The Basics: Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit 2009/2010
Bringing the Dream of Homeownership Within Reach
As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that:
- Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.
- Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
Here is more information about how the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit can help prospective home buyers become part of the American dream. If you have specific questions or need additional information, please contact a tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service at 800-829-1040.
Latest news:
Another Big Gain in Existing-Home Sales as Buyers Respond to Tax Credit (Dec. 22)
Watch: REALTOR® Party Tax Credit Video Contest Winner (Nov. 12)
Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit?
- First-time home buyers who purchase homes between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
- Current home owners purchasing a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.
To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” the purchaser or his/her spouse may not have owned a residence during the three years prior to the purchase.
If you or your client purchased a home between January 1, 2009 and November 6, 2009, please see: 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
Which Properties Are Eligible?
The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.
How Much Is Available?
The maximum allowable credit for first-time home buyers is $8,000.
The maximum allowable credit for current homeowners is $6,500.
How is a Buyer's Credit Amount Determined?
Each home buyer’s tax credit is determined by two additional factors:
- The price of the home.
- The buyer's income.
Price
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, credit may only be awarded on homes purchased for $800,000 or less.
Buyer Income
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, which is effective on November 7, 2009, single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000—may receive the maximum tax credit.
These income limits have changed from the 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit limits. If you or your client purchased a home between January 1, 2009 and November 6, 2009, please see 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
If the Buyer(s)’ Income Exceeds These Limits, Can He/She Still Get a Credit?
Yes, some buyers may still be eligible for the credit.
The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 for single buyers and between $225,000 and $245,000 for home buyers filing jointly. The amount of the tax credit decreases as his/her income approaches the maximum limit. Home buyers earning more than the maximum qualifying income—over $145,000 for singles and over $245,000 for couples are not eligible for the credit.
Can a Buyer Still Qualify If He/She Closes After April 30, 2010?
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, as long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.
Will the Tax Credit Need to Be Repaid?
No. The buyer does not need to repay the tax credit, if he/she occupies the home for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during this three-year period, the full amount credit will be recouped on the sale.
as featured on time.com
Luring Foreclosure Buyers on Detroit's 'Lonely Homes' Tour
By Steven Gray/Detroit Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009
Joy Santiago is a real estate agent who has organized a "Lonely Homes Tour" of foreclosed properties in Indian Village, one of Detroit's last stately, middle-class neighborhoods.
Steven Gray for TIME
On a recent Sunday afternoon, Joy Santiago, a real estate agent, stood atop the front steps of a vacant, eight-bedroom colonial-style mansion, bullhorn in hand. "Alright, 10 minutes," she declared, ushering in the 50 or so people on the Lonely Homes Tour, an aggressive effort to sell foreclosed properties in one of Detroit's last solidly middle-class neighborhoods. (See pictures of the Lonely Homes Tour.)
Those grimmest aspects of Detroit city life are just a few blocks from Indian Village, where the Lonely Homes Tour took place on a recent Sunday. For decades, the neighborhood managed to defy that fate. It was carved in the late-1800s, barely three miles from Detroit's downtown, as an enclave for the city's emerging industrial barons. Even as Detroit's wealth moved further into the city's suburbs in the wake of World War II, Indian Village's Tudor- and Georgian-style homes — many with large back yards and carriage houses — attracted politically connected, white-collar professionals.
But not even the neighborhood's lawyers, judges, principals and auto-industry executives have been immune to the economic crisis battering Michigan, the state saddled with America's highest unemployment rate. Some have lost their homes. Some who've left have been unwilling to lower their home's prices. At the same time, banks have become more discerning in issuing mortgages to prospective buyers. By one estimate, about 15% of the 350 homes that comprise Indian Village are foreclosed. (See pictures of the remains of Detroit.)
Residents have taken various steps to prevent vacant properties from becoming magnets for criminals: Regularly mowing lawns, installing curtains, or even baby monitors. Detroit's crime, failing schools and the shortage of supermarkets selling fresh, reasonably priced fruits, vegetables and meats have been barriers to attracting the kind of professionals that have transformed other once struggling cities. One longtime resident, Steve Wasko, recalls real estate agents dismissing Indian Village, saying, "We don't have time to come 'down there,' like 'down there' is crossing some line you never travel without a passport." Some agents, Wasko says, simply gave the keys and alarm codes of homes to prospective buyers without bothering to vet their backgrounds. "That's like giving the goods to potential thieves," he says.
Last year, a group of Indian Village residents launched a search for a real estate agent who would commit to the neighborhood. They soon found Santiago. She'd left Ann Arbor, Mich., for Detroit in the late-1980s to work as a booking agent for techno music DJs. By the late-1990s, she'd become a real estate agent, and frequently worked in Indian Village. The timing was good back then: In her first year, Santiago says she sold one house a week. "Everyone had a job, everyone wanted to have the American dream — homeownership," the 41-year-old says. (See The Detroit Blog's coverage of the city.)
