Buyers who are under contract and hoping to close before Nov. 30 when the first-time home buyer credit expires should refrain from buying furniture and other things on credit. Lenders are running credit checks prior to closing day and any increase in credit card or other debt can jeopardize the loan, says Lew Reich, an associate with Keller Williams Realty in Plano, Texas. Reich warns buyers to even refrain from checking out a new large purchase because even an inquiry on a credit report could scare a lender. Reich tells borrowers: “If someone’s squeaking by and, all of a sudden, they may be looking at increasing debt, the lenders will have a keener eye in looking at your loan,” he says. “Don’t look until you’ve closed is basically what it comes down to. That’s the safest way. Stay out of the stores,” he adds. Source: The Associated Press
More than 1.4 million Americans have already claimed the new tax credit for first-time home buyers, according to a report from the Internal Revenue Service. The credit, which applies to sales as of January 2009, is good for 10% of the price of a home, up to $8,000, and supporters assert it has helped stabilize the housing market. It’s available to anyone who has not owned a home for three consecutive years prior to purchase, and to qualify for the full credit buyers must be purchasing a primary residence, and couples can earn no more than $150,000, while individuals must make less than $75,000. The credit has been an important stimulus tool for two reasons. It’s fully refundable, meaning that even if buyers owe no taxes whatsoever, they’ll get an $8,000 check from the IRS. And this refund will put money in consumers’ pockets for good, as opposed to the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit that could be applied to sales made between April 2008 and July 1 2009. Buyers must close on their homes before Dec.1. Source: CNN/Money
Prices for solar panels are falling fast. Compared to a year ago, prices for panels and installed systems are about 25 percent less, retailers and installers say. Combined with a 30 percent rebate offered by the U.S. government, plus rebates offered by many states, some buyers are paying a little less than $16,000 for systems that would have cost twice that a year ago. "Solar is now affordable for people for whom it wasn’t before," says Jeff Wolfe, CEO of groSolar, a Vermont solar-panel system installer and distributor. California entrepreneurs, who call themselves One Block Off the Grid, are getting even better prices by organizing home owners into buying groups. Source: The Wall Street Journal
Best Regards,
Kurt Galitski
The Kurt Real Estate Group
Weichman Realtors
714-957-6677