First-Time Home Buyer

FIRST CAR: THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING. IS IT TIME FOR YOUR FIRST NEW HOME?

By The New Home Council

“There’s no time like the present”, “time’s a wastin’”, what are you waiting for?”, “time is of the essence”.  There are a lot of ways to say hurry up and do something, and the message from the new home industry is loud and clear.  If someone wants in on $8,000 stimulus cash in the form of a First Time Buyer tax credit, now is the time to act. The official deadline to close a sale on a new home and qualify for an $8,000 stimulus bonus is November 30, 2009. As of now there is no reason to believe this offer will be extended by the goverment. While the end of November may see like a long way off, the real deadline to act is now. The reality is that it takes a minimum of four to six weeks to close a sale on a new home. This time is needed for the buyer to receive approval and verification from a lender, for the home to be appraised, which is taking much longer than usual because appraisers are being more careful. The lender and title company have to do title research and make sure all the paper work is in order.  Dialed-in, this is about fast as the process can go.

Working backward, the deadline for finding a new home, and having a Purchase and Sale Agreement accepted by the seller is between today and the end of October at the latest. Here’s some advice on how to make this happen.  Start or ramp-up a search today.  This allows from two to three weeks to find a home that fits, and from four to six weeks to get the paperwork through the system.  A good place to start a search is www.firstnewhome.net.  The New Home Council, a local association of new home marketing professionals, has assembled a large collection of new homes, condominiums and townhomes suited to the first time homebuyer. On the web site is information on pricing, special offers, locations, availability and financing. Links point to information on the $8,000 stimulus and tips for how to go about choosing a first new home.

A good way to narrow down a search is to give some thought to the neighborhoods that have the most appeal, then spend time visiting the models in person and getting to know the specialists who are on site to help explain the stimulus program and who can assist in meeting the deadline for obtaining the $8,000 in government stimulus money.

Currently there are dozens of homes priced from $150,000 to the mid- $300,000 that fit the budgets of most first time buyers shown at www.firstnewhome.net.

So, why wait?  Today’s the perfect day to buy a new home and grad up to an $8,000 stimulus tax credit.

www.firstnewhome.net

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FIRST KISS: THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING. IS NOW THE TIME FOR YOUR FIRST NEW HOME?

Remember your first bike?  You first car?  Your first date?  Your first kiss?  There are a number of magic moments in life that symbolize transitions from one state of life to another.  Moments that leave you changed forever.  Moments that shape the directions of ones life.

One of the most important of these moments is the purchase of a first new home.  It’s a time when you move from renter, to homeowner, temporary to permanent.  Homeownership is symbolic of the American way of life and it very much at the root of the nation’s social structure.

Over the past decade in the Puget Sound region the purchase of that first new home has often been delay.  Home and land prices were increasing faster than personal incomes for many people, particularly those in the market for their first home.  The New Home Council, an independent team of industry professionals is pleased to report that now, in the Puget Sound market area, the first time homebuyer segment is the strongest segment of the industry.  We are entering a time when more and more of our neighbors can afford a new home.  This is being made possible by a number of positive factors.  First of all, home and land prices have adjusted themselves over a period from 2007 through late 2008.  Second, interest rates for have remained at historic lows, and loans with lower down payments, such as FHA loans and other, are regaining popularity. Third the developers and homebuilders have been very busy creating exciting new product for the first time buyer of new homes and condominiums.  There are more choices of home styles, communities and buildings that are attracting a lot of activity in every part of our region. The last motivator, albeit a temporary one is the Federal government’s $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers which expires at the end of November.

Over the next three weeks The New Home Council will share tips, techniques and strategies to make buying your first new home as easy and fun as that first kiss.

In the meantime, the New Home Saturday section today is loaded with information and choices to get you started on your search.  In the meantime here some of our favorite on-line sources for first time buyers of new homes.

www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/BuyerGuide2004/fthb-tips.asp

www.Homefair.com

www.hsh.com/calc-howmuch.html

www.mortgage-calculators.org/calculators/calculators.html

www.homebuyerinstitute.com

www.RealEstateabc.com

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