My New Blog

WHY DOES THE PAPER SAY FORECLOSURES ARE HIGHER AND OFFICIAL REAL ESTATE DATA SAYS FORECLOSURES ARE DOWN?

The foreclosure process in Georgia requires that the lienholder advertise, via legal notice in a local news publication, that a foreclosure is pending on a property.  This notice must be given for four weeks prior to the actual foreclosure, which takes place on the courthouse steps on the first Tuesday of the month. 

There are many situations in which the foreclosure process is stalled or stopped altogether during this minimum 4 week process (usually more depending on where that first Tuesday is going to fall in the month).  For instance, a few examples of a stalled or stopped foreclosure would be:  the owners may catch up on the delinquent payments.  The owners may get a contract to sell their home and an official forebearance is issued by the bank to delay the foreclosure.  A loan modification may be made that allows the sellers to better afford their payments.

The point is that not every property that is advertised in the legal notice section as a foreclosure actually follows the foreclosure process all the way to an end-result of foreclosure. 

If you are thinking of taking advantage of the tax credits that are now available to first time home buyers (“first time” home buyers are buyers who’ve not owned a primary residence in the last 3 years), you’ll need to start watching the clock.

---

FEDERAL DEADLINE

To be eligible for the Federal Tax Credit of up to $8,000 (10% of the sales price up to $8,000), you must close on the property no later than December 1, 2009.

STATE DEADLINE

To be eligible for the State Tax Credit of $1,800 (given in $600 increments), you must close on the property no later than November 30, 2009.

NEW LOAN TIMEFRAMES

Facing new process guidelines, many lenders are now requesting 45 days to close a loan, especially if the loan is a government (think FHA, VA or USDA) loan. That would mean that you need to be UNDER CONTRACT to purchase your home no later than October 17, 2009. If you’re doing a conventional loan where a 30-day close is still available, your “under contract deadline” would be November 2, 2009.

Important things to bear in mind:

• Loan volume is at a staggering high and is anticipated to stay high as people are posturing to purchase in time to take advantage of the tax credit. Don’t wait until the last minute and expect your lender to perform miracles to meet the deadline!

• If you’re buying a foreclosure, the closing process will take about 7—10 days longer on average, since additional time has to be built in on the front end for the offer to be negoaited and accepted, and on the back end to accommodate the closing process.

• Remember, you still have to FIND the property and have your agent negotiate an offer. This can take anywhere from a day or two to a month or two. I’ve worked with buyers for as much as two YEARS before they found the right property.

So, make sure that if you are thinking of buying a house and are expecting the tax credit(s) to be a part of your purchase strategy, October 17th and November 2nd are important deadlines for you to remember if you’re getting a loan!

Note:  Please see the menu tab labeld "$8,000 Tax Credit" for more details on eligibility for the federal and state tax credit incentives.

Official congratulations are overdue to Peachtree City, which was recently voted the 8th best place to live in America by Money magazine.  We've been honored in the top 10 before, but it's always nice to have someone outside our community RE-CONFIRM how nice it is here.

Many of you have asked who else made it to the list of top 10 places to live.  Here's the link to the Money Magazine results page which shows Peachtree City and others. 

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/top100/

CONGRATULATIONS!