APARTMENT FOR RENT IN GILROY

'Tis the Season for Home Buyers

By Gino Blefari President & CEO
Intero Real Estate Services, Inc

It may be the best time of year for traditional retailers who find their bottom lines moving from red to black, but in the housing industry, sales tend to slow down when the yuletide rolls in. Nobody likes to move during the holidays, but if you're in the market to buy and don't mind the timing, you may actually have the best timing of all.

While a recent Fannie Mae survey shows more consumers are more negative now about buying a home, there are still plenty of folks looking for a house to own. And the great news is that deals abound!

Here are three things that home buyers have going for them this holiday season:
Inventory galore: The inventory of homes for sale of course depends on your market, but markets across the nation generally are experiencing high inventory levels. This is not exactly a great thing for the overall health and sustainability of the market and economy, but it is a good thing for those buyers who are ready to make a move.

Historically low interest rates: I can't really stress this enough – the low rates we're seeing on long-term mortgages are incredible! Forget about missing out on the home buyer tax credit earlier this year – these low rates will save you even more cash in the long run than any government incentive so far.

Relaxed competition: With high inventory comes less competition. Again, this isn't great for home sellers or for sustaining values, but as a buyer you'll find that you have more negotiating power. Use it wisely.

Here's what this season's buyers will need to watch out for:

Stellar credit gets the best deal: Sure, rates are incredibly low but you'll need a solid credit score to get the best terms. You'll also need a ton of documentation so it's best to prepare that stuff ahead of time.

Cash needed: This is true now and pretty much always – more cash will enable you to get a better loan and make for an all-around better closing experience.

Local market conditions: Is your market still on the decline? That's no reason to wait to buy, but it's something you should take into account when making your offer.

Bargains abound at all the top stores across the nation. And this year, the "real estate" store is not much different. Buyers indeed have the upper hand in many neighborhoods. Don't let the holidays derail your home hunt entirely – you may just miss the sale of the century! Talk to Team Patereau today about what's available near you.

Pre-Thanksgiving Plumbing Tips

Retail stores aren't the only ones busy on Black Friday
by: Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com - November 17, 2010

You're probably aware that the day after Thanksgiving Day is the busiest time of the year for the nation's retailers. But did you know that it's also one of the busiest days of the year for the nation's plumbers?

The reason? Big holiday meal preparation and cleanup can lead to a lot of unwanted waste in the kitchen drain and garbage disposal. Also, a house full of holiday guests who require additional clothes washing, showers and toilet flushes puts a strain on household plumbing.

According to residential plumbing repair chain Roto-Rooter, "Black Friday" is, in fact, the day when no one takes a break.

"Often, the case is that a house already has partially clogged drains that go unnoticed, until holiday guests arrive and overwhelm the system," Paul Abrams, a Roto-Rooter representative said. And it's not just Black Friday. Hectic houses full of people and frantic hosts quickly and easily lead to plumbing problems throughout the holiday season. "Even more problematic is that virtually every traditional Thanksgiving dish is a supreme drain clog culprit," Abrams said.

Incoming calls to Roto-Rooter, for kitchen jobs alone, will jump 50 percent above the average Friday. The four-day Thanksgiving weekend averages a 21 percent increase over any other Thursday through Sunday period during the year. Roto-Rooter said it beefs up with additional staff to address the increase in calls and jobs.

The company says Thanksgiving hosts can avoid a visit from their plumber over the holiday weekend by following these clog-preventing tips:

• Never pour fats or cooking oils down drains. They solidify in pipes. Instead, wipe grease from pots with paper towels and throw in trash.
• Avoid putting stringy, fibrous or starchy waste in the garbage disposal. Poultry skins, celery, fruit & potato peels, for example, cannot be sufficiently broken down.
• Make sure the disposal is running when you put food into it. Don't wait until it's full to turn it on.
• For homes hosting weekend guests, it's a good idea to wait ten minutes between showers so slow drains have time to do their job.
• Never flush cotton balls, swabs, hair or facial scrub pads down a toilet. They don't dissolve and will cause clogs.
• Try to address any plumbing problems before the holiday and before guests arrive. However, in holiday emergencies, don't hesitate to ask up front about extra holiday service fees.

