4 Questions (and answers!) About the Homebuyer's Tax Credit

Somethings in Real Estate can wait but getting a move on with the HOMEBUYERS TAX CREDIT cannot wait. So, this is a timely message for all of you home buyers that have been doing my favorite exercise. . . Procrastination. I have addressed this before but thought since time is running out for this great savings, I should bring it to the forefront again. As I always do I am going to answer some ACTUAL real life questions that people have brought to my attention and have consulted other legal resources for my answers. (Federaltaxpayerscredit.com)

Q. What if you have already owned a home or you are married and your spouse has already owned a home, can you qualify?

A. This is a big misconception that people have when you talk about the First time homebuyer credit because YOU CAN qualify even if you have already owned a home per the “Economic Recovery act” definition is as follows:

“The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.”

For example, if you have not owned a home in the past three years but your spouse has owned a principal residence, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the first-time home buyer tax credit. However, unmarried joint purchasers may allocate the credit amount to any buyer who qualifies as a first-time buyer, such as may occur if a parent jointly purchases a home with a son or daughter.

Q. What if you already have a partnership in a vacation home can you still qualify?

A. Ownership of a vacation home or rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify a buyer as a first-time home buyer. This is a big question I have gotten from many people and the answer was quite surprising to me as well. What a great surprise!!!!

Q. How is this home buyer tax credit different from the tax credit that Congress enacted in July of 2008?

A. The most significant difference is that this tax credit does not have to be repaid. Because it had to be repaid, the previous “credit” was essentially an interest-free loan. This tax incentive is a true tax credit. However, home buyers must use the residence as a principal residence for at least three years or face recapture of the tax credit amount. Certain exceptions apply.

Q. How about short sales at this stage of the game? Should I buy a short sale or a foreclosure?

A. Now that could be a whole other article. Let me preface this by saying. . . “don’t shoot the messenger!” All short sales are not inherently bad, but I would at this point ask your Realtor if it is possible to close in time. It may be a risky venture for a home buyer and they should know the time frame going in. Most foreclosures are not complicated and can close in a timely fashion so they should be just fine. Again seek the consult of your trusted Realtor and lender, and they can help you with this on a case by case basis.

A big thing to remember that makes this so wonderful is that this is NOT a deduction, it is a CREDIT meaning that you actually get the check up to $8,000 if you qualify. You may use the money as you see fit. You may want to pay yourself back for the down payment or closing cost or you may purchase a home that needs a little face lift. You DO NOT have to justify your expenses it is your money to spend. Another huge bonus is that in addition to this money you also will be able to take a tax deduction for interest payments.

So now that you know and you have just enough information to get excited, give us a call and we will send you a Reference guide to the “Economic Recovery Act of 2009” You can also call your lender and he will help walk you through this process but you only have until November 30 to close so. . . on your marks – get set – GOOOOOO.

4 Common Questions About Short Sales

Not only have I gotten phone calls about short sales this week but I find myself struggling over interpretation of short sale protocol. So many questions and so many varying answers it is hard to determine what the exact course of action should be. A customer called me tonight concerned that her short sale offer was going to be bumped by a higher offer, but according to all that I am reading and studying her offer should be the only offer on the table at the time. Any other offers that come in should be considered back up offers and will only be addressed when the first signed offer is disposed of. This week I am going to answer some pressing questions that I have been presented with and will do so with the help of our good ole FAR guidelines and MLS rules which I need to add are still our benchmark.

Q. What is the short sale addendum and what is the ruling force? And, furthermore, this form or our MLS and FAR guidelines?
A. If you have done a short sale or if you know someone who has then you know you will be asked to sign a FAR Short Sale Addendum that says the seller may “accept other offers and submit them to the lender.” This does not mean that all offers are presented at the same time and the bank chooses the best one. According to FAR the addendum is designed so that the seller may continue to solicit offers and hold them in a a back-up position. The contract on the table is considered complete other than the contingency of lender approval with seller acceptance. Another important protection in the addendum is the pronouncement that the sale is contingent on the seller agreeing to the lenders conditions.

