President Obama Signs Extended Tax Credit into Law

If you thought your time was running out to use the homebuyer tax credit, your luck just changed!  Today, President Obama signed the bill into law extending the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.  In addition, this new law now includes a $6500 tax credit for buyers who are current home owners and have lived in their home for five of the past eight years.

The National Association of REALTORS® has created a simple and helpful CHART that showcases the modifications – for more information, click here

Linda Trevor Speaks to News14 Carolina on the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

The First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit is the news of the day and as the deadline to use this approaches, consumers want to know their options.  News14 Carolina approached Linda Trevor to find out her opinion.  “Buyers should definitely be active right now, looking around, searching on the Internet, getting out, looking at homes a little bit closer so they have plenty of time and not feel the pressure.”   Click here to view more of Linda’s interview

More News on North Carolina’s Stable Home Prices!

NC Home Prices Remain Stable

Here is some more encouraging news for North Carolina homeowners! Just recently featured in NC Magazine, by Nick Zulovich, is a fascinating article about North Carolina’s home price stability and future real estate market. Read the snippet below and click here for the full story.

 “According to the Bureau of Business Research at East Carolina University, North Carolina is one of only 12 states where the average price of a home remains unchanged from the maximum value tabulated since 1995. Joining North Carolina on that list were Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. North Carolina’s average home price also was higher than more than half of those select states.”

Raleigh Voted #10 in Kiplinger’s Best Place to Live and Work List!

Kiplinger.com voted Raleigh #10 in July’s 2009 list of Best Places to Live and Work!  Read the full story on Raleigh and the other top metros in America.

 No. 1: Huntsville, Alabama

 No. 2: Albuquerque, New Mexico

 No. 3: Washington D.C.

 No. 4: Charlottesville, Virginia

 No. 5: Athens, Georgia

 No. 6: Olympia, Washington

 No. 7: Madison, Wisconsin

 No. 8: Austin, Texas

 No. 9: Flagstaff, Arizona

 No. 10: Raleigh, North Carolina

Homes are Selling in the Triangle Area!

Raleigh Accolades

Getting three listings under contract over the weekend was a real boost for my business and a sign of resurgence in the real estate market in the Triangle Area.  With recent Raleigh accolades of Forbes giving the #8 spot to this area for “Best Big Cities for Jobs” and some additional praises like #1 City with Best Economic Potential and #1 City Where Americans Are Relocating, you can just feel with anticipation the crack in the dam that is about to burst again.

Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Wake Forest, Holly Springs are all fabulous cities with so much to offer it’s residents.  The Wake County Schools are acclaimed, Research Triangle Park is filled with top-of-the-league corporations, the southern towns are filled with charm and historical sites, the colleges (and teams!) are phenomenal, and the downtown area is teeming with life.

Relocating to the Raleigh Area? Let me show you around….you’ll grow to love this area as I have and call it home!

Make the Most of the Market

Linda Trevor was highlighted this month in the News and Observer article, Make the Most of the Market, by Christa Gala. Read expert advice on how to demolish showing obstacles, determine the right price and why it is a good time to buy!  Click here for the full article.

 

 

News & Observer Features Linda Trevor

Linda Trevor was recently featured in the News and Observer’s Real Estate section for a buy-to-sell deal.  In the article, Raleigh NC Homes for Sale, the author references a transaction where Linda represented the Seller and helped facilitate a successful outcome for her client.  Read the full story here.

 

It is not raining foreclosures in the Greater Raleigh Area!

We wanted to take a moment to address the foreclosure market in the Wake County area and dispel some common myths about this niche. 

The February 2009 issue of the TARR Report, a Triangle Area Residential Realty Report that studies data from the Multiple Listing Service, Realtor.com and Wake County Revenue Department, shared that foreclosed or financial institution owned homes only account for only 2.5% of our homes for sale. This is a considerably low percentage compared to other metros and only further supports the fact that foreclosures are not taking over our market. 

• Out of $8,500 residential homes currently for sale in Wake County only 225 are classified as foreclosed or bank owned.
• Over the past 13 months, 4.5% of Wake County’s closed homes have been title transfers from the Trustee to the financial institution.
• White Oak township (Apex and Western Cary) has seen the least amount of foreclosure activity where as the Little River, Eastern Wake, St. Mary, Garner and Mark Creek townships have the majority amount of foreclosure activity.
• These stats do not include short sale or other distressed property sale situations.

Information to have on hand for the Affordable Home Program

Hi Friends,

 

We are passing along some valuable information on the Home Affordable Initiative. If you feel like you have a friend, family member or co-worker who might benefit from this program during these difficult economic times, then use the list below from Debbie Sheets with SunTrust as a resource for getting started. Please know that any lender can do a Home Affordable Initiative Loan also known as a DU Refi Plus.  Loan modification’s where the homeowner is currently delinquent and/or experiencing hardship must be done by their specific loan servicer. 

 

Items to Gather for Home Affordable Initiative Loan

 

·         2 recent pay stubs for all persons currently on the loan

·         2008 federal tax return, all pages & schedules for all persons currently on the loan

·         Type of property (manufactured, townhouse, condominium, etc…)

·         Do you have a second mortgage or home equity on the home?  If so provide a copy of the most recent statement.  We need this information regardless of balance.

·         Do you have Mortgage Insurance on your loan? 

·         Do you currently occupy the home as your primary residence?

·         If SunTrust does not service your loan please provide the name of your servicer as well as their customer service contact number.

·         Have you been more than 30 days late within the last 12 months on your primary or secondary mortgage?

·         Do you have additional mortgages outside of the ones on your primary home?

·         Go to www.suntrustmortgage.com/dsheets & apply on line.  For any items you do not know just enter “Do not know”.  I will call you to fill in the blanks.

 

Please write the answers to your questions on this document & return fax to 1-866-458-2942 along with all requested documentation.  You do not need a cover page. 

 

SunTrust Mortgage will begin to review applications for the Home Initiative Loan beginning April 4, 2009.  Prior to that date we are unable to give you an answer as to qualification or approval. 

 

Applicants who return all the above documentation & complete an application on-line will be considered on a first come first serve basis.  If information is missing you will be contacted.  The review process begins once we have all information.  This process allows us to help as many people as possible.

  

Debbie Sheet, Mortgage Consultant

Debbie.Sheets@suntrust.com

919-616-2868 or 252-756-3912

 

 

Loan Modification & Foreclosure Help for Raleigh Area

Loan Modification & Home Affordable Program

 

If you are trying to make your home mortgage affordable, behind on payments or even facing foreclosure, then consider reviewing the information below about Obama’s Home Affordable Program.  On April 4^th many mortgage service providers like SunTrust and Wells Fargo will begin reviewing applications for the affordable initiative.  Here are some highlights of the programs:

 

Loan Refinance Program:

 

Under this program homeowners can refinance home loans that Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae own or guarantee.  The program can help people who are currently making their loan payments, have stable income and have a higher loan to value ratio due to declining market values.

 

If you don’t know if you have a government sponsored loan (GSE) then call or visit:

 

• 1-800-7FANNIE or www.fanniemae.com/homeaffordable
• 1-800-FREDDIE or www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure 

Loan Modification Program:

 

This program allows loan modifications for homeowner-occupants who are having a hardship, in default or close to defaulting on their loan. The entity that services the loan must be the one to preform the modification, especially if you are in default. So contact your lender to start the process.

 

Visit our special blog posting for information to have on hand for when applying for the Affordable Program.

Visit this site http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/  for more information about eligibility and program details.