One of Santiago's first marketing ideas was what she christened the Lonely Homes Tour. The first tour, in September 2008, drew car loads of prospective buyers. More importantly, it generated considerable buzz about Indian Village's mansions. The next installment came last month. Residents lined the leafy streets leading up to Indian Village with ads promoting the tour. Of course, they also touted the event on Facebook.
And lo and behold, there wasn't a single empty seat on the two tours' busses. A caravan followed Santiago to each of the seven stops. At one point, the caravan rolled up to a sturdy, four-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot colonial built in 1925, that's priced at $39,000. Then came the tour's most expensive home: an eight-bedroom, 8,500-square-foot 1917 colonial. The price: $189,000. One woman covered her nose to keep the smell of mildew away. Her husband carefully took notes about the cracked wooden floors. People looked in awe inside the elevator of one house. Santiago stood by, answering questions about the house's history and its original owners, handing out business cards to the young and middle-aged professionals from the suburbs or downtown condos looking to trade up to bigger home at a bargain. (See pictures of a day in the life of Detroit's Mayor Bing.)
So far, Indian Village residents seem satisfied. Wasko says: "If I were a real estate agent, I'd act like Joy: I'd work my butt off on Sunday afternoon, and not roll my eyes and say, 'maybe this won't get the sale.'"
That effort just might be paying off. One day after the tours, Santiago says she had gotten several calls for second showings. About six people from the Lonely Homes Tours have made offers. "People heard about Indian Village, but without an event like this," Santiago says, "they wouldn't have made it."
as Featured in Model D, June 23, 2009 Selling Homes in Detroit: It's About More Than Just the Benjamins
By: Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey
June 23, 2009
If all you knew was what you saw in the national media, you'd think being a real estate agent in the city of Detroit would qualify you for a guest spot on the Discovery Channel's
"Dirty Jobs" show. Talk of $100 houses makes Detroit seem like the blue-light special of real estate. Everyone from
CNN on down is telling the story of out-of-state speculators snatching up Detroit property like the sample vultures at Costco mindlessly gorging on the freebies. It sounds sad and ugly.
There's some truth in those cheap property stories, but that's only one part of the real estate picture here.
Enter Sabra Sanzotta's beautifully decorated live/work space in Eastern Market's
FD Lofts, where swaths of luxurious fabric drape brick walls, silver cut out butterflies glimmer from the impossibly high ceilings and the kitchen gleams with fancy appliances. As Sanzotta sits, chatting and monitoring her buzzing cell phone, she doesn't seem on the precipice of defeat, gnashing her teeth and shaking her fist at the heavens. She offers no "why me?" diatribe and doesn't rail against the state of real estate. She just seems busy. Really busy.
"This has been our best year," says the proprietor of
The Loft Warehouse. You may have a hard time believing this, but she means that this year -- yes 2009 -- has been her best yet. Huh?
Sanzotta isn't the only one telling that story. Realtors who specialize in the greater Downtown area and some of the city's more affluent neighborhoods say they aren't immune to the realities of a national mortgage crisis, sky-high home foreclosures and other unsavory economic realities. They aren't quitting the city either, not when there's good money to be made.
Many of the city's agents are selling more than just cheap houses to scavengers. They are selling things like luxury lofts to happy new residents. They sell fixer uppers to families, condos to empty nesters. Good homes to people who will live in them. And Detroit agents are making money doing this, even if to do so they have to work their tails off and harder than ever.
What are they buying?
Oh, that mythic $100 house. It's out there, but most of us couldn't or wouldn't live there.
While innovative projects like the internationally famous Mitch Cope/Gina Reichert
Power House are extremely cool, not everyone has the guts or the vision to be gutsy and visionary. Some people want to buy a home, move in and live in it without first giving it an extreme makeover. You can do that in Detroit, real estate agents say, but you'll have to pay a little more than a Benjamin.
Joy Santiago, a real estate agent and resident of The Villages, says people who have been waiting are now moving forward to get into properties and neighborhoods that in another time would have been out of reach. "We've got the biggest opportunity ever to be able to purchase Riverfront, Downtown, or Midtown property," she says. Condos on the riverfront that were once six figures are going for less than $100,000. Houses in sought-after neighborhoods like The Villages -- historic homes that anywhere else in the nation would be worth millions -- are more affordable than ever.
In Midtown on highly desirable historic Ferry Street, Sanzotta is selling new construction luxury condos at
Centurion Place starting at $150,000 – about half of what they were selling for a couple years ago.
One of Sanzotta's young professional customers, Damoni Hurt, a marketing manager for Ford who is in his 30s, was one of those waiting for the right time. He just bought a condo with a downtown view on E. Jefferson across from Belle Isle.
"Now is the opportunity to transition from renting and sitting out to really jumping in," he says.
Hurt bought a bank-owned condo for $80,000 in
The Lofts at Rivertown, a building that a couple years ago had units going for at two to five times as much. He knew the location was perfect: He was living there already. "It was a no-brainer from a quality of life standpoint," Hurt says. "I was living in the same building renting, paying twice as much for rent."
And he was not just buying junk. His is a tri-level loft with high-end fixtures. "This is the whole kit and caboodle," he says. "It's a foreclosure, but it wasn't a falling apart, dilapidated kind of East Side house deal."
