Have you heard of the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit extension? Last month, President Obama signed the extension to help first-time homebuyers (who didn’t get their sales in by November 30th) buy a house that meets their needs. What about those who already own Brooklyn homes, are doing well and want a larger home?

To those who already own a home, Merry Christmas! The Workers, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 didn’t just come with an extension; it came with improvements. Those in governmental positions of authority reasoned that if someone wanted to get a bigger home, they should get some kind of help too, thus further helping the overall real estate market.

If you own a home, you can now receive up to $6,500 in tax credits for buying one of the Brooklyn homes for sale. The actual wording is “$6,500 or 10%.” Here are a few of the important points you need to know:

• Income Qualifications – Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) as a single taxpayer must be less than $125,000 ($225,000 if you file jointly). Partial credit may be received by those with a MAGI of less than $145,000 (single) and $245,000 (jointly).

• Home Ownership Qualifications – You must have lived in the home you own for five consecutive years out of the past eight to qualify. You do not, however, have to currently own the home you’re using to qualify. The key terms are “five consecutive years” and “in the past eight years.” If you lived in your home for five years straight, but sold it two years ago, you are still eligible for the tax credit. If you’re filing jointly with a spouse, both you and the spouse have to qualify.

• Cost Qualifications – The cost of the home doesn’t have to be more than the home you already own, but it does have to cost less than $800,000. As a side note, the government has put a definitive cap on the housing costs. If the home you’re looking at is a solid, non-negotiable $801,000, it isn’t eligible for the credit.

• Purchase Date – The final date for the purchases to be secured is April 30, 2010. The actual closing date must be finalized before June 30, 2010.

Most couples move into a home thinking they will “eventually” get a bigger home once they have a family. Then the family comes along, the house is full and they can’t buy a larger home due to financial issues. The tax credit is a perfect opportunity for families to find Brooklyn homes that fit their expansion needs. Take a chance and look around; your dream home may be only a city block and $6,500 away!

If you’re looking to expand and take advantage of the tax credit, I can help. Call  Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn Realtor, at Fillmore Real Estate, (718) 253-9600 ext. 206 or email me at [email protected] for more information.

Consumer Reports surveyed over 17,000 readers on the state of their home improvement projects. The results of the home improvement survey point out that you should definitely do your homework before doing the home improvement on your Brooklyn real estate.

Over half of those surveyed went at least $2,000 over budget for room additions. On basement finishing, 56% spent $1,350 over budget. Kitchen remodeling also had 56% going over budget, by $1,200. Lastly, 45% went over budget by $700 on deck additions. What was the reason? Surprisingly, they all had similar reasons:

• Plan adjustments
• Underestimated labor
• Increased cost of materials
• Special tools needed
• Unexpected system upgrades

If you plan to remodel your Brooklyn real estate in the near future, keep these tips in mind so your home improvement goes as planned:

• Do your research – Factor in delivery and removal fees. Make sure you know which products the contractor should have and plan ahead.

• Don’t deviate – Once you have a well-developed remodeling plan, don’t deviate from it. Those who did ended up going anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 over budget.

• Check the contract – Make sure your contractor’s contract has a set amount for materials. Some have open-ended amounts, which makes it quite easy to go over budget. Read the contract before you sign it!

• Check up on the remodeling contractor – Get the referrals and then put them to work. In other words, don’t just get a list of numbers and names, and then forget to check up on the contractor. Follow through and make sure the contractor is a good one.

A little remodeling can go a long way in helping you sell your Brooklyn real estate. Just make sure you know what you’re doing before you hire anyone to do it!

If you’re trying to sell your home, or looking for a great home to buy, I can help. Call me Charles D’Alessandro of Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9600 ext. 206 or email me at [email protected] for more information.

brought to you by Brooklyn Real Estate Sales

During this festive season, our thoughts turn to giving gifts, baking delicious treats in our Brooklyn homes and visiting friends and family. However, there are others who think about unoccupied, gift-filled houses.

Don’t give a thief a chance this year.  Safeguard your Brooklyn home for the holidays by following these tips:

Holiday Safety at Home

• Keep all doors and windows locked, even if your step out for a moment.
• Videotape valuables so you’ll have a record of ownership.
• Inspect all holiday lights for frayed wiring before your hang them.
• Beware of strangers coming to the door asking for charitable donations. Ask for identification, if donations are tax deductible, how the funds will be used. If you are not satisfied, don’t give. Instead, help a charitable group you know.

Holiday Events Away from Your Brooklyn Home

• Turn on lights, a television or radio so that it appears that someone is home.
• Lock all doors and windows.
• If you have a home alarm system, use it.  Alarm systems are only useful when they’re activated.
• Holiday gifts should not be displayed where they can be seen from the outside.
• Never leave keys under doormats, flowerpots or other “secret” hiding places — burglars know where to look for hidden keys.

