Rochester, NY

This is the first of a series of posts aimed at educating first-time homebuyers in the Rochester area about the home buying process. I've worked with many first-time buyers who are interested in becoming homeowners but have no clue where to begin. This series will explain the steps to homeownership, as well as giving first-time buyers tips to help the process go as smoothly as possible!

Step 1: Establish Financing

It's important to speak with a mortgage professional before you begin seriously looking at homes. They will look at a number of factors and issue you a pre-approval letter.

Some of the factors lenders take into account include...

• Employment: Salaried vs. commissioned, self-employed, or temporary
• Credit: How do you rate? What is your credit history and score?
• Finances: How much do you have available for down payment and closing costs?

Your pre-approval letter will give you a realistic price range for your home search. That way, you don't overextend yourself or end up disappointed after falling in love with a home you can't afford. By including it with a purchase offer, it also shows sellers you are a financially qualified buyer who can afford their home. That's why it's beneficial to have this letter before you find the home of your dreams!

If you are unable to qualify for a loan, a good mortgage professional can help you create an action plan to improve your credit, so that in the near future you should be in a better position to purchase a home.

Choosing the right mortgage professional is as important as choosing the right real estate agent. They can mean the difference between a smooth transaction and a "rocky road". If you are in the Rochester area and thinking of purchasing a home, I would be happy to refer you to some fantastic professionals who always get the job done for my clients.

Stay Tuned for Step 2: Refine Your Search!

P.S. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I frequently team up with Tracy Martinez from Five Star Bank to offer FREE home buying seminars to Rochester-area homebuyers. If you're interested in learning more, give me a call at (585) 455-5524 to find out when and where our next seminar will be held!

In every city across the country, that are stats showing a direct correlation between % of homes owned, and % of the population affected by things such as crime, poverty, sub-par education, unemployment, sub-par health, high vacancy rates, etc.

Obviously, there is no simple way to solve these problems that are affecting so many inner-city neighborhoods, as there is clearly multiple factors causing the problem.

However, when my home city in Upstate NY recently published it's City-Wide Housing study, it became very clear to me that in neighborhoods where the majority of homes are owned by out-of-state investors, crime and sub-par living standards run rampant.

Note: a good tool I like to use to see these types of stats nation-wide is www.bestplaces.net

After speaking to our city council-member about the issue, I learned that the top city officials were already well-aware of the dilemma. He also pointed out that Pride in Ownership leads to houses that are better maintained, and increasing property values. Unfortunately, many of the people that live in these neighborhoods have rented their entire lives, their mothers and fathers had always rented, and their grandparents were life-long renters.

Home Ownership simply isn't a conceivable option for them. Not because they don't deserve, can't afford it, or don't want too... in my experience the inability for them to buy for themselves is caused primarily by a lack of role-models, lack of financial education, and a lack of professional resources to assist them.

Believe me, I see first-hand how MOTIVATED some of these people are to buy homes (at least initially) before they are told "NO, NO, NO" time and again by agents, banks, etc. Due to lack of financial education, many of the people in these types of neighborhoods have bad or no credit at all, and have never learned the importance of savings and investments.

However, in America, we pride ourselves on being the "land of opportunity" and for good reason. In this great country of ours, rags-to-riches stories are commonplace, and anyone can be successful with the right resources.

That is why any good Rent-to-Own program MUST be partnered with a system for helping these people get a good financial education, including credit repair counseling.

With the right resources in place, we can positively impact these communities by turning the population of life-long renters, into responsible home-owners. With pride in ownership of one's home, comes pride in ownership in one's community. Some of our Rent-to-Own buyers have gone on to become active members in neighborhood associations, block clubs, and local religious organizations. All of them, learn about the importance of, and how to better maintain their properties.

The goal to clean up our inner-city neighborhoods is one that we must not lose sight of. Rent to Own is indeed a great option for Sellers/Investors (especially during this crazy credit crunch) but it's also important to realize the impact we can have the Buyers and the Communities (remember: win-win-win!!).

Fixing the problems of our inner-cities won't be an easy task, and it won't happen overnight. However, good Rent-to-Own programs CAN allow us to make an impact, one house, and one street, and one neighborhood, at a time!

For more information on structuring Rent-to-Own Transactions that are easy, safe, and are a benefit to the community, please visit www.SafeRentToOwn.com

The government enacted a benefit to help you make your first home purchase. The incentive gives first time home buyers a federal income tax credit up to $7,500. The tax credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home up to $7,500. This is part of the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008″. It is a temporary, federal tax credit to provide incentive for first-time home buyers to purchase a home.

This tax credit is for first-time homebuyers who purchase a principal resident on or after April 8, 2008 and before July 1, 2009.

To be eligible, you can not have owned a primary home for the past three years, but may have owned a home prior to that.

To qualify for a full tax credit of $7,500 (or 10% of the cost of the home), someone filing their taxes as single, or head of household can earn no more than $75,000. Couples who file a joint return must earn $150,000 or less.

U.S. citizens and resident aliens who file income taxes qualify for the tax credit. Non-resident aliens are not eligible

Since the money must eventually be paid back, the tax credit essentially acts as a no-interest loan that reduces your tax liability for the year it is claimed. For instance, home buyers who close on a new home purchase in 2008 (after April 9) can claim the credit on their 2008 tax return. If their tax liability for the year is $5,000, applying the $7,500 tax credit would cover their tax bill and provide a $2,500 refund. Any taxpayers already due a refund would still receive the full amount, plus the $7,500 tax credit for buying a home.

First-time home buyers who claim the tax credit are expected to begin repayment starting in the second tax year after they close on their home and continue the pro-rata payback on their federal taxes for a 15-year period. For home buyers who claim the full $7,500 credit, the payments would amount to $500 a year.

If the buyer sells the home before the 15-year period, the remaining credit would be due from whatever profit was made on the sale. In cases where profits from the sale were less than what was owed for the credit repayment, the remainder would be forgiven.

If you have already closed on a new home since April 8, 2008, the tax credit is retroactive back to that date.

What do you have to do to claim the tax credit? If you meet the criteria, all you need to do is request the credit on either your 2008 or 2009 federal tax return.

You can learn more here: IRS 1st Time Home Buyer

Please note this is not tax advice. Please consult your accountant for the details of the bill and how it relates to your situation.

We have had a beautiful fall season here in Rochester. Last Friday it was in the 60's. Today is very cold, and snow is staying on the ground. If you haven't already, you may want to put a blanket, bottled water, a shovel, and a flashlight in the car. I learned that the hard way when I was younger. I got stuck in a snow bank at night. You just never know what could happen, and it's good to be prepared. Stay safe.

Some of my least favorite words in Rochester are "Lake Affect!" Well, we've had some lake affect over the past few days which left a nice blanket on Nathaniel Rochester. Photo taken at the Sculpture "Reflecting," located at South Avenue and Alexandria Streets, in the South Wedge.

For more information about Nathaniel Rochester and his interesting life, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Rochester

Rochester's real estate market has slowed down pretty dramatically. I'm still looking for my first November sale, and so if you know someone looking to buy or sell real estate let me know. I've had plenty of idle time on my hands to dream up interesting thank you gifts for your referrals. :-)

Home are still selling in Rochester. I did a quick check of the MLS, and there has been 841 single family homes put on the market since November 1. Of those listings, 31 have gone pending in the first 17 days of the month and two new builds have have already closed. In addition, 2 of the properties have been withdrawn from the market. That means there are 806 fresh listings out there and one of them could be just perfect for you!