Senate and House vote to extend home buyer credit

Nov. 5, 2009

More good news for consumers, our members, and the housing market recovery. Following the Senate’s favorable vote yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives just voted 403 to 12 to extend the home buyer tax credit, expanding the parameters to include existing homeowners and not just first-time buyers. As you may know, C.A.R. and our partners at NAR have worked for months urging Congress and the Senate to extend and expand this crucial piece of legislation. We expect President Obama to sign the legislation in short order.

As it now stands, the federal tax credit will be extended through April 30, 2010, with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to the deadline. First-time home buyers will continue to be eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000, while existing homeowners will be eligible for a reduced credit of up to $6,500. To qualify for the $6,500 credit, existing homeowners must have lived in their current residences for at least five years. The bill also increases the qualifying income limits from $75,000 for single tax filers and $150,000 for joint filers to $125,000 and $225,000, respectively. The purchase price of the home is capped at $800,000 in both instances.

Under additional provisions included in the bill, taxpayers can claim the credit on purchases completed in 2010 on their 2009 income tax returns. The legislation maintains the provision that home buyers do not have to repay the credit provided the home remains their primary residence for 36 months after purchase, and waives this requirement for active duty military personnel who move due to a military order.

Nationwide, more than 1.4 million first-time home buyers were given the opportunity to become homeowners as a result of the Federal Tax Credit for First-time Home Buyers.  We expect that number to increase dramatically in the months ahead with this new legislation in place. Thank you to our members who called, wrote, and e-mailed their congressional representatives and voiced their support for the home buyer tax credit. Your voices were heard – today’s vote is a direct result of your actions and involvement.

Sincerely,

James Liptak
2009 PresidentCALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

 

40 Tips to Help Sell Your Home

When you’re selling your home, the first impression is most important. Click the link below to get a printable copy of these 40 great tips.

40 Tips to Help Sell Your Home

This Month’s GREEN Tips

Get your car ready for the winter by checking your air filter and fluid levels, checking tires for tread wear and proper inflation, and checking the condition of your windshield wipers.

Snow Country: Consider using non-toxic de-icing substances such as clean clay cat litter, sand, or fireplace ash to prevent hazardous waste from chemicals. Chemical de-icers can be hazardous to pets, trees and shrubs. Antifreeze that leaks from car engines and chemical snow melters on driveways, roads, and runways can pollute surface waters and groundwater through the soil.

Source: www.epa.gov

NO NEW 21-DAY TURNAROUND REQUIREMENT FOR SHORT SALE APPROVALS

Recently enacted Senate Bill 306 does not require lenders to review short sale requests from sellers and their agents within 21 days.  The new California law, which addresses certain escrow procedures, has been mischaracterized by some practitioners as landmark legislation calling for a 21-day turnaround for short sale approvals.

The new law inserts a short payoff amount request into the existing payoff demand law which generally requires a lender to respond to a request for a payoff demand statement within 21 days from when it is requested, typically by escrow.  The new law essentially requires, after a short sale has already been approved, for the lender to respond to a request for a short-pay demand statement within 21 days.  The lender’s response to escrow can be a short-pay demand statement or even, depending on the circumstances, a written statement electing not to proceed with the proposed transaction.

Another provision of SB 306 may also cause confusion.  In practice, a lender may approve a short sale subject to its review of a closing statement prepared by escrow, but the lender does not review that closing statement promptly.  Under the new law, if a lender fails to approve the closing statement within four days, the closing statement shall be deemed approved, but only if it is “not clearly contrary to the terms of the short-pay agreement or the short-pay demand statement provided to the escrowholder.”  The new law does not bind a lender to a short payoff amount in an offer that the lender has not approved.

Senate Bill 306 contains other technical changes in real estate related laws, such as, but not limited to, the following:

• Expanding the existing requirement for a lender to contact certain borrowers to explore options for avoiding foreclosure at least 30 days before filing a notice of default, to include not only owner-occupied residences, but also owner-occupied residential property with two-to-four dwelling units.
• Extending the existing requirement for a lender to record a notice of sale from 14 to 20 days before a trustee’s sale.  This provision does not change existing law requiring a lender to wait at least 20 days after mailing a notice of sale before conducting a trustee’s sale.

This new law comes into effect on January 1, 2010.  The full text of Senate Bill 306 is available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0301-0350/sb_306_bill_20090806_chaptered.pdf

Twelve Simple Ways to Live Greener and Save Money!

 Here are a few things you can do or use to live Greener and Save Money.

1) CFL or LED bulbs.

2) Programmable Thermostat

3) Weather Stripping

4) Close Window Treatments in Heat / Open in Cool

5) Energy Star Electronics (LCD is More Efficient than Plasma)

6) Energy Star Appliances

7) Water Aerator on Faucets

8 ) Water Filter Pitcher

9) Smart power Strip

10) Use Towels, not Paper towels

11) Turn Water Heater down from 140 to 120 degrees

12) Water Heater Blanket

If you have any other thoughts on how to live Greener and Save Money, please share your ideas!

