Buying your first home is a wonderful experience.  The purpose of LoanClassroom is to help the homeowner stay informed and provide them with information to help them through their purchase or refinance transaction. I would hope that I am the one helping you obtain your mortgage through Eversley Capital Mortgage LLC but by chance that I am not this information is useful for everyone.

As joyous and at times overwhelming your first home purchase can be there are some pointers that I want to point out that you need to be aware of that often times go un-thought of or mentioned to the home buyer. I think back to my first purchase and can honestly say it was a certainly a learning experience.

UTILITIES

·         Electricity will need to be switched over

·         Water will need to be switched

·         Sewer if applicable will need to be switched

·         Gas if applicable will need to be switched

·         Phone, cable etc. needs to be activated

SERVICE CONTRACTS

·         Furnace- look into a service contract. Ask the previous owner who they used

·         HVAC- same as the furnace see who was used and get a contract

·         Septic Tank- if there is one when was it last pumped out

·          Fireplace- if you have one when was it last cleaned

OTHER THINGS TO THINK OF

·         Having your mail forwarded

·         Change of address at DMV

·         Replace the batteries in all the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

·         Read the newspaper? You will need to get home delivery set up

·         Find out what the trash days are. And does the town or city collect it or do you need to get an outside company. Also recyclables, what will they take and what day is the pickup? Not all towns in Connecticut provide trash pickup. In some towns you pay local companies to pick up the garbage weekly.

·         Change of address for your bills i.e. credit cards and bank statements etc.

Hopefully this helps. If you have any questions or need to get qualified please feel free to fill out the “apply” part of the website. I look forward to helping you purchase your home.

The new regime in the Government did say they would pull out all the stops to try and stabilize a crippled housing market and economy. And to date there have been numerous ideas, programs and cash and tax credits implemented. And now there is a new one except this time it is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac looking to stabilize foreclosure “hot-spots”

Fannie Mae recently announced their “deed for lease” program. Freddie Mac has already implemented this same type of program.

Countless numbers of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will have the option of renting their homes from Fannie or Freddie. The program will allow homeowners to transfer ownership to Fannie or Freddie and rent the home back for a year by signing a lease.

While the end result for the borrower is the loss of the home for some it gives them the option to remain in the home while they try and turn around their finances. This program would be available to those who do not qualify for a loan modification.

Good news for Connecticut homebuyers, both first time purchasers and “move-up” buyers as well. As LoanClassroom has continuously kept you abreast of legislation for the extension of the homebuyer tax credit with no surprise it is official. It is signed sealed and delivered.

The new tax credit is in effect until April 30, 2010. You must be in contract by that date and will then have sixty days from that date to close. Also as anticipated the income levels to qualify have been increased as well.

I am always getting questions from clients in regards to the tax credit. While I do my part to stay informed there are some questions that I am not always sure of. I found the best question and answer site for the tax credit. It was so well done I found it un-necessary to create my own. It is on the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) website.

If you are a first time homebuyer click on the link to TAX CREDIT QUESTIONS FOR FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS

If you are a “step-up” buyer, meaning you are selling and buying a new home click on the link to TAX CREDIT QUESTIONS FOR REPEAT BUYERS

And if you need to get pre-qualified for a mortgage or are in the need of financing fill out the form on the site and we will be sure to get in touch with you.

The Senate voted cloture last night on the bill containing the extension of the first time homebuyer tax credit. What that means is by this Friday the tax credit shall be inked. And in laymen terms cloture is a procedure by which the Senate can place a time limit on a bill, the maximum is 30 additional hours of consideration.

The terms of the new tax credit remains at $8,000 for first time home buyers and a new feature of a $6,500 tax credit to move-up buyers as well. The income limits were adjusted upward as well to $150,000 a year for a single filer and $225,000 for joint filers. The tax credit requires purchase and sale contracts dated by April 30^th and allows for a sixty day window to close.

While this is not a final vote the cloture vote by the Senate all but wraps up the extension of the home buyer credit.

The U.S. House and Senate have passed the extension of the conforming jumbo mortgage through all of 2010. The mortgages which are securitized through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac as well as FHA have helped a non-existent jumbo mortgage market.

The mortgages are not available in all real estate markets. They are for select “high cost” counties in states across the country. Seeing as Everlsey Capital Mortgage is in Norwalk Connecticut here are the loan limits per county:

                Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac Limits:

                Fairfield County     $708,750

                Hartford County     $440,000

                Middlesex County $440,000

                Tolland County      $440,000

                FHA (Federal Housing Authority):

                Fairfield County      $708,750

                Hartford County      $440,000

                Middlesex County   $440,000

                Tolland County        $440,000

Unfortunately Windham, New London, New Haven and Litchfield counties in CT are not designated “high cost” counties so the loan limits there for conforming loans are $417,000.