As always, know your limits. Often, minor plumbing problems turn into plumbing catastrophes if not handled properly.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Non-Judicial Foreclosure Process

from: ForeclosureRadar.com

Contrary to popular belief, banks can't just take back a property when an owner stops making payments. In non-judicial foreclosure states, the right to foreclose and sell the property actually lies with a 3rd party, known as the trustee; who has a fiduciary responsibility to both the lender and the borrower. Read the full story...

• 

  (New!)

  Pet Odor Can Chase Away Buyers

  Don’t let pet odors derail your home sale. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

ForclosureGate's Impact on Recovery

We're now deep into a widespread foreclosure investigation – in fact, it has reached "gate" status. ForeclosureGate is upon us.

Last week, I discussed why this foreclosure news was a big deal– not because it could mean millions of people were falsely foreclosed upon (remember, this is likely not the case), but because it presents a major hurdle on the road to housing recovery...

...Read the full article here.

Team Patereau Has RENTALS!

7 Steps to a Stress-free Home Closing

By: G. M. Filisko

By doing homework in advance, you’ll understand what you’re asked to sign when you close the sale of your home.

1. Set a closing date

Your real estate agent will work with the seller’s agent and title company to schedule your closing date. Be sure it meshes with the end of your lease or the sale of your existing home and a time when you’ll able to play hooky from work. If you’re tight on cash, schedule your closing for the end of the month because that’s when you’ll have to pay the least amount of interest at the closing table.

2. Gather your funds

You may be required to bring funds to the closing. If they’re not easily accessible, arrange early to transfer them to a liquid account to avoid last-minute problems. If the title company requires the funds in the form of a cashier’s check, also leave time to stop by the bank and pick one up.

3. Purchase title insurance

Title insurance protects the policyholder against trouble with a home’s title. Your lender will insist that you purchase a policy to protect it. You should also consider purchasing what’s called an owner’s title policy from the same insurer, which protects you from fraudulent claims against your ownership and errors in earlier sales. In some areas, sellers traditionally pay for the buyer’s title policy. Shop online at Closing.com, EasyTitleQuote.com, and FreeTitleQuote.com. If your home has been sold within the past few years, ask the prior owner’s insurance company for a reissue discount.

4. Line up homeowners insurance

Get quotes and compare policies to be sure coverage will be in effect by your closing date. An annual policy should run $500-$1,000, depending on your home’s size, age, and amenities. If you live in an area where natural disasters occur, like earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes, you’ll need separate insurance to protect your home.

5. Review your good-faith estimate and HUD-1 settlement sheet

Your lender must provide a good-faith estimate of your closing fees. Some of those fees can’t change, and others can rise by 10%. Before you go to the closing, read your good-faith estimate, compare it with your HUD-1 settlement statement, and question any fees that increased.

6. Do a walk-through

Schedule an appointment to walk through the home one last time just before your closing. Make sure repairs you requested have been made, no major changes have occurred since you last viewed the property, and that the sellers left anything they agreed to leave and took all their belongings.

Also test electronics and appliances, such as the doorbell, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and oven, to ensure they’re functioning properly. Do the same with the hot water heater and heating and air conditioning systems. Walk the yard to be sure no plants or shrubs have been removed.

7. Resolve issues identified in your walk-through

If your walk-through uncovers problems, you can delay the closing until the seller corrects them. But that’s often not feasible because your lease is probably over and you’ve already scheduled movers. Another option is to negotiate a discount to your sales price to cover the cost of the work needed. If the air conditioning is on the fritz and a contractor says the repair will cost $500, ask that the sales price be reduced by that amount. If you make that request at closing, however, be ready for a delay while the title company redoes the paperwork.

A third option: Have the title company hold a portion of the seller’s proceeds in escrow until the dispute is resolved. Once that happens, the funds will be released to you or the seller, depending on the outcome.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has endured several property closings, but the easiest was done through the mail. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

What’s the Next Big Solution for Housing?

As expected, the countdown to the final closing days of the homebuyer tax credit has brought on more debate. Should the government create more programs aimed at boosting home sales or just stay out of it and let the market correct itself? Gino Blefari, CEO of Intero Real Estate, weighs in on this topic. Read his full article here.

REO News Reports on Bill that sets 45-day deadline on lender short sale decisions

REO Insider, Insight for the REO Professional published the following article today:

Real estate brokers who have long complained about the time it takes to complete a short sale now have two U.S. congressmen in their corner who are sponsoring a bill that would require lenders to respond to consumer short sale requests within 45 days.

Real estate brokers — and homeowners – have long complained about the length of time it takes to get a short sale done....

