It was hard to keep track of the numbers floating around Washington last week, but an $8,000 tax credit for first-time Greenville NC homebuyers will be signed into law tomorrow by President Obama. It is not the $15,000 credit that was proposed by the House of Representatives, but it is a definite improvement over the $7,500 low interest loan that was in last fall's legislation. Who qualifies: First-time Greenville NC homebuyers who purchase this calendar year get an $8,000 tax credit which does not have to be repaid like a similar measure last year. This phases out for people making more than $75,000 individually or $150,000 jointly. "First-time homebuyer" is defined as someone who has not owned a home for the past three years. The purchase must be made between Jan. 1, 2009 and Nov. 30,... 02/18/2009

2009 will be a good year for Greenville home buyers. Lower prices, near record low interest rates and high inventories are all working in the favor of Greenville home buyers. Those home buyers making good long term financial decisions will reap the benefits of the currently soft market for years to come. Here are 5 home buying tips for 2009. 1. Think long-term We may see soft prices for in the short-term, but real estate like other markets, is cyclical. Over the long haul, the market will bounce back and prices will rise. 2. Think local Real estate is local. Ignore national headlines and listen to your local real estate expert. The real estate market in Columbus OH is not the same as the real estate market in Orange County CA. Work with an experienced Realtor who has been around for awh... 02/17/2009

This review of the Residential Loan Application addresses your assets and liabilities. Quite simply what do you own and what do you owe.   Liabilities For the most part this information will be populated with data gathered from your credit report. I find that many are very cautious about having their credit report pulled. This is primarily driven by a concern that credit inquiries will reduce your credit score.   I’m not going to go very deep, in this post, about the credit report, because this subject will be best addressed by separate postings in greater detail. However, let me inform you that the credit scoring models have been revised, for several years now, as it pertains to credit inquiries. If you are shopping for a mortgage all credit inquiries pulled by various home loan provid... 02/15/2009

It looks as if our legislators in Washington are finally making positive steps toward fixing the house mess by including housing legislation in the Economic Stimulus Bill.Yesterday, the Lieberman/Isakson Amendment was included in the senate version of the Economic Stimulus Bill by a unanimous voice vote. This amendment would provide a Tax Credit to all home buyers at the rate of 10% of the sales price up to a limit of $15,000. The credit would be available for a one year period to all purchasers of primary residences. Dave Liniger, co-founder of RE/MAX International has this to say about the proposed legislation:  "I feel that these provisions represent real economic stimulus. They will put money in the hands of millions of homeowners, increase sales, stabilize home values and add more ... 02/10/2009

The FHA 203(k) program is the loan program to assist you with repairing/ rehabilitating your primary residence. In other posts we’ve discussed improvements that are required, eligible improvements and improvements that are ineligible for the loan program.   By now you have selected your property. You have determined you offer price for the property, as is. Or perhaps you are repairing/ rehabbing your existing home.   You have been working with your real estate professionals to determine your cost estimates for your project. You are meeting with your lender and she tells you we must include a contingency reserve.   What is a contingency reserve, you ask? The contingency reserve is used to cover any extra work not included in the original proposal.   There may be some cases where HUD does... 02/07/2009

Strategies To Get The Best Deal When Buying A Greenville Home Below are 5 powerful strategies to help you get the best deal when buying your Greenville home:  1. Don't Get "Pre-Qualified!" Get "Pre-Approved"  Do you want to get the best house you can for the least amount of money when buying your Greenville home? Then make sure you are in the strongest negotiating position possible. Price is only one bargaining chip in the negotiations, and not necessarily the most important one. Often other terms, such as the strength of the buyer or the length of escrow, are critical to a seller. In years past, we always recommended that buyers get "pre-qualified" by a lender. This means that you spend a few minutes on the phone with a lender who asks you a few questions. Based on the answers, the len... 02/05/2009

Hello Everyone,   Received this email today and wanted to share! Although Realtor.com is GREAT, many of us today are on a budget & that's where Trulia comes in, just as effective and FREE!  See for yourself....     Agents often ask "How does Trulia compare to Realtor.com?". To find out, we invite you to take the Trulia Challenge. It isn't exactly a taste test, but we think you'll find the results (i.e. get a whole lot more for a whole lot less) to be delicious. Take the first step of the Trulia Challenge and decide for yourself. 02/04/2009