Holiday Travel

• Secure all doors and windows including your pet doors.  Burglars can gain access to your premises from amazingly small openings – including cat doors. Secure all pet doors and remember to lock every single window and door, including those on garages and exterior buildings or storage sheds.
• Ask a neighbor to watch your house and pick up any packages left for you.
• If you leave your car at home, park it where you normally would.
• Use automatic timers for your interior and exterior lights.
• Stop your mail and newspaper deliveries.
• Arrange to have snow shoveled (if necessary) while you’re away.
• Notify your local police department and leave a number where you can be reached in case of an emergency.

Take the time to be safe so you can relax and enjoy this wonderful time of the year.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

As the number of foreclosures rise around the nation, some lenders have held their foreclosures in Brooklyn in private stock, hoping to sell them gradually in a stabilizing real estate market. That hope has slowly dwindled, however, even with the five-month extension on home buying tax credits signed by the President November 6^th of this year.

Government-owned Fannie Mae may have come up with a solution.

Deed-in-Lieu

Some homeowners facing foreclosures in Brooklyn have more than foreclosure, loan modification or short sale options. Some qualify for a deed-in-lieu (DIL), where they sign away all their equity back to the lender and walk away “debt free” (except, possibly, for taxes). Unfortunately, a DIL leaves the homeowner without a home to live in, and the lender with a house to sell in an uncertain market.

Deed for Lease Program

Under Fannie Mae’s new Deed for Lease Program (D4L), those who go through the DIL process may be eligible to rent their home back from Fannie Mae at current market rental rates. This may not sound like a great deal, but many families have ended up on the street because of foreclosure. Those who qualify for the D4L Program will be able to remain in their homes for at least 12 months. To learn more, read the entire D4L Program eligibility list.  Here are a few of the qualifications:

• No prohibitive Homeowner’s Association rental limitations
• The cost of any required repairs is an acceptable amount, based on the value of the property
• The income the lender receives from the current rental market should be expected to cover any maintenance/management costs
• The current rental rates must be less than 31% of your gross income
• The home must be a primary residence

Whether the D4L Program will help or hinder the number of foreclosures in Brooklyn New York is still up in the air, but it does give homeowners other options – something they’ve been sorely lacking.

If you’re facing foreclosure and qualify for short sale, I’d love to help. Call me Charles D’Alessandro with Fillmore Real Estate, at (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected] for more information.

If a Brooklyn condo lifestyle sounds interesting to you, here are a few things to consider about living in this type of residence:

Ownership

When you purchase a Brooklyn condo, you own the space within your condo’s walls.  The actual walls are co-owned with your neighbor, as well as the common areas like the hallways; building exterior; yard and amenities such as the pool, gym, and walking trails.

Condo Association Fees

Each condo has Association fees that are in addition to the mortgage.  These fees are used for maintenance and repairs of the common areas.  The Association fees also pay for the landscaping and, usually, trash removal.

Condo Association Rules

Associations also have rules.  They have regulations about what you can do with your property, including what kind of pets, if any, are allowed.  Most Associations don’t allow making changes to the exterior of the property.  You can paint the walls inside your condominium, but can’t paint the outside.

Neighbors

So you’ve found the condominium that works for you.  The next thing to consider is what kind of neighbors you’ll have.  Disruptive and noisy neighbors can ruin even the perfect condominium.  A good thing to do is stop by the condo at different times on different days, so you can get an accurate impression of what living there is really like.  Think about looking at the Association’s board meeting minute.  They’ll list what complaints the other owners have, and by looking at those you can get the big picture of life there.

Don’t let Association fees and close neighbors scare you away from condominium life.  While purchasing a Brooklyn condo is not simpler than buying a single-family home, living in one may be.

Thinking of buying a condo?  I can help.  Call me now Charles D’Alessandro of Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].

Few questions are more important this time of year than which Christmas tree you should buy for your Brooklyn home.  There are some things to keep in mind when looking for the perfect Christmas tree, here are just a few:

Real Or Artificial Tree?

Real Christmas trees require some care; if you’re planning to travel this holiday season, you may not want a live tree.  You must water the tree to make sure that it doesn’t lose its needles before Christmas day.  The live trees are not fire resistant, the dried out pine needles can get too hot from the lights and may burst into flame.

On the other hand, there isn’t any up-keep with an artificial Christmas tree, and many look quite realistic.  The plastic Christmas trees have an added bonus of being flame retardant.  Then, there’s the convenience of not having to go out in the cold weather to pick the tree out.

For those of you who can’t imagine Christmas without the pine needle smell, you can buy air fresheners that mimic the smell of fresh cut pine.  For some, an artificial tree is the best of both worlds.

How Big Is Too Much Tree?