Jill Denton, Realtor Lic#01804876
925.998.7747

SB 306 – Short Sale Payoff Requests in 21 Days!

Governor Schwarsenegger has recently signed SB 306 which mandates lenders and loan serving companies to respond in writing in to short sale payoff requests within 21 days of receiving it.  This law will be effective on January 1, 2010 in California. Wachovia Bank is ahead of the game and has already streamlined their short sale approval process – sometime providing the short pay statements in the spot!

Click HERE for more information

REAL ESTATE TRIVIA

QUESTIONS:

Q1. In what country is it a requirement to install “green roofs” on new houses?

Q2. What is currently the world’s most eco-friendly building?

Q3. What is the projected percentage of eco-friendly project starts by 2010 across the U.S.?

ANSWERS:

A1. Since 1914, Switzerland has been installing energy efficient roofs on new homes. However, only since the late 80’s has it been made a requirement by law.

A2. The Bank of America building, in New York City, is touted as the world’s most eco-friendly skyscraper with 6% of the construction budget of $1.2 billion to be recouped within the 2 to 4 years through the building’s energy savings.

A3. According to the McGraw-Hill Construction Green Outlook Report, it’s estimated that between 5 to 10% of new residential construction starts will be green projects by 2010; $19 billion to $38 billion.

*Source: Swanpoel TRENDS Report 2009

Homebuyer Tax Credit Chart

For California homebuyers, tax time is now tax relief time too.  Thanks to two recent laws, a California homebuyer may qualify for $18,000 in tax credits for buying his or her piece of the American dream.  The two tax credits are a first-time homebuyer credit up to $8,000 under federal law, and a new home credit up to $10,000 under California law.  (Although the California tax credit is no longer available)

VIEW CHART  to see a quick summary of the two tax credit laws. 

HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT	FEDERAL
Amount of Tax Credit	10% of purchase price not to exceed $8,000.
Principal Residence	Yes.  Property purchased must be the taxpayer’s principal residence which is generally the home the taxpayer lives in most of the time (26 U.S.C. § 121).
Type of Property	House, condominium, townhome, manufactured home, apartment cooperative, houseboat, houstrailer, or other type of property located in the U.S.
First-time Homebuyer	Yes. The buyer (and buyer’s spouse if any) must not have owned a principal residence during the three-year period before date of purchase.
Unoccupied Property	No.  Property may have been previously occupied or not.
Minimum Occupancy Requirement	Must be the buyer’s principal residence for 36 months after purchase, otherwise credit must be repaid.
Income Restriction	Yes. Tax credit begins to phase out if modified adjusted gross income is over $75,000 (or $150,000 for joint filers). No tax credit at all if modified adjusted gross income is over $95,000 (or $170,000 for joint filers).
Date of Purchase	January 1, 2009 to November 30, 2009, inclusive. (Note: A repayable $7,500 tax credit is available for purchases from April 9, 2008 to December 31, 2008.)
Refundable	Yes. Any amount of the tax credit not used to reduce the tax owed may be added to the taxpayer’s tax refund check.
Repayment	The buyer need not repay the tax credit if the buyer owns and occupies the property for at least 36 months after the purchase.
Multiple Buyers (not married to each other)	The $8,000 tax credit may be allocated between eligible taxpayers in any reasonable manner. Click here for an explanation with examples: Federal Homebuyers Tax Credit Allocation Unmarried Persons.
Maximum Credit for All Taxpayers	N/A
When to Claim	Full tax credit may be claimed on 2008 or 2009 tax returns.
Tax Agency	Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
How to File	First-Time Homebuyer Credit (IRS Form 5405) to be filed with 2008 or 2009 tax returns
When to File Form	Form 5405 must be filed with 2008 or 2009 tax returns.
Exceptions	Acquisitions by gift or inheritance, acquisitions from related persons as defined, and buyers who are nonresident aliens.
Legal Authority	26 U.S.C. section 36.
Date of Enactment	February 17, 2009.
More Information	IRS Web site at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id= 204671,00.html.

Source: C.A.R.

Home Buyers Want To Save Energy – But Only At The Right Price, NAHB Survey Shows

Home buyers want to go green only if cost effective, report shows Although prospective home buyers want the benefits of new, more efficient homes, they are unwilling to pay much more for a “green” home, according to a recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) member survey. “Although we are seeing significant interest in green building, cost effectiveness is clearly a key concern among home buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. “Builders said that among buyers who are willing to pay more for green features, more than half — 57 percent — are unlikely to pay more than an additional two percent.” Preferences for specific green building techniques are decidedly regional, with builders in the West reporting much more interest in water efficiency than builders in other areas, according to the report. Interest in homes built with recycled materials is particularly high in the Northeast, where the fewest new homes are built, and low in the South, the region with the highest number of housing starts.

Read More

Source: NAHB

OPEN HOUSE

5391 Black Ave #2, Pleasanton: OPEN HOUSE

OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, September 20th, 2-5pm.  Click on the link above for more information, or contact me for a private showing.

Jill Denton

925.998.7747