The same space in downtown D.C. or Atlanta -- where he's lived before -- would have been out of his reach: "It'd be $1 million plus in D.C. In Atlanta, half a million easily," he says.
In addition to foreclosures, real estate agents say another big part of their business right now is short sales. In these cases, they negotiate with the banks to let homeowners sell the homes for less than they owe, and then the banks forgive the difference.
A short sale, however, is a lot more difficult and takes longer than a traditional sale, but agents say that when these short sales work out, it's a win-win for all the parties involved. In a short sale, the home won't sit empty, the seller gets out of the mortgage, the buyer gets a good deal and the agent gets a better commission than he or she would have gotten if the home was sold in a foreclosure.
More than foreclosures
Foreclosures and short sales aren't the only deals being made in the city. It's squishy, but there is still a market out there.
Last month, Sanzotta sold a $165,000 condo in
Harbortown to a firefighter who plans to retire on the riverfront. She's also closing on a $141,000 townhome in Corktown in a few days. Both are not foreclosures.
Ryan Cooley of
O'Connor Real Estate and Development in Corktown, says he's had a lot of demand for architecturally significant properties like the
Mies van der Rohe townhomes in Lafayette Park. This month, in fact, he showed them to a couple from Baltimore, relocating here to work at Wayne State University. And it looks like they're buying.
Santiago just wrapped filming an episode of the ultra-addictive real estate drama "House Hunters" for HGTV. She showed the buyers three $400,000 properties -- all within Detroit's city limits. If you watch the show, which we already established that you do, you know they always buy something at the end.And real estate agent
Austin Black II, who works a lot in his Midtown neighborhood, says a customer walked in recently and paid a cool half million cash for a penthouse loft in the new Willys Overland Lofts development in Midtown.
Those stories -- market rate sales and big properties with high price tags -- might be more rare thanks to foreclosures and short sales, but they are out there.
Who is buying?
Black says 2009 is turning out to be a good year for him, as well, but he's had to hustle. "Part of it is, I am working with a lot more people, and you have to work a lot harder with those buyers," he says. Buyers have a lot more from which to choose, and they want to see the options, he says. "But it's paying off."
There might be out-of-state speculators looking to buy up Detroit by the block, but Black, Sanzotta and others who regularly sell in the city say those customers aren't as frequent as one might think. And the media reports mislead people to believe that for pennies, they're going to get a great house.
"I've gotten calls from people who are not from this area and who are from other parts of the country, and their impression is that they are getting a livable home for $100 in a livable neighborhood," Black says. "I think you'll find the market is typically more stable in Midtown."
OK, so who are the regular buyers? Sanzotta says many of her customers are professionals coming to work at the Medical Center. Black sells a lot to empty nesters, too. Cooley has a lot of customers relocating from out of state. Black does, too, and says that "95 percent of them grew up in the 'burbs, and a good percentage of that group has lived in cities across the country." They want an urban lifestyle, and they want it here.
In Detroit, he says, new development has slowed but there's still a trickle, like the newly rehabbed
condos on Mack in Brush Park that Black sells. Black says selling new condo developments is tricky right now because lenders want 15 percent down on condos not already half sold, and most buyers don't have that to pony up. Sanzotta is facing the same challenge at Centurion, but she's seeing new interest in the property.
But even with the slowdown, Black says don't let those big media guys fool you: In Detroit, there's still plenty of life.
"One of the unique things about the downtown and Midtown areas, we've lost some businesses and some of the developments that were proposed never got off the ground, but you still see businesses opening, places under construction, new restaurants," Black says. "I still see more people walking outside, more people walking and running. Things are still happening and people want to be down here."
Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey is managing editor of Model D. Send feedback
here.
Photos:
Centurion Place interior
Sabra Sanzotta, realtor
Centurion Place interior
Damoni Hurt
Damoni Hurt in his tri-level loft
Austin Black, realtor
Photographs by Detroit Photographer Marvin Shaouni Marvin Shaouni is the Managing Photographer for Metromode & Model D Contact Marvin
here
Press Release
For Immediate Release
“National HGTV Show "House Hunters" to Feature Detroit Realtor & Homebuyers”
Metro Detroit, MI May 15, 2009. Pie Town Productions, a TV production company for Home and Garden Television (HGTV) is coming to Detroit film and episode for “House Hunters” a reality TV show that features buyers that are searching for a new home. HGTV and Pie Town Productions will be filming from Monday, May 18, through Thursday, May 21 in Detroit.
“This is very exciting for the city & Downtown Detroit”, says Joy Santiago, Broker/Owner of Dwellings Unlimited, LLC, who will be the real estate expert for the episode. “It will give us an opportunity to show off some of the most beautiful homes in the area and to reveal to the nation what wonderful real estate choices we have in the city.
The "House Hunters" (buyers) will be choosing from 3 unique and different homes: A loft at River Place Condos, a historic home in Indian Village and a condo in the Westin Book Cadillac. "We're totally excited at our options to purchase. Detroit has gorgeous homes, and compared to real estate around the country, dollar for dollar has the best value," says Jay Diem, the homebuyer that also will be featured on the show.
