Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

If you’re a first time home buyer who has been waiting to make that first purchase, don’t wait any longer or you might miss the low interest rate boat.

Mortgage rates rose for the third time in three weeks.  In the last three weeks the average rate for a 30 year fixed rate loan made a leap from 4.62% to 5.67%.   Ok, that doesn’t really seem like much.  Lets do the math….

If you’re borrowing $200,000 at 4.62% for 30 years, your monthly payment will be $1027.68 a month.  At 5.67% it will be $1157.00, that’s about $130 dollars in additional money you’ll owe the bank each month.   Over the life of your loan you’ll be paying the bank $46,800 more then you have too.  I don’t know about you, but I can find a lot of things to do with that kind of money besides giving it to the bank (how about a trip to Hawaii).

Don’t keep waiting.  If you’ve got the financial situation you need (decent credit, down payment money and a stable job with good income) go ahead a buy your first house, condo or coop!  If you’re not sure if you have the financial situation you need, give me a call at the number below or click here to send me an email. 

Don’t hesitate any longer, let me help make finding your first home as easy and as stress free as possible, and I’ll do it with a smile.

If you are a first time home buyer in Brooklyn, New York (or anywhere for that matter) who is shopping for your first home and need to get a mortgage to pay for it, you’ll want to know about a Good Faith Estimate. 

What exactly is a good faith estimate and why should you absolutely want one?

A Good Faith Estimate is an estimate of all the costs associated with a mortgage.  These costs include your interest rate, any points, and lenders fees.   If you go to a loan officer at a local bank or a mortgage broker and he or she qualifies you and quotes you a rate, a payment, and your total costs, he should be able to give you a good faith estimate in writing on a standard form.

Don’t find out about some hidden fee or the fact that the rate quoted you was for an adjustable rate mortgage at closing.  By law, your lender must provide you with a good faith estimate, be it an FHA or conventional one, so it is important that you obtain one and read it carefully.  If there’s anything on it you don’t understand, ask your loan officer to clarify it.

In 2010 new laws will go into effect making the good faith estimate even more informative for borrowers.  Take a look at this New York Times article for more details.

After you’ve read your good faith estimate carefully and you’ve gotten a good explanation of all the charges on it and you’ve found them to be acceptable, you can be confident that you won’t get any unpleasant mortgage related surprises later on.

Question:  I have signed, accepted offer on a property, the Real Estate Agent is holding an Open House this weekend.  Can the seller sell to someone else, like someone from the Open House?

Answer:  The short answer to this question is yes.  Until there is a Contract Of Sale drawn up and signed by both the seller and the buyer, the seller can sell his property to whomever he or she chooses.

Oftentimes, even though there is an accepted offer, the Real Estate Agent will continue to show the property.  There are times when a contract is never signed (executed), such as when the terms of a contract are not acceptable to the buyer.  

For buyers - If you find out that a house you really want has an accepted offer on it, don’t hesitate to put in an offer of your own.  Hey, you never know.

For Sellers - let your Realtor(r) continue to show your property to interested buyers even though you have an accepted offer.  It can be a week or more before a deal is ”pronounced dead”, so its in your best interest to continue to have your property shown, just in case.  Once again, you never know, the person who will end up buying your property may not be the first person whose offer you accept.

You are invited to a First Time Home Buyer’s Seminar.

Weichert Realtors HP Greenfield
1712 Utica Avenue
Between Avenue H & I
718-692-4444
Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Find out why it’s the best time to buy a home in 40 years!  You’ll learn about the Free $8,000 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit for 2009.  You’ll learn the home buying process from open house to closing.  How to get a mortgage and so much more.

Refreshments will be served.

I look forward to seeing you there, and don’t forget to say that Elaine sent you.

If you need more information please feel free to give me a call at the number below or send me an email by clicking here.

One of the first things I did when I moved to Clinton Hill, Brooklyn was get a parking ticket.  I got another a few days after that, and my car was completely towed away one bright and sunny Monday morning when I parked my car the night before near St Joseph’s College on Vanderbilt Avenue and didn’t move it by 11:00 am.

Well, here’s some good news for anyone who has a car who is looking to move to Fort Greene or Clinton Hill (and for people who already live here).   The DOT is reducing alternate side parking from 4 days a week to only 2 days a week.   Hurray!

In preparation for the new regulation,  starting Monday, May 18, 2009, Street Cleaning/Alternate Side Parking Regulations will be temporarily suspended in the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill sections of Brooklyn’s Community District 2 for approximately six to eight weeks while  2,000 new signs are installed with the new reduced regulations.

