Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
What would you do if I gave you $18,000
San Ramon, CA- Today the good news is......
$18,000 IN COMBINED HOME BUYER TAX CREDITS FOR A LIMITED TIME
Californians have a brief window of opportunity to receive up to $18,000 in combined federal and state home buyer tax credits. To take advantage of both tax credits, a first-time home buyer must enter into a purchase contract for a principal residence before May 1, 2010, and close escrow between May 1, 2010 and June 30, 2010, inclusive. Buyers who are not first-time home buyers may use the same time frames to receive up to $16,500 in combined tax credits if they are long-time residents of their existing homes as permitted under federal law, and they purchase properties that have never been previously occupied as provided under California law.
Under the federal law slated to soon expire, a first-time home buyer may receive up to $8,000 in tax credits, and a long-time resident may receive up to $6,500, for certain purchase contracts entered into by April 30, 2010 that close escrow by June 30, 2010. Additionally, under a newly enacted California law, a home buyer may receive up to $10,000 in tax credits as a first-time home buyer or buyer of a property that has never been occupied. The new California law applies to certain purchases that close escrow on or after May 1, 2010 (see Cal. Rev. & Tax Code section 17059.1(a)(4)). California law generally allows buyers of never-occupied properties to reserve their credits before closing escrow, but buyers seeking to combine the federal and state tax credits will not be able to satisfy the timing requirements for such reservations (see Cal. Rev. & Tax Code section 17059.1(c)(1)(A)). Other terms and restrictions apply to both tax credits.
For more information, C.A.R. offers a Home buyer Tax Credit Chart with a side-by-side summary of the federal and California laws. C.A.R. also offers a legal article entitled Homebuyer Tax Credit Update.
Remember, a first home buyer is defined as someone who has not owned a home in the last three years in both the state and federal law.
If you have further questions contact me at 925-219-5144 or samparwiz@gmail.com
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Facebook Virus going arround.........if you get an e-mail like this.......
From: "Facebook Assistance"
Subject: Facebook Password Reset Confirmation! Your Support.
Virus: AUTH-W32/Bredolab.DY
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Alert, Alert ! ! ! Undisclosed Short Sale Payments May be Illegal!
San Ramon, CA - Undisclosed payments in short sale transactions, especially those paid outside of escrow, may violate the law, including RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act), laws against loan fraud, and licensing laws. Short sale agents have increasingly reported to C.A.R. (Calirforina Association of Relators) about requests for agents and their clients to pay junior lienholders and others, oftentimes outside of escrow.
One common scenario is when a short sale seller's senior lender authorizes a payment of $3,000, for example, to extinguish a junior lien, but the junior lender demands that the buyer pays an additional $9,000 outside of escrow. Not only would it be risky for a buyer to pay outside of escrow, but concealing this additional payment from a federally-insured senior lender may constitute loan fraud, which is a crime punishable by 30 years imprisonment plus a $1 million fine (18 U.S.C. section 1014). Furthermore, omitting from the HUD-1 Statement any charges paid at settlement by either a buyer or seller may violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) (Appendix A to 24 C.F.R. Part 3500). Depending on the specific circumstances, carrying out these payment requests may also violate other laws and regulations, and an agent's participation in the scheme may be subject to license revocation by the Department of Real Estate or other disciplinary action.
Agents and their clients are encouraged to file any complaints regarding fraudulent activities to the proper authorities, including the following agencies:
- Attorney General's Office
California Department of Justice
800-952-5225 Phone
http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/mailform.htm - Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD Office of Inspector General Hotline (GFI)
800-347-3735 Phone
http://www.hud.gov/offices/oig/hotline
Via: (Realegal® is published by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a trade association representing more than 175,000 REALTORS® statewide. )
If you have questions regarding a Short Sale please contact Sam Parwiz 925-219-5144 or samparwiz@gmail.com.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Know Your ARV Members » Using your IRA as an Instrument to Invest in Real Estate
Many investors have become disenchanted with recent stock market volatility, stories of corporate scandal and corruption. In addition to impacting retirement account values, these events have also strained investor confidence. It is no wonder then that more and more investors are pushing their advisers to offer Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRAs) that allow them to invest in alternative assets which they believe will provide greater diversification and control over their retirement nest eggs.