Now that you’ve decided what kind of Christmas tree to buy, you have to find out how big a tree you can fit in your Brooklyn home.  It could be that the only thing limiting the size of your Christmas tree is your budget; in that case, your decision is easy.

However, if you’re limited on space, you’ll need to decide the best place to put your tree first.

Try to think of how the area will “frame” your Christmas tree.  Consider how much traffic goes by the area and whether there will be enough room for the presents to stay safe.

Break out the measuring tape so you don’t have to guess when you’re on the Christmas tree lot; trees look deceptively small on the lot.  Or, if you opted for the fake Christmas tree, you’ll know exactly which box to pick out; just look for the right size.

Want to buy a Brooklyn home that has space for a bigger tree?  I can help.  Give me a call today at (718) 253-9600 or email me at [email protected].

Picking a real estate agent to represent you in your Brooklyn real estate transaction is a big decision. Buying a home isn’t something most people do on a regular basis and rarely do they know agents personally or have one on retainer like they may have a lawyer for regular business purposes.

If your job doesn’t entail a lot of property transactions you might feel like a fish out of water when looking around for a Brooklyn real estate agent . Fortunately, deciding on the right one isn’t as hard as you might think.

Real Estate Agents Are People Too

That’s right, they have the same qualities you would think of in any other individual you might do business with. So, finding an agent really comes down to measuring many of the same values you’d use to choose another business associate.

• Honesty
• Reputation
• Track Record
• Associations

Here are two tips to help you determine which real estate agent is right for you:

• Ask the agents you’re considering for a list of past clients, and or testimonial letters.  Contact those past clients to find out what they thought of the agents and if they’d use them again.
• Interview the real estate agents. Ask them how long they’ve been in the Brooklyn New York real estate business, how many homes they’ve sold in the past year, how they can help you find a buyer for your home.

If you’re looking for a real estate agent that can represent you in buying or selling your Brooklyn real estate, I’d be honored if you’d give me the opportunity to interview for the job.  Contact me, Charles D’Alessandro at Fillmore Real Estate, today at (718) 253-9600 ext. 206, or email me at [email protected].

I ask as the question that has been asked for generations before. How will our children make it through? Will they be able to realize the American Dream of home ownership? With two sons born and raised in Brooklyn New York. A college graduate looking to for decent work for decent pay and my fathers grandson working in the electrical contracting business.We try to teach the ways we where taught, work hard to earn money and save for the future, the” American Dream”! The dream of home ownership! With the average starter home here in Brooklyn New York being around $400,000 in this down market with todays low interest rates and these affordable prices. I ask myself is it time for me to help my boys get started? I guess I have to decide what the answer will be for me. So my question to the parents out there is, “Do we wait to leave an inheritance to our children, or do we help them while we are still here to see them achieve their share of the American Dream ?” I would appreciate to hear your thoughts, go to the comment box and send your thought on the subject.

If you’re looking for a beautiful home, I can help. Call me Charles D’Alessandro at Fillmore Real Estate now at (718) 253-9600 ext. 206 or email me at [email protected] for more information.

brought to you by Brooklyn Real Estate Sales

A recent interview with FHA commissioner David Stevens on CNBC gives hope to Brooklyn real estate owners with FHA loans. The Federal Housing Administration now covers at least 30% of new home loans, so when Stevens announced that it might not make its 2% capital reserve, people were understandably nervous. For no reason, Stevens says in the CNBC interview.

Instead of immediate risk management in the form of strict guidelines that might make it harder on potential Brooklyn real estate owners, such as those Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have put on condo mortgages, the FHA is going for some changes. The changes include hiring a chief risk officer and requiring higher capital standards for loan originators.

Once it was out that the FHA wouldn’t meet its 2% (please note that the FHA itself is the one who broke the news), news portals, blogs and other websites spread the news that the FHA was a train wreck. However, the CNBC interview with Stevens cleared the air a bit.

It appears that the FHA, put in place for instances like this when people can’t afford other loans, actually has two capital accounts. According to Stevens, the FHA has “lots of capital in primary reserve to cover expected defaults.” Combined, FHA capital is over $30 billion dollars.

At the present, says Stevens, the FHA isn’t considering a minimum credit score, and they may not have to. Looking at their portfolio, the average credit score has gone up 60 points, from 630 to 690, pointing to a higher quality of borrowers.

So, when thinking about buying Brooklyn real estate and looking at mortgage companies, don’t forget to look at the FHA. If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are lending, the FHA is – and it’s going strong!

You can watch the CNBC video for the full interview.

If you’re looking for a beautiful home, I can help. Call me Charles D’Alessandro at Fillmore Real Estate now at (718) 253-9600 ext. 206 or email me at [email protected] for more information.

brought to you by Brooklyn Real Estate Sales