Posts from — October 2009

The vote to extend the tax credit has been pushed to the first week of November, 2009. It could be pushed even further but considering we are coming up on the final days it would probably be best for them to get it voted in as quickly as possible.

1.2 million homeowners have taken advantage of the tax credits since the inception of them this year. 8.5 billion dollars of the 13.6 billion set aside for the credits has been used and it has been a wonderful boost to our suffering economy.

Chances are the credit will be extended at least through some part of 2010 but we’re not sure what other changes may be made.

There is talk of raising the dollar amount, phasing it out in smaller amounts throughout 2010, raising the qualifying income per household from $150,000 to $300,000, as well as some other small changes but the biggest change to a new credit extension that most of the lawmakers seem to agree on is that this will be the last extension.

We’ll see what happens next week.

Buyers are in a crunch to try and get properties closed by Nov 30 to take advantage of the First time homebuyers 8,000 tax credit.

To be eligible, you cannot have owned a principal residence in the past 3 years (2nd homes & vacation homes DO NOT disqualify you!), you must close on the property on or before Nov 30, 2009, and you must not exceed the income requirements.

There is more information about the tax credit available at this link:

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

The US Senate is voting this week in an attempt to extend the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit to June 30,2010.

This tax credit not only helps first-time homebuyers but also stimulates Arizona’s real estate market & economy. Under this new amendment, the tax credit will become available to most buyers & not just first time homebuyers!!!

To show your support you just need to make a quick phone call! Contact our senators at the phone numbers below and request to speak to each Senator’s Tax Legislative Assistant and ask them to support the Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson amendment.

Below are the phone numbers for our Senators.

Senator McCain: 202-224-2235
Senator Kyl: 202-224-4521

Together we can make a difference!

There is current talk of a brand new credit scoring system or a revamped version of the current system.

Many people feel that the current system of scoring is not only discriminatory but also does not take into account personal information that may help one’s score.

Under the new system credit scoring would be more personalized and may help those who have just recently found themselves underwater financially or in need of help.

For instance, if you have always paid all your bills on time, kept up with credit cards, never really spent beyond your means, but have recently found yourself upside down in your home due to current market conditions what can you do? A foreclosure is usually the last option and a much better one may be a short sale.

But how will a short sale impact you in the future? Under this new system, hopefully not much at all. By personalizing your report to show that you are a responsible person not only with other credit that you have (credit cards, car payments, a lengthy mortgage payment history, etc.) and you only have this one small blemish on your record due to market conditions then future credit pulls should still see you as a favorable credit risk thus allowing you better rates, access to more credit, and a more stable financial future.

I’ll post more on this as I learn more about how it will help us all recover from our current economic & real estate depression that we are in.

The Arizona Bankers Association has filed a petition for a special session as they are declaring the repeal of SB 1271 “unconstitutional”.

We knew they would do something however I can’t believe they dug up something this ridiculous…wait a minute, yes I can.

These are the same people that ruled that the entire city of Mesa should be pursued for a deficiency if they were unable to pay their mortgage. (Mesa does not issue Certificates of Occupancy which were required under SB 1271)

Which, speaking of SB 1271 again, WAS REPEALED!!!

SB 1271 was a terribly written, poorly executed attempt to screw over the Arizona homeowner and it didn’t work!! So the Bankers Association has instead decided to try and find a legal loophole as it’s the only way they can get it revisited since it didn’t have any ground to stand on in the first place!

We’ll keep you updated as to the status of this petition and how it affects the Arizona homeowner, its effect on foreclosures and on Arizona short sales.