The first step is to visit a loan officer and get a pre-approval before you start looking for a home in the Burlington, Vermont area.  The second step is to contact me for an initial interview so we can determine your needs and wants for your home purchase. The third step is to meet face to face with me so we can set up a game plan on how the process will work and review online all the available properties in your price range and locations on where you want to be. The fourth step is to begin to look at property. Visiting homes that could be your final destination with me will be fun and informative. The fifth step is to make an offer on a property that you are comfortable with. I will go over all the necessary paperwork and put you in a position to purchase. The sixth step is negotiating the deal. Once we have made an offer, there may be some negotiating that will take place before we get to the final sales price and terms of the contract. The seventh step is having an inspection on the property to make sure that the property is everything that we expect it to be. Once that is complete the eighth step is possibly renegotiating parts of the contract due to the inspection. Sometimes there are unexpected items that need to be handled after the inspection. The ninth step is proceeding to the bank with your application to get things going. Sometimes this is started before the inspection takes place if you are confident the home will pass the inspection. The tenth step in the process is getting your financing approved.

There are many steps involved with this piece alone and there is more to come. If you have questions or comments, please e-mail me Brian French, Realtor brian@c21-advantage.com.

If you have been sitting on the couch and looking out your window contemplating making a move, then now is the time to do it. The hardest part of winter is over and the interest rates recently dropped below 5%. The inventory is great and it is still a buyer’s market. The federal government is still offering an $8,000 tax credit to first time homebuyers that qualify and a $6,500 tax credit to move up buyers that qualify, but the clock is ticking.  If you don’t have your next home under deposit by April 30th, then you have missed the incredible deal. Don’t procrastinate any longer. Drop me a line, and I can help you through the process. Contact me at brian@c21-advantage.com today.

 All indications are that consumer confidence is up in Burlington, Vermont and the real estate market is more active this year than last year during the same time period. More people are thinking of making a move which will increase the inventory and buyer options on the market.

The interest rates are still extremely low and the Federal Government is still offering tax credits for those individuals that qualify and make the move in the required time frame. Don’t get left behind wishing you had done something a few months from now. Drop me a line and I can help you through the process. Contact me Brian at Brian@c21-advantage.com and I can help you with your real estate move.

View what’s on the market in Burlington, Vermont.

In today’s world, there are a number of things that can go wrong in order for your real estate transaction not to close. The process has gotten more difficult and the rules for getting financing approval are constantly changing. Therefore, your real estate agent can be critical in making sure that everything is in order for you to close. One area where you hope you don’t have difficulty is with your seller.

Recently, a seller in the South Burlington, Vermont area decided that the appraisal process was taking too long and that he was not going to extend the financing deadline for the buyer. All the paperwork had been taken care of and the only outstanding item was that the bank needed a hard copy of the appraisal. Needless to say, the seller finally conceded to give a few more days for the approval and it all worked out. He closed on his home in South Burlington and the new buyer got to move into their dream home. Sometimes waiting can be difficult, but the ultimate goal is to close and you never want to be the one getting in the way of your own deal closing. If you would like some help in selling your home. contact Brian at brian@c21-advantage.com your real estate advantage.

Taxpayers Seeking Homebuyer Tax Credits – Refunds Must File Paper by Broderick Perkins Body Homeowners filing for the home buyer tax credit are not allowed to use electronic filing and must file hard copies due to special documentation requirements.

Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) deployed new home buyer tax credit forms and instructions requiring forms that will force taxpayers to file on paper, rather than electronically.

The new home buyer tax credit filing rules are to ward off a repeat of 90,000 taxpayers who fraudulently claimed the credit, according to the U.S. Treasury. Under the new and expanded home buyer tax credit rule , the credit is worth up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers and up to $6,500 for qualifying existing home buyers, in both cases, who buy a primary residence or have one built.

The tax credit is refundable. A credit that is larger than the taxes owed is returned to the taxpayer in the form of a refund. The home can cost no more than $800,000 and qualifying income is limited to a maximum of $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers. Get the full scoop online from the IRS’ “First-Time Homebuyer Credit” page online.

All taxpayers (first time and move up buyers) seeking a credit or refund, must use the new IRS Form 5405 “First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit” (Taxpayers must pay back the credit if they sell the home within three years). The instructions, which teach taxpayers what documents are required, are available on IRS FORM i5405. In addition to Form 5405, also include at least one of the following documents:

• A copy of the HUD-1, Settlement Statement, showing all parties’ names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase.
• For mobile home buyers who don’t get a settlement statement, a copy of the executed retail sales contract showing all parties’ names and signatures, property address, purchase price and date of purchase.
• For new home buyers who don’t get a settlement statement, a copy of the certificate of occupancy showing the owner’s name, property address and date of the certificate. Existing home owners applying for the $6,500 maximum tax credit must additionally prove they lived in their old home for the required period. To do so, options are:
• File IRS Form 1098, “Mortgage Interest Statement.” IRS Form i1098 offers the instructions.
• Also, supply mortgage interest statements or property tax records or homeowner’s insurance records. Again, because some of the documents required are not standard tax forms, taxpayers seeking the credit cannot file electronically.

They can, however, use off-the-shelf tax software or the IRS Free File online software to prepare returns, but they must still print out the return and mail it in with the required documents. In addition to accuracy and compliance, the only other way to speed up any refund is to request, with the return, that the home buyer tax credit refund be deposited directly into a bank

Source: Realty Times
Published: February 25, 2010

According to a recent study by Millward Brown Century 21 Brand Awareness in 2009 was at a staggering 97%.

There are many significant reasons why that is important in today’s Chittenden County real estate market .  When selling your home, there are certain things that will cause your home to sell including pricing and exposure.  In order for you to gain the most opportunities to get to the closing table, buyers have to be comfortable in calling the company marketing your home in order to schedule a viewing of their potential purchase.

With the Brand Awareness being at 97%, Century 21 is not only the most recognizable name in the real estate game, but one of the most trusted. Therefore,  it does make a difference in which real estate sign you decide to put in your front lawn.  It could mean the difference of selling or not selling.  If you would like more information on marketing your home, drop me a line today, at brian@c21-advantage.com and we will discuss a strategy that can work for you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Years ago when it was a seller’s market, there was pressure on buyers to remove conditions of sale in order to compete with other offers.  Today in the Chittenden County buyers market, that pressure is no longer there. Therefore it is important for Vermont home buyers to take advantage of a home inspection  to protect themselves from unseen problems.

If you would like to hear more about potential problems you could encounter, drop Brian a line at brian@c21-advantage.com.

Brian French of Century 21 Advantage blogs about short sales and foreclosures in Burlington Vermont. Oftentimes there is assistance when hardships occur.   A couple of examples of resources to use are www.hud.gov and for people trying to get some guidance they can try www.makinghomeaffordable.gov as well. Nationwide there are a number of people going through this process and it is good to have resources that can assist you in the process.  If you would like more information on short sale and foreclosures, drop Brian a line at brian@c21-advantage.com your real estate advantage.