Greenville NC Real Estate Market Statistics - January 2008 Trulia.com reports the average list price of a Greenville NC home was $191,580 last week. $190 and .1 percent lower than the previous week. The median sales price for mid-January was $145,000, unchanged from January 2008. The average price per square foot was $80, also unchanged. 854 homes are for sale in Greenville NC. There are 92 foreclosures. Greenville Homes For Sale For more information on Greenville NC real estate, visit LizFreeman.com or give us a call at 252-717-5206.  Search all Greenville NC real estate and homes for sale. 01/30/2009

Greenville Real Estate: Short Sale Tips  In the current Greenville real estate market, there has been a lot of buzz around "short sales."  What is a short sale, exactly?  A short sale is when a lender agrees to accept a mortgage payoff amount less than what is owed in order to facilitate a sale of a property by a financially distressed owner - in essence, the lender forgives the outstanding balance of the loan.  There are pro's and con's to short sales on both sides of the deal.  For the seller, credit history is seriously damaged, but not as badly as it would be by foreclosure.  Sellers also walk away with no profit, which makes it difficult to purchase another home.  For the buyer, the property comes at a reduced price, but it also generally comes with its fair share of problems, and ... 01/27/2009

Are you ready to place your home on the market?Do you understand the process and details of selling a home? Be as informed as possible so you can make the absolute best business decisions. After all, the sale of your home is a business decision! Let me help you learn about this process. Visit my website for some helpful tips on selling your home or, better yet, give me a call. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions that you may have. Give us a vist: www.JesseAllenHomes.com 01/26/2009

  If I had a penny for every time I've heard that recently, I'd retire someplace tropical and drink Rum from a coconut for the rest of my days! I must say that here in our market, (The Greater Greenville are of NC) things are pretty stable compared to some areas. Don't get me wrong, overall there has been about a 30% decline in the market from this time last year. But, I don't attribute that to much more than folks believing what the media has to say. I personally have had a steady incline in business within the last 6 months and the homes I have had on the market have sold pretty quick, with an average of 75 days on the market. On top of that, I haven't had to do but one price reduction and that was due to an impending foreclosure, which I saved the client from having to go through, an... 01/24/2009

  The next time you go to the movies in Greenville, look for Moye Realty. Well, I shouldn't have to tell you to look because you won't miss us. We are 20 feet tall and in full action! Our commercial shows twice befor every showing of every movie in both theaters in Greenville! If you are reading this blog and want to buy or sell a home, call us and mention something you noticed about  the commercial and we'll give you a great gift at closing, free movie passes for two for the whole year! Catch Moye Realty and you can catch the next years worth of flicks, on us! To view the commercial and a couple of other neat originals, you can visit www.youtube.com/moyerealty                                     01/24/2009

The last couple of posts regarding the FHA 203(k) program have dealt with what are the required improvements and the eligible improvements. Today we are going to review ineligible improvements under the 203(k) program.   While you are putting together repair/rehabilitation estimates it will be good to know the types of improvements you can not include for financing purposes.   Ineligible Improvements for both the traditional and streamline FHA 203(k) program: Barbeque pit Bathhouse Dumbwaiter Exterior hot tub, sauna, spa and whirlpool bath Outdoor fireplace Photo mural Instillation of a new swimming pool Gazebo Television antenna Satellite Dish Tennis Court Tree Surgery Additions or alterations to provide for commercial use   Basically, unless you are attempting to include an outdoor re... 01/24/2009

   If you are looking to buy or sell a house and do not know of a qualified real estate agent in Pitt County, try contacting Jesse Allen for your real estate needs in the surrounding county of Pitt, North Carolina. Sell your house quickly, or find your perfect next home. The Greenville area provides many excellent shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities. Real Estate Agents can answer any questions you may have regarding real estate in this area, including: surrounding areas of Greenville, Winterville, Ayden, or Farmville, or about the schools, community centers, parks and neighborhoods that make it special! To search the local MLS visit: www.JesseAllenHomes.com 01/22/2009

