Another Detail on the Stimulus Bill

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has plenty of good news for first time home buyers that buy between January 1 and November 3, 2009. See yesterday's post for more information. One new detail has emerged that I didn't know yesterday. If a buyer takes the tax credit, it doesn't need to be repaid if they stay in the house for three years or more. If they sell before three years, the

Real Estate and the Stimulus Bill

Unless you've been hiding out in a dark cave for the past month or so, you probably know that President Obama is signing into law a huge economic package designed to rescue the economy. Since real estate is a major part of the U.S. economy there are several important provisions that hopefully will stimulate the U.S. and Rochester real estate markets.Since this is still a bill and not yet a law, a

Getting a Mortgage in 2009

I am running into buyers that cannot be convinced to sit down with a mortgage loan officer to be pre-approved for financing early in the home searching process. Perhaps if I share a true life story about getting a mortgage in 2009, they will be more receptive to my nagging!A client that I've worked with for several years was pre-approved for financing with a score approaching 800. During the time

Rochester Best Buy: 1165 Bay Street

Here's a house that definitely should be sale pending! This 3 bedroom colonial with finished basement needs painting and other cosmetics but is a steal at the current list price of $63,000. Details and inside photos at Bay St . What makes this such a good deal? Similar properties in this neighborhood have sold for prices in the $73,000 to $83,000 range. Here are the recent sales: Customer Full

New York State Property Taxes

This should come as no surprise. New York homeowners pay highest property taxes in nationAccording to a recent report by the Washington-based Tax Foundation, New Yorkers are saddled with the highest property tax burden in the nation. The counties paying the highest actual property taxes in the nation are Westchester and Nassau with average burdens nearing $8,000 per year. Monroe County ranks

Million Dollar Real Estate

It's a new year and time for new dreams.

Just a few years ago, it was very rare to find a property for sale in the Rochester area for $1,000,000 or more. Currently, there are more than 30 listings of luxury homes with a million dollar or higher price tag. And with today's difficult economic climate, these prices are dropping faster than a brick out of a 3rd floor window.

Here is a link to

Rochester Real Estate - The Year in Review

Happy New Year Everyone! This is a perfect time of the year to reflect back and plan for the future. As I look back over 2008, the thing that keeps coming to mind is "The Day the Phone Stopped Ringing!" Literally! I was having a little slower than average year with about 20 sales when suddenly, around September 1, 2008 no one wanted to look at real estate, no one wanted to sell real estate, no