Q. Why does a potential sale show up as contingent instead of pending in the MLS?
A. Although the contract has been signed by the seller and the buyer it is considered contingent upon lender approval. It will become pending once the bank has accepted the short sale and the usual closing procedures such as appraisals and inspections begin. Our MLS rules and not the addendum give us Realtors our direction in this matter. There is still debate among Realtor sometimes on how to apply this rule.

Q. What is the purpose of a back up offer and are they worthwhile?
A. There was a time in the market that people would fight over a property so back up offers were used quite frequently and now they are used again but with a different end in mind. Because of the precarious nature of short sales a back up is a great idea because many times the buyer gets leery of waiting and decides to move on to something more reliable. I have had more sales fall out in the last 2 months than I have had in all my years of being a realtor. For this reason I love a back up offer and so does your seller and the new buyer is delighted as well.

Q. How reliable are the Realtor Remarks in determining what a lender will take for a short sale?
A. I will say a big hardy NO to that one. Keep in mind that Realtor remarks are put in when the listing was taken and many things can change in the course of a listing especially a short sale listing. It is almost impossible to know up front what a bank will take until they have already gone through the process with another offer. Your best bet is to call the Realtor and ask her questions about her ideas of what a reasonable offer would be based on offers turned down and her assessment of the market value. Many times you do not have a handle on the price that a bank will take until they do their own BPO (brokers price opinion). Many times prices on Short sales are really abstract in that no one really knows what the “loss mitigation “department will take.

I love how real life keeps throwing me curve balls and challenges to be met each week. Please be patient with your Realtor as she helps you wade these waters for they are uncharted for all of us and we are learning as we GROW!!! I am grateful that I am surrounded by some really smart Realtors that keep me on my toes so know that we are NO experts….. just hard working folks looking for the best way to serve our community and each other.

11 Reason's Short Sales Take FOREVER

One of my friends had a customer that is demanding for the bank to hurry up and get the short sale done, they are tired of waiting. I bet I am hearing some hearty “Amens” from all my Realtor buddies. And also as life would have it I called my short sale departments to see how my little short sales are coming along so I can report back to my apprehensive buyers. As in most things in life there is a flow to it, a cycle that all things go through to reach their peak or completion. So it is with a “short sale”. Please know that this is straight from a company that I am working with and I am NOT going to name any names. I have had a couple of easy ones but generally it has been taking from 3 to 6 months to get an approval to move to close.

