Down Payment Assitance

The included information is from my friend Chris Hutchens at Alpha Mortgage...

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!

You may contact Chris Hutchens at Alpha Mortgage by emailing chris.hutchens@alphamortgage.com. Please tell him I sent you!

Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

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Looking, Waiting for Bottom

When someone is always waiting for the bottom or top of the market they will always miss it. You cannot know when the bottom is until it has passed. Just like you cannot know when the top of the market is untii it has passed. To be successful in real estate you must jump in when you see an opportune time. Now is that time. If you wait and then say, oh, now I am ready the bottom has passed you will have less inventory to choose from, more competition from more buyers in the market, and possibly higher prices. You can't wait and if you do you will never time it perfectly. If you disagree with me or have any comments, please email me at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

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Yes, you are right

No, it is not too good to be true. It is $8000. You do qualify if you have not owned a primary residence ever OR IN THE LAST THREE YEARS. You qualify if you make less than 75k a year and less than 150k if you are a couple filing jointly. You do not have to repay it unless you sell the home within 3 years of purchasing. However, if you do you just pay back the 8000 from your selling proceeds.

Call me at 910-352-1043 or email me at jessicariffle@seacoastrealty.com with all your questions and comments.

Click here for more information on real estate and luxury real estate in the Wilmington, NC area!