danville real estate: East Bay First Time Home Buyers – Claiming the $8,000 Tax Credit - 03/29/10 02:29 PM
Earlier today home builder Lennar Chicago posted a terrific, informative blog post cautioning home buyers to avoid possible problems in claiming the home buyer tax credit.
Anyone who has bought a home recently and has or is planning to claim the up to $8,000 tax credit would do well to read the post in its entirety to see if any of the issues apply to their circumstances.
The first step, of course, is to enlist the services of a qualified tax professional. Since the credit can only be claimed through traditional paper filing, it only makes sense to consult a professional … (8 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for March 24th - 03/24/10 09:21 AM
Mid Week Update
Economic News: Existing Home Sales data was released yesterday. The figures remained lackluster with a .60 decrease from the January levels and supply rising over the last three months. Distressed sales made up 35% of the market and all cash deals were at 27%. The Midwest & Northeast showed stronger results than the struggling West & South. This morning's Durable Goods Orders were in line with expectations. There was an upward revision of the January numbers. All in all the numbers show that the manufacturing sector is continuing to move along providing hope for a continued recovery. New … (4 comments)
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danville real estate: Random St Patrick’s Day Facts - 03/17/10 01:03 PM
Green has always been my favorite color. I am a quarter Irish. I don't like corned beef or cooked cabbage or ale so I'm not a very good Irish I guess....
Okay, that's enough about me. Here are some St. Paddy's Day facts that are actually interesting! Have a happy, festive day (and go easy on the green beer!)
March 17th is the feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who is believed to have died on that date in the year 461AD. According to the last US Census, 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry. That's nearly nine times … (12 comments)
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danville real estate: Not Too Many Players In the FHA Flipping Waiver! - 03/15/10 06:46 PM
I read a blog today on the apparent lack of lending support for FHA's recent waiver of the 90 day flipping rule which has originators and real estate agents understandably frustrated.
It appears that the majority of lenders are gun shy about accepting deals where the current owner has owned the property for less than 90 days and is now attempting to sell at a profit. Of course, there is good reason behind this. The past decade of lax lending guidelines has created problems industry wide. So when HUD came forth with a proverbial dangling carrot, it's not hard to see … (6 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for March 15th - 03/15/10 09:30 AM
Beginning of the Week Update
Economic News: The Industrial Production numbers increased mainly due to higher utilities output relating to the weather. Last week did not give us much market moving data but this week will. Keep a close eye on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI). These will both give us the near term view of the inflation picture.
Mortgage Markets: The 10 year note is trading around 3.70% and has pricing about .125 better in fee from Friday's closing. The Mortgage Backed Security Market is stable and we now have two … (3 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for March 10th - 03/10/10 08:42 AM
Mid Week Update
Economic News: There is not much coming on the market calendar until tomorrow and Friday. The sentiment is that the Retail Sales number will show a modest gain on Friday. The jobless claims number is expected to also show slight improvement on Thursday following the better than expected reports at the end of last week. The government bond auctions began yesterday with 40 Billion in 3 year notes. The issue was well subscribed to and went well. Today we will be greeted with an auction of 21 Billion in 10 year notes followed tomorrow by 13 Billion in … (4 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for March 8th - 03/08/10 08:56 AM
Start of the Week Update
Economic News: There is not much coming on the market calendar until later this week. The sentiment is that the Retail Sales number will show a modest gain on Friday. The jobless claims number is expected to also show slight improvement on Thursday following the better than expected reports at the end of last week. In addition, the U.S. Government will be selling 74 Billion dollars in notes and bonds on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.
Mortgage Markets: Mortgage pricing is worse across by .125 - .250 in fee from the closing levels on Friday. A … (0 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for March 5th - 03/05/10 10:58 AM
End of the Week Update
Economic News: The data for the end of the week was all about JOBS, JOBS, JOBS. The unemployment rate came in at 9.7% and non-farm payrolls were down 36,000 versus an expected 50,000. This was on the back of the ADP report Wednesday on Jobless Claims on Thursday. All this taken together was considered good news on the employment front.
Mortgage Markets: Mortgage rates are losing ground today with a rally in the equity markets. Across the board rates are worse by about .125%. Overall the rates today are at the same level as … (0 comments)
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danville real estate: Practical Advice for the New Homeowner - 02/26/10 05:46 PM
Practical Advice for the New Homeowner
There's nothing more exciting than opening the door to your first new home and knowing that it's entirely yours, that you actually own it! No landlord bothering you about every little thing. Finally you can do whatever you want to do in your new home (including painting the walls!).
But step back for a moment. While you've certainly earned the pride you feel of owning your home, don't let your emotions get the better of you and potentially jeopardize your valuable investment.
