If you forgot, the federal tax credit for home buyers was extended and expanded late last year, and will be for good either first time home buyers or repeat buyers that purchased and closed their escrows by April 10, 2010. Qualified first-time buyers may be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000 and repeat buyers may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500.

To receive the tax credit, home buyers must comply with the IRS’s documentation requirements, including a fully executed IRS Form 5405.  On the form, which is available on the IRS’s Web site, taxpayers provide information supporting their claim of eligibility, such as income and home purchase date.

The IRS also requires home buyers to submit a copy of the closing or settlement statement that proves the transaction took place. The IRS previously said that the statement should show “all parties’ names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase.”  However, since closing or settlement statements vary by state, and in some cases the form does not include both the seller’s and buyer’s signatures, the IRS has revised this requirement.  As long as the closing or settlement statement conforms to prevailing local practices, the IRS will accept it.

One stipulation for repeat buyers is they must provide documentation they lived in their former property for a consecutive five years out of the previous eight years. Accepted documentation may include property tax records, hazard insurance records, or copies of annual mortgage interest statements filed with their federal taxes.

I’ve included the link below so that if you’re doing it yourself, you can look into it or you can forward the link to your Tax Advisor.

First-Time Homebuyer Credit: Answers

I can attest that I’ve come across a number of all cash buyers at the low end of the spectrum in both the East Bay and within entry level Studio/1 bedroom condos in the city, but hearing that the high end of the market is also experiencing this trend is surprising, and I wouldn’t expect to see this trend continue much longer.

High down payment buyers understand that is the “safest” way in order to make your monthly mortgage payments easy on their pockets and won’t allow them to get into the foreclosure situation so many people have been a part of the past two years.

They also found that “at the current sales rate, the months of supply inventory for single-family homes dropped to 3.5 months from 5.8 months while the months of supply inventory for condominiums show a more substantial decline during this time, dropping to 4.1 months from 9.5 months in January 2009. Rosen Consulting Group believes this to be another positive sign in the market.”

I bet you probably didn’t know about this little rule from the city did ya?

“Under rules introduced late last year (2009) by city leaders in an attempt to reduce neighborhood blight, a property owner is required to pay a $765 annual fee to register a vacant building and maintain it in a secure and good condition”.

Source: SF Examiner

Quite amazing to see as Nguyen was the number one spot in the list and not a more generic last name like Smith or Johnson…who knows, maybe this is the start of John or Joe Nguyen.

Continuing on the last update on the Arterra in San Francisco, I just found out that there will be having a 72 hour closeout on the last 4 remaining units in the building!

From February 20-22nd, so if you are interested in living in Mission Bay and being close to work or easy access to the freeway, now may be your best chance in getting into a new development Condo in one of the city’s hottest new neighborhoods.

Remember that FHA financing is available. Arterra offers outstanding value, and many homes offer city and water views. Officially the first LEED-Silver certified high rise in San Francisco, Arterra features many unique green and sustainable attributes and is a great example of how sustainability does not have to come at the expense of amenities and value.

Arterra LEED Silver attributes include:

• Increased use of recycled materials
• Innovative uses for end of lifecycle resources
• Increased diversion of waste to landfills
• Sod-covered “living” rooftops to help reduce heating and cooling costs
• Renewable materials in the building’s public spaces
• Energy Star appliances in every home
• Building exterior covered in Trespa, a material made from end of lifecycle recycled materials

These are the final four remaining, if you have questions or would like to view them, give me a call at 415-680-8031.

*Click for a full size view

Across the nine-county Bay Area, home buyers purchased 13,288 existing single-family detached homes during the fourth quarter, down 9 percent from 14,662 homes sold in the third quarter but up 3 percent from 12,918 homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2008.With fewer homes to choose from and increased competition among buyers, the median price of a Bay Area home jumped 14 percent from $495,327 in the third quarter to $562,775 in the fourth period – a 15 percent improvement over the fourth-quarter 2008 median price of $488,684.

