Take a front row seat at this small venue seminar explaining why today might be one of the best times ever to be a move up home buyer. Invest less than 1 hour digging into what the numbers are indicating and how waiting until now to move up, may have saved you $10's of thousands of dollars! Join me at 7:00 PM on Thursday, January 28, in the RE/MAX Results office located at 2605 Campus Drive.

Topics Covered:

$6500 Move Up Tax Credit

o Market Leverage

o Inventory Graphics

o Price Range Demand

o Interest Rates

o Property Taxes

o Arbitrage

Watch for this seminar to be delivered via webinar in the future, as well as presentations on other real estate/homeowner topics of interest such as radon etc.
Sincerely,

Don Mailey

RE/MAX Results

(952) 212-0968

Don@DonMailey.com

Even If You Are Renting Now, You May Qualify!

Consider the following example from the National Association of REALTORS® :

Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the other eligibility tests?

Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000 and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The keyword here is "consecutive." As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he did since 3 years doesn't impact eligibility.

FYI: The new home DOES NOT have to be of a higher value than the old home.

Sincerely,
Don Mailey
RE/MAX Results
(952) 212-0968

Don@DonMailey.com

Inventory Metrics Favor Move Up Homebuyers!

In the Twin Cities Metro, 5 months of housing supply at a given price range is considered balanced. Going above 5 months supply, indicates a buyers' market and conversely, going below 5 months supply points to a sellers' market. Take note of what is occuring in the chart below.

In part, the $8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit --which was just extended-- has pushed the inventory levels at the lower end of the spectrum into sellers' market status. At the same time, the inventory levels of higher priced homes have remained in a buyers' market. This dynamic creates a great situation for the move up homebuyer; selling into a lower inventory market and then purchasing into an excessive inventory market.

Month’s Supply of Current Inventory—All Homes

Price Range.... 1-09.... 1-10.. Change 1-09 to 1-10

Under $120k .__ 6.5.........2.6 .......... ....-60.1%

$120k to $150k_ 7.8........ 4.0.............. - 48.0%

$150k to $190k _7.0........ 5.1...............- 27.4%

$190k to $250k_ 6.2........ 5.3...............- 15.5%

$250k to $350k_ 7.4___. 6.3.....6........- 14.9%

350k to $500k __9.6....... 7.9........... . ..- 17.1%

$500k to $1 mil. 13.2...... 13.1 .............. -1.3%

$1,000,001+..... 22.5...... 30.2............ ..+ 34.0%

All Price Ranges... 7.6........ 5.0................- 34.0%

$6500 Move Up Homebuyer Tax Credit Becomes Law!

The $8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit was extended as well, serving to energize buyers for your current home!

Some of the tidbits of the new bill include:

For First Time Homebuyers or those who have not owned a home within 3 years, the tax credit remains at $8000, with income restrictions maxing out at $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for couples. Move Up Homebuyers – those defined as having owned a home for five of the previous eight years – can now also take advantage of a credit, with the slightly lesser amount of $6500, with slightly higher income restrictions as those described above. To qualify for the new program, purchase agreements need to be signed by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010. For those in our armed forces; persons stationed outside the United States, on official duty for 90 days during the period from January 1, 2009 and before May 1, 2010, will have eligibility extended for binding contracts signed before May 1, 2011, and closed before July 1, 2011.

You waited; enjoy!! Start making your plans now for that home you have dreamed of! Lakeshore? Bigger in the 'burbs? Huge foreclosure special? Invest less than 1 hour digging into what the numbers are indicating and how waiting until now to move up, may have saved you $10's of thousands of dollars! Join me at 7:00 PM on Thursday, January 28, in the Plymouth,
RE/MAX Results office located at 2605 Campus Drive.


Sincerely,
Don Mailey
RE/MAX Results
(952) 212-0968

Don@DonMailey.com

We Are One Step Closer To The $6500 Move Up Homebuyer Tax Credit!

**PASSED!**


One More Hurdle To Clear For Your $6500 Move Up Homebuyer Tax Credit!!

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 could vote on the bill as early as 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, 2010.

_______________________________

You waited; enjoy!! Start making your plans now for that home you have dreamed of! Lakeshore? Bigger in the 'burbs? Huge foreclosure special? Invest less than 1 hour digging into what the numbers are indicating and how waiting until now to move up, may have saved you $10's of thousands of dollars! Join me at 7:00 PM on Thursday, January 28, in the Plymouth RE/MAX Results office located at 2605 Campus Drive.

Sincerely,
Don Mailey
RE/MAX Results

(952) 212-0968

Don@DonMailey.com