Jay Diem, a IT Systems Analyst that has recently returned from working in Iraq for a government hired contracting company, and his wife, Boo-Young are the homebuyers that will be choosing their new home in the next few days.
Joy Santiago has been an agent in the Metro Detroit Area for the past 12 years and is broker & co-owner of Dwellings Unlimited, llc a real estate sales, management and investment company, specializing in unique housing & investments.
Contact
Joy Santiago
joy@dwellingsunlimited.com
313-980-0400
Dwellings Unlimited, llc
www.differentdwellings.com
www.dwellingsunlimited.com
###
Great News for First-Time Home Buyers!
HUD recently announced that qualified First-Time Home Buyers who want to take advantage of the available tax credit of up to $8,000 now have another option available to them to help them become homeowners.
It's clear that first-time home buyers have been having a major impact on the housing market this year. The National Association of Realtors announced that first-time buyers, who typically account for less than 40% of home sales each year, have been especially busy…in March, homes that were purchased by first-timers accounted for 53% of all sales, and this percentage is expected to hold true for all of 2009.
With home affordability higher than ever, available tax credits and some of the lowest interest rates ever recorded for home loans, who can blame them? Particularly as a first-time buyer, there may never be a better time to buy a home than right now.
However, the availability of a tax credit, while a great incentive, does not put the money in the hands of a buyer right away. HUD's announcement now allows for prospective and qualified home buyers to borrow the money from approved agencies and lenders.
While details of participating lenders and HUD-approved agencies are not yet available, this should turn up the heat on prospective buyers to get busy searching for their next home. As further details become available, I will get them to you.
In the meantime, alert your database that one more barrier to homeownership is being removed and the time to start shopping is now!
The Real (Estate) Deal
By: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
February 19, 2008
It ain't pretty out there. Read Model D's Development News column and it's clear the motor is running, but definitely not chugging along like it was just two years ago. Detroit needs a tune up, badly.
To wit: condo projects are being scrapped (The Griswold), converted to commercial (Mid-Med Lofts) and worst of all, sitting empty (Nine on Third). That's not even mentioning the countless developments that while complete, are just not filling up. Which begs the question: has the proverbial boom gone bust?
Well, yes and no. There are some signs of health hiding under this case of the market blues. At last week's Model D Speaker Series, a panel of speakers intimately familiar with real estate in the city talked the bad — and good — news.
The Detroit Investment Fund's Dave Blaskewicz presented an overview of the last six years of development in Greater Downtown – new housing, retail and dining and entertainment venues, not to mention cornerstone changes such as Compuware, Campus Martius and the Detroit RiverWalk.
DIF studied the evolution of Greater Downtown's housing stock between 2000 and 2006 and found 2,500 new units of housing, a significant increase in sales prices (from approximately $140 -160 per square foot in 2004 to $198 in 2006) and a young, affluent, educated group of new residents. All good things, no doubt.
But the pace slowed in 2006.
Blaskewicz characterizes the current market conditions as "soft." High unemployment, jail-tight credit, an over-supply of homes for sale and – ouch – record numbers of foreclosures are all to blame.
The results? The absorption of new units has decreased, sellers are having trouble doing so, projects are failing, would-be purchasers are nervous and potential developments are finding financing more difficult to come by.
Hooray for rentals
So where's the silver lining? Rentals, most definitely. Developments like the Kales Building and Lofts at Merchants Row are both at stably high levels of occupancy. To take advantage of historic tax credits, developers must keep buildings as rentals for five years, which actually makes a lot of sense in this market.
Ryan Cooley of O'Connor Realty & Development, one of four panelists also on hand at the event, sees another benefit to marketing rentals. He finds that people new to Detroit might prefer to rent before taking the plunge into ownership.
Two rental developments his company has been involved with – Eastern Market's Detroit Candy Co. and the apartments above Slow's Bar B Q in Corktown – have both filled up quickly. It's important, he says, to offer "a good, solid, clean product."
While renters are sometimes looked at as less valuable to a neighborhood than home- and condo-owners, Joy Santiago of Ralph Roberts Realty, another panelist, disagrees. "It brings people into the city, brings people around," she says.
The mother of invention
Another point Blaskewicz made is that this market forces – and also rewards – creativity. Examples of this include event-based marketing, multiple developers joining forces to draw potential buyers, financing incentives – like free association dues for one year or rent-to-own opportunities – and promotions such as allowing interested parties to try a loft out for a weekend.
Real Estate One's Elizabeth Tintinalli is no stranger to such efforts. The mastermind behind Illuminate Detroit, she works to draw people to developments with a cheese-trap of music, food and art. This makes sense, considering one demographic she finds herself interacting with frequently are those with artistic backgrounds, looking to "get in on the ground floor," she says.
Cooley agrees. He has worked with people relocating from other areas that find Detroit's cost-of-living low enough to encourage the fulfillment of dreams often deferred in other urban areas. "Here, you can start something on their own."
