Agent Info
Marisa Swenson
Earth Advantage Broker
971-285-7955
Agency Info
MRealty Inc
2211 NW Front Ave Ste. 101
Portland, OR 97209
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Energy Performance Score – New Measure for a Homes Efficiency
energy efficient homes
Forget price per square foot, the new energy efficiency scoring system, the Energy Performance Score, is taking over as the way to rate new homes based on energy efficiency. Developed by the Energy Trust of Oregon, the new system assigns a number score for each home based on factors such as the homes size, level of insulation, air leakage, heating and cooling systems, major appliances, lighting, and water heating. The lower the score the better, a low score represents a home that is highly energy efficient with a low carbon footprint and low utility bills. Compared to MPG as a measure for cars, the EPS is the future measure of the efficiency of the home (more sensible than price per sq. ft.). The EPS will assist efficiency conscious home buyers in making a decision based on an easy to understand comparison. It is currently available for new homes only but the Energy Trust of Oregon is working on developing the scoring system for older homes as well.
Financing for Fannie Mae Foreclosed Properties
I have been seeing a lot of listings come up that read “approved for Homepath financing” and thought we could all use an explanation of what that means. A “Homepath” home is a property that is owned by/repossesed by Fannie Mae. “Homepath” is thier mortgage financing company/name. This mortgage allows you to buy the specific property with as little as 3% down for an owner occupied property and they are allowing investor purchases with only 10% down. The properties have to be identified as “Homepath approved” in order to get this financing. In the case that there is renovation work that needs to be done, there is also a renovation mortgage option that allows you to finance some repair into the loan. Not all lenders are able to work with this loan, check the Homepath site for elligible lenders.
First Time Home Buyer $8,000 Tax Credit Update
UPDATE: CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE FOR OREGON TO USE TAX CREDIT UP FRONT, STAY TUNED….
FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time home buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit up front, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.
“Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put more than the minimum 3.5%.
The loans can’t be used to cover the minimum 3.5%, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning”
Nice that eligible buyers can use it for closing costs but it would have been nice to use it towards down payment like originally announced.
Full article here.
info from Realtor magazine
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Update – FHA Approves Use as a Down Payment
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Tuesday May 12th, that the FHA is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit as a down payment. I know a lot of states had already figured out a loan system to allow this “advance” but for those that hadn’t this seems like an even greater opportunity for first time home buyers using an FHA loan. The issues that I had heard from some people was that you have to have 3.5% down for the FHA loans, so this will definitely loosen that restriction. Shaun Donovan stated that the FHA approved lenders will be allowed to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. The eligible first time home buyers will be able to access the funds immediately at the closing table. If you are an eligible first time home buyer working with an FHA loan, there is great incentive to buy sooner rather than later. Remember, the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit is good now until before December1, 2009.
Related Posts:
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
Energy Efficiency Tax Credits 2009 – 2010
Start your search here.
First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit – Update
A tax credit of up to $8,000 is now available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. Unlike the tax credit enacted in 2008, the new credit does not have to be repaid. More info here.
But what if you bought a house in 2008?
You are still eligible for the 2008 tax credit, here is more info:
2008 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance
- The tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.
- The maximum credit amount is $7,500.
- The credit is available for homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before
January 1, 2009. - Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
- The tax credit works like an interest-free loan and must be repaid over a 15-year period.
Top 10 Affordable Place to Live – Portland #4
Forbes magazines has compiled a list of cities where $500,000 will still buy an exceedingly comfortable lifestyle and Portland comes in at #4.
The top cities were:
- Irvine, Calif.
- Raleigh, N.C.
- Bellevue, Wash.
- Portland, Ore.
- Sunnyvale, Calif.
- Redmond, Wash.
- Austin, Texas
- Chandler, Ariz.
- Rochester, N.Y.
- Plano, Texas
To choose these 10 locations, Forbes examined the cost of the typical four-bedroom, two-bathroom, and 2,200-square-foot home. They also factored in the amount of patent and venture capital activity, average commute, and an average cost of living below $100,000.
First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
Here is some information about the first time home buyers tax credit. You do have to pay it back but it is interest free for 15 years.
- The tax credit is available for first time home buyers only.
- The maximum credit amount is $7,500.
- The credit is available for homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009.
- Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
- The tax credit works like an interest-free loan and must be re-paid over a 15 year period. (approximately $41.67 per month)
Information taken from the federal housing site.
Lents Neighborhood
Lents is currently one of the cities very active Urban Renewal areas. MAX will start running that direction sometime later this year, hopefully boosting home values along its path. The PDC has some great programs for first time home buyers in this area that are worth checking out. Lents has it’s own farmers market and Trader Joe’s just opened a new location down the street!
Lents is bordered by the Brentwood-Darlington, Mount Scott, Foster-Powell, Powellhurst-Gilbert, and Pleasant Valley neighborhoods.
First Time Homebuyers
Everyone says there are great deals out there for first time home buyers but what the first time home buyers want to know is what are they are where? I went to PDC this morning to see what they have to offer buyers in this market since they have in the past had great loans for first time home buyers. All of their programs have maximum income limits and most of them are available to urban renewal areas only. The best deal they have is the “silent second” loan where they finance 20% of the loan and as long as the house is owner occupied then they do not have to pay on that portion of the loan. That means if you bought a house for $200k, then you only pay on the first loan of $160k. If the buyer qualifies, then they also have a home rehab loan that they wrap into this loan that is between $6k -$10k that the homeowner has 2 years to use towards repairing and making improvements to the structure. The main urban renewal area that they are granting this loan in as of right now is Lents Town Center. There are a lot more details to this loan, it just depends on what the candidate qualifies for. I have personally worked with this loan and my buyers walked away with a small monthly mortgage payment, a great house that had been updated and cash to make improvement such as landscaping, new bathroom floors etc. It is a great program to help first time home buyers and improve renewal neighborhoods. Give me a call if you have questions or if you would like to see if you qualify for any of these programs 971-285-7955.
Montavilla Neighborhood
The Montavilla Neighborhood celebrates it’s 120th birthday this year. Established in 1889, the Montavilla Neighborhood quickly developed into a thriving community of small businesses and growing subdivisions. The name Montavilla came to be the popular term by the land surveyors platting out subdivisions since the original name of Mt. Tabor Villa Addition was a little too cumbersome. Today, Montavilla is still a thriving community (the 2nd largest neighborhood in Portland) that hosts many small businesses, a popular community center, and it’s very own farmer’s market. Montavilla is in SE Portland bordered by the North Tabor (previously Center), Madison South, Hazelwood, Powellhurst Gilbert and Mt. Tabor Neighborhoods.
Neighborhood Facts:
Association – Montavilla Neighborhood Association
Coalition – Southeast Uplift
Area – 5.64 km^2
Population – 15,987
Households – 6,025
Owned – 3,665 (61%)
Rented – 2,360 (39%)
Median home price – $225,000
Median household income – $38,854
Popular businesses in Montavilla:
