Aug. 8, 2008 - Name My Blog & Win

Dear Readers,

I need a great, catchy title for my blog and I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Here are the guidelines:

1. Title must be short & catchy, yet clearly convey the purpose of my blog, which is to provide "Inspiration, Advice & Education for Home Buyers in Fairfield County, Connecticut" and beyond
2. Ideas must be submitted as a Comment on this blog post
3. No vulgar, offensive or trademarked words or language can be used
4. All submissions must be posted by 5:00 PM EST on Monday, August 11, 2008
5. No anonymous submissions will be considered

The winner will receive my gratitude and if that's not enough  they will also win a $25 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate. 

I'm looking forward to seeing your ideas.

Thank you & Good Luck,

Marcie

Dec. 16, 2008 - Are the Low Housing Starts Numbers Really Bad News?

The latest statistics on Housing Starts were released today by the Commerce Department and they've dropped to the lowest level since 1959 when they started keeping statistics. Most news reports framed this as more bad news for the housing market and the stock markets reacted accordingly. But in my opinion, less new construction homes aren’t really bad news. 

Aug. 12, 2008 - Name My Blog Contest Winner!

Congratulations to the Winner!

Thank you to Yvonne Coelet, from White Mountain Foreclosed Properties, in Arizona, for her great title suggestion of Home Buying 101. It's so simple, yet it let's everyone know that like an introduction class in college, this blog will provide them with a valuable survey of the all of the areas of knowledge that are important to any Home Buying decision.

A big thank you to everyone who gave me their ideas! And Yvonne, your prize is on the way.

Jul. 28, 2008 - What Does the New Housing Bill Offer First-Time Buyers?

The top story in the news over the weekend was the rare Saturday session held by the Senate to vote on the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008".  Most of the talk was about the controversial "bail-out" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but there's much more to this bill than just making sure that these two large corporations stay fiscally sound.

Yesterday's New York Times had a great graphic outlining the provisions of the bill that was sent to President Bush for his signature. [UPDATE: President Bush signed the bill into law on July 30th]

For First-time Home Buyers, the most important features of the bill are:

1. Increased Conforming Loan Limits - the bill increases the conforming loan limits to 115% of the median home value of an area up to a maximum of $625,000 in high cost areas, such as Fairfield County (the previous limit was $417,000, but is temporarily increased to near $700,000 until the end of this year).  This means that buyers who need mortgage loans of up to $625,000 will be eligible for better rates than previously when they needed to get non-conforming "jumbo" loans.  If you're a first-time home buyers you probably aren't thinking of spending more than $417,000 on your first home, but the owners of the starter house or condo you want to buy might just be motivated to move up to a larger home knowing that than can do it without getting a "jumbo" mortgage.
2. First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit - First-time home buyers who buy their first home from April 9, 2008 to July 1, 2009 will be eligible for a tax credit of up to $7,500.  The credit will need to be repaid over 15 years, but it's effectively a no-interest loan to use towards your home purchase.
3. Additional Property Tax Deduction - Now even taxpayers who don't itemize their income taxes will be able to take a Property Tax Deduction of up to $500 for individuals or $1,000 for families.  Taxpayers who itemize get to deduct more of their Property Taxes.
4. Clearer Mortgage Terms Disclosure & More Oversight of Mortgage Brokers - Some of the reasons that have been given for the current mortgage and foreclosure crisis are that consumers were forced into risky loans that they didn't completely understand by loan officers or mortgage brokers who had little training and experience.  To help alleviate some of those problems in the future, the bill requires that Mortgage contracts have more explanation of the terms of the loan in language that is easier for the consumer to understand.  And there will be new minimum standards set for people wishing to be licensed as mortgage brokers or bank loan officers.  Both of these provisions will give peace-of-mind to home buyers by making sure that the understand their mortgage and that they are receiving advice from an educated mortgage professional.

With additional measures to provide states and local communities with much-needed funding for affordable housing, pre-foreclosure counseling and redevelopment of abandoned & foreclosed properties this bill seems to finally be taking the steps to help get our housing market and overall economy back on track.  Hopefully this bit of good news will encourage the first-time buyers to jump in to the market, which will increase home sales and get the market moving again.  Now we just have to wait for the President to sign it into law and see what happens...