...“The short sale, which requires lender approval, is an important instrument for homeowners who owe more than their home is worth,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said in a news release. “While the lending community has worked to improve the size and training of their short sales staffs, they still have a long way to go on improving response times.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams

With foreclosure rescue scams widespread as more homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments, be smart if you seek help.

A record high 2.8 million properties were hit with foreclosure notice in 2009, putting even more Americans at risk of facing foreclosure rescue scams. Homeowners who fall behind on mortgage payments need to tread carefully when seeking assistance, since foreclosure rescue scams come in many guises. A day spent researching legitimate options, from a mortgage modification or principal forebearance to a short sale or deed-in-lieu, could keep you from becoming a scam victim.

FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS RUN RAMPANT

Homeowners facing foreclosure are prime targets for scam artists. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission identified 71 companies running suspicious foreclosure rescue ads, and the Better Business Bureau counts foreclosure rescue rip-offs among its top 10 scams. Understanding how these scams work can help you avoid becoming a victim.

The variations are endless, but one popular foreclosure scam involves a representative of a so-called foreclosure rescue company promising to negotiate a deal with your lender. The rep, vowing to take care of everything, will instruct you not to contact your lender, lawyer, or credit counselor during the supposed negotiations. The more brazen ones will even tell you to pay your mortgage directly to them.

Once you pay an upfront fee or hand over a few months' worth of mortgage payments, the scam artist will disappear. You'll be left with an emptier wallet and a mortgage that's in even deeper trouble because no deal was cut and no payments were made on your behalf. According to John Riggins, chief executive of the Fort Worth, Texas, office of the Better Business Bureau, upfront fees can range from $500 to $5,000.

RIP-OFFS COME IN MANY FORMS

A bankruptcy foreclosure scam can involve a promise to fend off foreclosure in exchange for an upfront fee. Instead of getting you legitimate relief, the fraudster will pocket the fee and secretly file a bankruptcy case in your name. The scam may seem to work initially, because a bankruptcy filing will stop foreclosure proceedings temporarily, but they'll resume. Compounding your problems, a bankruptcy can mar your credit report for 10 years.

Another common scam, called the bait-and-switch, results in a scam artist taking ownership of your home. You sign documents supposedly for a new loan that will make your mortgage current. What's really happening is you're signing over the deed of your house. In this scenario you would still owe on your mortgage but no longer own the home.

In a rent-to-own scheme, you're told to surrender a home's deed as part of a deal that lets you stay put as a renter. The scam artist, perhaps claiming to be able to refinance at a better rate with you off the title, promises to sell the house back to you in the future. However, terms of the deal may make it all but impossible for you to repurchase the home, or the scammer may get you evicted by raising the rent beyond your means. Either way, you end up losing the home while remaining on the hook for the unpaid mortgage.

LOOK OUT FOR RED FLAGS

Being aware of the warnings signs can protect you from foreclosure rescue scams. Red flags include:
Demands for high upfront fees.
Guarantees to stop a foreclosure.
Instructions to make mortgage payments to someone other than your lender.
Pressure to sign over a deed.

Legitimate foreclosure counselors won't put on a full-court press, nor will they guarantee that you won't lose your home to foreclosure. What they will do is review your financial situation and offer up options. Foreclosure counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development won't charge you a fee either.

LEGITIMATE WAYS TO GET FORECLOSURE HELP

There are a number of legitimate ways to contend with foreclosure. If you've missed mortgage payments, start by getting in touch with your lender. Ask to speak with someone in the Loss Mitigation Department and explain your situation.

Your lender may be able to arrange a repayment plan, called a special forbearance, based on your current economic circumstances. The lender could even give you a temporary reduction in your monthly payment or suspend payments for a period of time.

With a principal forbearance, the lender will reduce the amount of your mortgage, thus reducing your monthly payments. However, the amount of the principal reduction doesn't disappear. Rather, it's tacked on to the end of the loan, effectively creating a balloon payment.

A federally facilitated mortgage modification could also help. The Making Home Affordable modification program pays lenders to re-work loan terms and lower monthly payments. Be prepared to gather lots of paperwork and undergo a trial modification.

If all else fails, you may need to give up your home. If so, look into the federal Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program. HAFA offers lenders financial incentives to opt for a short sale or deed-in-lieu rather than a foreclosure. In a short sale, a lender agrees for a home to be sold for less than the outstanding mortgage, and then considers the debt paid off. In a deed-in-lieu, a homeowner turns over the home to the lender, and the mortgage is closed.