Before you start making any major renovations, take a minute to cover the … (3 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for February 26th - 02/26/10 10:45 AM
End of Week Update
Economic News: Yesterday's release of the Durable Goods Orders showed positive improvement and raised hopes that the recovery is extending. The Unemployment Claims number came in surprisingly higher than the expected 460,000 at 496,000 which represented the highest level since November. This put a bit of worry in the market which was a positive for the debt sector. Today's revised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers were 5.9% (versus the initial 5.7%) representing the second quarter of economic growth in a row. Finally, Existing Home Sales fell 7.2% for the period which mirrored the softer new home sales … (0 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for February 24th - 02/24/10 09:42 AM
Mid Week Brief
Economic News: Yesterday started the beginning of a busy reporting week in the form of the Case-Shiller Home Price Index as well as Consumer Confidence. Case-Shiller revealed mixed data but did point toward continued price stabilization for the seasonally adjusted data. Consumer Confidence had an unexpected drop and returned to the April 2009 levels. This morning's New Home Sales numbers were released and were down 11.2% with an expected annual rate of 309,000 units versus the 348,000 forecasted. New home supply rose from 8 months to 9.1 months. There was also a FDIC release yesterday that increased the … (2 comments)
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danville real estate: Banking Sector Still Hurting - 02/23/10 04:18 PM
It was reported today that there was a dramatic increase in the number of problem banks in the nation. At the end of the 4th Quarter the FDIC had increased the number of troubled banks to 702 up from 552 during the prior quarter. Many of us are watching the sector very closely as the commercial loan market is under stress and has not worked it's way through the system yet. It was also noted that the FDIC's reserve fund fell to a NEGATIVE 20.9 Billion Dollars by the end of 2009. Additionally, the Net Charge Off Rate and loans that were at least … (3 comments)
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danville real estate: Should You Be Afraid of ARMS? - 02/22/10 02:08 PM
In case you've been in a cave for about a year you've probably heard that rates are at all time historic lows. If you're a homeowner and have sufficient equity in your home (and sometimes even if you haven't!) you've probably refinanced into an attractive fixed rate loan to take advantage of these rock-bottom rates.
However, there are still many of you out there that either have not refinanced or are not yet a homeowner and are ready to take advantage of lower home prices and affordable financing. If that's you, and you're thinking that a fixed rate mortgage is the … (7 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for February 22nd - 02/22/10 10:34 AM
Mortgage Update for the beginning of the week
Economic News: A quiet day is in store for the markets today. No real economic reports are due but as the week rolls on there will be a bevy of reporting which will give us a glimpse on how well the economic recovery is doing. Here is what is in the pipeline for the rest of the week. Tuesday: Case-Shiller Home Price Index & Consumer Confidence. Wednesday: New Home Sales. Thursday: Durable Goods Orders. Friday: Gross Domestic Product, Consumer Sentiment & Existing Home Sales.
Mortgage Markets: Mortgage rates are unchanged over … (0 comments)
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danville real estate: Tame Your Inbox & Reduce Email Clutter! - 02/20/10 11:59 AM
If you've read any of my previous posts, it's obvious my passion lies in organizing and streamlining pretty much everything to make life more manageable. One thing I see again and again is an overflowing inbox. It's fairly simple to devise a process for taming your inbox. Here are some suggestions:
One word: Unsubscribe. Today I dove in and unsubscribed to every unsolicited email that hit my inbox. I have the feeling that within the next few weeks, I'll have a lot fewer emails to wade through.
For all other emails I use folders to categorize them. Since I work in … (11 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update for February 19th - 02/19/10 01:29 PM
End of Week Briefing
Economic News: On top of the FED announcement to raise the Discount Rate (discussed here & here) we were greeted yesterday with the Producer Price Index (PPI) & Jobless Numbers. The PPI came in much higher than anticipated signaling inflationary areas in certain segments of the economy. Jobless Claims came in well above sentiment at 473,000 new claims versus the expected 440,000. This somewhat offset the effects of the PPI. Today the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in within tolerance and also dampened the stronger PPI data from yesterday.
… (0 comments)
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danville real estate: The Federal Reserve Announcement on the Increase in the Discount Rate - 02/19/10 11:11 AM
As I briefly discussed earlier today the Federal Reserve increased the Discount Rate by .25% after the market close yesterday. The full press release is available here. As mentioned in the statement, the FED "anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period". This should keep a lid on an aggressive upward movement of interest rates in the near term. It is good news that that they are trying to remain "ahead of the curve" on the inflation front while keeping in mind that the economic recovery is fragile.
Those … (3 comments)
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danville real estate: The Fed Made a Surprise Move After The Bell Yesterday – But What Does It Mean? - 02/19/10 08:55 AM
Recently the Federal Reserve has been taking steps to unwind the fiscal stimulus programs which were put in place during the financial crisis which came on full force in the fall of 2008. We are all aware that the Fed intends to cease its 1.25 trillion dollar Mortgage Backed Security purchase program at the end of March. The commercial paper program (liquidity provided to some of the largest companies) to smooth out short-term cash requirements is over. In addition, the home buyer tax credits passed by Congress are set to expire soon.
But, after the closing bell yesterday the FED announced (apart from a … (3 comments)
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danville real estate: Outlook Notes: the Coolest Tool You’re Not Using! - 02/17/10 11:03 AM
If you are a Microsoft Outlook user I'm willing to bet you use it mainly for Mail and maybe to keep track of your appointments in the Calendar. Perhaps you put your Contacts in there and if you're really cooking, you make use of the Tasks manager. But I want to introduce you to a really nifty function that most people know nothing about: the Notes feature.
Open Outlook right now and take a look at the left side of your screen...oh, you've got mail! Okay, wait to read it and look to the left towards the bottom. You'll either see … (10 comments)
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danville real estate: East Bay Mortgage Update - 02/17/10 10:25 AM
Mid Week Report
Economic News: The two major economic reports for the day were the Housing Start figures as well as Industrial Production numbers. January's housing figures came in above the annualized consensus estimate of 580K units at 591K. This was a 21% increase on a year over year basis. The majority of the gains came in the multifamily sector while single family housing was relatively flat. Industrial production came in at the high end of estimates and signaled a very positive growth trend in the manufacturing sector.
Mortgage Markets: The bond market has worsened a bit this morning … (0 comments)
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