Should I buy a new home or a resale home??

Buying a new home can be a very exciting process, starting from viewing the model homes to picking a lot and features that meet your taste and budget. Best of all just like buying a new car that comes with a new car smell your new home is going to come with a new home smell! You can watch the neighborhood grown and see as new homes get built and new trees get planted. You can wonder what the people are like that just moved into the other model that you almost picked.

It can also be stressful, delays in building, wrong features, sloppy work and more. Sometimes picking the top of the line new home features may bring little return when going to resell the home down the road. This can be avoided with opting to buy a pre owned house. The pre owned house comes with the same drawbacks as a pre-owned car. The wear and tear that applies to a used car can be the same for a house. Empty homes can be a lot like cars that just stay parked, they do not get any better not being used.

 

Many buyers do not realize that builders do pay Real Estate agents a commission  at no additional charge to the buyer. Builder often conduct broker only open houses with parties to show off new models to for Real Estate Agents to get excited and bring them customer. So just like you would have an Real Estate agent help you find a re-sale home the meets your needs, your agent can help you finds a negotiate the sale of a newly construction home.     

 

If you or anyone you know is looking to buy a new or pre-owned home in Palm Beach County, please have them call me, Karl R Schulz.

561-379-7881

1003karl@comcast.net

http://FridayRe.com

 

 

If you are looking for a New Single Family home with 1/2 acres lots 5 Bedroom plus Loft, Club Room, Computer Retreat, 71/2 baths, 3-Car Garage 5,457 a/c sq. ft., 6,703 sq. ft. starting at $676,900.00 than call me.. Broker commission paid by builder! 





What to do if the IRS can’t find my tax transcript when a mortgage lender request it via a 4506T?

An IRS form 4506T is form that a borrower signs when applying for a home loan. This form allows a Lender (Bank) to contact the IRS and request a copy of the tax payers tax return. Under Federal Law it has been mandatory for several  years that a Lender (Bank) verify a borrowers tax return with the IRS by requesting a copy of the return. This is done with a completed and signed IRS form 4506. The reason being is that it is relatively easy to draft a false tax return showing higher income to qualify for a larger loan. In the hay day of the mortgage boom, Banks had borrowers sign the form, but to my knowledge only did spot check. Now a loan cannot close without that process being completed.

 

A big problem is that lender often do not request the transcript till towards the end of the loan underwriting process. If  the IRS flags a tax return for whatever reason, it could be a long time till the IRS contact the tax payer to get clarification of an issue. Till that happens the IRS will not verify a tax return, this can hold up a loan closing for months.

 

There is a special division, separate from the main IRS, acting as advocates for tax payers. In  recent transaction of mine, the tax payers return was flagged due to a question regarding a dependent deduction. Even after many weeks numerous phone calls and visits to a local IRS office nothing helped.

 

The Mortgage Banker Robert Valene of Choice Mortgage Bank Boca Raton suggested that they contact Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Bill Nelson. The borrowers contact both senators. My thanks go out to the office of Maroc Rubio, they contacted the IRS and within 24 hours the special division of the IRS had provided an Taxpayer Advocate. We are still waiting for Bill Nelson office to call us. All said it took over 60 day to resolve the issue. My advised is to stay on top of the IRS if they cannot find a transcript, can maybe contact your senator within a couple of weeks of not being appointed a Tax Payer Advocate.       

 

 

 

Karl R Schulz

 

561-Three-Seven-Nine-7881

 

www.FridayRe.com

 

 

 

Can I sell my home after it was in my Bankruptcy

Question: I included my home (mortgages/ loans) in my Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy, but it’s been over a year and the Bank still has not took the property back, can I still sell the home?

Answer: Yes 

It is very common, for homeowners that are overwhelmed with debt, to file chapter 7 Bankruptcy protection and if they owe way more than the home is worth, to include the mortgages (loans) in the Bankruptcy and walk away.

The problem with just walking away is that because the Banks foreclosure department are so overwhelmed, that it can take months of not years for the bank to take the property back. The second problem can be, is that once a person has filed for Bankruptcy, they normally want to re-establish their credit. If you spend 2 years getting your credit back do you really want the bank to foreclose on your old home, this could dramatically negatively impact your credit.

One solution is the list and sell your home. Please consult your Bankruptcy lawyer first. If you would like Market information for your property in Palm Beach County, please feel free to contact me Karl R Schulz.  

Karl R Schulz


www.FridayRe.com

Selling your home? 3 simple things not to do.

Selling your home? 3 simple things, NOT TO DO.

      1)    Do not hang out when your home is being shown. 

2)    Do not leave your home messy. De-personalize your home.

3)    Do not over price your home.

A prime example of all 3 of these issues happened to me on a recent listing. I was not able to successfully sell a listed condo. Yes, that does happen (even to the best of agents) that one agent cannot successfully sell a home and the next agent that list the home sells it.

This home is a Ocean Condo that had been on and off the market several times over the last two years. The sellers hung out when I or other agents showed the condo. In addition at the seller’s request, I had to accompany all showings even when the buyers had a Real Estate agent present. I firmly believe in leaving sellers alone with their agent, the reason is simple. People do not always tell you the truth, maybe they don’t want to hurt your feeling or they don’t want to get into a fight with the sellers or their agent over features or price or politics.

The listed condo is relatively small a 2/2 under 1000 sq feet, anything more than a coffee table and chair will make a small condo look even smaller. The seller blew a fuse when I told them the condo will sell once they move into their new home and the condo was empty. No matter how many times I suggested to sellers to de-personalize the condo, they didn’t want to listen. The condo had way to many personal pictures and furniture.

Price, the condo finally sold (with a different agent) for $168,000 two years after it was listed for close to $60,000.00 more. For the most part, buyers do not like to bid on Real Estate that is overpriced, the thinking is that “they will never come down to what I think it’s worth.

