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Tax Credit for Homeowners Closing Dates Extended; Not So Fast…..

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Many people are shouting that the tax credit has been extended…the tax credit has been extended!! this is not completely accurate.

The tax credit will only be extended for closing your transaction if you were already under contract by the April 30th. end of the tax credit.

To qualify for the tax credit you had to be under contract BY April 30th. 2010 and close the transaction BY June 30th. 2010. The only thing that will be extended is the date for you to close your purchase. Congress has not signed the extension into law as of today. We will update you when it is extended.

The extension does not help you if you are  NOW looking for, or thinking of buying a home in Tacoma or anywhere else in the country. There still are many other programs to assist first time homebuyer’s purchase homes. Please look at our site and read our posts to learn more about the programs that are available.

When you’re ready to talk about buying a home we are ready to listen. Give us a call (253) 219-1194

Posted in Buying a Home, Lending, Ramblings | 1 Response »

What do You Look For When Buying a Home?

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

I have a question for the readers of this blog. What do you look for when you are thinking of buying a home?

I sell homes in and around Tacoma that much should be obvious if you are visiting my blog. I know what I do to find potential clients who can benefit from my services. I know what works and what does not work when it comes to finding clients. What I need to learn now is what do you look for when you are going to buy a house?

What is it that helps you to “know” when you’ve found a place you want to call home? When you are just looking do you search the Internet to look at homes for sale? Do you use a search engine and type in phrases like Buying a home in Tacoma or Homes for Sale in Tacoma. Feel free to insert the area that you are actually looking at for Tacoma in your responses. What is it that you are looking for from the big machine that sends your answers back to you?

One of the nagging questions I am looking for help with is when do you decide to work with a Realtor®? At what point during your search to you want professional assistance? What value to you expect your agent to bring to the table? You can go to dozens of websites and see every agent in Tacoma or any other city tell you that they are the best to help you buy or sell your home. What cuts through the white noise? What makes you pick up the phone, send email, or visit the office of the agent you decide you want to find out more about?

You can search here to see all of the homes for sale in Tacoma Washington. You can search a lot of places to find homes for sale. You can find out a lot about borrowing money to buy a home in Tacoma here. You can find a lot of information on just about everything related to buying home online. What I want to know is what do YOU want to help you look for a home? If you can clearly answer that question  then you will find that when you’re ready to buy a home you will have a much easier time. By sharing your answers  you can help me to be the best Realtor® I can be. Together we can help one another.

So, What do you look for when buying a home?

Posted in Buying a Home, Tacoma | 5 Responses »

USDA Washington State 2010 Income Levels Have Changed

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

The USDA has announced some changes to the 2010 Washington State Income Levels to qualify for 100% zero down USDA financing.

Take a look at table below to see what the income levels for where you live have been adjusted to. Income levels in Pierce County is now at $80,050 for a family up to 4 people. The income level is a very doable level for many of the homes located in Pierce County.

If you’re considering buying a home in Pierce County and you are not considering buying within the City Limits of Tacoma you might just find USDA financing a very valuable way to help your family get into a home this year.

When you are ready to talk about buying a home in Pierce County call (253) 219-1194 and we can setup a time to meet and discuss your options. As a Realtor® it is important that I keep up to date on both our local real estate market and on the various financing options. Just as no Realtor® is a perfect fit for every client; not every lender is a perfect fit. Working together we can find the best fit for you and your needs when it comes to buying a home in Pierce County using USDA financing or another type of financing.

County

 1-4 person household 5-8 person household
Benton, Franklin

$74,750

$98,650
Kitsap, Thurston

$82,650

$109,100
Island

$89,550

$118,200
King, Snohomish

$92,600

$122,250
Clark, Skamania

$81,850

$108,050
Pierce

$80,050

$105,650
San Juan

$78,050

$103,050
All other Counties

Adams, Asotin, Chelan, Clallam, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend O’Reille, Skagit, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Whitman, and Yakima

$74,050

$97,750

Posted in Buying a Home, Lending, Puget Sound, USDA Financing | No Responses »

USDA Loans Show Me an Example of What We Can Buy

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

I was chatting with a friend the other day about USDA loans and she mentioned that she thought that USDA loans were for farm houses and things way out in the “sticks” I explained to her that her concept of USDA loans was a bit off.

