Category — Paradise Valley homes

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 $8000 tax credit does more than help first-time homebuyers get into a home. It stimulates the economy as well and not just because of increased home sales.

Why?

Look at it this way — A first time homebuyer buys a home and receives a tax credit. They use the credit to hire a painter to custom paint a few rooms, they buy a new fridge, and they do a little landscaping to the backyard.

A landscaper is now hired to do the yard — he in turn buys grass, a tree or two, maybe a BBQ grill, etc. The painter that’s hired buys paint & brushes. The new refrigerator is bought from a local Home Depot. The painter, landscaper, & homeowner all pay sales tax on their purchases. The painter, landscaper, and the appliance salesman all pay taxes on the income they receive from their services.

This tax credit for just this homebuyer has resulted in more jobs, more retail sales, and tax revenue via sales tax & income tax that makes it’s way back to the government.

Multiply that by tens of thousands of people taking advantage of the tax credit and you can now see why it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep this credit alive, buying more property, and stimulating our stagnant economy.

Is it smart to buy a short sale??  It certainly can be!

Some buyers (and buyer’s agents) shy away from short sales and not every short sale is a good opportunity.  As a buyer, unfortunately you can be at the mercy of the selling agent which is why it’s important that your agent knows what he or she is doing.  By asking the listing agent the right questions they can find out a great deal about the selling agent’s short sale experience, the bank they are dealing with, and your chances of getting the house.

Some banks are easier to work with (Wells Fargo, GMAC, & Flagstar for instance) and others can be nightmares (Chase, Countrywide, BOA).  Even nightmare banks can be dealt with and deals can be closed but for someone inexperienced in short sales the deals will usually fall through.

Find out what banks the seller owes money to on the property you are interested in as well as how the seller’s agent negotiates the file.  Do they do it themselves?  If so, how often do they contact the bank?  Do they have a full short sale package?  Has the process been started?  Has a BPO been ordered?  etc.

If the agent doesn’t negotiate the short sale themselves be very careful.  3rd party processing companies can be just as much of a nightmare as some banks and don’t expect them to really care whether the deal closes or not!  Also, some attorney negotiating services can be terrible as well!  Especially when their main focus it to try and get the seller to eventually just file bankruptcy.  Yes, believe it or not some attorneys just want money!

I’m not saying that all processing companies or short sale negotiation attorneys are bad news but do your homework.   Ask questions.  It’s your money, it’s going to be your property (hopefully!) so do your due diligence on all parties involved.  If it doesn’t look good, just move on.  There are thousands of homes on the market and believe me there will be thousands more over the next year or two.

Not all short sales are great deals but by learning as much as you can about who you are about to spend the next 2-3 months dealing with you can increase your chances of finding that perfect home at a great price!

We have lots of Arizona short sale homes for sale on our website.  When you buy an Arizona short sale from us you know what you’re getting and a good idea of when you’re getting it!  To short sell your Arizona home or to buy an Arizona short sale property visit us at http://www.AzHomeHelp.com or give me a call at (480) 241-4406.

A portion of SB 1271 Arizona’s change to the anti-deficiency statute was an intent to try and help local community banks ease the burden of money lost on defaulted mortgages.

As anyone reading this blog surely knows, I have been a huge opponent of SB 1271 from the start and am the first one to jump up and celebrate it’s repeal!  That being said, I can also sympathize a little (tiny, minute, just a lil’ bit)  from a banking standpoint although I limit that sympathy to the local Arizona banks and not the large conglomerates — and we all know which ones they are!

If you don’t then you are also unaware that local community banks were not eligible to receive TARP funds which furthers the difficulty they are having to stay afloat in todays turbulent real estate marketplace.

The sad thing is that local community banking which thrives as a local business and from local business was denied TARP fund money and instead this money was allocated to the larger banking institutions who did what with it??  Instead of helping homeowners they used it to purchase more banks!!!!!

Wait a minute — so I’m saying that instead of our tax money going to actually HELP homeowners this government bailout went to help the large banking industry instead and left our local community banks hung out to dry???

Basically, Yes.

This is government spending at it’s worse and to further explain, here’s an example everyone can understand.

It’s like taking your tax money and giving it to Wal-Mart to build more large shopping centers in small towns, thereby wiping out smaller local businesses and mom & pop shops.

Sure, most of us like the convenience and low pricing Wal-Mart brings but wasn’t this country founded on supporting thy neighbor?   If we support the large companies coming in and taking over then we aren’t really supporting our neighbors’ friendly businesses and forget about personal service!

This is about the best example I can think of — instead of using our money to help out the local bank on the corner the money instead went to larger banking institutions for them to further their take over of America.

Some “bailout”!

My point is this – stop by your local community bank and open up an account.  Chances are you’ll find the bank President there every day, accessible and happy to see you come in.   He/She may even come out to greet you, may remember your name, and will probably ask you about your family.

These are the kind of banks we all should be using moving forward.  These banks want your business and will still go the extra mile to earn it.  Support them and their endeavors by opening accounts and obtaining loans from them.  You’ll get better service, great rates, and you’ll be supporting your community.

Let’s bring America bank to it’s grassroots and remember what it was like before corporations took over everything.  Maybe the goverment will take notice and start pumping our tax dollars back into our neighborhoods and local businesses where we are greeted with a smile and everyone knows our names.

Can you short sell a luxury home?

Absolutely! Everyone’s definition of a luxury home is different but for this scenario we are going to define luxury homes as anything valued at over 1 million.

I know there are Arizona luxury homes under 1 million but that’s a nice round number and for the purposes of this luxury home article it’s the one we’re gonna use!

Luxury homes can be short sold just as any other home can be. As a matter of fact, just about ANYTHING can be sold short. All you need is a buyer, an upside-down seller, and a lienholder willing to take a hit and approve the deal and you have yourself a short sale!

Arizona luxury homes have been hit hard by the real estate depression and the losses are staggering. Homes that once were priced at 7 million are on the market for less than 4 million. Land that was valued at over 3 million just for the dirt now sells for 1.5 million and includes a house on it! (Pool & landscaping extra though….)

Short sales on Arizona luxury homes are nothing new and there are a lot of them in the Valley. Although we all once considered Paradise Valley “bulletproof” it has been taking a beating as well, albeit not as bad as other areas. Paradise Valley luxury homes are selling for less and savvy buyers are picking up bargains all over town.

If you own a luxury home in Arizona and are upside down please give us a call or visit our Arizona Luxury Home Short Sale website. We’ll be happy to answer your questions discreetly and privately and are available 7 days a week.