Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?
Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who
meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.
Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a
new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and
am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If
President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for
the new $6500 tax credit?
Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment
(when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The
provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.
Question: I am a firsttime
homebuyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I
entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered,
however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the
time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?
Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill.
The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase,
which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement,
you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you’re within the phaseout
range).
Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I
have found a home with a nonnegotiable
price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any
of the $6500 tax credit?
Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount
above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an
absolute ceiling.
Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting
since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the
other eligibility tests?
Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you
will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000
and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in
the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and
occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The
keyword here is “consecutive.” As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he
did since 3 years doesn’t impact eligibility.
Question: I am an eligible firsttime
homebuyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on
November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the
extension date affect me?
Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as
if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30
(or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit

From yahoo

“WASHINGTON – Buying a home is about to get cheaper for a whole new crop of homebuyers – $6,500 cheaper.

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. But with the program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the Senate voted Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers – or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years – would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers in both groups have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30.

“This is probably the last extension,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a former real estate executive who championed the credits.

The homebuyers tax credit is one of two tax breaks totaling more than $21 billion that the Senate included in a bill extending unemployment benefits for those without a job for more than a year. The other would let companies now losing money recoup taxes they paid on profits earned in the previous five years.

“We are still in a world of economic hurt, and Congress must continue to act boldly and creatively,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. “With the right mix of tax breaks and investments we will get through this recession and get folks working again.”

The real estate industry has been pushing to extend and expand the housing tax credit. About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes. While the measure passed the Senate by a 98-0 vote, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., questioned its efficiency in stimulating home sales.

“For the vast majority of cases, the homebuyer tax credit amounted to a free gift since it did not affect their decision to purchase a home,” Bond said. “And for the small minority of buyers whose decision was directly caused by the credit, this raises the question of whether we are subsidizing buyers who may not have been able to afford buying a home in the first place.”

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

The credit would be extended an additional year, until June 30, 2011, for members of the military serving outside the United States for at least 90 days.

Expanding the tax credit for money-losing companies is projected to cost $10.4 billion.

The business tax break would allow money-losing companies to use current losses to offset taxable profits earned in the previous five years, giving them refunds of taxes paid in those years. Under current law, businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $15 million can claim losses back only two years.

The tax break would help industries suffering losses in 2008 or 2009, including retailers, homebuilders and newspapers. Congress included a scaled-back version of the tax break – for companies with revenues of $15 million or less – in the economic recovery package enacted in February. The new tax break would be available to companies of any size, providing a quick source of cash.

The U.S Chamber of Commerce has been a big backer of the tax break for money-losing companies.

“It frees up capital that they can use to maintain jobs and potentially even hire new people as the economy returns,” said Caroline Harris, senior tax counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The tax breaks would be paid for largely by delaying a tax break for multinational companies that pay foreign taxes. It was passed in 2004 and originally was to have taken effect this year, but would now be delayed until 2018.”

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:

”

From Yahoo:

”

America’s strongest economies have one thing in common — home prices that never got too hot or too cold.

Home prices in metros such as San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Little Rock, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La., remained steady through boom and bust. Although no metropolitan area entirely avoided the economic downturn, the most resilient metros were protected by a potent mix of recession-resistant jobs.

The upstate New York areas of Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo suffered from declining jobs in manufacturing, but got significant boosts from sizable health-care, education, and government sectors. Construction is booming in Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital, as firms take advantage of financing for post-Katrina hurricane recovery work and service-related companies expand to meet the needs of a growing population. Omaha and the state of Iowa have relatively strong insurance sectors.

Texas, the last state to enter recession, has been bolstered by its oil and gas industries — which have also helped Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Louisiana. Texas also has many other things going for it, including affordable home prices and relatively low wages, which attract corporations.

BusinessWeek.com used data and analysis from the Brookings Institution’s new MetroMonitor to come up with the nation’s 40 strongest economies. The MetroMonitor, which measures the nation’s health on a quarterly basis, ranks the top 100 metros based on job growth, unemployment, gross metropolitan product, and home prices.

A relative boom in Baton Rouge

“No place has been untouched by this recession. This is a change from previous recessions,” said Alan Berube, a senior fellow and research director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. “But there’s a big difference in losing one-tenth of a percentage and losing 15% of jobs.”

Baton Rouge, which was ranked No. 6, “grew jobs every month until August 2009 and in August it only lost nine-tenths of a percent, compared to 5.1% nationally,” said Lauren C. Scott, professor emeritus of economics at Louisiana State University.

Scott said $5.1 billion of construction projects have been announced or are under construction in the Baton Rouge metro, including a new plant for French chemical company SNF and the expansion of an ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM – News) chemical plant.

“One nice thing after another thing happened that has countered what’s happening in the rest of the country,” Scott said.

Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha, who studies much of the nation’s energy and farm belts, said the strong dollar early this year hurt farm exports. “But the dollar has now weakened significantly and that will be good for the farm sector and energy commodities,” Goss said. “I think 2010 is going to be much better than 2009. But we are still not going to have a lot of job gains.

A 22-year unemployment high in Texas

Although the metros in the ranking are strong by relative standards, their unemployment rates in many cases are now peaking because they entered the recession late. Texas, which had 5 metros in our top 10, including No. 1 San Antonio, is a good example.

The unemployment rate in Texas hit 8.2% in September, rising above 8% for the first time in 22 years. But that’s a very low unemployment rate, compared to the national rate of 9.8% or to Nevada’s 13.3% rate.

Texas is unlikely to face a prolonged downturn, said Terry Clower, an economist at the University of North Texas. The state’s affordable cost of living make it attractive to new residents and corporations, the largest of which tend to be based near Houston and Dallas.

“It’s perceived as a low-cost place to do business,” Clower said. “Because housing is affordable, the wage rates reflect that.”

Marisa Di Natale, a director at Moody’s Economy.com, said late arrivals to the recession will generally face mild downturns.

These metros “haven’t had a big erosion in housing wealth, which has kept consumer spending stronger than it would otherwise be,” Di Natale said.”

Custom Custom!* Almost too many amenities to list! This gorgeous 4 bedroom home sits on over a 3/4 acre lot. 2 bedrooms upstairs, 2 bedrooms downstairs. 10 foot ceilings on the lower level, 9 foot on the upper level. Spacious kithcen with honed slab granite counters, custom glazed cabinets, and room to work like a true chef. Master bathroom has a 6 ft jacuzzi tub, custom dual vanities, walk in closets, wall mounted flat screen tv. Large laundry room downstairs has pedestals for front loaders. Home is wired with surround sound throughout. Unique custom crown molding, 8 ft custom wood doors, and trim that is reminiscent of the gorgeous old homes of past. One of a kind Tiger wood floors in the den and master bedroom. Exterior is brick and hardie plank and the roof is nail free insulated metal roof. Home has very low utilities. A large bonus home theater room that is wired for entertainmen and an extra playroom or office also upstairs.

Dont miss this opportunity on a truly custom built home!

Tim Houk

Located in Avalon Subdivision, this home is a LOT For the money. Almost 2100 sq ft living.  4 bedrooms, 2 baths, corner lot. Located off of Millerville close to interstate 12, shopping, dining, and more!  Call me today to make this your home. View more pictures as my website timhouk.com

2100 sq ft of living for 185000!

By and far my favorite home that I have listed.  Personally I mean. Gorgeous cottage home featuring 2 Bedrooms, 2 bath home at the corner of Claycut and Longwood (which is the best looking street in Baton Rouge to me).  1886 sq ft living, HUGE lot.  It doesn’t get any better than this!

Front of the home

Side of the home

Ok, EVERYONE is aware of the homebuyer tax credit ending NOV 30th.  But, I want to stress the point that we essentially have 2-3 weeks to get a home under contract!  If you aren’t searching for homes, I highly suggest you start TODAY.  Everyone will be cramming in to get their loans complete before the deadline.  FHA loans are taking a little longer than usual so don’ t put yourself at risk. Go to my site, www.timhouk.com, start searching for homes. Contact me and then we will get out and preview some homes.  Unless you have a home picked out today, it will be about 6 weeks before we close.  1-2 weeks to find and negotiate a contract and then a typical 4 week closing period.  Hurry before its TOO LATE! Here are a few steps that could speed up the process:

1. Go ahead and contact your lender to get pre-approved.  If you don’t know a good lender, I have many.

2. Locate your past 2 years tax returns and last 2 months pay stubs as the lender will need them to get started.

3. Once your lender determines your price range, then think about the areas you want to live in.

4. Start searching for homes on my site

5. Lastly, CALL me!  225.301.7467

I look forward to hearing from you!

Wow.  What an amazing few months in real estate in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas.  Properties are flying.  First time homebuyers are on full steam ahead!  I worked with no less than 6 new buyers over the past week who are looking in the 130-160,000 price range.  But it isn’t just the first time homeowners are on the move suprisingly.  Lots of investors and buyers in the 300,000 range are taking advantage of the phenomenal rates and increased supply of homes.  Rates were in the 4.85 range last week!  Now is the time to buy. If you are even remotely interested in a home right now CALL ME.  225.301.7467.  I would love to discuss options and give a more detailed update on the Baton Rouge housing market.  Search for homes at my website Tim Houk

Thanks and have  GREAT day Baton Rouge!!!

From the metro monitor on the top performing areas:

MetroMonitor Overall Performance

The map below classifies the 100 largest metro areas into 5 categories (quintiles), based on their average rank across a series of four indicators: employment change from peak; unemployment rate change from one year ago; gross metropolitan product change from peak; and housing price index change from one year ago.