Not long ago (1777) and in a far away place (CA) a city was born. What does one do when the city they live in turns 233 years old? Well I can tell you what we are doing, we will be going to a nice dinner in the city! Maybe take in the views from the top of The 88, a few drinks and some dancing. Makes for a great excuse to go out on a Monday Night.

If you’ve been considering purchasing in one of the first San Jose High Rise condos, now may be the time to make the leap. A new housing plan from www.SJHousing.org called Building Equity & Growth in Neighborhoods (BEGIN) has recently approved over $8 million to assist qualified buyers in beautiful downtown San Jose.   

First time home buyers that meet the qualifications can receive a
Down Payment assistance state loan of up to 20% of the purchase
price of their new San Jose highrise at an unheard of 3% interest
without any payments being required for the first 30 years. And, the down payment required to lock in your new home could be just 5% of the sales price with this great program.

   MORE at SANJOSEHIGHRISES.com….

Before the economy changed in 2008 not many had heard of a Short Sale, and even fewer had known of anyone who bought or sold with this type of transaction. Short sales became the norm when the subprime mortgages began to reset and home values began to drop, leaving about a quarter of American homeowners “upside down,” or owing more on their homes than the homes are worth.

Today I field questions from my buyers as to why the banks have the right to come back and ask for additional funds in order to purchase a property after we have a signed purchase agreement from both parties.

I have to answer “The seller’s bank absolutely does have the right to change the terms of your transaction, even though you have a contract signed by both buyer and seller, and even if you’re a month, two months or six months into the transaction.

Because the banks are not recouping enough from the sale to pay off the mortgage lenders, all lenders with an interest in the house must give their permission for the transaction to close. And many will not do so unless they can get just a little bit more from the deal.

I will always recommend offering $5,000 to $10,000 below market value because as a buyer you will have to make the simple decision on whether you’d still want the house at the cost of $5,000 to $10,000 more, or not. And if your already $5k to $10K below market value that decision is a lot easier.

A San Jose buyer’s agent like myself is skilled at managing buyers’ understanding and expectations of short sales. So try and make sure you run through all the scenarios with your Realtor and know that the banks will most always ask for additional funds to get the Short Sale deal closed.

While the Federal Housing Tax Credit ended April 30th, you can still take advantage of the California New Home and First-Time Buyer Credits. Qualified buyers may be eligible for tax credits spread over 3 consecutive years totaling 5% of purchase price up to $10,000. State funds are running out so don’t miss this opportunity.

New San Jose Home Buyers who qualify for the New Home Buyer Credit may, but are not required to, request a reservation to a New Condo prior to the close of escrow. New condo reservations will become important as we near the $100 million cap! Any new condos that may not close escrow before the cap is reached should make a reservation with the developer. The reservation will “hold the taxpayer’s/home buyers place in line” until 2 weeks after escrow closes. Taxpayers/home buyers should only request a reservation if they have entered into an enforceable contract on or after May 1, 2010, and on or before December 31, 2010. Home buyers may not reserve a credit if the contract was entered into before May 1, 2010. Taxpayers/Home buyers who only qualify for the First-Time Buyer Credit may not request a reservation.

Requesting or receiving a reservation does not guarantee the credit. An application must still be completed and faxed to FTB along with the final settlement statement within two weeks after the close of escrow. If a buyer requests a reservation and the purchase is canceled, the buyer must notify FTB.

So if you have thought about buying into the many New San Jose High Rises downtown and would like to make use of a free $10k credit, let us help you make the deadline.

* Not intended for the purpose of providing legal, accounting tax advice, or tax consulting of any kind. Please consult with your tax advisor for complete details.