Archive for March, 2009
Help Your Agent Help You!
Saturday, March 7th, 2009Remember the 80/20 rule? Well, when it comes to the residential real estate industry, it’s even more lop sided than that. I remember hearing the following statistic while attending a recent real estate conference: Nationally, 93% of the gross commissions are earned by only 7% of licensed real estate agents! It goes without saying that [...]
The $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit
Monday, March 2nd, 2009First-time buyers can claim the credit worth $8,000 or 10% of the home’s value, whichever is less either on their 2008 or 2009 taxes. This credit will be refundable, meaning tax filers see a refund of the full $8,000 even if their total tax bill – the amount of withholding they paid during the year [...]
5 Tips for Homebuyers Seeking a Mortgage
Monday, March 2nd, 2009Here’s a warning for potential borrowers: Nervous lenders have tough new rules and are paperwork crazy.“Borrowers are going to have to prove they are the borrower they say they are,” says Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, a mortgage-industry publisher in Pompton Plains, N.J. Gumbinger says homebuyers should consider these things before they apply [...]