Unscrewing Consumers In Utah Real Estate

HUD Homes for 1/20/2010

2010-01-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

My thoughts on HUD homes that hit the market can be viewed HERE

New Utah Home Search Website

2010-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for a new home, or would like to know the value of your current home, www.utahhomesearch.org is a great resource. They specialize in assisting buyers and sellers all over the state of Utah. The website contains ALL listings from ALL Real Estate Agents in the state.

I find it to be even more efficient than utahrealestate.com. Two of the things I enjoy the most about the website are the map views, and the ability the website has to send you updates on price changes the day they happen. You do need to register to take advantage of the websites full capabilities, but you can simply provide fake information if you don't wish to be contacted. A valid email address is necessary to complete registration.

Free Credit Repair Guide Part II

2009-07-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

3. Rank questionable/negative items

Step 2 covered how to identify items, both positive and negative on your credit report. Now you have this list, you should rank each item according to the amount of damage they are doing to your overall credit picture. Rank the most damaging information first, followed by the next most damaging information, followed by those items which are neutral. Do this for each credit report, as remember, they may not all have the same information on them. They may even have duplicate information. If this is the case, you will need to write to each credit agency individually for each duplicate item.

The items here are listed in order of descending importance with the first item being the "most damaging" to your credit.

Bankruptcy
Foreclosure
Repossession
Loan Default
Court Judgments
Collections
Past due payments
Late Payments
Credit Rejections
Credit Inquiries

Also, if your creditor has NOT notified you of negative information they have recently placed on your credit report, they are currently in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can use this to pressure the original creditor to remove the listing by reminding them they are in violation of the FCRA by not notifying you.

4. Requesting Corrections and Disputing Your Credit

What should you challenge?

Everything, and you should always shoot for a complete deletion. In your initial challenge, don't dispute the information within a collection listing, charge-off, court record, repossession, foreclosure, or settled account. Save disputing the information within the listing for the NEXT ROUND OF DISPUTES. Start off the reason for your dispute on a negative listing whenever possible as "not mine". For a list of the most common dispute reasons, go here.

What items are the toughest to get off your report?

You will have the toughest time getting bankruptcies, judgments, child support and foreclosures off of your credit report as these things are so easy for the credit bureaus to verify electronically through e-Oscar. In the case of a bankruptcy, you most likely will have a few trade lines saying "included in Bankruptcy". If you want to challenge your bankruptcy, you need to clear off all credit lines mentioning a BK FIRST.

Edouardo decided to challenge each and every one of his collections, as well as his credit card late payment. He wrote a letter to each of the credit reporting agencies that:

listed each of his negative listings by name, collection agency and amount of the delinquency
Under each of the list accounts, he said he was disputing the accuracy.
He also included his Name, SSN, Address, and a copy of his driver's license.
Edouardo sent his letters via Express Mail, which gives him a receipt for the mailing, and guarantees delivery. Total expense for Express Mail: $36.
Here is an example credit dispute letter.

Free 15 Step Credit Repair Guide

2009-06-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Basic Credit Repair Strategy

The basic strategy to repairing your credit is as follows:

Get and review your credit report.
Analyze your report.
Make a list of all items you consider to be questionable or negative. Clearly identify each item in your report that you dispute, explain why you dispute the information,
Write a dispute letter bureaus.
Send the letter to the credit bureaus. Make sure you send it registered or certified mail.
Document your efforts.Record when you sent your letters, and the results.
Wait for the bureaus to investigate your claims.
Analyze the results.
Repeat.
Specialized techniquesWas the item deleted or changed to your satisfaction? You may continue steps 1, 2 and 3 above until you feel the dispute is settled satisfactorily. Remember, there is no charge for a reinvestigation. If you don’t get the results you want, dispute the listing again.
Free Sample Letters
What if a removed negative item comes back on my credit report?

What if I get stuck and need help?
Eduardo's Results
Feeling overwhelmed by this process and think you don't have the time? You do!

That's all there is to it. Seems easy enough but you must have patience, because the credit bureaus are not always very cooperative. They make their money by providing credit reports to lenders not by fixing bad information in their databases.

1. Get your credit report.

To obtain free copies of your report, please see Getting and reading your credit report.Please note: when you get a free report, you are not going to see your credit score, which is a crucial tool in getting your credit in shape. Here is a comparison chart of online credit score purchase options.

Eduardo ordered his credit report and scores from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax for $34.95. Note: this service also came with a credit report monitoring service which he used during his credit repair efforts to monitor his progress.

2. Analyze your credit report.

You can analyze your credit as outlined in "Decoding Your Report".

Once paying for his credit reports & scores online, Eduardo download his report and saved it to his computer. Eduardo used the free credit report analyzer which came with his credit report order to figure out which items on his report were damaging. After reviewing his credit reports, printed out his report then highlighted everything he saw as a negative listing along with what the computer analysis pointed out. Most of them were medical collections, and were easy to spot. However, he does notice that one of the bureaus is reporting him as late on a payment to one of his credit cards, and he knows he paid it on time.