It doesn’t snow often in Eastern North Carolina. Today is one of those exceptional days. . I can’t remember exactly when it last snowed, but it seems at couple of winters ago.   When it snows here, it becomes almost like a holiday. We are not really adept in navigating around. So we tend to just stay home.   It hasn’t always been this way for me. I lived in Oklahoma for 12 years and saw plenty of snow. I can even remember one year there, I did not see the pavement on my street for six weeks. You could not afford to shut down or you would probably die.   This morning I got up around 5:00 AM and the snow was just staring to come down. The worst was I awoke about a 100 miles from my office. I just decided to stay put. I think I’ll fight my way back tomorrow.   I did get to watch the inaugu... 01/20/2009

Since December 2008 the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department have been purchasing Mortgage Backed Securities on the secondary market. This has served to push mortgage interest rates down to historically low levels.   Why have they been doing this? What I’m about to say is strictly my musing. This is based on sheer speculation. I have no proof. Just my opinion, if you will.   To put this in context we need to look back to the September-October 2008 timeframe. You remember, about the time we suffered a near financial collapse.   There is an accounting principle called “mark to market”.  This was enacted with Sarbanes-Oxley, legislation enacted after the fall of Enron and others a few years back. The Europeans advised us not to do it, but it is now the law.   Mark to market requires... 01/19/2009

  This week we want to outline the types of repair/rehabilitation improvements that are eligible under the FHA 203(k) program.   Last week we discussed the types of improvements that are required under the program. For information concerning this, click here, for a review.   Let’s begin! First let me draw your attention to a distinction between the Streamline 203(k) and the Traditional 203(k) programs. The Streamline program is limited to repair/rehabilitation cost not exceeding $35,000. There are other restrictions which we will try and address in this post on eligible improvements.   Eligible Improvements Under Both Traditional And Streamline 203(k) Programs: Repair/Replacement of roofs, gutters and downspouts Repair/Replacement/upgrade of existing HVAC systems Repair/Replacement/upgr... 01/18/2009

  Most of you are aware that we are in the midst of a refinance boom. The basic mortgage interest rate has been below 5% for about a month now. Interest rates will vary for each client depending on a variety of factors.   This week, the week of January 12-19, 2009, I characterize as the week of the fence sitter. I know this must be true, not only in Eastern North Carolina, but elsewhere. I’ve read a couple of posts this week along the same subject line.   Jason Sardi, from Allentown, PA was one that I read and another was written by Jeff Belonger of Cherry Hill, NJ. This makes me believe this phenomenon stretches across many markets.   What’s up with the fence sitter? This is someone that just can’t make the decision to pull the trigger and initiate their refinance. They think rates may... 01/17/2009

  As I sit down to write about this section of the 1003 (huh?) it strikes me that several post can be written about income analysis. The primary purpose of this post is to discuss, in general terms, how lenders review income for mortgage applications.     W-2 Income   Source of Income How Reviewed Exception/Warnings Hourly Averaged for the last two years. This average is compared to the latest 30 day pay period If the current number of hours worked has increased as compared to the two average, this is generally a good thing. Although underwriting may confirm that the increase in hours will be likely to continue. On the other hand if the current number of hours shows a decline this is generally a negative. Underwriting may validate your income based on the lesser hours. Increases in hour... 01/17/2009

 Your have located the fixer-upper that you want to buy or you are preparing to repair/rehabilitate your existing home. You are now preparing your feasibility analysis for the repairs and rehabilitation with your real estate professionals.    HUD has required improvements that must be included to be eligible for FHA 203(k) financing. What are these required improvements you ask? Here is a list:   FHA 203(k) required improvements: Weather strip all doors and windows if existing weather-stripping is inadequate Caulk or seal all openings. Cracks, or joints in the building to reduce air infiltration Insulate all openings in exterior walls where the cavity has been exposed as a result of the rehabilitation Insulate ceiling areas where necessary Adequately ventilate attic and crawl space area... 01/09/2009