Apartment for Rent

2 bedroom apartment in the Weequahic Section Newark

$875.00/mo. (1 mos. And 1/2 security required)

Separate Utilities

Available Immediately

Please Call 973.392.3929 or email 973house@gmail.com

396 Summer Avenue Update

396 Summer Avenue is almost complete. The website is up and running. Visit http://www.396summeravenue.com/ You can download an application right online under the documents tab from the main website.

Call (973.494.9548) or email (396SummerAvenue@gmail.com) with any questions.

72TelfordSt.Com

Hi Readers, I have a featured listing at a great price in excellent condition. Easy to show. Call me with more information.

Incentives To Buy for 2009

As if today's buyers needed another incentive to buy in today's market. The rates are at an all-time low, prices dropped, and now...

A Sweet Deal for First-Time Home buyers
The ins-and-outs of the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
If you are – like many Americans – trying to figure out the best time to make your first home purchase, then you may want to take a closer look at the first-time homebuyer tax credit included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into action by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17, '09

Repayment
The 2009 homebuyer credit DOES NOT require repayment. Repayment of the credit is only required if the owner sells the property within three years of purchase.

Credit Amount
While the credit is equivalent to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, the 2009 credit increases the limit of the credit from $7,500 to $8,000.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING THE CREDIT

1. Qualifying for the homebuyer credit
The credit is for first-time homebuyers only. As it relates to this credit, a first-time homebuyer is defined as any taxpayer who has not owned a principal (or main) residence for a period of three years prior to the home purchase. The first-time purchase must be of a principal residence.
2. Income limitations
The legislation does limit availability of the first-time homebuyer credit based on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). Single filers with MAGI of $75,000 or less and married couples with MAGI of $150,000 or less are eligible for the full $8,000 credit. Those individuals or couples with MAGI above these limits may be available for a reduced credit on a phase-out basis.
3. Purchase window
The 2009 first-time homebuyer tax credit is retroactive to January 1, 2009 and covers purchases through November 30th, 2009.
4. Refundable credit
The tax credit reduces your final tax liability and you will be refunded whatever portion, if any, of the credit that remains after applying the credit to taxes you owe for that year. For example, let’s say you qualify for the full $8,000 homebuyer credit and your total tax liability (after withholding) is $2,000. Your tax liability will be zero, and you will receive a refund for the remaining $6,000.
5. Claiming the credit
Claiming the credit is actually very simple. To take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit, you’ll need to complete IRS Form 5405 which will help determine the tax credit amount. You’ll then claim that amount on line 69 of your 1040 tax return form. No pre-approval forms or applications are required!

As with most issues related to a home purchase, be sure to consult with ME your RealEstate.com REALTOR® for additional information or to ensure that you and your prospective purchase qualifies for this homebuyer tax credit.

RealEstate.com Realtors

I am pleased to announce that I have joined RealEstate.com Realtors as a sales associate and I am excited and looking forward to working with this great company.

If you have viewed my personal profile, you will know that I am primarily a buyers agent (and that is the reason for emphasizing what realestate.com can benefit buyers). I have experience working with first-time home buyers and with bank-owned (REO) properties.

For buyers RealEstate.com is committed to providing the resources for home buyers to find the right home with the least amount of effort. In addition to providing a wealth of tools and services on the RealEstate.com website, our agents are local experts who excel in responsiveness and buyer service. Rather than simply signing you up to receive e-mail notifications of new and changed listings, our agents will call you immediately when a property that may match your criteria comes on the market or has a price change.

RealEstate.com is really your one stop shop for all your real estate needs. If you haven't already visited, I encourage you to at least take a few minutes to browse through the site. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. RealEstate.com is also mobile! You can begin your search right from your phone. It doesn't get that convenient than that folks. Visit http://www.realestate.com/mobile

Amanda M. Rodriguez
Realtor-Associate
RealEstate.com Realtors
379 Thornall Street, 5th Fl
Edison, NJ 08837

You have little to no $$ for a down payment...

You want to buy a home, credit is good, you have little to no money for down payment. Can you still buy a home? The answer is YES!

There are still programs out there to help the first time home buyer with their down payment and even closing costs.

Courtesy of the wonderful Gina Peterson of Jersey Mortgage Company, she has provided us with the information and resources about the down payment assistance programs. She recently issued a newsletter (Volume 1, Issue 5) that went into discussed down payment assistance programs which triggered me to do my own research for my first-time home buyers. (Which consisted of asking Gina the same questions over and over).

If you would like to contact her or if you would like a copy of the newsletter she issued she can be reached at: gpeterson@jerseymortgage.com OR 732.259.1030
She will be more than happy to answer any questions and get you started on purchasing a home by pre-qualifying you over the phone.