For his part, Austin Black II of Max Brook Realtors looks north of Eight Mile. He finds himself working with Oakland County natives recently returned from college, and sometimes even their parents, looking for an empty-nest condo. Both groups have one thing in common: they demand proximity to an urban experience not found elsewhere in Michigan.
Weathering the storm
And then there's that four-letter word: Foreclosures.
So, what is the real deal with those nasty, dirty foreclosures? As we all well know, the Detroit area has been hit hard. So, what does this mean to the real estate market?
For Santiago, it means she is making lemonade out of lemons. "[Foreclosures] are our largest source of business now," she says. It's a buyer's market, she says, "Everything is a really good deal."
Cooley says there are two divergent markets when it comes to foreclosures. In the condo foreclosure market, units are moving fairly quickly. He even thinks there is less supply than many buyers anticipate. "People think there will be more than there really will be," he says.
On the other hand, when it comes to foreclosed houses, it's a whole 'nother animal. "They are in rougher shape than the condos," he says.
The bottom line is yes, everyone is hurting, from developers to builders to realtors to sellers. But a lot of people are digging in their heels and riding out the storm. "We're all hurting a little bit right now," says Tintinalli. "But we're still out there, still promoting the city."
Kelli B. Kavanaugh is Development News editor for Model D. Her glass is half empty and half full.
Model D Speaker Series: Detroit Sells
By: Model D Staff
February 5, 2008
The next Model D speaker series event will look at the residential real estate market in Detroit — topics include who's buying, what they're looking for, what keeps the Realtors invested in the Detroit market and an overview of the state of the market.
The event will be at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12 on the 32nd floor of the
Guardian Building in downtown Detroit.
CLICK HERE to sign up today — it's free but seating is limited and you must RSVP.
The event starts with registration at 4:30 p.m. The hour-long program starts at 5 p.m., with networking and light refreshments to follow.
Dave Blaszkiewicz, president of the Detroit Investment Fund, will give a presentation on who's moving to Detroit and what are the residential real estate opportunities. The
$52 million Detroit Investment Fund is a private-capital fund that offers financing for businesses and real estate projects that can stimulate economic development in Detroit.
Afterward, a panel of Realtors who sell in Detroit will discuss their experiences and take questions from the audience.
Panelists include:
•
Austin Black II of Max Broock Realtors — Austin is a Detroit residential specialists working with buyers and sellers in the greater downtown loft and condo market. Austin also works with developers in marketing and selling their properties.
•
Ryan Cooley of Corktown-based O'Connor Real Estate and Development — O'Connor is a Detroit-based boutique real estate and development office that specializes in residential and commercial sales, with an emphasis on technology and service. All our realtors live and work in Detroit neighborhoods, and the office embraces new technology as a way to help our clients effectively market their properties.
• Joy Santiago of Ralph Roberts Realty — Joy specializes in "Different Dwellings," including many unique condos and homes in Detroit. She has been selling real estate since 1998, and her clients have included some of Detroit's finest DJs, including Derrick May, Mike Grant and Stacey Pullen.
•
Elizabeth Tintinalli of Real Estate One — Elizabeth is a Detroit-based real estate agent who started Illuminate Detroit, an annual event that combines art, music and culture, as well as highlighting real estate developments.
It’s not "ok" to lose your home to foreclosure-What to do to help KEEP your home
IT'S NOT OK TO LOSE YOUR HOME TO FORECLOSURE
What to do to help KEEP your home...
By Joy Santiago, Ralph Roberts Realty
In a time where foreclosures run ramped, many people think that it's OK to lose their house to foreclosure; because "so many other people" are losing their homes, they think its the norm.They think it's acceptable. IT'S NOT. It is NOT OK to lose your home to foreclosure. . "I don't feel so bad, the Johnson's just lost their home, so did the Smiths last month". It's crazy that people know they may have a 6 month redemption period, but they don't know what to do to SAVE their home. Some people are abusing the system. Some people are just throwing their hands up in the air and saying "screw it" when i lose my home,I will just be a renter. That is SO NOT the American Dream. Being a homeowner IS the American Dream, you just have to fight for it more now then before.
There are many things you can do to save your home like forbearance agreements (realistic), etc. Research the options with your mortgage company. Many mortgage companies are now working with customers to keep their mortgage rate reasonable, if you were in an ARM. If you can no longer afford your home, you may have to rent it out to someone who can afford it, until you can again. If you live alone, consider a roommate.
Are you overspending? CUT BACK. Eat out once a week instead of 5 times a week. Be diligent with travel, schedule your trips to the gym with your trips to the grocery store, so you don't have to drive back and forth and waste gas (at $3 a gallon)!. How about 1 mocha latte a week instead of 5. Did the kids really need that Nintendo WII? Sure, all kids should get what they want or deserve, but the worst thing someone can do as a parent is displace your children, the kids will understand and they will learn about priorities too. Hmm a Xbox 360 or a decent roof over their head with some heat? I think I'd go roof over my head.
