If you haven’t purchased a home yet is it too late now to buy a home and receive the “First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit? If you are a first time home buyer (haven’t owned a home in the last three years) time is running out. You must locate, put under contract, obtain financing, appraisal, inspections, and close on the loan by November 30, 2009. Can it be done? Yes there is still time but the time to act is now. What steps need to be taken?
1) Pre-qualification with a mortgage lender is critical. Your Realtor® will have suggestions on who can move quickly to obtain a loan. I have a couple of lenders that I work with that can turn an FHA loan around in as little as two weeks. Not all lenders can do this so check with your lender to see how quickly they can do this if you are applying for an FHA loan.
2) Find a Realtor® or get in touch with a Realtor® you already know, and ask them to begin sending you listings. Give them the criteria you are looking for. Some of the criteria you will want to give them are, price range (this will be determined by consulting with your lender) , number of bedrooms, bathrooms, approximate sq. feet, style, neighborhood, school or school district. Other things that may be important to you could be a fenced yard, garage, RV parking, corner lot, not on a busy street, and many other options. look for homes here: http://www.servingsaltlakecity.com/
3) Locate a property. Remember time is short, make sure your Realtor® is doing all they can to narrow down the choices to show you properties that match your criteria. If the criteria are too tight there may not be very many choices so prioritize which of your criteria are most important, and know which are needs, and which are wants. The perfect home most likely doesn’t exist; there will need to be some give and take. At this point there are homes to avoid if you want to buy in time to receive the tax credit: Short Sale homes that are not price approved, (the approval process can be lengthy). Recently some of the price approved short sale and bank owned homes are receiving multiple bids, they also can take awhile for responses, and there is no way to know if you are going to win the bidding wars.
4) Make an offer, get accepted, your Realtor® will walk you through the process. When making an offer you will need to have your earnest money ready to present with your offer. It is also becoming more important to provide a pre-qualification letter with the offer. (your lender should provide this to your Realtor®
5) Under Contract, once you are under contract there are several people that become very important to the process: Lender, Realtor®, Title Company, appraiser, and possibly a home inspector. Your Realtor® should coordinate the process with your lender, and title company. The lender will order the appraisal. A home inspection can help to give you a better idea of the condition of the home. They can check for foundation problems, a/c, heating, plumbing, electrical, structural, drug testing, radon, mold, settling, and many other tests as needed or requested. Your Realtor® should have some recommendations on Home inspector.
6) Settlement. The title company checks for chain of title, liens against the property, or those parties included in the transaction. In Utah settlement takes place at the title company. This includes the signing of the loan documents and any other documents required by the lender, payment of any additional funds (down payment). You will need to have the funds in a cashier’s check, along with your identification such as a driver’s license or other legal picture I.D.
7) Closing. Closing is when the funds have been transferred and the deed has been recorded at the county recorder’s office. Once closed in most cases the buyer can take possession of the home unless other times were specified in the real estate purchase contract.
8) It is time to move in to your new home and enjoy the benefits of being a home owner. If your loan closes before November 30th 2009 and you are a first time home buyer you can also file an amended tax return and request the tax credit up to $8000.
Real Estate rules vary by state. The rules or suggestions in this post are for the state of Utah, Check with your Realtor for your area. This post is an opinion of the writer and should not be construed as legal advice. Pre-qualification is not guaranteed,
I recently mad a switch from Tmobile to Verizon Wireless. I was still in a contract with Tmobile yet I was so fed up with all of the dropped calls on Tmobile I finally made the switch. Even with the penalties for not finishing my contract it was worth it. I love Verizon. No more dropped calls! Hooray. I was using a Blackberry curve on Tmobile and switched to a Blackberry Storm when I switched to Verizon. I am still getting used to the features of the storm and like it a little more each day. The service is not intermittent like Tmobile. The browser is so much faster and did I say no more dropped calls. I feel more professional now not having to call my clients back and apologize for my phone not liking them.
Check on the link above. I have been traveling around this diverse state for years. Recently I posted a picture on Wordless Wednesday of Bear Lake. http://activerain.com/blogsview/1274836/wordless-wednesday-one-last-peek-at-the-lake There were several questions about what Utah was like. I thought I would post a video tour of some of the pictures I have gathered over the years. There is so much more in this state that is not featured here.
CPG Tours is also something I would recommend to those needing to post virtual tours. They are simple to put together. No more re-sizing pictures for the tour. They take care of that for you as you upload the pictures. There are many more possibilities for using tours at CPG. You can post the pictures of the family reunion, the last vacation you took. Even the wedding pictures, then send the link to your friends, family or co-workers. Give it a try! here is a link to learn more about them. http://www.cpgtours.com/?aid=20-1057
High above Zermott resort in scenic Midway, Utah on a half acre nestled in the trees you will find a diamond in the rough. Priced well below current market value, this cabin needs your touch to bring out the best. Hardwood floors throughout, great views, Paved roads all the way in, and has an asphalt driveway. Access limited during the winter months. The value is in the land.
From Homestead Road take Lime Canyon Road (just Noth of Zermott Resort) Turn left on Lime Canyon Way, At the top of Lime Canyon Way slight left to Valley Road and or Oak Lane, (road changes names) pass Acorn Road and Canyon Loop Road, Driveway is on the left just before turning on Canyon Drive.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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