Des Moines Real Estate - First-Time Buyer Website

Welcome! Here's How to Use this Website...

Welcome to the only First-Time Homebuyer website in the Des Moines, Iowa area!

<---- Read the information to your left to find out more about this website, and click on the links at the top of every page to navigate.  You can search ALL listed homes for sale (all RE companies), quickly apply for a home loan, and learn all about the first-time homebuyer process. Remember, you can choose to have me represent you as your Buyer Agent no matter which home you want to buy or who has it listed -- and, it's free!  So if you want someone looking out just for YOU when you buy your home, contact me (phone and email below). I've been helping First-Time Homebuyers for a long time, and you have my promise that I will take great care of you and your family.

Sincerely,
Mike Davis
mike@mikedavishomes.com
515.966.4510

P.S. Be sure to subscribe to my blog (you can read it below), and to let your friends know about this website!  Use the buttons below to add this site to your iGoogle homepage, Google Reader, and/or email it to your friends or post to Facebook.

 

Rates Are Really Low!

Wow.  Check out this graph; rates have really been dropping.  To get the full effect, click  on 3 months (3MO).  Rates are really low and it's a great time to buy, before they go up again.  

Current
Mortgage Rates

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Homebuyer Tax Credit Video - Very Helpful Information!

You probably know about the Homebuyer Tax Credit extension -- I blogged about it the day it was extended.  This is great news for first-time buyers, but also for repeat buyers: They now have a chance to qualify for it as well.  For repeat buyers, the amount is $6,500, and for first-time buyers it remains at $8,000.

Anyway, here is a great little video explaining the 2 tax credits, with dates and other information about the extension.  Enjoy!  And please remember, if you want to take advantage of the Tax Credit and start on the path to your perfect home, contact me.  You can email me at mike@mikedavishomes.com or call me at 515.966.4510.

Rates May Go Up This Week

According to my loan officer -- and he's a very good one -- rates have the potential to go up this week.  Keep checking back here and we'll keep you posted.

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended; Repeat Buyers Also Given Tax Credit

It's the news you've been waiting for!  The White House says that President Obama will sign the Tax Credit Extension bill today; the $8,000 Tax Credit for 1st-time home buyers is extended to April 30th, and additionally, repeat buyers now have a $6,500 Tax Credit available to them.

From Bloomberg:

The House approved the legislation yesterday on a 403-12 vote; the Senate passed it 98-0 on Nov. 4. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Obama will sign the bill today.

For those of you who bought a home and are scrambling to close by November 30, you can relax.  And if you haven't bought a home yet, now's the time.  Rates are incredibly low, and every expert I talk to says they're going up soon.

Do you have questions about this?  Post them below, or email me at mike@mikedavishomes.com .

More details to follow.  Tell your friends about this by using the handy button below!

UPDATE:

OK, here are some details. The April 30 date means that you must PURCHASE (a signed contract) your home by then; to get the tax credit, you must then close within 60 days.

Income limits for eligible home buyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples, from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively. To help guard against fraud, buyers are required to attach documentation of purchase to their tax return.

$8,000 Tax Credit Extension Passes the Senate!

The awesome $8000 Tax Credit is one step closer to being extended.  Not only that, but if this passes the house, there will be a $6,500 Tax Credit for repeat homebuyers (as long as they have lived in their current home for at least 5 years).  From MSNBC:

The tax credits would be available to homebuyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes, said a congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the deal.

Stay tuned!

$8,000 Tax Credit Just Might Be Extended!

Great news, First-Time Buyers!

Congress is moving closer to extending the life of a home-buyer tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of this month.

"It appears increasingly likely that Congress will extend the home-buyer tax credit, especially in light of the persistent weakness in the economy," says Tim Hanford, tax consultant with ADC Strategies in Bethesda, Md., and a former House Ways and Means Committee tax staffer.

Support also appears to be growing for expanding the provision, such as by offering a reduced credit to many homebuyers who aren't eligible for the existing one. Final details are expected soon.

Read the entire article at the Wall Street Journal.

Home ownership remains a good investment

Over a decade, price appreciation usually overcomes even bad slumps

From MSNBC Real Estate:

For all the doom and gloom about the housing market, it still generally pays to own a home.

That might be a tough case to make right now to the 16 million homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. But history suggests the American Dream is a pretty safe bet.

Homes have appreciated by an average of 4 percent a year since World War II. They act as hedges against inflation and bestow significant tax benefits.

Me again: Often lately, I've been asked by potential buyers if it's a good idea to buy a home right now, since real estate is "in a slump".  My response to that is that real estate values will, over the years, go up and down.  However, the trend is always UP.  In other words, if you drew it on a graph, you would not see a straight line going up over the years.  Instead, you'd see a line going up, then dipping down, then going up, then dipping down, and so on.  But you would also see that in the long run, the dips don't matter: the line on the graph always goes higher.

It's just a matter of looking at the big picture, and not worrying too much about what's going on right now.

Besides, I tell buyers, when is the best time to BUY?  When real estate values are high, or when they have dipped down?  Of course the answer is when they have dipped down.

So remember: When the market is "bad" for sellers, it's a great time for you to buy a home.

You can read the rest of the article here.  It's a good read.  And if you're ready to buy, or just have questions about buying, email me at mike@mikedavishomes.com , or call me at 515.966.4510.  If I'm with a client I won't answer the phone, but if that happens, leave me a voicemail and I promise your call will be returned within an hour or two at most.

Hope you are having a great week!

Buy Before Halloween!

Just a quick reminder... if you are a first-time homebuyer, and you want to get the $8,000 tax credit, you should be writing an offer on your home no later than approximately Halloween.  You still have time, so contact me if you want to take advantage of this (as well as the current low rates!).

Simply email me at mike@mikedavishomes.com or call me at 515.966.4510.

Not Much Time Left!

If you want $8,000 that you don't have to repay, there's not much time left... you have approximately 11 weeks to write an offer before it's too late!

To get the $8,000 tax credit, you must close on your new home no later than November 30, 2009.

What Would You Do For $8,000?

Here are a couple of great videos explaining the $8,000 Tax Credit.  Remember, if you want this $8,000 (that you do not have to replay) you need to contact me now, because we have to close on your new home by November 30 of this year!