What bills are you paying on time? The 1st thing that should be paid is the mortgage, and your utilities. Although all debts should be paid on time it may not be as important to pay your credit card as it is to pay for the roof over your head. PRIORITIZE the funds that you do have.
Transportation is important too but, do you really need to have that convertible (HA HA) or that Hummer? Would it be more practical to have a gas miser car like a Ford Focus or something similar?
Get a 2nd job, or a 3rd one until you can make ends meet. Go to school improve your skills, Governor Granholm has initiated a "no worker left behind program" that caters to people who have a household income of 40,000 or less. You could get up to $5000/year for up to 2years, FREE, to go to a 2 year college, use that to transfer to a 4 year college, or learn or improve a new skill or trade. www.michigan.gov/nwlb The more that people fight to keep their homes, the less foreclosure there will be. This will help preserve property values, as the values will no longer just be based on the plethora of foreclosed homes in the area. It will help the economy and "stop the presses" and the media from propagandizing foreclosure. (which just brings on more foreclosure).
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. It's not OK to lose your home to foreclosure.
Every time the real estate market turns, someone potentially benefits and someone potentially loses out. When property values soar, home owners worry about paying higher property taxes. When values worsen, the end never seems in sight. In the current downturn, the losers are clearly identified as those facing foreclosure or who–because of market, job and credit conditions–feel like they have nowhere else to turn but towards using their house as an ATM machine or selling at a deeply reduced price.
The good news–if you can call it that–is, there are some mighty good deals to be had these days, and one needs to look no further than yesterday’s front page of The Free Press to see what we’re referring to. See the picture of the house below–the one with all the arrows pointing toward it?
Here’s a better picture:
If you had to guess how much this house is selling for–based just on the above image alone–what would you say? $750,000 to $1,000,000? After all, it has:
- 7 bedrooms
- 5 full bathrooms
- 2 half bathrooms
- Living room
- Dining room
- Family room
- Breakfast room
- Florida room / Sunroom
- In-law quarters
- Library
- Partially finished basement
All told, this mansion built in 1905 has over 7,000 square feet (7,187 to be exact), but because of current housing conditions, it is priced to move, and move quickly. Before we tell you the asking price, read the following clip from yesterday’s The Free Press:
Struggling housing market has Detroit’s gems slashing prices
January 19, 2008
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
How can you own a house worthy of a millionaire, at a price typical of your standard three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow?
It sounds too good to be true. But in fact, buyers can find scores of historic, large homes available for astonishing bargains — some under $200,000 — in beautiful Detroit neighborhoods, deals that real estate agents say haven’t been this good in decades.
The listings are eye-popping, like the stunning six-bedroom, four-bath, 5,500-square-foot, 1923 colonial in the Boston-Edison neighborhood for $249,500 — about $45 a square foot. Or the five-bedroom, three-bath, 2,700-square-foot colonial in the University District for $149,900. If it’s a Cape Cod you’re eyeing, there’s the seven-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath, 4,650-square-foot home in Indian Village for $314,999.
But what frustrates real estate agents and owners is the struggle to sell such historic gems — even at these prices. And some have slashed their asking prices by tens of thousands of dollars…
…The real estate market is sluggish everywhere in metro Detroit, and prices have plummeted.
But it’s in Detroit where prices have dropped the most, said Ron Simpson, the outgoing president of the Detroit Association of Realtors… Buyers have long been able to get more house for their money in Detroit than most suburbs, but today’s deals in the city are at “a whole new level,” Simpson said. …
… In the West Village on the city’s east side, when residents learn of someone interested in buying a house in Detroit, they recruit them to their neighborhood by taking them on a one-on-one tour and introducing them to the neighbors, said Bill Swanson, 33, a West Village resident who has conducted some of the tours. Four people have bought homes in the neighborhood in the last year thanks to this effort, Swanson said. “Once you meet people and realize it’s a great neighborhood, it makes buying in the neighborhood really easy,” he said.
Indian Village is another prized area in Detroit. There, a seven-bedroom, six-bath, 7,187-square-foot colonial is listed for $349,995. “A comparable house somewhere else would be millions,” said Joy Santiago, the house’s real estate agent. “It definitely should have gone by now. These are really good prices.”
That’s right… the 7,000+ square foot house referenced above–it’s in the Indian Village section of Detroit–is priced at just $349,995! In many other markets, this historical gem would sell for around $800k to $1 million. Interested in learning more? Here a few additional shots, this time from the interior:
To learn more about this property or others like it, call Joy Santiago @313-980-0400 or send us an email to joy@joysantiago.com!