In addition, Edouardo has read that as part of the new FACTA legislation to protect consumers from identity theft, he was supposed to have been notified of the negative mark. He is sure he was never notified.

New HUD Homes Hit The Market This Week

2009-06-25T12:57:00.001-07:00

Click here for more detailed information on these homes, as well as a searchable list of these HUD homes.

Free List of HUDs, Foreclosures, Repos, & Bank Owned Properties

2009-06-24T14:54:00.001-07:00

I've got a handful of real estate agents who send me updated lists. If you'd like to receive the same lists I get without the hastle of some annoying agent bugging you all the time. Fill out this quick form, and I'll forward some lists to you, and give you login information for MLS listings.

Fantastic Deal Today

2009-06-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

I went through this home with a client of mine the other day, and expected it to be gone by now. Comps on this property come in at $220k, and this is the only unit for sale in a very nice East Side condo project.
Since this property is on a daily bid deadline, I'd throw an offer in below the asking price, and hope I'm the only bidder. This house is a fantastic deal, and proves my point I made in this post.

If you're interested in putting an offer in, send me an email. I'll be sending this out to my clients tonight. First come first serve.

How to get a valuable first-time homebuyer credit

2009-04-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

The recently enacted economic-stimulus law contains an unusually attractive new tax break for many homebuyers — if they can only figure out how it works.

The new law sweetens a provision known as the "first-time homebuyer credit." In essence, if you meet certain qualifications, you may be eligible for a tax credit of as much as $8,000. You also have a choice of claiming the credit on your federal income-tax return for 2008 or 2009. A credit is typically more valuable than a deduction, since it eliminates your taxes on a dollar-for-dollar basis — and in this case, you may get it even if you don't owe any taxes.

But Congress made the homebuyer-credit fine print so devilishly tricky that many Americans are likely to have to pay an expert for help in deciphering it. "We've had numerous calls because people are confused," says Claudia Hill, owner of Tax Mam Inc., a Cupertino, Calif., tax-services firm. "The problem is when things are this complicated, many people don't get the benefits that Congress intended for them."

What's your home worth?

Internal Revenue Service officials recently issued a revised form and instructions. Even so, Nancy Mays of H&R Block Inc., the Kansas City, Mo.-based tax-preparation company, describes the credit as "crazy complex."

Here are answers from IRS officials and tax advisers to some questions about the credit.

Q: Who can claim the credit?

A: In general, the IRS says you may be eligible if you bought your main home, located in the U.S., after April 8, 2008, and before Dec. 1, 2009 — and if you (and your spouse, if you're married) haven't owned any other main home during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase. That means you might be eligible even if you owned a home for many years before that period.

First-Time Homebuyer's Credit

However, there are numerous other qualifications.

Q: How much is the credit?

A: That depends on when you bought the home and other factors, such as your income and the home's price.

If you bought during the 2008 period and qualify for the credit, the maximum credit is generally $7,500. But it's only half that amount if you're married and filing separately from your spouse. Even though it's called a credit, it's really an interest-free loan. You generally have to repay it over a 15-year period, without interest, in 15 equal installments, the IRS says. (There are several exceptions to this repayment rule. We warned you this was tricky.)

The rules are more generous if you buy a new home during the 2009 period and meet all the qualifications. In that case, the maximum amount generally is $8,000, or half that amount if you're married and filing separately. More important, you don't have to repay the credit at all unless that home "ceases to be your main home within the 36-month period beginning on the purchase date," the IRS says.

Initially, there was some confusion about whether the $8,000 maximum credit would apply if someone bought a home in 2009 and chose to claim the credit on his return for 2008. It's now clear that the $8,000 maximum limit does indeed apply, says Mark Luscombe, principal tax analyst at CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. Naturally, though, "this doesn't help people who actually bought homes in the 2008 qualifying period and who are limited to a $7,500 credit that must be repaid," he says.

Additionally, the credit generally is limited to the amounts mentioned above — or 10% of the home's purchase price, whichever is less. For example, if you bought a new home this year for $70,000, the maximum amount of the credit would be limited to 10% of that amount, or $7,000.

Ready to buy? Check out MSN Real Estate's First-time Buyers guide

Q: How do the income limits work?

A: You may be eligible for the full amount of the credit if your adjusted gross income, with certain modifications, is $75,000 or less — or $150,000 or less if married and filing jointly. However, the credit begins to disappear, or "phase out," if your income exceeds those amounts. You can't claim the credit at all if your income is $95,000 or more, or $170,000 or more if married and filing jointly, the IRS says.

Q: What if I built a new home? How does that work?

A: You are considered to have purchased it "on the date you first occupied it," the IRS says.

Q: I own more than one home. How do I figure out which is my "main" home? And does it have to be a house?

A: The IRS says your main home is "the one you live in most of the time." No, it doesn't have to be a house. It can be "a house, houseboat, house trailer, cooperative apartment, condominium or other type of residence."

