http://knowseyneighbors.com A Real Estate Blog Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:22:11 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="attachment_585" align="alignleft" width="185" caption="photo courtesy of Housing Watch"][/caption] Interesting read....but as pointed out in the article, take it with a grain of salt. http://knowseyneighbors.com/housing-shortage/2010/03/01/ [caption id="attachment_563" align="alignleft" width="221" caption="Rules for IRS Credit"][/caption] So you've lived in your home as your principal residence for the past 5 consecutive years during the previous 8 years...blah, blah, blah.  Now you intend to purchase another home as your principal residence and take advantage of the new $6,500 credit. This article ... http://knowseyneighbors.com/rules-for-repeat-buyer-creditnot-first-time-home-buyer/2010/01/29/ It can't get much easier than this.  Check out this flyer produced by the National Association of Realtors. http://knowseyneighbors.com/homebuyer-tax-credit-411/2009/12/29/ If you're still on the fence about whether or not it's the right time to buy, and that tax credit the Government is offering fails to nudge you, perhaps this article will. As Marc Roth from Business Week reveals, what you pay in your interest rate the minute it starts to ... http://knowseyneighbors.com/on-the-fence-ers-consider-this/2009/12/19/ There are already so many things to think about when deciding to buy a home.  You want to be sure that all your bases are covered, and that those working for you are working in your best interest. No doubt the loan process can seem daunting, but things just got a ... http://knowseyneighbors.com/be-a-better-shopper/2009/11/30/ Scott Grannis provides us with an interesting take on the supposed slew of foreclosures hitting our streets soon. Will it help keep prices stable? Or will it add to the looming real estate slump? Are you ready? http://knowseyneighbors.com/straight-ahead-to-foreclosure/2009/11/24/ [caption id="attachment_340" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Home Sales are UP. Prices are Down."][/caption] You may have heard it from your friends, read it in the papers, or heard it on the news....existing homes sales are up! And just as recently as today by 10%. Bloomberg.com has their say and it's probably similar to all ... http://knowseyneighbors.com/home-sales-on-the-rise/2009/11/23/ If Los Angeleno's spent as much time up-keeping their homes as we spend on our vanity, potential problems that arise during selling may be more manageable. Yourself, your appliances, your car, and your carpet all have life cycles right?  But how often do we think about the dwelling in which ... http://knowseyneighbors.com/homes-have-life-cycles-too/2009/11/16/ [caption id="attachment_254" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Do you QUALIFY?"][/caption] The tax credit for first-time home-buyers has been extended!  Click here for more details. And a second credit benefits others: 1) Those looking to buy another home who have owned and lived in a home for at least five consecutive years of the last eight ... http://knowseyneighbors.com/tax-credits-a-plenty/2009/11/08/ [caption id="attachment_251" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Interest Rates Falling!"][/caption] Posted in the WSJ is an article indicating that traditional 30-year interest rates fell below 5% according to Freddie Mac. This in conjunction with the extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit make it a very tempting time to buy. http://knowseyneighbors.com/30-year-mortgage-rates-fall-below-5/2009/11/06/