January 19, 2008
Section: NWS; NEWS
Edition: METRO FINAL
Page: 3A BIG-TIME BARGAINS
A STRUGGLING HOUSING MARKET HAS DETROIT'S GEMS SLASHING PRICES
ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER How can you own a house worthy of a millionaire, at a price typical of your standard three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow? |
It sounds too good to be true. But in fact, buyers can find scores of historic, large homes available for astonishing bargains - some under $200,000 - in beautiful Detroit neighborhoods, deals that real estate agents say haven't been this good in decades. The listings are eye-popping, like the stunning six-bedroom, four-bath, 5,500-square-foot, 1923 colonial in the Boston-Edison neighborhood for $249,500 - about $45 a square foot. Or the five-bedroom, three-bath, 2,700-square-foot colonial in the University District for $149,900. If it's a Cape Cod you're eyeing, there's the seven-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath, 4,650-square-foot home in Indian Village for $314,999. But what frustrates real estate agents and owners is the struggle to sell such historic gems - even at these prices. And some have slashed their asking prices by tens of thousands of dollars. Like the 1916 Boston-Edison colonial of Jerry Berry's 91-year-old mother. He and his siblings grew up in the house. With six bedrooms, three full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, 3,400 square feet and features such as beveled-glass French doors and crown molding, Berry said it's hard to believe it has been on the market more than a year. And he reduced the price from $190,000 to $175,000. "All of us thought the house would just go right out easy," Berry said. "Seeing as how well maintained the house is, we thought someone would just jump on it." The real estate market is sluggish everywhere in metro Detroit, and prices have plummeted. But it's in Detroit where prices have dropped the most, said Ron Simpson, the outgoing president of the Detroit Association of Realtors and broker-owner of Southfield-based Century 21 Elegant Homes. Buyers have long been able to get more house for their money in Detroit than most suburbs, but today's deals in the city are at "a whole new level," Simpson said. "I've been doing this 30-some years," he said. "And the prices now are back to where they were 20-some years ago." There are trade-offs, though. While the homes are in some of Detroit's best neighborhoods, the areas have seen a spike in the number of foreclosed and abandoned homes, threatening the values of other houses. "It's scary, yes it is," said Maxine Jackson, 70, a Boston-Edison resident who lives down the street from Berry's mother. "It's like a giveaway. Something that you've had all your life." And then there are the issues of property taxes and insurance, which typically are higher in Detroit than in the suburbs. There also is the cost of heating a large, older home, and the issues of struggling schools and a higher crime rate. Jeff Packer, the real estate agent for Berry's mother's house, said trying to sell the property is an "uphill battle." Put that house in Royal Oak, he said, and the home would sell for more than $300,000. He has yet to receive an offer. "There's a lot of buyers out there who are too timid to buy in Detroit," he said. "If people can overcome that perception and see the reality of the area, it's a very nice area to live in." One buyer considering the city is Dan Klinkert, 31, of Dearborn, who has looked closely at the Boston-Edison neighborhood, which runs along Chicago Boulevard on either side of the Lodge Freeway. "The character is unparalleled of the homes," he said. "3,500-square-foot homes - you're looking at half to a million dollars a lot of other places." Bernadine Davis and Judith Womble are the agents trying to sell another stately home in Boston-Edison. It needs some updating, particularly in the kitchen, they said. And the owner told them it cost $800 to heat the house during the coldest month last winter. It has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and 4,500 square feet. The surrounding homes are striking, except for one critical problem - a boarded-up residence two doors down. After a year, the house still is sitting, despite a listing price of $214,900, down from $270,000. Put that mansion in Birmingham or Farmington Hills, they said, and they would ask from $800,000 to $1 million for it. "There is character in these houses you can't find anywhere else," Womble said. Some neighborhoods have begun aggressively marketing themselves to potential buyers. In the West Village on the city's east side, when residents learn of someone interested in buying a house in Detroit, they recruit them to their neighborhood by taking them on a one-on-one tour and introducing them to the neighbors, said Bill Swanson, 33, a West Village resident who has conducted some of the tours. Four people have bought homes in the neighborhood in the last year thanks to this effort, Swanson said. "Once you meet people and realize it's a great neighborhood, it makes buying in the neighborhood really easy," he said. Indian Village is another prized area in Detroit. There, a seven-bedroom, six-bath, 7,187-square-foot colonial is listed for $349,995. "A comparable house somewhere else would be millions," said Joy Santiago, the house's real estate agent. "It definitely should have gone by now. These are really good prices." But the house has been on the market for more than six months and has been cut from its original $450,000 price tag. "In Detroit, what's happened, anyone who has an interest in those homes has to appreciate the history behind them," said agent Cheryl Kachaturoff. "There's a lot of hidden treasures in our city." Contact ZACHARY GORCHOW at 313-222-6678 or zgorchow@freepress.com. 1111 SEMINOLE Neighborhood: Indian Village Price: $349,995 Rooms: Seven bedrooms, five full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, living room, dining room, family room, breakfast room, Florida room, in-law quarters, library, partially finished basement Size: 7,187 square feet Year built: 1905 1217 LONGFELLOW Neighborhood: Boston-Edison Price: $175,000 Rooms: Six bedrooms, three full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, living