Had the sellers took the advise that I gave them and first de-personalized the unit, took off when there was a showing and priced it at a price the market was telling them to price it at. I personally feel they would have got closer to $185,000.

 



561-379-7881

 

www.FridayRe.com

 

In the need of services of a Real Estate Broker, please feel free to call me Karl R Schulz

 

Home inspection reports are they just for buyers??

Things to think about before your put your home up for sale:

 
Should I get a home inspection report before I list my home for sale?

No if:

You owe more money than your home is worth.

You are no longer able to make your mortgage payments and need to list your home as a short sale.

Your home is in such bad shape, seeing a report will not help you.

Your home is in such a hot area, there will be a bidding war.

Yes if your home is more than 10 years old and the market price is over $350,000 - $500,000, it could be a really good idea. If you have ever watched the TV Show Sell This House, the show finds homes that have been on the market without selling for an extended amount of time. They place multiple hidden cameras all over the house. Than the show host an open house and lets the prospective buyers view the home alone. The video is later viewed with the homeowners, the responses vary. Some homeowners are fully aware of the mistakes while other are in denial. The shows main focus has to do with cosmetic issues not items that a home inspection report will uncover. The reason I brought this up is once you have lived in a home for more than a few years, you will view you home different than a prospective buyer. One man’s castle is another’s dump.  

Investing several hundred dollars in a written report could benefit you in the long run and leave you with more money in your pocket. First by pointing out possible issues that you may or may not be aware of, allowing you to cure the issue before listing. Second a clean inspection report may nudge a fence sitting buyer off the fence.

This all being said, if a home inspection report uncovers flaws that you are not aware of and are not necessarily noticeable to a buyer you have to disclose. A clean report can also help with potential future litigation.

If you have any questions regarding home inspection reports or want to know how much your Palm Beach County Residential Real Estate is worth please do not hesitate to reach out to the offices of Friday Realty LLC.

FridayRe.com

FaceBook.com/FridayRealtyRE.

 

561-379---7881

 





 

FHA Loans / Loxahatchee Cancer Cluster

Question: "Will I still be able to get an FHA loan in the area of Loxahatchee Florida that have been labeled as a potential Cancer Cluster?"

Answer: "You should be able to., there could be some difficulty and additional documentation required." Banks are closing FHA loans in the area of Loxahatchee that are in the "Cluster".

A recent purchase transaction in that area gave the buyers a last minute scare. The buyers used an FHA purchase loan. The day before closing, the Quality Control department of the Bank, (the people at the bank that review the loan packages that are about to close., one more last time, the same people that can kill a deal in the last hours or minutes) noticed that the appraisers had made remarks, regarding the "Cancer Cluster Scare" Since the underwriter is located out of state and this was all news to them, it took some arm twisting and additional documentation such as a hand written hold harmless letter from the buyer to satisfy the QC department.

But the loan did close and the buyers are happy that they will be able to celebrate this years Christmas in their new home.

http://www.FridayRe.com

 

561-379-7881

 

In the market to buy or sell in Palm Beach County? Call Friday Realty.

 

How your credit score affects your mortgage and how to improve your score.

Your credit score is the most important factor when applying for a mortgage. Your credit score will tell a lender what the mathematical probability is that you could default on your mortgage. Unless we have another housing bubble, than all the endless hours that MBA’s spend designing mathematical models to predict how solid of a buyer you are, go out the window. Billions of tax payer dollars proved that in the last few years. Your score will tell a lender how responsible you have been in managing your money in the past. Hoping that this does not change and making lending you a sound investment for them and the investors that have gave them money to lend. I viewed thousands of person credit reports in my 10 year as a mortgage broker. For the most part I can read a credit report and evaluate / per qualify an applicant within a few minutes. I have seen credit reports with one or two open trade line and 700+ credit score and others with 15 open account and a 600 score.

 

The most important contributing factor to a good credit score is how long you have paid you accounts on time. The second most important factor is how much of you available credit line is being used. For example if you have $10,000 worth of available credit, and charged $9500 your score will not be very good. To keep a good score you should not utilize more than 28% if your available credit. I you have a zero balance on your credit card for more than six months that that credit line will be counted towards your score. Your score is simply there to help lenders evaluate the risk to lend you money. If you pay all your bills in cash and always on time but never use your credit cards this could negatively influence   you score.

 

To obtain a good score, make sure your bills are paid on time, your credit report will not show a late payment unless it’s been paid more than 30 day late. For example if you Car payment is due on the 5^th of the month and you always pay on the 25^th, you credit report will show as having been paid on time. This hold true for all credit payment that are reported to the 3 major credit reporting agencies. Next try to obtain a balance of different types of credit. Mortgage, Car, Store Credit Card and one or two Visa and Master cards. Too many cards can bring your score down, so will to many credit inquires. Each time you apply for credit your score will go down, the lower your score the more it goes down. The credit agency will allow you a week or two window if you are shopping for a car or home mortgage. You can have one or twenty car finance companies check your credit in a couple day window and that will only count against your score as if you had one check. The same holds true for Mortgages.

 

The next factor for obtaining a good Mortgage is your income and debt to income (aka DTI) ratio. Banks will look at all your payments due on your credit report (minimum payments) and divide that number by you Gross (Pre-tax) income. I know you can only spend your after tax money. But Banks use gross to compensate for other factors. For a Mortgage evaluation lender will first look at your ratio before your house payments to see how much of a home loan you can afford.

 

If you or someone you know is in the market to buy or sell residential Real Estate in Palm Beach County please feel free to reach out to me or visit my site at http://FridayRe.com

 

 

 

Telephone (Five) (Six) (One) 379-7881