Eva Bradley's Blog

The following article is for those who took advantage of and purchased their

home with the tax credit:

Tax Credit & Tax Refund

Please click the link below to open my “September Real Estate Update”:

News You Can Use

This Newsletter is full of interesting and useful information that I think you will enjoy whether you are a buyer, seller, homeowner, or renter.

This month’s issue includes topics such as:

“Priced to Sell”;
“Most Homebuyers Have No Regrets”;
“Staging a Photo Ready Home”;
“Handling Neighborly Disputes”;
“Social Benefits of Housing”;

Plus a roundup of August real estate activity as well as much more advice and information.

I hope you enjoy this monthly newsletter. If you have any comments, please e-mail them to me. Or, if you would like to see a certain topic covered in future months, let me know that too!

Many of you bought your home in 2008 and 2009 using the $8,000 tax credit.   

Here are some usefull links directly from the IRS to help you file the tax credit properly:

• Basic Information
• Claiming the credit on your tax return
• Homes purchased in 2008
• Homes purchased in 2009
• Scenarios

In case you do file your tax return your self  and need help you can visit the official IRS website by clicking here.

Image by joiseyshowaa via Flickr

 

Do you live near intersection or high traffic areas?  Here are some useful tips on how to reduce the traffic noise, enjoy your outdoor activities and have a nicely landscaped backyard, all at the same time:  How to dampen traffic noise

The sales details for the first month of 2010 are showing a slow down in Tracy’s real estate market, which is typical for this time of the year.  Tracy’s inventory is still low; as of today we have 207 homes actively listed on the Multiple Listing Service for Tracy and surrounding country areas. The most important factor in purchasing a home is obtaining a loan. Government loans (FHA) are changing rules again; raising the amount of mortgage insurance premiums and raising the minimum down payment back up to 5% of the purchase price. On the other hand the tax credit is still available for qualified home buyers and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is about to pass another incentive for Californians; a $10,000 tax credit for new and resale home purchases. If it passes, it will become effective hopefully by the end of this month…. Read the rest of this entry »

According to a recent survey one in every seven homeowners is currently not making their mortgage payments for one reason or another.  In case you are one of the troubled homeowners I want you to know that you have options, and Realty World Corral Hollow agents like me are here to help you find solutions that are available to you.

Realty World Corral Hollow agents have always been actively involved in helping the community throughout the years and I am proud to be one of them.  We care about our clients and we care about the community.

In these troubling times, Corral Hollow agents are available for you to educate you and to give you directions as to what would be the best option for your individual situation. A confidential, personal consultation does not cost any money and if you get nothing else out of it, just knowing that there is someone you can trust and talk to, will make you feel better and it will be well worth it.

Being agents at Realty World Corral Hollow, our ongoing education allows us to stay informed of the newest laws, rules and regulations that would affect your situation as a homeowner.

For most of us, our biggest investment in our lives is our home.  And it is worth every effort to fight for it.  As your realtor, I would stand and fight with you, until we can reach a reasonable solution.  Even if you are one day away from foreclosure, there is still time to act. 

I urge you to pick up the phone and call me or any Corral Hollow agent to find out about your options. 

Image via Wikipedia

Bi-Weekly Mortgage

Did You Know? Making one extra mortgage payment a year will knock years off your mortgage and save you thousands of dollars. Click here to learn more.

If you search for “bi-weekly mortgage” with an Internet search engine, you will be overwhelmed by the number of companies offering “Bi-weekly Mortgage Reduction Services” or “Bi-weekly Savings Programs.” Beware, you are entering dangerous waters.

Beware of Bi-Weekly Mortgage Reduction Services and Savings Programs

These “Reduction Services” and “Savings Programs” are charging you fees to “make a bi-weekly mortgage payment” for you. The enticement is that they will save you an impressive amount of money on your mortgage and reduce the number of years you pay on your mortgage.

The enticement is that they will make bi-weekly mortgage payments for you.

The real story is that they are not actually making bi-weekly payments on your mortgage. They are making bi-weekly deductions from your bank account. These funds are placed into an account from which your monthly mortgage payment is made (which only takes 24 deductions – but during the course of a year 26 deductions will be made from your account). With the extra 2 deductions, the “Service” makes an additional mortgage payment. In other words rather than making 12 mortgage payments, 13 payments are made.

The enticement is that they are providing a special service to you that would either not be possible for you to get on your own or that you won’t have the time or discipline to make it happen.

The real story is that you can easily make an additional mortgage payment each year. An easy way to do this is to have your mortgage payment automatically deducted from your account each month with an additional 1/12 payment to be applied to the principal amount. At the end of 12 months, you will have made an additional payment. And you won’t have to pay any fees to a “Service”.

Remember: when you have questions, you can always turn to a local Realtor® and he or she will be glad to assist you. 

I think the following article gives a very detailed explanation on the question what happened to all those homes that are sitting vacant and are causing the deterioration of neighborhoods and inviting crimes:

http://blog.firsttuesdayjournal.com/?p=2331

Please read and feel free to comment.

   Real Estate Updates – Newsletter for January, 2010

Market conditions for 2009

Looking at the year end statistics for Tracy, including the surrounding country area, 2009 wasn’t a bad year for the local real estate market at all, considering the status of real estate market nationally.

Following are the statistics for the month of December, 2009:

•  Actively listed properties: 208 -  This slightly higher than it was in November (182)
•   Homes with “Pending” status for the last week of December:25  - This is just a bit lower than it was for the same period in November (27) and mostly do to the holidays.
•  Number of homes “Sold” in the month of December: 148  – This is a 25% increase compared to the previous month!!! (111) Huge increase! … . Maybe do to the $8,000 Home Buyers’ Tax credit extension? ….
•  The Average Days on the market of the Sold Properties: 62  - This is an increase from the previous month (34)…almost doubled!

 The charts below reflecting these numbers as well:

The statistical report for the year of 2009 is also showing some stabilization: it looks much better in comparison to the past few years. Inventory of available homes was much lower, barely enough to satisfy the huge demand. Sales prices are showing a slight improvement as well. An average, 59% of all homes sold in 2009, where actively marketed for less than 30 days.

•  In 2009 the number of homes sold: 1958
•  Average Sales price: $225,260
•  Average days on the market before selling: 48
•  Listing Price v. sales Price : 101% (homes were sold 1% higher than the asking price)

The average sales prices of Sold homes have increased slightly towards the end of 2009.

If you would like to have more detailed statistics or for other areas of the Central Valley real estate market, please feel free to call or email me – I would be glad to provide it for you.

A prosperous, happy, healthy New Year to you all!