room, dining room, family room, in-law quarters, library, patio Size: 3,400 square feet Year built: 1916 1403 LONGFELLOW Neighborhood: Boston-Edison Price: $214,900 Rooms: Six bedrooms, two full bathrooms, three half bathrooms, living room, dining room, family room, library Size: 3,489 square feet Year built: 1916 1160 CHICAGO Neighborhood: Boston-Edison Price: $214,900 Rooms: Five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, dining room, family room, living room, breakfast room, recreation room, finished basement Size: 4,500 square feet Year built: 1919 ILLUSTRATION: Map DAVID PIERCE Detroit Free Press;Photo ALL ABOUT REAL ESTATE;Photo CENTURY 21 CURRAN & CHRISTIE;Photo MADALYN RUGGIERO Special to the Free Press CAPTION: Ruth Berry, 91, and her daughter Brenda Berry, 54, sit in Ruth Berry's 1916 colonial in Detroit's Boston-Edison neighborhood last month. The home, pictured above on right, features six bedrooms, 3,400 square feet and crown molding - for $175,000. Ruth Berry, 91, has had her home on the market for more than a year. "We thought someone would just jump on it," said son Jerry Berry. |
April 8, 2007
Section: RE; REAL ESTATE
Edition: METRO FINAL
Page: 1G 
PRICES FLOAT
COSTS OF HOMES WITH A VIEW OF THE DETROIT RIVER VARY GREATLY
JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER For sale: River views. Price: All over the map. For Joy Santiago, 38, a Southfield real estate agent who put down a deposit last week on a $364,000 unit at the planned @water Lofts project east of the Renaissance Center, her Detroit riverfront view will be one of the most expensive in town. With her unit measuring a little less than 1,200 square feet, Santiago will pay a bit more than $300 per square foot - the priciest condos along the river, at least so far, and roughly the same price-per-foot range as a mansion in Bloomfield Hills. A Free Press survey of nine prominent riverfront condominium buildings shows prices range from as little as $50 per square foot for small units in older buildings to around $220 per square foot in a variety of buildings new and old. The leap to $320 per square foot at @water Lofts takes the market to a whole new level. |
"It's big money for the city, but I think it's the right time to buy now," Santiago said last week. "The biggest thing for me was new development and the location next to the RenCen and the Tricentennial Park." Like other @water Lofts buyers, she'll also benefit from a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone tax break for the project. Her property taxes are estimated to run about $3,000 a year, which will be 75% less than they would be without an NEZ. "The tax abatement helps huge," she said. Less expensive views are available along the river. But as Santiago's purchase demonstrates, price is just one consideration when buying a riverfront view. All of the riverfront buildings offer advantages and amenities, and a decision to buy at one or another comes down to individual taste, says Carol Trowell, an agent with Century 21 DuPont in Detroit and a past director of the Detroit Association of Realtors. "You really have to ask what they're looking for in order to find them the right condo," she said. "You have to show them a couple of different types to narrow down what they really want." Among the many considerations that go into a buying decision are unit size, proximity to retail shops and the amount of monthly maintenance and utility fees. Some buyers like a high-rise building while others don't. Some seek the charm of an older building, while others want new construction. Each of the nine condo buildings in the Free Press survey has its own distinctive character. Three of the older condominium buildings - Detroit Towers, Indian Village Manor and Garden Court - offer floor plans measuring 2,400 square feet or larger, hardwood floors, high ceilings and other touches of 1920s-era elegance. Newer buildings like Harbortown's Great Lakes tower and the 300 Riverfront tower offer less square footage but a more modern aesthetic. Harbortown, meanwhile, is part of a complex that includes a grocery and several other stores. The 300 Riverfront offers a covered walkway to the Joe Louis People Mover stop. Two of the other buildings, the Lofts at Rivertown and the 200 River Place Lofts, were converted to residential use after starting life a century ago as industrial buildings. Their units offer an urban loft look and feel, with brick walls, exposed mechanical elements and similar touches. Rolando Smith, 43, sold his house in Southfield to buy a condo along the river. After shopping at some of the other buildings, he put down a deposit last week on a $364,000 unit at @water Lofts. Like Santiago, Smith found proximity to downtown as important as his view of the river. "I think of all of the others, it's the closest to the actual downtown area," Smith said. "I could get out and walk." As for the price tag, he says, "I'm sure it's going to go up in value. I already know that." If current plans work out, there'll soon be several more condo buildings to choose from along the riverfront. Dave Bing, the businessman and former Detroit Pistons star, is heading up a group that plans to build a condo project not far from @water Lofts. Meanwhile, the team of former NFL star Jerome Bettis and Pittsburgh businessman Chuck Betters plans to build two projects on the east riverfront, although one of them, at the old Uniroyal tire factory site near the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle, has been delayed in a long-running dispute among various corporations over the cost and responsibility for an environmental cleanup. Plans are also afoot to convert the vacant Globe Building, a dilapidated industrial building east of the Renaissance Center, into a residential project. With so much in the works, buyers who already can find everything from 1920s-era elegance to the latest urban lofts on the Detroit riverfront soon will find even more options. Contact JOHN GALLAGHER at 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com. Indian Village Manor: $100-135 Detroit Towers: $150-200 Shoreline East: $55-120 Lofts at Rivertown: $145-200 Riverfront: $190-230 @Water Lofts: $300-320 Garden Court: $145-200 200 River Pace: $175-190 Harbortown Towers: $162-210 |