Seller decides he can no longer make payments so he list property with you and gives you an approval letter to speak to his lender. He gathers all of his financials, his budget, his taxes, his last 4 months of bank statements, and his hardship letter. You send all of this in to the bank and you wait and you wait and you wait.
NOTE: it will many times take days before your authorization letter gets to where it needs to be. (this is the easy part)
You are enthusiastic and excited because you get a buyer and grateful that buyer and seller have agreed to the short sale price and you have signed all the forms and additional short sale addendums. You and the other agent try your best to brace the buyer and the seller for the long months ahead.
Offer along with HUD-1 and any other updated documents that the lender needs are sent in and the fun begins. I have a great title company that helps me gather this information. (McNeese)
(Real life example) Contract goes into the company on April 7, 2009, you call each week and the lending company tells you that they are about 4 weeks behind on uploading documents to the system. You continue to call each week and they can’t find it and suggest you send it in again. You get excited because a BPO (Broker Property Opinion) is ordered somewhere along the way.
Now to make it real fun I forgot to tell you that there may be 2 mortgage companies to deal with so we do this times 2!!!! The first mortgage company now tells you that they are close to getting their deal approved and they ask for explanations of customers finances and additional documents that you send in with a gleeful heart. They also inform you that while they are maybe only a month away from completion and it is now June 25 they let you know, oh by the way. . . we want you to call the other mortgage company and tell them that although they are owed over $200,000 on the second note that they will be glad to give them $3,000 of the dollars upon close. The first mortgage holder wants the Realtor to get something in writing from the second mortgage holder. . . now it gets real fun.
(Real life example) Keep in mind that although the buyer knows they need to be patient, it is hard for them and they wonder what in the world is anyone doing. . . is anyone doing ANYTHING? ???? On June 25th second mortgage company informs you that the contract that you sent in on April 7 was opened and reviewed for real on June 15th and by June 24th it was finally in the hands of the FIRST PHASE negotiator. Keep in mind that although first mortgage is almost finished we have to wait on the second. Meantime fees are mounting if the buyer is behind on payments and they usually are.
The first phase negotiator will keep it approximately 15 days to make sure all documents are there that are needed and of course it has been awhile so they need to be updated so you gather the needed paper work and send it in again.
IF all is well the file now goes to the SECOND PHASE negotiator who has 30 days to review. If he finds all things well, the file now travels to the investor.
IF all is well now the investor has from 2 to 30 days to review the file..
Shortly before close they let the seller in on what they are willing to do for them in the way of accepting a lesser amount owed and what the seller contribution needs to be and if all is agreed upon then we all move to close. Oh and one more thing the lender expects the Realtors to take a reduced commission and they do and they all live happily ever after.
If the lender and the seller do not agree and if the buyer gets tired of waiting then it is back to the beginning of the short sale life cycle.

This sale portrayed in my “real life example” is projected to have an answer according to the second mortgage company around September if all goes well. So thus the life cycle if all survive it will be approximately 6 months!!! My purpose in sharing is not to discourage but more to bring attention to the fact that a short sale is anything but short and the more inventory that is sold this way the more difficult it will become. There are no short cuts (no pun intended at all) so just take a deep breath and be very kind to anyone involved in this adventure. I am actually enjoying all that I am learning from this and if patience is not your virtue it will become so. I left out some of the duties that a Realtor will do along the way because my main focus was to let the consumer know why it takes so long so that you can just sit back and enjoy your life while the lenders, Realtors and title companies are working the deal.

6 Short Sale Questions You Really Should Know

I usually let my real Real Estate life give me the inspiration for the article that I write each week. It makes me so excited when I find out that someone actually benefits from it so I hope that this one hits the mark as well. Lately there are more questions than answers so I thought I would take a minute to answer some questions that I get from customers in this ever changing market. These are actually questions from actual wonderful customers.

Q: Do you have to be a resident of Florida to do a short sale in Florida?
A: That is an easy one, and the quick answer is NO. Where you live is not important in whether you qualify, what is important is if you have a hardship or not. The thing that may be relevant to you is that if you are trying to short sale a property that is not homesteaded then there can be consequences. A lending institution can give you a 1099 on the discounted amount of the sale. I would suggest that you talk to an accountant about your unique situation. Many times you are already in such duress that the 1099 may or may not effect you much but again that is a question for your accountant.

Q: How long does a short sale take?
A: When I give you the answer you will wonder why in the world they call it short because the average time is 3-4 months from beginning to end. Patience and Persistance is the key during this long process.

Q: What in the world is that AS IS contract that so many short sales require?
A: Quite simply an AS IS contract is not like the old used car you drive off the lot and hope the engine does not fall out before you get home. An “AS IS with right to inspect is a contract that gives you the right to inspect the property to see if it will fit your needs without breaking the bank. There is a time limit which you specify in the contract but in Florida any buyer has the right to get out of the contract and get his earnest money back if the inspection is not acceptable to the buyer. MOST foreclosures and Short sales require an “AS IS” contract. Be sure to check the laws of your state because contracts do vary from state to state.

