This week’s CEO Podcast from Lynn Fruth discusses why it is vital to price your home appropriately when listing with a Real Estate Agent.
We’d love to hear your comments! Please share any successes or challenges you’ve encountered while pricing a home for sale.
If so, first of all congratulations! Secondly, IRS has a new form for reporting the transaction, Form 5405, which can be found under “Forms and Publications” at www.IRS.gov. Avoid extra hassle by using the right form.
If you qualify as a first-time buyer but haven’t taken the plunge yet, remember time is running out and we’re not going to see many $8,000 gifts coming from a federal government that is burdened by so much debt. Contracts need to be fully executed by the end of April in order to get the credit. If your tax liability is less than $8,000, you will get a check for the difference.
For those on the fence post about whether or not to buy, perhaps talking to a mortgage loan professional will help you with your decision. By clicking on “Financing” at the top of this page, then on “Contact our Home Mortgage Consultants”, you can get a great deal of help determining your financial qualifications at no cost to you. Let us know if we can help with the process!
In this week’s CEO podcast, Lynn Fruth explains why NOW is a great time to list your home with a Danberry agent.
Are you thinking about listing your home? Contact Danberry today to find a professional real estate agent and start the process today!
Listen as Lynn Fruth, CEO of The Danberry Co., explains how to take advantage of the 2010 Federal Housing Tax Credits.
Have you taken advantage of these tax credits? Share your success story with our readers!
Unless you have bought a home in the last year or so, you may not be familiar with the Good Faith Estimates (GFE) issued by mortgage lenders or the universal closing statement, the HUD-1. Effective on the first day of this year, the federal government (HUD) requires lenders to give consumers a very different Good Faith Estimate at the time of mortgage applications. Why? Because consumers often complained that the terms and costs they experienced at closings were very different (higher) than they anticipated. If increases in costs were discovered for the first time at the closing table, some buyers felt like they were being held hostage – either pay them or start the entire home buying process over again. The new form is intended to fix that, requiring the use of a consistent form issued within 72 hours of application. If some closing costs appearing on the HUD-1 closing document are 10% or more above the GFE, the closing will be delayed. It’s impossible to explain all the changes in a brief paragraph, but additional information is available at www.hud.gov.
This remains one of the best times to buy a home that we have seen in many decades. We suggest you begin the process by seeking professional counsel. Full-time Realtors at The Danberry Co. are prepared to help you, as are the Home Mortgage Consultants at First Mortgage Consultants, LLC, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
Have you experienced problems with Good Faith Estimates or at a home closing? Please share the good and bad experiences with us.
Listen as Lynn Fruth, CEO of The Danberry Co., Realtors, gives his personal take on where interest rates are headed in 2010.
Let us know what YOU think!
Different people love different things about winter – skiing, skating, sledding, snowman-building with the kids. One thing I happen to love is a warm, crackling wood fire in the fireplace, and ‘tis the season! If you feel the same way, let me ask you this: When was the last time you had your fireplace inspected and/or cleaned by a professional? Time flies, and I’m sure I’m not alone in forgetting this important detail. But that’s just one of many safety tips that the entire family should keep in mind. Here is a pretty comprehensive list of safety tips – granted it comes from Phoenix, but hey, a woodburning fire is a woodburning fire… http://phoenix.gov/FIRE/fireplace.html
We wish you a warm, wonderful and SAFE holiday!
Judy’s honor marks the 4th consecutive year that a member of the Danberry family has been named “Citizen of the Year” by the Toledo Board of Realtors! The award resulted from (among other things) Judy’s 3 decades of tireless volunteerism to organizations such as Toledo Sister Cities, Leadership Toledo, Tall Ships Toledo, and virtually every organization benefiting and preserving Toledo’s historic Old West End. Danberry is very proud of associates like Judy who are so dedicated to their community!
Danberry’s culture promotes being supportive of and committed to each other and the community. Our flagship community project is “The Danberry Treasure Chest”, an emergency assistance fund benefitting families at Toledo Children’s Hospital. Here’s a simple and fun way that everyone can help those efforts. Just in time for the holidays, the good people at the Andersons sell “private label” wines for several charities at each of their wine departments, and have issued a challenge to see which one can sell the most wine in December. Each bottle sold generates a donation from the Andersons and could also make us eligible for their grand prize, which would be donated to the hospital fund. So ask for the Danberry Treasure Chest brand of chardonnay, merlot, cabernet or white zinfandel, and remember their 10% case discount. Let’s raise a glass and toast the effort to help families of kids with chronic illnesses! CHEERS!
Trust me, I love dogs as much as anyone. Just ask my Millie. But when it comes to selling your home, man’s best friend may become one of seller’s great problems. Pets (not just dogs) can add restrictions to how and when a home may be seen. Aggressive or unfriendly dogs are an obvious problem, but an overly friendly pooch is also annoying to most people. Then there are pet odors to which owners may have become accustomed. But non-pet-lovers walking into the home from the crisp winter air will pick up on it instantly.
Remember, no two prospective buyers have the same tastes or lifestyles, so let’s not turn any of them away or shorten the period of time they spend in your home. For additional ideas on how to deal with this issue, read on for tips from Realty Times: http://realtytimes.com/133/DickBaker (lower left article).
Do you have any additional tips or humorous stories on this topic? We’d love to hear them.