While the list of alternative investments includes a wide-ranging group of assets including private equities, hedge funds and mortgages, one area that has captured the greatest level of interest is real estate.
I believe, that falling prices, combined with increasing inventory, is creating new investment opportunities in real estate. As prices have fallen, the pendulum has swung past center to create oversold conditions, providing opportunities to buy real estate at low prices. Some areas in the U.S. have been experience this phenomenon for almost three years now.
Another factor to consider is that many real estate investors are being squeezed out of the market due to the current credit crisis. This has created a unique opportunity for cash-rich retirement plan investors. These investors are either purchasing the real estate outright, using a partnership or LLC. It is estimated that the first of more than 78 million baby boomers will begin to retire this year. This group controls more than $14 trillion dollars in retirement plan assets. These assets are being “rolled-over” from employer-based plans to individual retirement accounts. Many baby boomers have already begun to shift away from traditional equity investments to those that generate income, such as, income producing property. Add these factors with the possibility of equity appreciation, and it is clear why real estate is growing in popularity.
Just like doing all your research to select the perfect property to purchase includes knowing the market, good real estate comps, and knowing an exit strategy; finding the right SDIRA takes a little expertise. After the proper SDIRA custodian has been selected, the investor should request and complete the appropriate forms for their Traditional, Roth, SEP, Simple, Individual 401(k) or other qualified plan(s). The good SDIRA adviser will guide you through this process and make the process seamless for investors.
Ongoing market volatility, combined with the need of baby boomers to generate income, and retire securely, is causing investors of all shapes and sizes to take a hard look at their investment allocations to ensure there is a proper mix of opportunity and risk. As investors needs change, alternative assets and self-directed retirement accounts will become important tools to diversify and grow retirement wealth.
If you need to help with finding awesome investmetnts in real estate contact me @ 925-219-5144 or samparwiz@gmail.com.
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Future of Home-Price Appreciation - US News and World Report
Related Articles
After its historic decline brought the global economy to its knees, the U.S. housing market is gearing up for a long-awaited recovery. Real estate experts expect home prices to hit bottom in late 2010 or early 2011 before—finally!—heading north again. But what shape will the rebound take? Are we in for another boom? Or will we have to settle for sluggish growth? Here's the outlook for home price appreciation through 2020.
[See 10 Cities For Real Estate Steals.]
The trajectory of real estate values will vary a great deal from one market to the next. But home prices at the national level should appreciate at "pre-bubble" rates once the market re-establishes its equilibrium, says Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California–Berkeley: "I'd say prices are back to [increasing] 1 or 2 percent more than the inflation rate over the next 10 years." Although that might seem like peanuts to those who watched prices skyrocket during the first half of the past decade, it's actually in line with long-term averages. When adjusted for inflation, American home prices increased by an average of about half a percentage point per year from 1890 through 2008, according to data compiled by Yale University Prof. Robert Shiller.
Modest increases in home prices will be supported by larger paychecks, says Mark Fleming, chief economist of First American CoreLogic. "In the long run, house prices basically go in lock step with wage growth," he says. With the unemployment rate holding near double digits, that might not seem encouraging. But Fleming says that while the labor market is a late arrival in modern-day economic recoveries, jobs always return in some form. This time around, he expects high-tech companies and research-based industries like biotechnology to lead a resurgence that eventually sparks employment and wage growth throughout the economy. Inflation-adjusted personal incomes should increase roughly 2 percent a year from 2010 to 2020, according to Moody's Economy.com.
[See America's Best Places to Live.]