Yes you have to be purchasing a home in a “rural area” but rural is a term that our government uses a bit differently. In Pierce County Washington much of the county is considered rural. That means that towns like Gig Harbor, Graham, Bonney Lake, Roy, McKenna, DuPont and many more are considered rural. You can find more information on Pierce County USDA eligibility by reading our other articles here on Classic Homes Northwest.

More on USDA Loans in Pierce County.

Update on congressional extending the funding for the 2010 fiscal year.

Here are two listings we have right now that are located within USDA boundaries. One is located on Anderson Island Offered at $259,000 with a great view of East Oro Bay.Membership in the Riviera Country Club is included in the annual homeowners dues as is your water.Learn more about Anderson Island here. The other is in Scenic Shores by Lake Lawrence. Anderson Island is a remote quiet island in the Puget Sound but it a great place to get away for a weekend etc. If you are a first time buyer and you are looking for an affordable home then you should take a look at Anderson Island. The home for sale at Lake Lawrence is offered at $209,000 and allows you to use the facilities at Lake Lawrence with your HOA dues. Close to Ft. Lewis, Olympia, Yelm, and a 30 minute drive to Tacoma. This 3 bedroom home could be yours for what most of us pay in rent each month. For more information on this house we have lots more here.

As you can see both of these homes are not farm houses and they are not on dirt roads. USDA loans can help you if you are looking at homes in the areas outside of the main core of Pierce County and the City of Tacoma.

When you’re ready to learn more about USDA loans and how they can help you take advantage of the current interest rates and property values we will be happy to introduce you to a lender who can walk you through the process.

If you would like a list of USDA eligible homes in Pierce County please fill out the contact form on the right side of the blog. We will send out a list of currently available homes to you. If you’re ready to talk so are we. Give us a call at 253-219-1194 today.

Posted in Buying a Home, Lending, Puget Sound, USDA Financing | 2 Responses »

USDA Financing Fiscal Year 2010 Funds Running Out. Conditional Commitments Will be Issued

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

As we have reported here in previous articles the USDA is running out of funds for the fiscal year 2010. The announcement today that the USDA will issue conditional commitments for Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loans after the funds have been exhausted is potential good news for home buyers in Pierce County or anywhere that it is possible to use USDA financing. Your USDA approved lender can continue to process completed loan requests, receive conditional commitments, and close loans.

There is a change to the USDA financing the “Guarantee Fee” is increasing to 3.5% for purchase loan and it is increasing to 2.25 for refinance loans. The cost of getting a USDA loan has just increased. The borrower can still put zero down but will have the guarantee fee wrapped into the total loan. In a very simple example if you were to buy a 100,000$ home the initial loan amount would be 103,500$

While the cost of borrowing money using USDA financing has gone up the news that funds will continue to be available is good news for home buyers. When you are ready to begin looking for your home we hope you will give us a call so we can help you through the process of making a great decision. We work with multiple approved USDA lenders and we can help match you with a lender who will work hard for you to get the best possible financing. We then will work hard for you to find the best home and the best deal. We’re here when you’re ready.

Posted in Buying a Home, Lending, Puget Sound, USDA Financing | 3 Responses »

April 2010 Pierce County Median Home Price $215,000

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Sales volume appears to be moving upward according to numbers released for April 2010 home sales. 7,368 homes had mutually accepted offers in April 2010 in the four county Puget Sound region. The highest volume since August 2006

Was this due to the tax credit?

In my opinion yes the number have been inflated by the tax credit and it will be interesting to see what May’s number look like. However, interest rates are still very low. Employment numbers while not fantastic are beginning to show signs of stabilizing and in some areas improvement. The Puget Sound region should be able to begin the recovery process. Is this time to be excited no, not at all. It is time however to consider your individual housing requirements. If buying a home makes sense at this time you will have a number of other factors that appear to be in your favor as well.

Posted in Buying a Home, Puget Sound, Ramblings | 1 Response »

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