Home buying Tools and Details

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TODAY is a good day to buy your home in the Valley of the Sun!

Getting the best deal you can when buying a home

The real estate market in the Phoenix Valley is changing daily. If you've never owned a home or haven't for at least three years now is the time to act. You can still get the up to $8000 home buyer tax credit if you close on a home purchase by April 30, 2010.

Last minute estimated timeline for getting the $8K Tax Credit :

PROGRAM END: ................................................April 30,2010
LAST DATE FOR CLOSING: .............................June 30, 2010
LAST DATE TO HAVE PURCHASE CONTRACT ACCEPTED: .......................April 30, 2010
LAST OFFER PRESENTED (Bank Property): ........................April 1, 2010 (Traditional sales a little longer)
HOME SEARCH PERIOD: ...........................Today until April 30, 2009
Home values have been increasing each month but mortgage interest rates continue to be low.  Bank owned homes are still prevalent, but numbers of traditional sales are increasing with prices at market competitive values. All this is providing a great playing field for the home buyer.

Here's how to take advantage of this home buying climate to your best advantage:
Step 1 Prepare your background materials and determine your "Home Buying Readiness"
Determine your cash status. Do you have cash for down payment and/or closing costs and the up-front costs to process your purchase?
Prepare written verifications of your past, current and future employment employment.
Prepare written verifications of your bank and financial resource accounts, credit status, total monthly income. total monthly expenses, total outstanding debt, total monthly housing costs.
Determine what monthly mortgage payment you can afford and a lender will support.
Step 2 Engage effective professional assistance and prepare your strateies.
Obtan personal representation from a Realtor-Buyer representative to partner with you through the process, help you negotiate and insure you're on track
Select your personal Financiing Partner for your home purchase. Determine your best, most economical financing oportunity and obtan financing pre-qualification
Make sure you thoroughly understand the buying process and what your expectations should be

Prepare a detailed, criteria based Home Search Plan and Schedule

Stick to your plan, know your options, what you want and move decisively when you find the home you like.

Take advantage of all the incentives that are appropriate/available for you. Consider options that will save you money. Price may not be the key consideration.
Special financing programs. (value, options, restrictions) (talk with your Financing Partner)
Consider seller incentives when planning your search
Consider cost of travel, tax programs, proximity of community services, etc. and their impact on your cost and expenses
Consider Tax advantages of your purchase (property tax, tax credit, date of purchase)
Review the items included with your potential purchase and their positive/negative cost impact
What you should expect:

Knowledgeable representation, effective negotiation, thorough transaction management
Considerable numbers of properties to choose from
Properties in varying stages of repair
As Is requirements from sellers
Multiple competitive offers on any given property
Rejection of your offer, counter offers from a seller
Detailed, up front loan and closing cost estimates
Possible delays in the process
Complete satisfaction with your partnerships
A new home of exceptional value that you will be happy with long into the future.
Shopping for a home – What should I expect?

You’ve prepared your financing, oriented your self to the market and the buying process, and prepared a plan to begin your search. Now it’s time to begin shopping for home. As you head out the first day on a home tour, what should you expect to encounter?

     Your Realtor® and you will prepare a tour/itinerary of homes that meet your shopping criteria in the location(s) you have selected. You should expect listing sheets for each property and a map identifying where the homes are located to be provided to you in advance by email / fax or hard copies at the first property.
       You may meet at the first property to begin your tour, or your Realtor® will pick you up for the tour or, at your option.
       Homes on your tour may be vacant or occupied. If they are occupied, a specific appointment is usually necessary to tour the home. Occupants may be present or not. It is usually appropriate NOT to discuss the home or your opinions about the home with the occupants.
        As you enter properties be ready for a host of different experiences! The condition of homes can range from inviting, well prepared and staged properties to complete disasters.    In today’s market, it is most often not possible to determine the condition of properties prior to your visit, especially with foreclosed homes, which tend to fall toward the lower end of the scale.
       Determine if the home(s) meet your basic needs and the requirements of financing. FHA and VA financed homes require that all functional items in the home be present and working to qualify for financing. Many homes, if vacant, may be missing functional items (ie: air conditioner). Identify and note anything that may need repair or replacement.
        You should tour 5-6 homes and then review your criteria with your Realtor® to ensure you are on the right track.
       When you’re ready to place an offer on a home, your Realtor® will discuss the particulars of the offer with you. However, the content of the offer is totally your decision. Your Realtor® will complete the offer forms and obtain your initials and signatures as needed. You will need to provide an Earnest Money check to your Realtor® to be held until/if your offer is accepted. Your Realtor® will present your offer and monitor it for a response.
       If you are placing an offer on a traditional property (for sale by an individual or organization) you should expect a reply in 24-48 hours. If the property is a lender owned (foreclosed) property, response could be several days to over a week. If the property is a short sale, response could be several weeks.
      Multiple offers on foreclosed properties are common. You may be asked to re-submit your “highest and best offer”. At this time you may change your offer price or any other terms of your offer to enhance it against other offers. It may take several offers on foreclosed properties to have one finally accepted. Competition from cash buyers is keen. Any concessions asked of the seller/lender will usually decrease the viability of your offer. (i.e.: closing costs, repairs)
      The seller may counter your offer price, or other terms. You may accept the counter offer, reject their counter offer and withdraw or counter back with other terms. Your Realtor® will represent you in these negotiations, hopefully resulting in a fully executed purchase contract that will be presented to a title company, with your earnest money check, to open escrow.
     If the property is a lender owned foreclosure, the lender will likely provide an addendum to the purchase contract that you must review and agree to (within a stipulated period of time) in order to have a fully executed contract. This becomes a part of your purchase contract.
     If the property is a short sale, the sellers lender must approve the terms of your offer prior to full execution of the contract.  This step can, and often does, take considerable time.
  Once written approval has been achieved, escrow may be opened.
           The opening of escrow begins the Closing Process which can take from 30 to 60 days or longer.