By: Donna Fuscaldo
Donna Fuscaldo has written about personal finance for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, and Fox Business News for more than a decade. Like many homeowners, her mortgage is precariously close to being underwater.

Reprinted from HouseLogic (houselogic.com) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (R). Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

Realty Times Reports on California's Slice of the Bailout Pie

California gets $700,000 slice of special $1.5 billion homeowner bailout pie


Broderick Perkins of Realty Times reports, "California struck gold, receiving the biggest chunk of a special $1.5 billion federal fund pie for programs that target struggling homeowners in states hardest hit by the housing crash."

Perkins goes on to report that the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) recently announced the fat $7,000,000 slice would go toward four different programs ultimately assisting 40,000 homeowners.

Read on to find out more about this windfall for California homeowners in distress.

Team Patereau Newsletter - August, 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More real estate

The Recovery Continues

In this week's Intero Insider column, Gino gives us his ideas on what is needed to continue to recover from our current economic woes. He says Jobs are the answer. Read on.

MGIC's HAMP - Explained

MGIC - Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation

HAMP - Home Affordable Modification Program

Visually explained.

If you are looking for a loan modification, this may be helpful.

Blossom Hill Condo For Sale

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Homebuyer Tax Credit Deadline Extended

It's almost official according to all the news sources. President Obama just has to sign the bill.

For Team Patereau, this bill doesn't have any impact. All of our homebuyers who qualified closed before June 30th.

Life After the Homebuyer Tax Credit

It's safe to say now that the action brought to the nation's housing markets by the Homebuyer Tax Credit is over. Any buyers who wished to take advantage of this credit had to have been in contract by April 30 and now must close by June 30.

But please remain seated before exiting this ride and declaring the housing market D-O-O-M-E-D (as several headlines have cried this week). Gino Blefari, President and CEO of Intero Real Estate has an opinion on this. Read on.

Stager/Realtor Realtor/Stager

Is a Home Warranty in Your Future?

Ran across an interesting website, Home Warranty Reviews, with information about Home Warranty companies, and thought you might be interested. The site is where you can, "Compare and choose the best home warranty plan that suits your needs based on home warranty advice and reviews available here for each warranty provider company." While you're there you can also get a home warranty quote from different companies.

Watch out for the Second Credit Check before closing

Under the new rules your lender might be checking up on you up until the day you close – and that letter of approval may not be the last word on your loan.

Fannie Mae’s new Loan Quality Initiative, which took effect June 1, is part of the mortgage giant’s effort to improve loan quality and cut down on the kind of shoddy underwriting that helped crush the housing market, and ultimately make it unnecessary for there to be so many loan repurchases.

The new Loan Quality Initiative requires any lender that sells its mortgages to Fannie Mae to determine that borrower liabilities incurred up to, and concurrent with, closing are disclosed and evaluated in qualifying the borrower for the loan. But exactly how lenders go about doing this is up to them. In many cases, it will entail a “refreshed” credit report pulled immediately before a borrower’s closing date.

In simple terms, do not obtain new credit or make a big purchase before closing.

Your Graceful Exit

Other videos are available from HAFA, the government-subsidized Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program for distressed homeowners. http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/

Home for Sale in Gilroy

Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program and ENERGY STAR® Recovery Funding

California Energy Commission Allocated: $35.2 million

The rebate program will:

• Save energy by replacing inefficient appliances with more efficient ones.
• Make rebates for efficient appliances available to residential consumers.
• Leverage the ARRA funds with existing rebate programs and partnerships.
• Keep administrative costs low while meeting the federal monitoring and evaluation requirements.
• Provide state and national rebate tracking and accountability.
• Use current ENERGY STAR® consumer education and outreach materials.

California's Rebate Program

 Three residential appliance categories were selected to be eligible to receive rebates: clothes washers (rebate $100), refrigerators (rebate $200), and room/window air conditioners (rebate $50). These rebates are in addition to existing rebates offered by California's utilities or appliance manufacturers.

The Energy Commission used the list of "pre-screened" appliances from the DOE. To qualify, the appliances must be ENERGY STAR-listed, meet CEE tier standards, and certified to the Energy Commission as meeting all state and federal appliance efficiency standards.

Please visit the Cash For Appliances website for more information.

