The EBA Way - A Better Way to Buy a Home

Yesterday I wrote a post about the positive enhancements to the NC Housing Finance Agency's Mortgage Certificate Credit program recently approved by Governor Perdue. I am very excited about this opportunity for our first time homebuyer clients and want to share some more information provided by NCHFA which offers the following as an example:

"If you borrow $183,000 at 5.5 percent interest, you will pay
approximately $10,000 in interest in the first 12 months of your
mortgage. With the 20 percent MCC, you can reduce your federal
income tax liability by $2,000 for that year, allowing you to reduce
your monthly tax withholding by $166.  Like all homeowners, you can also claim an interest deduction on the remaining 80 percent of the interest you pay."

Using the MCC, first time buyers in North Carolina can change the withholding allowance on their W4s, thereby increasing their take home pay, which will help in qualifying for the mortgage needed to purchase their dream home.

Click here to learn more

Contact Katie at 919.573.6150 if you'd like to find a participating lender or if you'd like information on other programs to assist first time homebuyers

Keep up with the construction progress of the BRAC Regional Task Force Headquarters being built for the new Army Forces Command and Reserve Command. Visit the Regional Task Force's website to view  photographs which will be updated throughout the process. The website is also a great resource for information about the impact the Headquarters will have on the areas making up the "All American Defense Corridor."

Governor Bev Perdue recently authorized enhancements to the N.C. Finance Agency Mortgage Certificate Credit (MCC) program, allowing eligible homebuyers to reduce their federal tax liability by 20% of the mortgage interest paid annually. According to Perdue and the N.C. Finance Agency, this program could save N.C. homebuyers more than $30 million!

A recent article in the N.C. Association of Realtors Insight Magazine, Gov. Perdue Authorizes Tax Credit Program, (March/April 2009), states "For buyers who qualify, the MCC could prove to be even more beneficial than the homebuyer tax credit in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008." Also, the benefit of the MCC continues throughout the life of the loan and can even be reissued if the homebuyer refinances.

The MCC can be used in conjunction with most mortgages and can reduce homeowners’ tax liability by as much as $2,000 per year. The MCC can be combined with the new $8,000 federal tax credit for eligible homebuyers until that credit expires in December 2009.

Call Katie at 919.573.6150 for help in finding a participating lender.

Cape Fear Botanical Garden delights visitors year round but April is a fabulous opportunity to take in all the wonders of the Garden, FREE, courtesy of PWC. The 79 acre botanical garden features nature trails, a natural amphitheater, unique plants and varied terrain. The Garden’s website, describes it best, where “Ponds, pools and waterways, lodged like jewels in a broach, attract birds and other fauna and provide habitat for aquatic plants.”

Make it a point to visit the Garden in April at least once and bring along someone who has not yet experienced this jewel of Fayetteville!

Cape Fear Botanical Garden
536 N. Eastern Boulevard
Fayetteville, NC 28301
(910) 486-0221      Fax: (910) 486-4209
info@capefearbg.org 
 

I'd like to share this important information which I recently received from Debbie McFayden, MLS Director with the Fayetteville Regional Assocation of Realtors. If you are planning to appeal your tax revaluation, you need to be very proactive and file the appeals within the 30-day time limit.  If you wait 31 days or more, your appeal may not be reviewed by the county’s tax administration office. Visit  the Cumberland County Tax Website for more information.

You have heard a lot about the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit that provides a credit of 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000.  What you may have missed is that if you're a first time buyer (haven't owned a primary residence within the last three years) you can CLAIM THE CREDIT ON YOUR 2008 TAXES! even if you are just buying the home now, in 2009.

Actually, it can be claimed on your 2008 Tax Return (to be filed by April 15, 2009), an amended 2008 Tax Return, or your 2009 Tax Return. This combined with great low mortgage rates, abundant inventory and motivated sellers combine to make this A Great Time to Buy Your Home. 

For more information on the tax credit click here: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

You've heard it before, "Real estate is local."  Nowhere is that more true than in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. I'd like to share some facts recently reported by the NC Association of Realtors. It's easy to get a false impression of our local markets when we hear so much negative publicity from the national media. It's important to keep in mind that the national media reports on national conditions. This report from the NC Association of Realtors reports NC Conditions. To stay informed on Cumberland County conditions, contact us for local market condition updates.

FORECLOSURE FACTS

• Nationally, January foreclosure filings decreased 10 percent compared to the previous month.
• In January, the number of foreclosures occurring in N.C. decreased 29.3 percent when compared to January 2008.
• Nationally, foreclosure rates were 18 percent higher in January 2009.
• North Carolina continues to descend in the official ranking of foreclosure rates, and is 33rd nationally.
• Four states – Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida – represented 53 percent of the 274,399 foreclosures in the U.S. in January.

 
NORTH CAROLINA'S ECONOMY

• North Carolina is consistently at the forefront of affordable housing. Most recently, Cornelius (in Mecklenburg County) was named one of the most affordable suburbs in the country. Fayetteville and Rocky Mount were both recognized for high price appreciations.
• In 2008, North Carolina welcomed the most newcomers (versus loss of residents) of any state, according to moving services website Relocation.com. For every 100 people leaving, 180 moved in.

HOMEOWNERSHIP

• In February, Gov. Bev Perdue signed an authorization that could save N.C. homebuyers more than $30million.
• The National Association of REALTORS® estimates the impact of the stimulus package and lower interest rates on the housing market to be about 900,000 additional home sales in 2009 compared to conditions before the stimulus package.
• Homes were more affordable in December 2008 than at any other point since the National Association of REALTORS® began its housing affordability index in1970.
   

Source:  NC Association of Realtors, The Real Facts of N.C. Real Estate: For the Record, Issue 2, March/April 2009.

ASK-A-LAWYER DAY!

Friday, March 6, 2009
7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
Telephone consultations are FREE!

Do you have a burning legal question and wish there was a
lawyer around that you could bounce it off of for FREE? If so, make note
of this wonderful opportunity:

The North Carolina Bar Association Foundation is hosting "Ask-a-Lawyer
Day" through its "4ALL Statewide Service Day" on Friday, March 6, 2009,
from 7:00AM until 7:00PM.

As a service to the public, on that day, anyone in North Carolina can call and talk with a North Carolina lawyer for FREE!

Lawyers will take calls from five calls centers around the state.

Raleigh / Triangle Area:  800-424-9725
Greensboro / Triad Area:  888-818-3471
Charlotte Area:  866-616-4255
Wilmington / Eastern NC Area:  866-281-8314
Asheville / Western NC Area:  800-289-0013

This one-day event may be especially helpful to those experiencing
financial crisis, but is open to all regardless of economic status.