The area that is getting the new regulations are within the borders of the following:

North: Flushing Avenue (included) from Navy Street to Classon Avenue.

East: Classon Avenue (included) from Flushing Avenue to Fulton Street.(the true border of Clinton Hill and Bedstuy)

South: Fulton Street (not included) from Classon Avenue to Flatbush Avenue.

West: Flatbush Avenue (not included) from Fulton Street to Myrtle Avenue; Myrtle Avenue (included) from Flatbush Avenue to Navy Street; Navy Street (not included) Myrtle Avenue to Flushing Avenue.

This is another great reason to call Clinton Hill and Fort Greene home.  DOT, myself and my soon to be purchased Caddy CTS thanks you.

For anyone who wants to buy a foreclosed property in Brooklyn, an FHA 203K loan is something you definitely want to know about.

FHA 203K loan is a loan that is based on the after repair value of a one to four family house or a condo (co-ops do not qualify), and allows you to borrow the money needed to make repairs on the property.  The current condition of the property is not as important on 203K rehab loan as the condition of the property once the 203K renovation is complete.

This type of loan makes it easier to purchase dilapidated properties that have been on the market for many months and have been significantly reduced in price.  You can save money on a home and borrow the funds to make needed repairs all at the same time.

What Can a FHA 203K Loan Be Used For?

An FHA 203K Loan can be used to purchase a home and renovate it, or pay off the debt on a property your already own and borrow additional funds to renovate it.  The types of renovations that the FHA 203K loan covers are numerous.  Here’s a short list of repairs that can be made with a 203K loan:

Total renovation of a property
Bathroom remodel
Upgrading the HVAC
Upgrading plumbing and electrical
Putting down hardwood flooring
Putting on new siding
Interior painting
Exterior painting
Waterproofing the basement
Adding a 2nd floor
Finishing a basement
Adding a Bedroom
Adding a new deck or patio
Making a house “Green”
Making a house handicap accessible
And Much, much more…

Of course there are a few more steps involved in getting an FHA 203K loan approved, but if you want to purchase a foreclosed property, a HUD Home, or any property that needs renovations, or you simply want to make some needed improvements to your present home, an FHA 203K loan can help.

For more information about FHA 203K loans, contact a local lender or go to the FHA website.

If you’re thinking about buying a Brooklyn foreclosure or HUD home, you can also give me a call at 917-544-2662 or email me and I’ll help you find that less then perfect property for a fantastic price.

Brooklyn First Time Home Buyers

If you buy a new home (house, coop or condo) in 2009, and close on or before December 1, 2009, you may qualify for an $8,000 tax credit.

The tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in what a taxpayer owes in taxes. For example, if you owe $8,000 in income taxes and you are eligible for the full $8,000 home buyer’s tax credit, you would owe absolutly nothing in federal taxes.

Here’s what you have to do to qualify:

1. Be a First Time Home Buyer – The definition of a first time home buyer which is being applied for this tax credit is someone who has not owned a principal residence in the past three years.
2. It Must be Your Principal Residence- Any type of home that can be used as a principal place of residence qualifies, that includes condos, coops and condops.
3. Your Income Matters – In order to qualify for the full $8,000 tax credit, a single taxpayer cannot have a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of more than $75,000. Married taxpayers filing jointly cannot have a MAGI of more then $150,000. For taxpayers with higher incomes than the maximum, the tax credit is reduced. Once your MAGI reaches $95,000 or more for single taxpayers, and $170,000 or more for married taxpayers, the credit is phased out completely.

Free money does not come along often. If you’re thinking about purchasing your first home, now is a great time to do it. For more information about the tax credit, please feel free to give me a call at 917-544-2662 or go to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

Are you a first time home buyer who would like to know more about the house buying process? Would you like to learn how you can benefit from the $8,000 tax credit? Do you want to get pre-approved for a loan for FREE?

Then come to the free First Time Home Buyer’s Seminar that is taking place at Weichert HP Greenfield’s Utica Avenue Office as follows:

Sat, March 28, 2009 at 12:00 Noon
Wed, April 1, 2009 At 7:00 pm

Weichert Real Estate
1712 Utica Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Btw Avenues H and J

If you can’t make the seminar, feel free to give me a call or send me an email and I will be more then willing to give you a one-on-one seminar at your convenience.