Archive for April 2009
The buyers of this Ventura home, started off looking at properties in Santa Barbara and we found several that they liked a lot. We wrote several Santa Barbara offers and “things” just kept happening…short sale messes, sellers deciding not to sell etc. Other properties were just too small or run down for the amount of money they were asking here in town.
One of my buyers was working in Ventura throughout our property search and she ended up getting to know the town a bit.
One weekend they went to some open houses and the next thing I know, they called me to ask if I can write an offer! Not being a member of the Ventura Multiple Listing Service, I said that I would have to do some research. Then they told me they had already found the house they wanted, what fabulous buyers!
Well, it was a bit more complicated than that…we wrote the offer and the listing agent didn’t respond to us for almost a week. When we did get a response, the listing agent said that it had gone into escrow with another buyer the day before!
We were surprised to hear that and started looking at other properties in the area, but none that my clients liked as much.
So we decided to take a break from looking and start again in a few months.
One day my phone rang and it was theVentura agent saying that the house was about to fall out of escrow. The bank (it was an REO) was eager to put it back in escrow right away so we re-submitted our offer. We quickly received confirmation back that we were accepted!
Now please know, there is much more that I have left off of this story…but it ended up having the happiest of endings.
My newlywed clients (who postponed their honeymoon to sign loan docs!!!) are all moved in and happy as can be. I am very excited to be going down to Ventura on Monday night to have dinner in their new home.
Once again, thank you all for your support and for referring your friends and family to me. That was how I met these buyers and it has all worked out so well! A 20 minute drive from Santa Barbara and Home Sweet Home.
Tax credit has been increased to $8,000.
Homes have to be purchased between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009
No repayment/recapture clause for homes sold after 36 months of occupancy and ownership.
The Tax Credit is for home buyers (either spouse if filing jointly) who have NOT owned a principle residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. Ownership of vacation property or rental property does not disqualify home buyers from this program.
- The maximum credit is $8,000 or 10% of the home purchase, whichever is less.
- The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 31, 2009.
- To qualify for the full tax credit, married couples’ modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) should be under $150,000 and single filers’ MAGI should be less than $75,000. Partial tax credits may be available for married couples with MAGI incomes of over $150,000 but under $170,000 and single filers with incomes over $75,000 but under $95,000. If married couples who qualify for the first-time tax credit file separately, they would both claim 5% of the home purchase or $4,000 each (whichever is less) on their tax returns.
- Home buyers who qualify for this program, but who do not intend to purchase a home till the end of 2009, may elect to alter their tax withholdings (up to the amount of the of the tax credit) in order to save up money for a down payment. However, if the purchase of the home does not occur, the taxes must be repaid to the IRS.
- There is no recapture or repayment clause IF the home is owned for at least 36 months.
- The effective date of purchase for new construction (even if buyer owns title to the lot) is the date the owner first occupies the house. So even if construction began in 2008, as long as the home and buyers qualify for the tax credit, they will be eligible if they take possession any time during 2009. However, new construction bought from the builder is only eligible if the settlement date (closing) takes place between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.
- The law allows taxpayers to elect to treat qualified 2009 purchases as a 2008 purchase so that they can receive the tax credit on their 2008 tax returns.
- The full amount of the eligible tax credit is refunded to the buyer, regardless of whether the buyer has paid an equivalent amount in taxes.
- Click here for source and more information
This month’s location: Tuesday, April 21st at Arnoldi’s
Come celebrate our 2rd Anniversary with some pizza and bocce ball at a Santa Barbara landmark, Arnoldi’s located at 600 Olive Street and Cota. 6-8pm.
Please let us know if you have any suggestions for future locations!
The March event at SilverGreens was the most attended event yet. Over 100
greenies gathered to support the restaurant, sip green beer, network and
learn more about the USGBC C4 Chapter.