HER realty will help with house payments
Deal for those who buy through firm, lose job in 1st year
Saturday, May 30, 2009 3:02 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Real Living HER, the real-estate company based in Columbus, announced yesterday that it will cover some mortgage payments for clients who lose their jobs.
The company, the largest residential real-estate firm in central Ohio, will offer a protection plan similar to what some carmakers and home builders began offering late last year as a way to attract buyers nervous about their jobs.
The program is available to those who purchase a home through a Real Living agent and finance the home with Real Living Mortgage. The home must be purchased between June 1 and Aug. 31 and close before Sept. 30.
If the buyer is laid off during the first year of ownership, Real Living will pay up to $1,500 a month on a mortgage for a maximum of six months.
Buyers are covered for an additional year if the home they purchased was listed with a Real Living agent.
The program is also available to those who refinance through Real Living Mortgage, said Chris Derrow, the executive vice president and general manager of Real Living.
Derrow said low interest rates and prices make this a great time to buy a home, but "given the economic uncertainties that exist, we felt … that we needed to provide our potential consumers the added confidence they need to take advantage of the market."
The 2009 First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit allows buyers who haven't owned a home in at least three years to receive a refund up to $8,000!
The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit contained in the 2009 Economic Stimulus Bill bumped the credit up to $8,000 (from $7,500 in 2008) and the recapture provision (a big impediment in the prior version) was removed. In addition, HUD has announced the tax credit may be used at the closing table. [More info]
Tax Credit can be used at time of closing!
FHA
On May 12, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that homeowners can use the $8,000 tax credit at the closing table by "monetiziing" the tax credit through short-term bridge loans.
The $8,000 tax credit can be used with FHA loans to buy down the interest rate, help with closing costs, or used in addition to the minimum 3.5 percent downpayment, to put more money down at the time of purchase. The tax credit cannot be used to cover the initial 3.5 percent downpayment.
For more info click here.
FHA approved lender list.
OHFA
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) on March 31 announced the Homebuyer Tax Credit Advantage program, which can assist homebuyers with downpayment and closing costs and can be used with the $8,000 tax credit. More on the OHFA program can be found here.
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Ohio Mortgage Credit Certificate program
Buyers who close on home purchases in Ohio after March 23 may be able to add another benefit to home affordability -- The Ohio Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program, administered through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA).
- The MCC is limited to the first 1,000 homebuyers in Ohio who take advantage of this program.
- Both the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and the MCC program can be used together.
Homebuyers who qualify for the program receive a Mortgage Credit Certificate from OHFA.
With an MCC, a percentage of what homeowners pay in mortgage interest (20, 25, or 30 percent) becomes a tax credit that they can deduct dollar-for-dollar from your income tax liability. The remaining 80, 75, or 70 percent of their mortgage interest continues to qualify as an itemized tax deduction, as long as they have sufficient tax liability. [More info]
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Claiming the $8,000 credit on your tax return
Eligible homebuyers who make their purchase between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009 can treat the purchase as if it had occurred on Dec. 31, 2008. Eligible buyers have three filing options for their 2008 taxes:
- If they purchase between Jan. 1, and April 15, 2009 they can claim the $8,000 credit on the 2008 return due on April 15.
- They can extend their 2008 income-tax filing until as late as Oct. 15 (The IRS grants automatic extensions, but the taxpayer must file for the extension. See http://www.irs.gov/ for instructions on how to obtain an extension.)
- If they have filed their 2008 return before they purchase the home, they may file an amended 2008 tax return on Form 1940X.
Of course, 2009 purchasers will always have the option of claiming the credit for the 2009 purchase on their 2009 return, which is due April 15, 2010. For example:
- If you owe $3,000 in taxes and claim the $8,000 credit, you will receive a $5,000 refund.
- If you are due a refund of $1,000 and claim the $8,000 tax credit, you will receive a $9,000 refund.
- If you owe nothing and are not due a refund, but claim the $8,000 tax credit, you will receive an $8,000 refund.
Click here to read the March 2009 article from In Contract magazine, including a chart highlighting the 2008 and 2009 tax credit information.
You can have more of your questions about the tax credit answered here.
Avoiding foreclosure
On Feb. 18, 2009, President Obama announced the Making Home Affordable Program, an effort to help up to nine million families avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages.
Home sales, prices rise again in April, inventory falls 16 percent
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(May 27, 2009) April showed increasing signs of stability in the central Ohio housing market, as home sales and prices increased, while homes on the market fell by a double-digit percentage, the Columbus Board of REALTORS® said today.
"Home sales in April were still behind those of April 2008, but it's encouraging to see both sales and prices increase," said Gary Parsons, president of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.
Inventory levels are down significantly compared to April 2008.
With 16.1 percent fewer homes for sale, the market will be balanced to benefit buyers and sellers more equally.
"As more homes are sold, and fewer are added to the market, prices will continue to rise," said Parsons. "To see the number of homes on the market decline by nearly three thousand compared to this time last year, that's a negative number we can smile about."
In April 1,505 homes were sold, marking another month over month sales increase, but still down 15.6 percent from April 2008.
April marked the highest number of homes sold in a single month since October.
Home prices continue to inch up, with April's average sale price increasing more than 4 percent over March. However, April's average sale price of $149,285 was down 6 percent from the same period in 2008.
"Housing affordability is still at record levels, especially in central Ohio but for those people with homes on the market, an increase in the selling price is welcome news," said Parsons.
Lower-priced homes and foreclosed properties continue to drive sales, and put downward pressure on prices.
"Although the average sale price increased in April, it still is, on average, almost $10,000 less than what it was this time last year," said Parsons. "That means buyers have tremendous purchasing power, but also that sellers have to be realistic."
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Additional Statistics
To view residential properties for sale, visit www.Realtor.com.
To view commercial properties for sale or lease in central Ohio, visit www.COCIE.org.
The Columbus Board of REALTORS® represents more than 6,500 members who helped bring more than $3.4 billion to the central Ohio economy in 2008.
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