The "echo boomers." Meanwhile, demographic forces should boost demand for housing over the next decade, according to Harvard University researchers. Members of the "echo boom" generation—children of the baby boomers—are "entering their peak household formation years of 25 to 44 with more than 5 million more members than the baby boomers had in the 1970s," Harvard researchers said in a June 2009 report. "The echo boomers will help keep demand strong for the next 10 years and beyond." While some of this demand is likely to flow into the rental market, the preferred tax treatment of mortgage loans should help keep the American infatuation with homeownership alive. And if tax rates increase, as many expect, the value of the mortgage interest deduction will go up as well.
A more restricted flow of credit should prevent another housing bubble from forming anytime soon, says former Fed governor Lyle Gramley. Banks, hammered by souring loans, have raised their lending standards for even well-qualified borrowers. And federal regulators have taken steps to eliminate some of the reckless lending practices that precipitated the crash, such as banning lenders from making a higher-priced mortgage loan without first scrutinizing a borrower's ability to repay it. Tight mortgage credit "is going to persist for quite some time," Gramley says.
Still, housing bubbles haven't been driven to extinction. That's because the real estate market is cyclical. Regional housing markets have gone from boom to bust for as long as people have had mortgages. And because the booms generate so much wealth for home¬owners, investors, and influential industries—like home builders—it's unlikely that Congress can work up the courage to snuff them out with tough regulation, says Mark Calabria, a former senior Senate staffer who now works at the Cato Institute. "It's not an economic question, it's a political question: How do you build institutions that push against bubbles when you know they are going to be incredibly popular when they happen?" Calabria says. "And we all know Congress does what's popular, not necessarily what's right." Nothing in Capitol Hill's effort to reform financial regulation suggests that things will be different this time, he says. Insufficient regulation is one reason he expects another real estate bubble to surface within 15 years. "I would bet my life on it," he says.
So what's the best way to play an asset that will appreciate 1 or 2 percentage points above inflation during periods of stability but can swing wildly in times of imbalance? Simple: Buy a house because you'd enjoy living in it, not because you expect blowout returns. Then you'll never be disappointed by its quarterly statements.
Great news...2010 is the bottom of the real estate market. So there you have it folks start making your plans accordingly.
#Press Release Senior Smoke Detector Project....
Senior Smoke Detector Program Rotarians at Work Day Sponsored by the Alamo, Danville, Danville-Sycamore, San Ramon, San Ramon Valley Rotary Clubs & the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District On Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, members of your local Rotary Clubs will be visiting homes and town homes within the San Ramon Valley Communities (Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville and San Ramon) of seniors or others who need our assistance. *Rotarians identified by their Rotarian Badge, will change your batteries in your smoke detectors or install new smoke detectors up to a 10’ ceiling height. Each resident’s home they visit will receive a fire safety information packet from the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. If you need assistance in having your batteries changed or need a new smoke detector installed, please drop by one of the following locations to complete the sign-up form no later than 9:00 am, Friday, April 2, 2010: You can also sign up by calling the Rotarians at Work Day project at (925) 838-5133 or online sign up forms can be found at www.FireDepartment.org for downloading. *Rotarians will be Identified by their Rotarian Badge
By Sam Parwiz
Rotary Club of San Ramon
Publicity Chairman
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sometimes you need extra cash.........
| Rotary has cash for projects to help others | ||||
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Marriage is............
Marriage is the process of finding out what kind of man your wife would have preferred...
WACHOVIA Loan Modification - Don't Try To Negotiate!
Monday, February 22, 2010
The $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance...
Download now or listen on posterous
The $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance
- To be eligible to claim the tax credit, buyers must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.
- The tax credit does not have to be repaid unless the home is sold or ceases to be used as the buyer’s principal residence within three years after the initial purchase.
- The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500.
- The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
- The credit is available for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase qualifies provided it is completed by June 30, 2010.
- Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
$8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance
- The $8,000 tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
- The tax credit does not have to be repaid unless the home is sold or ceases to be used as the buyer’s principal residence within three years after the initial purchase.
- The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
- The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
- The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
- For homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
- For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
