Erie Real Estate

Erie CareerLink - moving

CareerLink has purchased the Sumner Nichols building on 8th & Sassafras and is leaving Lovell Place.  They will be doing some renovations to their new building, which should be conmplete by June.

They purchased the building from from Baldwin Gardens Inc., an affiliate of Baldwin Brothers Inc., of Erie. The purchase includes a 120-space parking lot.  They paid $475,000.  They were paying about $350,000 in rent at Lovell Place.

CareerLink will occupy the first and second floors of their new building and lease the third and fourth floors to the current tenant - Erie County government.  The current lease is for $233,048 a year.

Sure seems like a good all around move for CareerLink.  The question is what does this do to Lovell Place?  Lovell Place has been in bankruptcy for the last 4 years and is for sale for $7.8 million.

More of the story  here.

Buyers that own(ed) a home can take advantage of Tax Credit

The home buyer tax credit has been extended and more importantly, it's be expanded to include more than First Time buyers.

The law extends the present $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers through April 30, 2010. Current homeowners are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit through April 30, provided they have lived in the home they are selling, or have sold, as the principal residence for five consecutive years during the past eight years.

If you meet the eligibility tests you could qualify for a $6,500 credit.  For example, let's say you bought a home in 2000 and lived there until 2008.  You since have been renting, you are eligible because for the creidt because you owned a home and occupied it as your principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years.

If potential home buyers have a binding contract on or before April 30, they will have 60 days to close the transaction.

Income limits for eligible home buyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples. The purchase price of the home cannot exceed $800,000.

President Obama did sign the bill today.

Congress passes Home Buyer extension

Congress passed legislation expanding an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

The House approved the measure today on a 403-12 vote, sending it to the President for his signature.

In summary here's what it does:

• Extend through April 30, 2010 the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (up to $8,000 or up to 10 percent of the purchase price of the residence), allowing 60 days to close, provided that the homes are under a binding contract by that date;

• Provide homebuyer tax credit of up to $6,500 to owners who have been in the same principal residence for five consecutive years during the previous eight years;

• Increase the income limitations to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for joint filers;

• Phase out the credit for individuals with incomes above $125,000 and $225,000 for joint filers at the same rate as current law (over the next $20,000)

• Limit the credit to purchase of principal residences equal to or less than $800,000;

• Eliminate the 36-month recapture requirement for military personnel, including members of the Foreign Service and intelligence community, forced to sell as a result of an official extended duty of service; and

• Extend the  tax credit for one year for military personnel serving outside the United States for at least 90 days in 2009 or 2010.

More details.

House May Vote Today on Homebuyer Credit

The U.S. House may vote as soon as today on a $45 billion plan to expand a tax credit for first- time homebuyers, extend jobless benefits and provide tax refunds to money-losing companies.

The measure won Senate approval yesterday on a 98-0 vote, and House passage would send it to the President for his signature into law. House Majority Leader, Maryland Democrat, said the chamber may act on it today.

The plan would be the first major extension of provisions in February’s economic stimulus plan. The $8,000 homebuyers’ tax credit, slated to expire this month, would continue until April 30, and be expanded to include people with higher incomes and some who already own homes. That would cost about $10 billion in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation.

Read more here.

1.4 Million Have Taken Advantage of First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.

More claims are expected.

With the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit deadline quickly approaching, the IRS recently reminded potential home buyers they must complete their first-time home purchases before Dec. 1, 2009 to qualify for the special first-time home buyer credit.

The credit of 10% of the purchase price, up to $8,000 is generally available to home buyers with qualifying income levels who have never owned a home or have not owned one in the past three years.

If you have not made a purchse yet and are considering doing so, here are some details about the first-time home buyer credit.

Have you received your credit yet?

Grant to remove lead paint from homes

More than 200 property owners in Erie County will benefit from a new $4 million federal grant to control the hazards of lead paint in homes.  It’s being run by the city of Erie -- but the offer is open to any county resident.

Erie County was one of 15 communities nationwide to share in $48 million dedicated to removing hazardous lead from homes.  

The Erie Redevelopment Authority received such a large piece of the funding -- 8 percent of the total -- because it included both the city and county in its grant proposal.

 

The Redevelopment Authority and the city have received $6 million in two federal grants for lead abatement since 2006, but those funds were restricted to homes in the city. Lead-abatement work has been done on about 325 properties with that funding.

The city still has enough of that original funding to complete about 100 more homes by the end of 2010, said Jorge Alvear, who administers the program for the city.

To qualify, households must have a child younger than 6 and have low to moderate income. The homes must also have been built before 1978, the year lead-based paint was banned.

 

Lead Safe houses 2008.

PHFA tax-credit loan program out of funds

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s (PHFA) popular Tax Credit Advance Loan Program has run out of money.

According to Kate Newton, director of Homeownership Programs for PHFA, homebuyers took advantage of the program which provided an interest-free loan of up to $6,000 to use toward down payment and/or closing costs.

PHFA funded the tax credit monetization with $5 million of its own funding and cautioned homebuyers loan availability was limited.

Looking for a challenging new career?

Real estate is both challenging and rewarding.  Are you earning what you're worth?  Would you like limitless opportunities?  Do like being your own boss?  Would you like to determine your income rather than having someone tell you what it is?  Would you like flexible hours?

 

Do you have questions?  Would you like more information?  If you are interested in a career in real estate, please contact me.  I can be reached at the office - 825-7761 or e-mail.  Pro Realty, Inc. is an independent, locally owned company.

 

Paul Gornall.

Some good opportunities if you have a few million $ laying around...

This year, home prices fell in the nation’s most exclusive neighborhoods.  Wow, this market is really effecting everyone.  Go figure.

In Alpine, N.J., which tops Forbes’ magazine’s list of America’s 500  Most Expensive ZIP Codes, home prices declined 23 percent in the last year.

Forbes’ list was compiled by Altos Research, a real estate data collection and research firm that tracks about 90 percent of all real estate transactions.

Based on Altos’ figures, here are the country’s 10 most-expensive  ZIP codes and the median home prices there:

1. 07620, Alpine, N.J., Median Home Price: $4,139,041
2. 94027, Atherton, Calif.: $3,849,133
3. 10014, New York, N.Y.: $3,521,514
4. 91008, Duarte, Calif.: $3,444,773
5. 90210, Beverly Hills, Calif.: $3,367,167
6. 92067, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.: $3,362,493
7. 93108, Santa Barbara, Calif.: $3,284,652
8. 94024, Los Altos Hills, Calif.: median unavailable
9. 10065, New York, N.Y.: $3,176,534
10. 07926, Brookside, N.J.: $3,121,115

Locally, July sales were up from July 2008.  261 closings in July '09 vs 220 in July '08.  July is the only month where sales were ahead of last year.  Although still less than the 290 in July of '07.

We also had 15 more listings enter the marketplace in July '09 than July '08.  Yes, only 15.  This is down 52 from July '07.

Pa. Homes In Foreclosure Hit 4-year High In July

New figures out Thursday from foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. show more than 5,300 Pennsylvania homes received at least one foreclosure filing last month.

That was up 7.6 percent from June to last month, or 375. It was the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began collecting the data in April 2005.

July's increase was the second straight monthly increase after a big drop in May, and was slightly higher than the national increase of 6.7 percent over the same period.

Pennsylvania's foreclosure rate was about one-third the national rate, with one in every 1,030 homes receiving a foreclosure filing last month.

The next Sheriff Sale in Erie County is August 21st.