Thanks to Dana Condry, Fidelity National Home Warranty for today's info.

HAFA - The Movie

HAFA - The Good, The Bad, The Other

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA), are designed to help struggling homeowners who, regardless of effort to keep their homes, simply can't afford to. Read Gino's article on HAFA.

Home for Sale in Gilroy

The Business Side of Gilroy

Here's this months GREAT newsletter publication out of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce.

"Caveat Emptor" for Home Buyers

For those of you getting ready to buy a home, Gino has some great words of advice this week about getting professional representation for yourself in any real estate transaction.

H. R. 4872 - What's in it

Health Care Passed. What does that really mean?

The Wall Street Journal says, "The $940 billion health-care overhaul will take nearly a decade to roll out in full. A look at the key parts of the bill and when they go into effect." Then they go on to list the year-by-year activities.

Text for Your Real Estate Information

Do you love to text? Use our SMS texting feature to help you get information on ANY property ANY time!

Text INTERO to 59559 from any mobile phone on ANY active property listing hosted on MLSListings (Santa Clara County, CA region). Receive back a text with basic property information - bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet, lot size, and asking price OR simply text the street address to 59559 for the same results.

Do you have a GPS enabled phone? Have properties for sale find you!

With any GPS enabled phone find basic property information on the five nearest properties for sale, hosted on MLSListings (Santa Clara County, CA region) to you and your phone. Move down the street, refresh your phone and find five new properties, it's that easy!

Do this by texting INTERO to 59559 for a quick link to this feature, OR go to www.interorealestate.com. The site will recognize your GPS enabled phone and prompt you to continue to our GPS mobile application.

Federal Tax Credit Information

It’s almost April ...
Do You Know Where Your Tax Credit Is?

By Gino Blefari , President and CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Over the course of the last year or so, I’ve written a lot about the Homebuyer Tax Credit. There are some faint rumblings among lobbyists and in Congress about whether it’s going to be extended yet again (I’m betting that it won’t), but for those who are already eligible, how exactly to claim the credit isn’t exactly ... straightforward.

For one thing, there are two different credits with which to be concerned: the original First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, and the extended Homebuyer Tax Credit. Each has different rules, each has its own set of quirks and foibles.

First, let’s recap who’s eligible to claim the credits in the first place.

If you purchased a home between January 1, 2009 and November 6, 2009, you may be eligible for the Homebuyer Tax Credit, as it originally stood.

To qualify, you (the buyer) must not have owned a home for three years prior to your purchase. Your new home must be your primary residence, meaning you can’t use it for a vacation home or an investment property -- you actually have to live there. The maximum allowable credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to $8,000. Single buyers with incomes up to $75,000 per year or married couples with incomes of up to $150,000 are eligible.

That’s pretty clear. When it comes to the extended tax credit, things are a bit hazier.

If you purchased (or if you intend to purchase) a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, you may qualify for the extended Homebuyer Tax Credit.

If you are a first-time homebuyer (meaning that you hadn’t owned home for at least three years prior to your purchase) OR a current homeowner who had lived in a house as a primary residence for five years in a row out of the last eight, you may qualify.

For first-time homebuyers, the maximum allowable credit is $8000. For current homeowners, the maximum credit is $6,500. As with the original credit, the buyer’s eligibility depends on the price of the home (this may not exceed $800,000) and his income. For the extended credit, income levels were increased to $125,000 for single buyers and to $225,000 for married couples. Even if your income exceeds these levels, check with your tax professional to see if you might qualify for a portion of the credit.

As long as there is a contract to purchase in place prior to April 30, 2010, and so long as that transaction is closed before July 1, 2010, buyers can claim the credit on their 2009 income tax returns.

In all cases, buyers will need IRS Form 5405, as well as a fully-executed HUD-1 statement from the property closing.

As always, be sure to consult your tax professional for any questions that you may have on matters such as these. The tax credit won’t be around forever; be sure to take advantage if you’re able!

Mortgage Workout Programs for Homeowners

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, President Obama announced his new Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure. This plan will offer assistance up to 9 million homeowners and applies only to primary residences. The first component of the plan allows homeowners who are current to refinance an existing Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac conforming loan with a loan-to-value ratio up to 105 percent. The second component addresses homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure on their mortgages, but they do not have to be delinquent. The government will work with the lenders to ensure that monthly mortgages do not exceed 31 percent debt-to-income ratio. Furthermore, the government will seek to create clear and consistent guidelines for loan modifications.

