buyers that are putting down less then 25% for a downpayment to be charged a penalty of 3/4 of a point (a point equals 1% of the loan amount).  It won't matter what the buyer's credit score is, if they are putting less then 25% down for a mortgage loan, they will be penalized 3/4 (0.75%) of a point.

Buyers of duplexes, where one unit is owner-occupied and the other is rented, will be charged a 1 percent add-on as a penalty, while those who are refinancing their homes and who plan to take cash out will be charged as much as three points if they have a low to moderate equity stake in their homes.

Many major lenders are already factoring in these higher fees, which reduces the effectiveness of the stimulus efforts.  Brad German, Freddie Mac's spokesman,  said that the loan categories & credit risk combinations targeted by these fees "default at four to eight times" the rate of other mortgages that were backed by Freddie Mac. The reason for these fees, according to German, "We have to manage these risks appropriately,".

So, if you are seriously planning to buy a home, this may be an ideal time to make that offer on that special home, get under contract, and settled before your mortgage loan includes these new fees and charges.  If you haven't found that new home, yet...don't delay!  Call us NOW at 609-417-1084 so we can help you find that special new home in record time and get you moved in.

Linda & Terry Iwaniw
REALTOR Associates
First Time Home Buyer Specialist
Marketers of HUD Owned Homes
ReSales & Investment Realty, LLC
856-795-3111 x263
609-417-1084
http://www.snewjerseyhomes.com/