The Key to successful shopping is COMMUNICATION. Stay in close contact with your Realtor® on all aspects of your home shopping!

What is a Short Sale

A short sale is a property transaction where the selling price will not be enough to cover payment of the mortgage, all liens and other costs of the sale and the seller is unwilling or unable to bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing to satisfy these.

Upon agreement with the owner’s lender, the property is placed for sale by the owner at a market comparable price. Any offer made on the property must be accepted or rejected by the seller (owner). Any accepted offer is contingent on the seller’s lender approval of the sale price and release of the seller from their mortgage obligation.

With the significant numbers of short sales on the market today, lenders often take considerable time (weeks to months) to review short sale offers for approval often creating much stress and frustration for buyers.

When a property does not sell at short sale it usually is scheduled for a Trustee’s Sale by the lender where it can, ultimately, enter foreclosure and become the property of the lender. It is then, usually, placed on the market as a foreclosed or REO property by the lender.

Home Ownership Readiness Checklist

Are you ready to start the journey to home ownership?

If you can answer yes to most of these questions you are most likely ready to buy a home. If most of your answers are “no,” then focus on improving in those areas.

􀂆 Have I been continuously employed for the last two years and is my employment likely to continue?

􀂆 Do I have a reliable source of income that can be documented?

􀂆 Do I have a checking and savings account?

􀂆 Do I pay bills on time and keep records of paying bills regularly

􀂆 Do I make more than the minimum monthly payment on credit card bills?

􀂆 Is the amount of my total debt and regular financial obligations a manageable?

􀂆 Do I have some money saved for a down payment, closing costs, and moving

expenses?

􀂆 Can I afford to pay a mortgage plus my other regular expenses?

􀂆 Do I have time to take care of a house and am I willing to do it?

􀂆 Do I have the time to look for a house?

􀂆 Am I working on resolving past financial difficulties?

If you answered yes to most of the above, complete these questions to begin planning your home search:

Why do I want to buy a new home?
Where would I like to live? Why?
What are my requirements for a new home and neighborhood?
Must I live close to work or am I willing to commute to have the house I want?
Do I need a new home quickly or must I wait for some reason?
Do I have a financial package prepared to support my purchase?
How can a Realtor® help me find my new home? (Call me, I’ll help you with this one!)

Once you’ve completed these questions you should be ready to contact your Realtor® and begin your search.

Topics and Tools for the Home Buyer

First time home buyers take over the Phoenix market!

First time home buyers represent 53%, or more, of the home purchases here in the Valley.

Total home sales in Phoenix are higher than a year ago and up nearly 19% throughout the west.

Phoenix metro inventory in March was down 2,270 homes from February.

Phoenix is among the strongest markets in the USA for housing recovery.

HOMES ARE SELLING!

With interest rates at all time lows, incredibly low prices on existing homes, and significant incentives available to first time buyers, there has not been a better time in over a decade to buy a home.

What incentives are out there for BUYERS?

Property tax deduction each year
Tax deduction for mortgage interest
Home energy improvement tax credits
Up to $8,000 income tax credit for first time buyers if home purchased before 12/1/09
No down payment programs for select suburban communities
Exceptional incentives and low move in at new home communities
Negotiable closing costs with many sellers facilitating a low cost move in

I’m seeing consistent multiple offers on lender owned homes. Banks and other mortgage holders are not open to significant price negotiation on most homes, but home prices in Phoenix and valley communities are at 2002-2003 levels, (or less) for entry level homes!

Today you can own a 4 -5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home with over 2000 sq.ft. and maybe a pool for less than $120K

It’s only a matter of time before prices will stabilize across the board and begin to climb.

If you’ve never owned a home, or have not owned for 3 years or longer, don’t wait any longer! Beat the up-turn. NOW is the time to take advantage of the best BUYER’S MARKET in decades!

Contact me TODAY for your FREE ORIENTATION to the home buying process and how you can take advantage of today’s market to achieve the American Dream of Home Ownership… it’s your best multifunctional, long term investment!

Topics and Tools for the Home Buyer