Click here for more information about the Making Home Affordable Program.

Important Information About the First-Time Homebuyer Credit

Team Patereau was discussing what can and can't be done with the First-Time Homebuyer Credit that came out of the Obama bailout plan. I said that our client can close on their first-time contract before June 30, 2010, and claim the credit on their 2009 tax return. The other half of Team Patereau said that wasn't the case. So, I looked it up at the IRS website, and sure enough, you can! There's plenty of other rules, but here's the key points, and you can and should discuss these with your tax preparer. One reminder, you can't e-file if you add this form to your mix. What the heck is that about?

1. You must buy – or enter into a binding contract to buy a principal residence – on or before April 30, 2010.
2. If you enter into a binding contract by April 30, 2010 you must close on the home on or before June 30, 2010.
3. For qualifying purchases in 2010, you will have the option of claiming the credit on either your 2009 or 2010 return.
4. A long-time resident of the same home can now qualify for a reduced credit. You can qualify for the credit if you’ve lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the new home is purchased and the settlement date is after November 6, 2009.
5. The maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500. However, married individuals filing separately are limited to $3,250. The maximum credit for first-time homeowners is $8,000 (up to $4,000 for married filing separately).
6. People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after November 6, 2009. The full credit is available to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes up to $125,000, or $225,000 for joint filers.
7. The IRS will issue a revised Form 5405 to claim this credit on 2009 tax returns. The revised form must be used for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 – whether the credit is claimed for 2008 or for 2009 – and for all home purchases that are claimed on 2009 returns.
8. Homebuyers who claim the credit on their 2009 tax return will not be able to file electronically but instead will need to file a paper return. For homes purchased in 2009 there is an option to take the credit on an original or amended 2008 tax return.
9. The new law includes documentation requirements. See revised Form 5405 for details.
10. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000.
11. The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement.
12. A dependent is not eligible to claim the credit.

IRS encourages all eligible homebuyers to take advantage of the First-Time Homebuyer Credit but at the same time cautions taxpayers to avoid schemes that help ineligible people file false claims for the credit. Visit IRS.gov/recovery for more details on the First-Time Homebuyer Credit. Forms are available on www.irs.gov or by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-3676.

Just So You Know...

Here's come information from CNN Money.com that gives you a heads up on the Federal First Time Buyers Tax Credit. Only the IRS can change things, but knowing the rules for getting the credit are helpful.

Just as the Teschkes in the article, several of our First Time Buyers are planning to use their increased tax refund due to the tax credit to invest in improvements for their new home. In our humble opinion, the stimulus is working.

This Week's Realty Times Report

We get a lot of good, quick real estate information from this site. The report this week is that the "Recovery" has started, but is being held back by continuing high unemployment.

What's it like for you? Has your recovery started?

"Inventory" is Down

We think you will be interested in this article from the Wall Street Journal on the condition of real estate "inventory" in California. Then it occurred to us that you might be interested in the definition of inventory, so we looked it up. Here's a nice, concise definition:

The amount of time it would take to sell all current listings at the current sales pace if no new listings became available. Normally measured in months (i.e. there's currently 8 months of inventory available).
This definition of Inventory Level contributed by finecoastalliving, through the site called Real Estate Forums.

And now for the story...

What's it like in Gilroy? Very competitive, when properties are priced right. Pricing is the key. It always has been and it always will be.

Government Exiting, Strategically, from the Mortgage Markets

“For more than a year, the government pulled out the stops to revive home buying by driving down mortgage rates. Now, whether the housing market is ready or not, the government is pulling out.” So says The Washington Post in an article.


Some say the government action to pull out is too soon, others say the pull out is the plan, and good for the economy. Read the full story here.

2010 - What Will It Bring?

Nobody ever knows for sure, but experience and longevity help with predictions of what's to come. Intero CEO Gino Blefari shared some of his predictions for 2010 this week and we thought you might be interested in what he has to say. Read Gino's predictions here.

A Friday Night in Gilroy

Gilroy Apartment for Rent

On-Demand Property Information - At Your Fingertips!

Check it out: Intero's new and exclusive CoolApp/text solution (video compliments of John Thompson Intero's Executive Vice President) - Text INTERO to 59559 and get on-demand instant property information on every property available for sale in the Bay Area via MLSListings - Fast & FREE.