• Live Where You Work: The New Jersey Housing Finance Agency (HMFA) has a program which offers home buyers who will live and work in a participating municipality a low interest 30 or 40-year, fixed-rate, first mortgage.
• Smart Start Program: The NJ HMFA has this other program that will make Smart Start down payment and/closing cost loans in the amount of 2%, 3% or 4% of the first mortgage to qualified Home Buyer Program borrowers purchasing in Smart Growth areas as determined by the Agency’s Smart Growth locator. To view if the home is located in a Smart Growth locator Click here.

We covered having credit issues and now down payment issues. Anything else that might be preventing you from making the next step and finally purchase a new home. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! Prices are at their all time lows, interest rates are great.

Overcoming Credit Issues? What is my credit score?

Okay, Lets talk about the poll I had up some time ago. Read previous post 12/2 Poll What is stopping you from buying a home.

Part One: Credit Issues

When was the last time you ran your credit?
Did you know that you are entitled to a free credit report for all 3 of the credit reporting companies once every 12 months. There might be some false items on your credit report that prevent you from having a good credit score or there might be fraudulent activity on your account that you don't know about because you haven't reviewed your report in a while.

You can request your free annual credit report by clicking here, which I want to add I have no affiliation to. You can also request your free annual credit by phone and it will be mailed to you from the credit reporting companies within 15 days. This report will not give you your credit score but it will give you an overview of what you need to pay. You should review the report before attempting to purchase a home to know what items need repairing.

If there are any items that were in collections and you paid it but it shows as open with a balance...YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO DISPUTE YOU with the credit reporting company. Visit one of the three credit reporting companies; experian, transunion, or equifax to dispute the account. When you dispute it, the credit reporting companies will verify with the company and if it was indeed paid they will remove it off of your credit report, resulting in a better score.

To view your rights on credit reporting under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) visit Federal Trade Commission website.

There are many companies to claim they can fix up your credit for a fee BE VERY CAUTIOUS. Most of the repair you can do yourself, if you have the proof that you did pay the account.

If and when you decide to buy a house and have negative items on your credit report the mortgage broker will tell you what you have to pay in order to get the mortgage. Mostly any medical collections you will have to pay in full and any judgements on your credit report. MAKE SURE YOU PAY WITH PERSONAL CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO PROVIDE MORTGAGE BROKER WITH PROOF OF PAYMENT. (I have to stress that because I had an issue with a buyer who paid her medical collections with her credit card after I gave her specific instructions to pay by check and it became an issue because she settled less than the amounts on her report.) Some collection companies will send you a "Paid Off" letter but you NEED to request it.

Each mortgage broker is different and have different guidelines and will provide you with the guidance you need to help you fix your credit to obtain the mortgage. After you have paid whatever items necessary to satisfy mortgage brokers requirements they might order what is called as a "rapid rescore". Usually in order to have the items showed as paid on your credit report it will take months or even years. Rapid rescore is a way of improving your credit score quickly, by correcting items and then having your credit score "rapidly" corrected in a few days. There is a fee for that service from the credit reporting companies which most brokers would have the client pay upfront.

I can't stress enough how important it is to know what your credit score is and what you need to do to fix it. It will save you time and energy getting the legwork done before looking to buy your new home.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Good Luck!

Find Foreclosures Fast and Free

Foreclosures

It's been a while...With the holidays it's easy to get caught up with work.

Let's talk foreclosures aka (Real Estate Owned or REO's). There are a ton of new construction REO's. I've been taking a few of my clients to see. Priced in below the $250,000...good deals. Most just need a good cleaning. So for those who don't know, REO's are properties that were taken back from the bank since they couldn't sell through short-sale or auction. They are usually placed back on the market with a realtor at a discounted price.

Anyone interested in viewing some of these REO's let me know... Mostly all are vacant and easy to show. I'll be more than happy to show.

Poll What is stopping you from buying a home.

I posted a poll on the left hand menu for about a two months and I only received two responses. Just to recap the poll question was: What is stopping you from buying a home? Answers: 1. Credit Issues 2. No $$ for downpayments/Closing Costs 3. Don't know where to start 4. Insecurity/Nervousness/Media Hype. I received one response for Credit Issues and another for Don't know where to start. I posted that poll so I can see what my readers want to read about. I might not have too many readers but I will still respond to the poll and compile information to post at a later date. Some readers might be thinking the answer but not select an answer for any given reasons. Which is okay with me. Thank you to the two people who responsed. I will come back at a later date and give some insight about those two choices.

I reposted the poll to give my readers the chance to answer. You can view it on the left hand menu.