Real Estate Information Archive

My Agent is the best iPhone app for house hunting I have ever used. Go anywhere click on the My Agent App and what you see is all the properties listed for sale all around you. Click on any of the houses and you can find what the price is and the bedroom and bath count. Click on the arrow in the same box and it opens up the picture of the house, Description, and more photos. Slide the map in any direction and more homes will show up. There is even a filter to adjust the minimum and maximum price, number of bedrooms, number of baths, and even the square footage.  Fast, easy to use, and it’s free.

After you download the free app (My Agent by IDX) from the App Store you will have input a 4 digit password (4693) one time to be able to use the app.  No, I have not used this app all over the country but I have used in Orange and Los Angeles Counties.  Carol has found it very useful when showing property to buyers. There may be another home close by one Carol has picked to show and the buyers want to know why she isn’t showing them the house down the street. All she does is open up My Agent “Refresh the Map” and click on the house in question and she can show the buyer the house didn’t have enough bedrooms, or baths, or square footage was below the minimum they wanted.

When you’re driving around and see a new sign up in a neighborhood you can find out all the information quickly using My Agent.  If your house hunting this is a must have app!

1. Mortgage rates are at an all time low when buyers take advantage of today rates they start building equity right away. You can handle a few up and downs as market gains momentum. Just a few years ago buyers would have jumped at chance to have a 6% interest rate on a home purchase. Today the rates are around 4.5%. Here's the best part on the purchase of a $300,000 home you will save over $102,000 of the life of a 30 year loan. Thats right over a $102,000 over the loan or $3,400.00 a year.

2. There are lots programs to help the first time buyer and middle-class families to buy home. Add one of these programs with today’s current low interest rates you can save even more cash.

3. Fannie Mae guidelines in the past have tied the appraiser’s hands on how they could value a home. These guidelines were so strict it made it difficult for an appraiser to give a fair and honest appraisal. Appraisers, now, can more accurately reflect the current values in their given markets with the changes made in the updated Fannie Mae guidelines.

4. Home owners have continued to maintain their homes and spend money on repairs and improvements. When these homes come up for sale they are much more desirable that the tired old foreclosed homes (REO’s) saving buyers thousands of dollars in repairs.

Saving Money with coupons is always a good thing especially when you're buying the products anyway. Wow, did I miss one of the best coupon sites on the web. CouponChef.com. For the names of the other money saving coupon sites you can go to our previous post by clicking here or use this link http://www.northorangecountyrealestatesales.com/Blog/Printable-Coupons-to-Save-Money. Another month has closed and my wife has saved a total of $293.25 for the first 3 months of the year.

In recent months there have been 2 devastating earthquakes in the world. One earthquake was in the island country of Haiti and now another in Chili in the last 6 months. The potential for a tsunami was very real around the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, and the California coast to name a few areas.

So this is a good time to take a long look at what you and your family should do if an earthquake hits us in Southern California. We all know it’s just a matter of time so are you ready:

Seven Steps to earthquake Safety

1. Secure it now.
2. Make a Plan
3. Make disaster kits
4. Is your place safe
5. Drop, Cover, and Hold on
6. Check it out
7. Communicate and recover

Take a moment and go to daretoprepare.org and you will find lots of information on earthquakes, earthquake safety, and helpful tips.

The IRS has clarified what documentation is needed to claim your first time buyers and move-up buyers tax credit.

You are still required to fill out a 5405 form but is NOT requiring all buyers and sellers to sign the HUD-1 settlement statement. If you live in an area where it isn't common for the all parties to sign the HUD-1 its OK.

The IRS says: " in areas where signatures are not required on the settlement document, the IRS has clarified that it will accept a settlement statement if it is completed and valid according to local law. The IRS encourages those buyers to sign the settlement statement prior to attaching it to the tax return."

So if you live in Southern California where it’s uncommon for buyers and sellers to sign the HUD-1 make sure you the buyer(s) sign your HUD-1 statement before mailing it in with your tax return.

If you are a move up buyer or repeat buyer, the IRS is requiring documentation that proves you lived in your last home 5 of the last 8 years. Items the IRS will consider as proof are: tax records, mortgage interest statements, and home owner’s insurance records.

Median prices in So Cal are on the rise compared to a year ago January 2009. The Orange County and Los Angeles home sales markets improved significantly while Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura took a hit again.  Orange County was up by 3.4% in sales over January of last year for a total of 1,867 home sales. The Big new is prices rose 15.4% over January 2009 in Orange County. San Bernardino County is the only one where prices in homes dropped another 7.4% while prices remained the same in Riverside County with no gain over last year.  Over all the six counties home prices rose 8.6% over January of last year.

Now if you have been sitting on the fence to take advantage of the bottom of the market you better find a home NOW! With all the counties experiencing increases in home values except in San Bernardino County waiting for the right moment is over.

The $8,000.00 tax credit runs out the end of April 2010.

In our current economic time we are all trying to stretch our dollars. It has been a couple of tough years for most people with job layoffs, companies closing, or having your hours cut back.

My wife for years has saved money by cutting coupons out of the newspaper, PennySaver,  grocery coupon mailers, and magazines to name a few. It’s a game to her and I used to think it was a waste of time, until I realized just how much money she was saving us each month. Coupons are now avaliable on the internet and here is a list of her favorite sites for printable coupons.

Retail Me Not, My Coupons, Hey Its Free, Promotional Codes, Coupon Barn, Slick Deals, Coupons. Just in January 2010 my wife saved $321.45.

Just found another great coupon site CouponChef.com

If you know any woman currently undergoing Chemo, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - 1 time per month for 4 months while she is in treatment.  

All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service.   http://www.cleaningforareason.org/

Please pass this information on to bless a woman going through Breast Cancer treatment. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It’s our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.

The federal tax credit for home buyers was signed into law by President Obama Friday, Nov. 6.  The tax credit, which was set to expire Nov. 30, has been extended through April 30, 2010 with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to deadline.  It also was expanded to include existing homeowners who have lived in their primary residences for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.

First-time home buyers still may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000, while existing homeowners may receive a credit of up to $6,500.  The bill also increases the qualifying income limits from $75,000 for single tax filers and $150,000 for joint filers, to $125,000 and $225,000, respectively. The purchase price of the home is capped at $800,000 in both instances.

Under additional provisions in the bill, taxpayers can claim the credit on purchases completed in 2010 on their 2009 income tax returns. The bill maintains the provision that home buyers do not have to repay the credit provided the home remains their primary residence for 36 months after purchase, and waives this requirement for active duty military personnel who move due to a military order.