Q: What happens to my credit when I do a short sale or a foreclosure?
A: A credit bureau is the only true source of information for determining how a short sale and a foreclosure is going to affect a homeowner’s credit. It is my experience which is not to be taken as any form of legal advice, foreclosures usually show up as “FORECLOSURE” and can stay on a credit report for seven years. If a homeowner applies for a new loan or has their credit run, the foreclosure could show up. It is also a common disclosure many employers require on most job applications. A short sale is commonly listed as “SETTLED DEBT”, and can be much less harmful to credit. Please consult a credit bureau for how a short sale and a foreclosure will actually affect a homeowner’s credit. Most people are in financial straights by the time they consider a short sale so their credit is usually the last of their worries.

Q: Why would a bank even consider a short sale?
A: Time is Money. Foreclosure action is expensive and lengthy. During the 12 month or longer foreclosure process, the property is a non-producing possession that is declining in value every day. If the property becomes vacant and/or vandalized, it will cost the lender(s) even more in repairs, maintenance and security. When a foreclosure is complete, the lender(s) must still hire a local Broker to list and sell the property. The lender(s) will compare the cost of the Foreclosure vs the cost of Short Sale. If there is little or no equity in the property, the lender(s) will have to conclude that its better off accepting a short and immediate sale. Lender(s) would rather help you find ways to come current on your home mortgage or approve of a short sale than foreclosure.

Q: When should you make the decision to start a short sale?
A: AS soon as you are no longer able to make your payments due to a job loss, illness, change in financial status, divorce or an adjustable rate mortgage that has risen to unmanageable limit you should consider a short sale. I know many people that are just frozen and just want to let the cards fall where they may and just wait for the foreclosure process. Doing nothing assures that a foreclosure is pending which could be the worst possible solution for you.

Bottom line: trust your friends for dating, hair cut opinions and just plain old fun but for Real Estate go to your trusted Realtor and see what she has to say on the subject. If she does not know the answer I bet she can help you find out. Thanks to all of you who keep calling me with your questions and thanks to all my Real Estate croanies for all your great answers.

Do You Qualify for a Short Sale?

Okay gang, I know, I know, enough already. . . I have been talking and writing and breathing short sales but this has got to be said. With the number of people jumping on the short sale band wagon many are called but few are chosen, and you have to make sure you are actually qualified we need to set the record straight. Yes property is devalued and yes you are way upside down but are you really a candidate for a short sale?

The biggest point to drive home is that you must have a true hardship to qualify. The bank loaned you the money and if you have assets and you have the economic ability to pay back the loan then you are more than likely not going be accepted for a short sale. It is a very timely process with many people investing time and energy to make it happen so it is important to assure that it is a viable option for you. I think it is a great idea to check with a lawyer an an accountant and discuss your situation. Make sure that you are honest with your Realtor because she really can not help you to the best of her ability without honest, accurate information.

Before you even think that you may want to do a short sale make sure you are prepared to be forthcoming and honest about all of your income and dept. You will need to provide a few years taxes, bank statements, and any other source of income that is available to you. More than likely if you have gotten to this stage there is a real tangible reason for your inability to pay your dept. It is vital that when you write your hardship letter is written by you and not an attorney or other party. MOST important, however, is that these items must be submitted before a SHORT SALE contract can even be looked at as a SHORT SALE possibility. So be working on these things as soon as your Realtor takes your listing.

Many people call me and ask me, “Is that a pre-approved short sale?” Now that is a hard one to swallow because there really is no such thing because a short sale can NOT happen unless the bank and the seller agree to the final terms. In other words, per the addendum the seller needs to be satisfied with the settlement that the lender is proposing for the deal to work. It is really a great big jig-saw puzzle with many pieces that have to fit together so really, until it is over – it is just not over.

I hope that this does not come across as a mean spirited article, that is certainly not the intent. I just want to clear up some misinformation that I hear floating around and I am sure that you have heard it too. Thankfully most of our short sales are working but the fact is, they do not all fly, so the best assurance is to lay it all out on the table, take a deep breath, be patient, be really really sweet to your Realtor and she will be really sweet and patient with the lender and hopefully. . .

Sorry if I am beating a dead horse but it keeps coming back to life.