For the third consecutive quarter, Contra Costa County led the pace of sales with 2,980 closed transactions, followed by Santa Clara County (2,892 sales) and Alameda County (2,583 sales).

Marin, Napa and Solano counties reported both quarter over- quarter and year-over-year increases,while Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo showed higher sales on an annualized basis. In a further sign the market is stabilizing, the average number of days a home was on the market before sale declined from 66 days in the third quarter and 63 days a year ago to 60 days in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Homes sold in Alameda County registered the fewest days on the market for the quarter at 39 days,while Marin reported an average of 90 days on the market before sale. Among Bay Area counties, the median price of a resale home rose from the third to the fourth quarter in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.

With the exception of Napa, the same counties also experienced year-over-year price increases, led by Santa Clara (+14%), San Mateo (+12%) and Sonoma (+11%). Observers attributed the improvement in median sales prices to an increase in multiple offers on short sale, REO and other entry-level and investment-grade properties and a modest improvement in prices in moderate- and higher-priced pockets inmost counties.

Looking ahead, buyers expecting rock-bottom prices on bank foreclosures may find those in shorter supply in the months to come absent a flood of new properties. Increasingly, lenders are agreeing to short sale transactions, but buyers will face competition in the form of multiple buyers with size able down payments or all-cash.

First-time buyers will continue to be a force in the market thanks to an extension through April 30, 2010, of the $8,000 federal income tax credit. They will be joined by existing homeowners,who can qualify for a $6,500 federal tax credit if they trade up before the same deadline.

97% of the building is Sold, and with the last six units, these close-out residences will be starting from the $500,000s.

Arterra homes incorporate quality materials such as porcelain tile, bamboo and natural stone. After all, it’s the details that help make a house feel like home. The standard features listed below include two base-price choices for materials and finishes. Premium upgrades are also available.

FHA financing is available. Questions or would like to view the remaining units, please contact me (415.680.8031 or email me)

Supervisors advocating the expansion of San Francisco’s rent control ordinance were unable to muster the required eight votes to override the Mayor Gavin Newsom’s veto

Although the proposed ordinance will not become law this time around, the Board of Supervisors could decide to put the proposed ordinance on the ballot and let the voters decide the issue either in June or November of this year.

But Supervisor Avalos has offered to scale-down his proposed ordinance so that it would only offer eviction protection to tenants due to foreclosures. Mayor Newsom has proposed similar legislation.

While Avalos’ legislation is dead, another tenants’ rights ordinance proposed by Supervisor Eric Mar has been passed by the Board of Supervisors with unanimous support.

The ordinance, which Mayor Newsom is expected to sign into law, will prohibit, with limited exceptions, owner move-in evictions of families with a child younger than 18 years old when school is in session.

Supervisor Chris Daly is bringing back an amended version of his Renters Economic Relief Package he proposed last year

While the package was passed by the Board of Supervisors, it was vetoed by the mayor. On a veto override attempt, Daly was unable to muster enough support on the Board to override the mayor’s veto.

The ordinance Daly is proposing this time around would allow renters to file a petition claiming financial hardship at any time with respect to any rent increase.

Payment of the rent increase would be stayed for a period of 60 days from the date of filing or until a hearing is held and a decision issued by an Administrative Law Judge.

In determining whether the renter’s claim of financial hardship is to be granted, the Rent Board and the Administrative Law Judge would base their decision on:

• Whether a tenant in a household is either unemployed or has had wages reduced by 20 percent or more compared to 12 months prior, or whose sole income consists of government benefits such as Social Security, SSI, SDI or similar benefits and has not received a cost of living increase in the past 12 months;
• Whether the rent including the increase comprises or will comprise 33 percent or more of the tenant’s gross income; and
• The renter’s assets are also to be considered in making the determination.

Upon a finding that the tenant has financial hardship, the Administrative Law Judge will order that the rent increase will not be in effect for a specific period of time based on the tenant’s circumstances and schedule a review at the end of that period.

If the rent increase is later allowed, it will take effect as of the date the tenant’s income or assets changed to permit the increase.