Cedar Rapids Real Estate: Your Online Home Source

As the year draws to a close....I thought I would "re-blog" on the $7500 tax credit. Passed by congress is a bill that will allow any buyer that has not owned a home in the last three years (perfect for first time buyers) to claim a $7500 tax credit! How does it work? 1. You must NOT of owned a home within the past three years and ...

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) jumped 7.4% to 93.4 from July to August this year that is 8.8% higher than August 2007.  The PHSI is based on the number contracts signed within that given month.             Lawrence Yun, NAR ...

Trade – in ProgramThrough the first half of the year Skogman Homes has sold 52 new homes, identical tothe number sold in 2007.Nearly 33% of the buyers took advantage of the Guaranteed Trade Program. This is oneof the best programs in the country because Skogman normally guarantees 93-95percent of appraisal value. Normal selling costs are ...

Boy...the response that I have received concerning the Home Buyer Tax Credit has been overwhelming!  If there are that many home buyers out there considering buying....this seems to have given them an incentive to go buy, at least locally, where our market tends to still be decent. A few of the more common questions that I have been asked ...

 With the new buyer $7500 tax credit and this special.....it can make it easier than ever to get into a home for little/no money down.!  FHA LOANS LOCKED IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A SUMMER PRICING SPECIAL……. FREE FIRST YEAR 1% BUYDOWN.……  THE TEMPORARY BUYDOWN PROVIDES A START ...

 As the year draws to a close....I thought I would "re-blog" on the $7500 tax credit. Passed by congress is a bill that will allow any buyer that has not owned a home in the last three years (perfect for first time buyers) to claim a $7500 tax credit! How does it work? 1. You must NOT of owned a home within the past three ...

So I have been running into this again this week.....July 1st mortgage lending changed....hopefully not-for-good. It is very hard to obtain 100% financing in todays world. The sad part is the for the Lenders getting themselve into this.....we all have to pay!  There are a couple of programs still available to first time buyers who would like ...

Just because a lender is willing to lend you the world doesn't mean you should take it. Know what you can manage. Don't over-extend yourself.Gather and tally your fixed monthly expenses (utilities, credit cards, cell phone, groceries, etc) and subtract that amount from your monthly income. This is roughly what you have left for a ...

So weekly I am in clients houses answering the "age old" question.....What do I need to do to make my home sell quick and for the most money? Here are some tips that I give: 1. Minor bathroom updates/repairs will return 102%. The bathroom is the smallest room....but updates are important to a buyer today. Rid the bathroom of wall ...

You ever had the question, what are my taxes going to be on new construction?  Well Linn County has an estimator out there that will help with that and it can be found at the following link below.  You can download the excel version but be sure to update it often as rollbacks and levys change every July.  I would assume that you ...