Q: Are there are other qualifications?

A: Yes. You can't claim it if your home is located outside the U.S. You also aren't eligible if you're a nonresident alien, if you inherited the home or got it as a gift, or if you acquired it from a "related person," such as your spouse, parents or grandparents.

Q: Will the credit help me if I don't owe any tax?

A: Yes. The credit "may give you a refund" even if you owe no tax, the IRS says.

Q: What form do I use?

A: Form 5405. The IRS recently revised it and posted it on its Web site, along with instructions. Dean Patterson, an IRS spokesman, says "programming is being done to electronically process Form 5405" to claim the $8,000 credit for homes bought in 2009. The IRS was "able to process these returns electronically beginning March 30" this year, he says.

Home affordability calculator

Q: Where do I put the credit on my Form 1040?

A: Line 69.

Q: I've already filed my return for 2008. Can I still claim the credit? If so, how?

A: Yes. File what's known as an "amended" return. Use Form 1040X and attach Form 5405.

Q: If I buy this year, should I claim the new credit on my 2008 or 2009 tax return?

A: That can be tricky, and you may need to consult a tax pro. In general, most people who buy this year and qualify for the new credit probably will want to take it on their tax return for 2008, Hill says. "They'll get their money more quickly," she says.

But some people might be better off claiming the credit on their 2009 returns. These would include eligible homebuyers who buy this year, whose financial circumstances changed during 2009 and who might qualify for a larger credit on their returns for 2009 than the prior year. An example would be someone whose income was too high to get any of the credit for 2008 but who recently lost his job and thus would be eligible for the full credit on his 2009 return, to be filed next year.

By Tom Herman, The Wall Street Journal

2009-03-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see the entire list of HUD homes courtesy of Tibbshomes. There are currently 28 active HUD homes on the market in Utah. 12 of these properties have reduced list prices as a result of low interest from buyers. They may be good options for quick money makers.
If you have any questions, about how to bid on a HUD home, HUD bidding strategies, or any other questions regarding HUDs, let me know.

How To Apply For The $6,000 New Construction Grant In Utah

2009-03-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Utah State Legislature passed a bill, Senate Bill 260, on March 12, which provides $6,000 grants to buyers of newly constructed homes. The bill was approved by two/thirds of both houses. It will become effective immediately when signed into law by the governor.

While all of the information on the grant has not been released, we do know that $10 million has been allocated for home buyers who purchase properties that have not been previously occupied. $6,000 will be given to each borrower, meaning roughly 1,600 buyers will be able to capitalize on this grant.

The grant will be issued to approved lenders through the Utah Housing Corporation. The grant will only be issued to buyers who meet qualifying parameters. To make sure you qualify click here for a fast, easy online application.

Utah $6000 Home Grant

2009-03-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

Many people are already aware of the new “Homerun Housing Grant” or “Utah $6000 New Contstruction Grant” Following are highlights of a new housing stimulus package, to be administered by the Utah Housing Authority, for homes purchased in the state of Utah (Click here to see if you qualify). This law was passed March 12, 2009:

- $6000 Grant for new construction (to qualify, the home must have never been lived in)

- Cannot make more than $75,000 ($150,000 for couples)

- Any type of loan can be used to purchase the home, not limited to FHA or Utah Housing

- Once an application has been approved, applicants have 90 days to close on a NEW home

- Available to all home buyers

- $10,000,000 available- (about 1,600 grants)

- First time homebuyers can combine the $8000 first time federal tax credit with this program for a total $14,000 in federal and state credits.

Tomorrow, I'll go over how to apply for this grant.

Contact me, or leave a comment with any questions.

This Weeks HUD Homes

2009-03-12T12:06:00.001-07:00

Click HERE to see the entire list of HUD homes courtesy of Tibbshomes.

There are currently 30 HUD homes listed in Utah. Contact me with any questions.

2009 REPC Changes

2009-03-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of changes lately in the real estate community. One major example is that of the Utah Real Estate Purchase Contract (REPC). I've included some screenshots of the changed REPC, but if you'd like to have a look for yourself to see what changes have been made, click here. The changes have been noted in red.

In my next post, I'll give a quick tutorial on how to fill out a Utah, residential real estate purchase contract (REPC)

HUD Homes This Week

2009-02-17T09:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay. Here are the HUDs listed this week for the state of Utah.

BRIGHAM-CITY

Property Case	Address	Price	Bed/Bath	List Date	Bid Deadline	Eligibility
521-616673	290 W 850 N Brigham City, UT 84302	$143,100 Price Reduced	2/2.00	01/23/2009	Daily	All Bidders

View Map View Property Details

CARBONVILLE

Property Case	Address	Price	Bed/Bath	List Date	Bid Deadline	Eligibility
521-440008	107 S 300 W Carbonville, UT 84501	$42,000	2/1.00	02/06/2009	Daily	All Bidders