May 12th, 2009
Great News! Today HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the department is developing a way to make the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit available to borrowers to use for down payment and closing costs, instead of waiting for a tax refunds. HUD wants permission for HUD-approved lenders and nonprofits to issue bridge loans to make the $8,000 available to borrowers at closing. “I expect details within just a few days,” he said.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been working on this, but there were some IRS issues to overcome.
For more see FHA Mortgagee Letter 2009-15 found at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/files/09-15ml.doc
Tags: $8000 tax credit, arizona real estate, downpayment, fha, hud, phoenix real estate
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May 1st, 2009
I got an interesting email message the other day from a couple who was trying to buy their first home. They had been working with another agent who was new to the real estate business and they were coming across a lot of short sale homes. They asked their agent how much experience she had in dealing with short sales and the agent commented that she really didn’t need to have any experience because the seller’s agent does all the work anyway. Careful….what if the listing agent doesn’t have much experience either and you are now leaving them in charge of negotiating for your home!
Being first-time homebuyers, they really didn’t understand the whole short sale process, but something about their agents response didn’t sit right with them. They decided to do some investigating on their own. They emailed me that they had seen my website and saw that I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE). They saw that I help sellers avoid foreclosure by selling their home in a short sale transaction. They wondered if a “CDPE – Short Sale Expert” could help them buy a home….and the answer is YES! I explained to this couple that as a CDPE, I can put my talents and resources to work as their buyer’s agent.
As a CDPE I know the pitfalls of a short sale. I know what the bank is looking for when they are considering approving a short sale, or NOT. I explained to them that I work together, as an ally not an adversary, with the listing agent to get the short sale approved for my buyers. Not only do I bring with me the in-depth knowledge of how a short sale gets approved, but I also bring with me a list of decision makers whom I have dealt with in negotiating a short sale for my sellers. I have direct access to many of these “top level negotiators”, the people who can actually make a decision on a short sale. This is exactly the type of representation that this couple was looking for, and perhaps best of all, it cost them nothing extra to have this level of representation. So, if you are looking at buying a home, call me today and put a CDPE to work for you as well.
Tags: arizona real estate, cdpe, certified distressed property expert, phoenix realtor
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April 17th, 2009
Drum Roll….
I’m Christine Luna from ChristineLuna.com and I’ll be working hard to bring you heaps of useful information, tips, tricks and advice on buying or selling Metro Phoenix and Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate. I want this blog and ChristineLuna.com to become some of the most useful resources for Arizona Real Estate on the net and I’m prepared to do the hard work, and share the knowledge I have to make it happen.
I’ll be covering everything from current and projected market conditions, to advice for first-time and seasoned Arizona Real Estate buyers and sellers.
So without ado, I declare this blog officially open! And I’m off to get started on the first post.
Please let me know if you need a specific question answered or topic covered.
I hope you enjoy the blog,
Chris
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