First Time Home Buyer Extended for U.S. Military

The House of Representatives voted 416 to 0 to pass the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009, which pushes the credit's current November 30 deadline back an additional year for members of the military, Foreign Service, and intelligence corps who served at least three months of qualified overseas duty in 2009. The next step is to pass the Senate and then to be signed by the President.
Extending the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit for everyone else is high on the Democratic Congressional to-do list. After meeting with President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) released a statement that the government should “continue efforts to strengthen the housing market by extending the home buyer tax credit.”
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, who is a consultant to Democrats in the administration and Congress, is advocating extending the credit and making it available to all home buyers. Opening it up to all home buyers would really help the housing market. Although it would cost the government a lot more money to fund, it is not nearly as much as we the tax payers have given to the big banks and their CEO's. This would give money back to the people who really drive the economy, the American home buyer.

Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/

Venetian Bay Auction Part 2

The Auction is just over 2 weeks away, and there is a lot of excitement surrounding the condos and townhomes. All of these units pay a monthly maintenance fee plus the Venetian Bay yearly fee of $800.
The opening bid price for the townhomes have been set at $115,000 plus 10% for the auctioneer ($126,500). These townhomes originally sold for $260,000 and $270,000, and most recently listed at $172,500 and $178,500 depending on the features. The two best units are # 62 which has granite counters and tile floors, and # 57 which is an end unit. The monthly fee is $125.

The opening bid price for the 2 bd/2ba condos has also been set at $115,000 plus 10% for the auctioneer. These units originally sold for between $279,900 to $340,000, and most recently listed between $235,000 to $260,000. The nicest unit here is #315. The monthly fee is $268.95.

The opening bid price for the 3bd/3ba condos have been st at $165,000 plus 10% for the auctioneer (181,500). These originally sold for as much as $460878, most recently listed at $375,000. The 2 nicest units are 428 and 333. the monthly fee is $352 or $366.

The 4bd/3.5ba units have an opening bid price of $185,000 plus 10% for the auctioneer (203,500). these units sold for between $475,900 to $553,900, and most recently listed for $390,000 to $435,000. By far the nicest unit in the building is #418. The monthly fee is $410.

If you are looking to join in on the auction make sure you preregister with me by sending me an E-mail. You will also need a cashiers check payable to yourself for $10,000 on the day of the auction.

As I said in my last posting, buyer's have the potential to grab some great deals on these townhomes and condo units, however the best deals in Venetian Bay are at the Villas of Savannah Point.
Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/

Best Deal In Venetian Bay

There has been a large response to the Villas at Savannah Point, and I have decided to offer a free timeshare to the first accepted offer after closing if you write the contract with me. The timeshare is with Wyndham Vacation Resorts and is 105,000 points, valued at over $8000. The timeshare will be deeded to you after closing and will be yours for life to use each year starting in 2010. Please visit their website to learn more about the resorts.https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.com/ffr/resort/search.do

As you know from my previous post, some of the townhomes and condos will be auctioned off on Oct 24, but that's not the best deal in Venetian Bay. The viilas in Savannah Point built by the now bankrupted Tiffanny Homes are. These villas sold for over $400,000 two years ago and now you can get a two story for $189,900 and a single story for $169,900. The single story villa is 1982 sq ft of living area with a total area of 2753. It is a 3 bd, 2 ba, 2 car garage with a courtyard.




The two story villas are 2246 and 2445 sq ft of living area and 3293 and 3278 sq ft of total area. they are 3 bd, 2 1/2 ba with a den and a 2 car garage and a courtyard.













All of the villas have granite countertops, these are most assuredly luxury units with maintenance free living. The $200 monthly HOA fee covers lawn care and maintenance, sprinkler system, pest control, fertilization, exterior painting and roof maintenance. Please contact me if you would like to know more about these wonderful villas and this great opportunity.



















Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/

Venetian Bay Condo & Townhome Auction

Stirling Sotheby's International Realty and Worldwide Auction Realty Services will be auctioning off 28 condos and 13 townhomes in Venetian Bay, 10 of them to be sold absolute. The auction will be held Saturday, October 24 @ 10AM. A pre- launch event was held for the current owners on Wednesday the 16th, where the auction was explained. The goal is to sell out all the remaining units. This is a great opportunity and maybe the last chance to own a new luxury condo or townhome in the premiere golf community in central Florida. Please contact me if you want more information or if you would like me to represent you at the auction. I will post another entry when I find out the starting bid prices.

If you are looking to join in on the auction make sure you preregister with me by sending me an E-mail. You will also need a cashiers check payable to yourself for $10,000 on the day of the auction.
Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/

Why Are My Florida Property Taxes Going Up?

The proposed property tax notices are out and if your home is Homesteaded, you may be paying more in taxes. The reason for this is the millage rate has increased and the assessed value is still lower than the market value on your home. So even though the value of your home has dropped, it has not dropped below the assessed value. For example: if the assessed value for your home last year was $200,000 and your millage rate was 19, then your tax bill was $3,800. This year, your assessed value remained at $200,000 but the millage went up to lets say 22, then this year's tax bill will be $4,400. The reason the Taxing Authorities have raised the millage, is because the values of all the properties in Florida have gone down. Unlike most of us, when we have less money to spend we lower our budget, rather than lowering their budget, they are increasing our taxes. I guess they can't figure out that we are in a recession, income has remained level at best. The truth is that if we are lucky enough to still have a job, we have probably lost income.
Florida has legislation stating that the proper “measuring-stick” for taxing authority growth, from year to year, is the “Per Capita Income (PCI) Index + Growth” (meaning annual growth in newly constructed properties). Clearly the Taxing Authority's spending far exceeded increases in the personal income and the growth of newly constructed properties.
Our only recourse is to attend the public meetings and make our voices heard.Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/

Will the $8000 First-Time Buyer Tax Credit be Renewed?

The $8,000 First-Time Buyer Tax Credit expires Nov. 30, there are Bills pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate to extend or revise the credit.Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada favors an extension of the current credit. He was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun saying, "It's something we can get done."Connecticut Democratic Senator Christopher J. Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Senator Johnny Isakson that would raise the credit amount to a maximum of $15,000. I don't think this is going to fly, but an extension is possible.As I have said before, a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush. If you are planning on buying a home and you can close before Nov. 30th, I recommend you do so. Home prices are low, interest rates are low, it is a buyers market and we don't know what our leaders in Washington are going to do for sure.
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Should you wait for the $15000 Homebuyer tax credit

Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, introduced a bill in June that would increase the homebuyers tax credit to $15,000 and remove the income restriction and expand the program to all borrowers, not just first time homebuyers.
Some of my clients have asked if they should wait for the new tax credit of $15000. First of all, no one knows if the bill introduced by Senator Isakson will ever became law. The old adage "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" is perfect for this situation. The current tax credit has cost the government $2 to $3 billion, the proposed bill will cost around $32 billion. There is a lot of opposition to the $15000 credit so it is definitely not a sure thing.
YOU MAY NOT GET THE FULL $15000
The tax credit is based on 10% of the purchase price, so if you buy a home for less than $150,000, you will not receive the full $15000.
Unlike the current $8000 credit, it only offsets your tax liability over the next 2 years. Most first time homebuyers should take advantage of the current $8000 credit. I say this because most first time homebuyers do not have a $7500 tax liability each year and will not be able to receive the full $15000 credit. Also your tax liability will be lower after you buy a home because of your new mortgage deduction. To find your tax liability for your 2008 tax return, look on form 1040 line 61 or if you filed a 1040A it is on line 37 and line 11 on the 1040EZ. If the amount on this line is lower than $4000, you are better off taking the current $8000 credit.
If you are not a first time home buyer, and your situation allows you to put off buying a home, I recommend you wait and see what happens to this bill.

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