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Governer signs tax credit bill into law, extends buyers credit!

AB 183 will provide $200 million for home buyer tax credits, allocating $100 million for qualified first-time home buyers of existing homes and $100 million for purchasers of new, or previously unoccupied, homes. The eligible taxpayer who purchases a qualified personal residence on and after May 1, 2010, and on or before Dec. 31, 2010, or who purchases a qualified principal residence on and after Dec. 31, 2010, and before Aug. 1, 2011, pursuant to an enforceable contract executed on or before Dec. 31, 2010, will be able to take the allowed tax credit. The credit is equal to the lesser of 5 percent of the purchase price or $10,000, in equal installments over three consecutive years. Under AB 183, purchasers will be required to live in the home for at least two years or forfeit the credit (i.e., repay it to the state).

Do you owe tax if you close a short sale?

Q: I have heard I may owe tax if I complete a short sale on my house, is this true?

John M. (Livermore CA).

A: As a Realtor I need to to tell you that we are not qualified to give tax advice,

the answer may depend on which state you are in, whether the loan is a first or second mortgage.

You should contact a tax advisor, or check with the IRS.

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First time home buyer tax credit.

In November congress extended this credit and made it more generous.  It is a true dollar for dollar credit of up to $8000 for 10% of the cost of the home. The credit is also refundable, meaning that even if a buyer doesn’t owe $8000 of tax, he or she can claim the full benefit and receive a refund check!

Who do you know that may buy their first house in 2010?

If you have lived in your existing home for 5 of the last 8 years then you too qualify for a $6500 credit.

Opportunity Knocks!

Lovely 4 bedroom 2 bath home in downtown Oakland, walk  to the BART station.

Wachovia Short Sales, do you have a Wachovia or Wells Fargo mortgage?

Do you have a loan from Wachovia? If you have a Wells fargo or Wachovia loan and are getting behind on payments and need to consider a short sale you are in luck.

Unlike other banks Wachovia is streamlining the short sale process and in fact the approval time required is usually 30 days or less. Wachovia have local staff in Pleasanton dedicated to reviewing and approving short sale applications. Their requirements are a executed purchase offer and a short sale package completed by the seller.
Do you have a Wachovia or Wells Fargo mortgage and are you considering a short sale? If so let us know, our experienced staff can expedite the process at no charge to you.

Valley home Median Price up 11%!

Surprising new statistics just published show the year over year median prices in Livermore  and Pleasanton to have increased by 11%!

The new statistics take into account single family detached homes as well as condos.

Congress extends Tax Break!

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.

Why is a loan modification so hard to get?

With all the government bail out cash provided to banks for exactly this purpose, why can’t homeowners easily achieve a change in terms from their lender?

1/ Banks are Overwhelmed.

Hundreds of homeowners have applied for modification on their loan terms. Banks simply do not have the staff to cope with the volume of applications. Systems are not in place to deal with the workload. Added staff are untrained and lack some basic understanding of the real estate industry. Often bewildered homeowners are switched between departments, given conflicting instructions by different bank contacts and are left feeling angry and frustrated for good reason.

2/Web sources reveal that of those loans already modified over the last 24 months, roughly 75% are already in default!

This is cause for concern for the banking industry and may be a big reason for their reluctance to provide modifications.

3/Banks really dont want to provide modifications!

Although they are required to address every applicant, it may be that most banks will prefer to foreclose and recover the property

because it may be a better financial decision for them when it comes to showing debt and assets on a year end balance sheet. This may be why they do not want to modify terms.

What about those successful modifications?  There are some of course however the majority of these only ‘adjust’ the terms of the loans for example the term of the loan my be extended from 30 to 40 years, no reduction of the loan balance is usually provided.

BEWARE scam artists that will ask for money upfront to deal with your lender. Money upfront = SCAM, dont do it!

Wine tasting at The Wine Steward

Wine tasting at The Wine Steward

Downtown Pleasanton was buzzing recently when the Wine Steward held one of its now famous wine tasting events.

Held several times a year it always attracts a large crowd eager to sample various wines from not only several California locations but from

France and Italy as well as Argentina.  Manager Jim Denham is expert at selecting the various vendors and suppliers and a wide range of tastes are catered to.

“We really enjoy bringing our customers the chance to sample wine that otherwise they would not have an opportunity to experience”.

Although these events are open to members only there are several different membership options available.

Among the most popular option is their $20/ month club (Andrew Jackson) which provides for 2 bottles of red per month to the member

plus 10% discount from any purchase in the store not to mention an opportunity to attend these excellent events. You probably

buy 2 bottles a month anyway! You can taste wine at The Wine Steward at their upstairs lounge Thursday,  Friday and Saturday.

This really is the premier wine store in Pleasanton today and the hands-on knowledge of the staff is second to none. Why not give it a try…

see you there!

Fun at another wine tasting event at The Wine Steward.

Short Sale? Make sure you do this!

One small detail often overlooked by the stressed out seller of a property involved in a short sale happens when there are 2 or more loans against the property.

Even if you have 2 loans from the same bank on your house each loan must be individually negotiated simultaneously!

It does not make a lot of sense I know, to deal with 2 different bank representatives from the same bank and have to duplicate the work for 2 different loans on the same property but hey

banks work in mysterious ways! If you have a first mortgage and likely a equity line of credit, this is where this dual negotiation comes into play.

The biggest issue is to get the different departments to actually communicate with each other!

Try to contact the negotiators manager as soon as possible, and make sure the manager receives a copy of all communications that are sent to either department!

Always confirm phone call with an email and if the negotiator refuses to supply an email address which is often the case confirm with a letter sent by mail with return receipt, negotiators are often overworked and

your sale may be only one of a hundred files they are working on!

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