Home Buyer Tax Credits about to Expire

Today is April 27th and these tax credits will expire at the end of the day on April 30th. When we say this is the last chance we truly mean "this is the last chance". Unlike last November when the tax credits were extended, there is no talk about that happening again. While I don't recommend buying simply because of the credits, if you are a buyer, then it would be foolish to pass them up.

Just to review, there are two tax credits available. One is a first-time home buyer tax credit worth up to $8000. The other is for a repeat homebuyer and is worth up to $6500. Our team conducted a seminar on these tax credits recently and we have the entire slide presentation posted on www.BuyDurango.com right on the home page. The presentation goes through all the rules, the income limits, and filing requirements in order to obtain the credit.

Please give us a call and one of our team members me more than happy to help you in your search for Durango real estate. The Team Lorenz phone number is 970-375-7007.

Open Houses This Weekend... Earn $1000?

To help you in your search for Durango real estate, the Wells Group is holding approximately 57 open houses this weekend all across La Plata County. This is all being done as part of the National Association of Realtors national open house weekend. To view the list of homes that will be open you can go to http://wellsgroupdurango.com/open_house_index.asp and get a list and view a map of all of the properties. As an extra incentive, the Wells group is offering to pay to a buyer at closing $1000 provided that you purchase one of the Wells Group properties that you actually toured and that you signed up in that property. You must go under contract on one of your registered homes by April 30 and then close on the purchase by May 31 of this year in order to receive the $1000 credit. For those of you that are interested in the first time home buyer credit provided by the federal government or the repeat buyer credit, this $1000 would be over and above that.
Team Lorenz will have a condominium priced at $175,000 available both Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 PM. It is located at 343 E. 8th Ave. unit number 9. Just follow the red and white open house signs. This is a great location near the college and at that price is certainly a very good value.
We would love to see you at our open houses this weekend but if you are unable to make it please feel free to give Team Lorenz a call and one of our excellent buyer brokers would help you in your search for Durango real estate. That number is 970-375-7007.

Tax Credit Seminar March 18, 2010

In your continuing search for Durango real estate, I want to remind you that the federal government income tax credits will be expiring April 30 this year. In order to help you beat that deadline, Team Lorenz and Wells Fargo will be cosponsoring a one-hour seminar to be held on Thursday, March 18 at the Durango Public Library in Program Room 2. The seminar will run from 6 PM to 7 PM.

There are now two tax credits available. One is for first-time home buyers and that credit is up to $8000. The new tax credit that was added last November, is for existing homeowners who want to buy a new principal residence. That tax credit is up to $6500.

People have asked us many times about how the credit works, whether or not they are eligible, do they have to trade up, and so many other questions. We will go over all of these questions and many more at the seminar. There will be handouts available. In addition, both Lisa and Nicole will be there with their laptops so they could show you specific properties that might fit your needs. David Fountain from Wells Fargo will be there to answer questions regarding the loan process, getting you pre-qualified, etc.

Reservations are not required, but if you know you're going to come it would be great if you just drop us an email or a call and let us know so we can have a better idea of the number of materials to prepare. You can contact Team Lorenz at 970-375-7007. Rick@BuyDurango.com

CHFA 20% Tax Credit

Uncle Sam is doing everything he can to help first-time homebuyers get into a house. Sponsored through the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) is a new mortgage certificate program that will allow a buyer to deduct from their federal income tax liability 20% of the annual mortgage interest paid on their home. Everybody knows that the payments in the first years of a mortgage go almost entirely to interest. Let's say that you had a $200,000 loan at 5 1/2% annual interest rate, then you would have paid approximately $11,000 in interest in year one. Under this mortgage certificate program, 20% of that amount... $2,200... could be deducted dollar for dollar from your federal tax liability. The balance of the $11,000... $8,800... can still be taken in the taxpayers itemized deductions. This is a significant savings and does not cover just the first year, but is supposed to apply to the life of the loan. There are some restrictions of course so please give us a call and we can discuss those with you. One restriction is an income limit and another is the sales price of a home. Also, you have to be a first-time home buyer.

This program does not expire at the end of November like the $8,000 tax credit and it can be taken in addition to the $8,000 tax credit. We would love to help you find your first home so please give us a call and I'll hook you up with the number one buying agent team in the County for three years running.

Tax Credits Available

The news out of Washington today reveals that Congress is working on
a $15,000 tax credit for home buyers. That bill would still need to go
through the House of Representatives for approval of course and we
will need to wait to see what the details of that might be, and there
is still the possibility it won't be approved.

That said, there already is a $7500 tax credit available for first-time
homebuyers. There are certain rules have to be followed of course,
one of which is that the $7500 has to be paid back at the rate of
$500 per year starting three years after you on the property. However,
this might be a great opportunity for your kids or grandkids to get into
a home for the first time. prices on the starter homes are very good right
now so you may want to take a look at these opportunities. How many times
have we all said, "I wish I would have bought when...?" And we didn't. If you
would like more information on on the existing program, feel free
to send me an e-mail or give me a call and I would be happy to discuss it