What Does Zillow Tell You About Your Home?

January 27, 2010 · Annie Chang · 2 Comments

Ever since the launch of its website in 2006, Zillowhas increasingly gained its popularity as a convenient tool to look up home values. When I work with prospective buyers or sellers to explain the market value of their homes, I often hear the famous line “but Zillow says…!” followed by “so how accurate is the Zestimate?”

Thanks to Zillow for providing a detailed video of “A Guide to the Zestimate” to explain how the home values are generated. I hope you will find this video helpful!

Posted by Annie W. Chang | www.TalkofRealEstate.com

Simple Tricks to Show Your Home Like a Champ!

September 21, 2009 · Annie Chang · 3 Comments

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First impression counts! The most saleable properties are those that show pride of ownership. That’s why most of the new developments display model homes and home-sellers hire professional stagers to “dress up” their home for prospective buyers. This may come with a price as staging may cost anywhere from $1,000- $3,000 depending on the size of the home and the elaborateness of the project. However, the reward is bigger! Sellers “have received 2-8% above market asking price and listings have sold in half the time of a non-staged home” according to Let’s Stage It (www.letsstageit.com).

On the other hand, if you still live in the property and/or you don’t want to pay the money to give your home a complete make-over, start with these simple “5C’s” tricks: Read more

What a Way to Get Your Down Payment!

May 13, 2009 · Annie Chang · 6 Comments

More good news for prospective homebuyers! The following article is taken directly from the latest news came out of National Association of Realtors®.

Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.

Previously, most buyers wouldn’t receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has been calling for the change. Read more

Highlights of the 2009 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

April 16, 2009 · Annie Chang · 5 Comments

tax-credit_faq Recently, I have received many questions from prospective homebuyers about the 2009 homebuyer tax credit bill — which provides $8,000 tax credit to first-time homebuyers for the purchase of their principal residence between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. I wanted to share with you a very informative FAQ (http://tinyurl.com/b8mysm)from National Association of Realtors (NAR) to address many of your questions and concerns about the details of the bill.

Here are some highlights:

You must be a “first-time” homebuyer, which is defined as someone who has not owned a home in 3 years prior to the day of your 2009 purchase.
The 2009 tax credit is refundable (i.e. IRS will send you a refund check if your tax liability is less the $8,000).
The income restriction for a full tax credit is $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for married couples.
You may receive partial credit for income up to $95,000 for individuals and $170,000 for married couples.
The home must be your principle residence and owner-occupied.
You do not have to repayment 2009 tax credits; However, if you sell the property within 3 years of the purchase, your are required to pay back the full amount of any credit, including any refund you received from it.
You can claim your 2009 tax credit when filing your 2008 tax returns by April 15, 2009.
Close of escrow must occur on or before Dec. 1, 2009; if the property is under construction when purchased, you must occupy the home before Dec. 1, 2009.

How to Lower Your Property Tax?

April 1, 2009 · Annie Chang · 4 Comments

taxcut_proptax This is no April Fool’s Day joke! When home values go south, one positive thing for current homeowners may be the chance to lower their property tax. You might have seen advertisements that offer to lower your property tax for a fee anywhere from $100-$300…don’t be fooled!!!…Did you know that you can lower your property tax for FREE (or just a small amount for filing fee)? And, it’s simple to do!

First, download the property tax appeal application from your county’s tax assessor office (see links below). Print out the form and complete the information about your property. You will be able to find all of the information needed on your property tax bill. Some counties websites allow you to submit the form online. Read more

How to Apply “Free Money” Wisely Toward a Home Purchase?

February 22, 2009 · Annie Chang · 5 Comments

In my previous blog, “Stimulus Package – What It Means to Bay Area Homebuyers”, some prospective homebuyers and comments have expressed that the $8,000 tax credit in the Stimulus Package is “just not enough” to stimulate them to get off the fence. Understandably, the incentive seems too insignificant when we are talking about an average housing price of $500,000 in the Bay Area.

On the flip side of the coin, $8,000 is unarguably a substantial amount of money – don’t we all wish to have an extra $8,000 in our bank account? Since a tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction in income taxes (e.g. if you have $8,000 tax credit, you will pay $8,000 less tax that year regardless of your tax bracket), it is essentially like “free money”. Therefore, for someone who intends to purchase a home this year, there could be a number of ways in which this money can be wisely applied toward the purchase. Here are some examples: Read more