By Tim Branneky, on July 18th, 2024 
Tim Branneky
Before graduating from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri; I’d had my mind set on my career path which was in real estate! I decided after breaking multiple school and conference football kicking records, to hang up the cleats and focus on handing over keys to new home buyers and game-plan with sellers! In my first full year of working in real estate post graduation; In 2023, I successfully closed on 18 sides totaling $5,355,500 while working with multiple first time home buyers!
As a young home buyer, it might seem overwhelming as you’re given the task Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 31st, 2019 At the start of this year, the Missouri First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account program went info effect making it easier for first-time home buyers to prepare to buy a home. This program provides for tax-deductible savings acounts for first-time homebuyers making it easier for homebuyers to save for a down payment by giving them a tax decution for the amount they save. People wanting to save for a home can contribute up to $3,200 per year for married couples and $1,600 for all others. Homebuyers participating in this program will be entitled to a tax deduction on their Missouri Income tax Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 10th, 2018 Just over 1 of every three (34%) homebuyers in 2017 were first-time homebuyers according to the With the growing population of millennials reaching an age where many are buying homes, I expect to see the percentage of first-time homebuyers increase over the next couple of years.
Many first-time homebuyers find the home buying process to be a little intimidating which is largely due to just lacking the experience of having done it before and the knowledge that is gained from the experience. However, with a time spent getting educated on the process, the fears can be calmed and the home Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on February 6th, 2013 FHA Interest Rate Change: MHDC’s Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) is now 4%! (APR 4.93) MHDC is raising mortgage interest rates offered to first-time homebuyers. First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 14th, 2012 Annually, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) conducts a survey of people that bought and/or sold a home in the past year to learn about their shopping habits, what motivated them to do what they did, etc. The NAR “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” for 2012 was just released and shows, among other things, that 90 percent of home buyers used the internet in finding the home they bought and, of those, about half used a local MLS site and/or agent/company site Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on November 7th, 2012 Qualified first-time home buyers can receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs on a home. The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) provides a competitive interest rate on a safe 30-year fixed rate 1st mortgage. Your 3% advance loan is treated as a 2nd mortgage completely forgivable after five years of continuous occupancy. New, Constant Funding means MHDC will have the monies available for the borrowers regardless of bond issuance. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on August 8th, 2012 ARE YOU PRE-QUALIFIED? Have you given much thought to how much of a mortgage payment would be for your dream home? Should you talk to you mortgage professional before house hunting? Absolutely! Even if you haven’t so much as selected a Realtor®, it’s important to talk with your mortgage professional first. Why? Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on October 19th, 2011 Not knowing what you can afford – What the lender says you can afford and what you know you can afford may not necessarily be the same. Looking at homes that are outside your price range can put you in the dangerous position of trying to stretch beyond your financial means. Be sure to consider all of your monthly expenses when budgeting for your anticipated mortgage payment. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on August 24th, 2011
First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs.
Program Highlights:
3% Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) can be used for down payment and closing costs. CAL is forgivable after 5 years of occupancy. 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages & Competitive Rates. CAL can be used with FHA, VA and USDA Rural Development loan programs. First time home buyer requirement only applies to the last three years. Loan is assumable for an MHDC-qualified borrower in an FHA, VA or USDA-RD loan program. Eligible owner occupied properties include: Single-Family Detached, Duplexes, Semi-Detached, Condominiums, Town Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 8th, 2011 The “State of the Nation’s Housing“ Report for 2011 by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University does not paint a very pretty picture of the housing market, nor does it give us a whole lot to look forward to with regard to the near-term future of the U.S. housing market.
Continue Reading →
By News Desk, on May 25th, 2011
Should you talk to you mortgage professional before house hunting?
Absolutely!
Even if you haven’t so much as selected a Realtor®, it’s important to talk with your mortgage professional first. Why?
Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on February 9th, 2011
Missouri Housing Development Commission offers first-time home buyers a forgivable 3% Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) for down payment and closing costs. Terms of this program include:
Continue Reading →
By News Desk, on November 4th, 2010 Five questions every potential buyer should ask when deciding whether to rent or buy a home
First time homebuyers have a lot to consider this summer when making the decision to rent or buy a home: interest rates are at all-time lows, there’s still plenty of housing stock and prices are at or near their lowest in years. Still, deciding whether to buy a home or rent an apartment can be a complicated decision. How do you know what’s right for you? Potential buyers should ask themselves several key questions before making this important decision.
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 29th, 2010
Dennis Norman
UPDATE -July 2 – The President has signed the bill into law….It’s official, the deadline is September 30th to close..
UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS! I Stand Corrected! Yesterday, before ending session, the Senate did PASS H.R. 5623 by Unanimous Consent…the bill now goes to the President for his signature and then will extend the closing date until September 30th…
UPDATE-June 30th-Today was the last day the Senate is in session before the 4th of July break and there was no action on this bill…..The Senate is now on recess until July 12th so nothing Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 17th, 2010 UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS! I Stand Corrected! Yesterday, before ending session, the Senate did PASS H.R. 5623 by Unanimous Consent…the bill now goes to the President for his signature and then will extend the closing date until September 30th…
Dennis Norman
UPDATE-June 30th-As the Willie Nelson song goes. “Turn out the lights, the party’s over”….well at least for now…Today, the last day the Senate is in session before the 4th of July break, there was yet another motion for cloture (to end debate) on H.R. 4213 and once again, like the previous 2 or 3 attempts, Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 15th, 2010 Dennis Norman
The deadline to purchase a home to qualify for the extended home-buyer tax credit was April 30th with a deadline of June 30, 2010 to close the sale. Since the deadline to purchase I have heard from many buyers with questions and concerns as they realize that, while they made the April 30th deadline to enter enter a contract to purchase a home, they are concerned that they may not make the June 30th deadline for closing, particularly those buying a new home, and want to know if there were any options available to them to Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 3rd, 2010 61 Percent of Those Looking for or Considering Buying a Home Had No Plans to Use the Tax Credit
Dennis Norman
According to a survey from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, the majority of people looking for, or considering buying, a home had no plans to take advantage of the First-Time or Move-Up/Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credits.
The survey, which was conducted online during the last week of February 2010, was designed to identify factors affecting today’s home buying decisions. Respondents were people from across the country who were searching for a new home, saving up to Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 15th, 2010 Dennis Norman
If you are one of the million-plus homebuyers that was fortunate enough to qualify for the Home Buyer tax credit, read on for information on how to claim your credit.
Today the Internal Revenue Service released a new form that eligible homebuyers must need to use to claim the first-time homebuyer credit this tax season, along with instructions and guidelines for other documentation that must accompany your tax return.
The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the homebuyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law Continue Reading →
By Ted Gayer, on December 14th, 2009
Ted Gayer, co-director of Economic Studies, Brookings Institute
According to this article, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has scored a Senate homebuyer tax credit at $16.7 billion. How does the JCT $16.7 billion cost estimate square with my previous back-of-the-envelope calculation of the cost of the tax credit of $73.9 billion?
For my calculation, I assumed a tax credit of $15,000, available for one year. The Senate proposal scored by JCT is for an $8,000 tax credit. I also assumed the tax credit would be available for one year, whereas the Senate proposal scored by JCT Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 1st, 2009 Dennis Norman
I have done several posts on the homebuyer tax credit and received and answered hundreds of questions about the tax credits on the various blogs I write for. There appears to be a lot of demand for the credits by homebuyers but also appears to be many questions. If you have questions about the homebuyer tax credit I would suggest you check out the comments/questions and answers to a post I did at www.RealEstateConsumerNews.com.
In addition, the National Association of Home Builders has just updated their informative video on the newly extended and expanded tax credit Continue Reading →
By News Desk, on November 25th, 2009 First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended to April 30, 2010; Some Current Homeowners Now Also Qualify
WASHINGTON — A new law that went into effect Nov. 6 extends the first-time homebuyer credit five months and expands the eligibility requirements for purchasers.
The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends the deadline for qualifying home purchases from Nov. 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010. Additionally, if a buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, the buyer has until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase.
Continue Reading →
By Ted Gayer, on November 11th, 2009 Publishers note: If you have been reading our blog for a while you are probably aware we have been supporters and advocates of the home-buyer tax credit as well as the extension and expansion of the credit, which happened last week. We realize however, there are people that do not support the credits for a variety of reasons. I came across the article below which was written prior to passage of the extension of the credit by Ted Gayer. I think this is a well written piece and does present the “other side of the coin”…Ted agreed to allow us Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 5th, 2009 Dennis Norman
UPDATE 11/06/09 5:14 p.m. – Thanks to Denis T who was commenting on this post, click here to go to the IRS site with information on the new tax credits.
UPDATE 11/06/09 1:00 p.m. – I just heard that a short while ago President Obama signed the bill into law. IT’S OFFICIAL! So if you are in the market for a home .. Go For It!
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 4th, 2009 Dennis Norman
UPDATE 11/05 2:00 pm – The House has passed the bill by a vote of 403 – 12 – It now goes to the President who is expected to sign today or tomorrow.
UPDATE 11/05, 12:35 pm- To read the section of H.R. 3548 that contains the details concerning the first-time home-buyer tax credit click here.
If you care to read the entire bill click here.
UPDATE: At 5:28 p.m. by a vote of 98 to 0 the Senate Passed H.R. 3548 – It now will go to the House where it is expected to pass Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 2nd, 2009 Dennis Norman
UPDATED: 6:15 pm Central Time-
The Senate voted 85-2 this afternoon to end debate on the amendment..This is clears a procedural hurdle and will allow the bill and amendment to be voted on by the Senate, most likely on Tuesday or Wednesday….If passed by the Senate it would then need to go back to the House for passage and then on to the President.
Here’s the latest info I have on the possible extension of the home-buyer tax credit:
The Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson Amendment I spoke of in last Friday’s update was added to the unemployment bill Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 30th, 2009 Dennis Norman
In yesterday’s update I had some rather encouraging news about the possible extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 that has stimulated some home buying but is set to expire on November 30th. The good news was that there is an agreement amongst the powers that be with regard to extending the home buyer tax credit, which in itself is a HUGE step toward getting the credit extended, but as I said yesterday, “the fat lady hasn’t sang yet”.
Based upon the latest news I just received in an email update from the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 29th, 2009 Dennis Norman
I have been talking a lot lately about the first-time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 that has stimulated some home buying but is set to expire on November 30th. I have also shared the efforts by organizations such as the National Association of REALTORS, The Mortgage Bankers Associaiton, The National Association of Home Builders and Fix Housing First to urge Congress to extend the home buyer tax credit as well as expand it to include more than just first-time home buyers.
Unfortunately there are some inaccurate reports I’m seeing this morning that indicating the Senate Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 8th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The best available tool for sustaining the still-fragile housing market is the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit, (expires November 30) and it is essential that Congress extend the credit into 2010, the National Association of Realtors® testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Small Business Committee yesterday.
NAR Regional Vice President Joseph L. Canfora said “the credit is working,” pointing out that the 355,000 to 400,000 transactions directly attributable to the credit made a significant dent in the housing inventory and will help to stabilize home prices. Further, the credit has provided a Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Today, testifying before The US House of Representatives Small Business Committee, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) told the committee that the current credit cycle and recession began in the U.S. housing market, and recovery will not be complete until the current oversupply of house on the market has dramatically decreased.
The MBA then cited the recent report by the IRS that over 1.4 million taxpayers have benefited from the tax credit. “Although (the) MBA is seeing some improvement in the housing market, it is essential that the favorable impact of the first-time homebuyer Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 5th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Results have just been released of a study conducted by Rosen Consulting Group as to the effectiveness of the 2009 first-time-homebuyer tax credit and the potential need for an extension of the credits.
The Rosen Consulting Group was retained by Fix Housing First, a coalition that was originally working to convince Congress for a housing stimulus package that they feel would have a more significant then what was ultimately passed, and since has been working to get the tax credit extended beyond its current expiration date of November 30, 2009.
The study noted Continue Reading →
|
Recent Articles
Helpful Real Estate Resources
|
