West Chester & Liberty Township OH Real Estate: FHA Loans

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1. FHA loans are not only for first time homebuyers.

Many people believe FHA loans are available only to first-time home buyers, but this is not true.  While it’s true many home buyers are buying their first home using an FHA loan, but a large number of move up/repeat home buyers are also utilizing the opportunity of the FHA loans as a home financing option.

 2. FHA loans are not only for lower-income homebuyers.

FHA loans are available to everyone. There are many homebuyers in West Chester and Liberty Township Ohio using FHA financing.  There are no income restrictions tied to FHA loans.  Just as with conventional mortgage financing, home buyers do need to qualify for a mortgage based on their income, monthly debt obligations and credit scores.

  3. FHA loans are not just for small mortgages.

Currently in Butler County, Warren County and Hamilton County, Ohio the FHA loan limits are $337,500.  Keep in mind that this is the loan limit.  So, as an example, someone buying a home with a 3.5% down payment could buy a home for as much as a $350,000 purchase price.  Which leads to my last point on FHA mortgage lending.

4. FHA loans are often more affordable than conventional financing. FHA loans offer very competitive interest rates when compared to other loans.  Home buyers  also benefit from a much lower down payment, as I mentioned above.  The down payment required to buy a home can be as low as 3.50%.  And also the mortgage insurance premium may be lower on the FHA financing when compared to the conventional mortgage insurance for loans with less that 20% down.

For more information on FHA financing or for a referral to a terrific mortgage loan consultant please call Eric Lowry at (513) 874-1830 or visit our website, LowryTeam.com.

Click Here To Search The Entire Cincinnati MLS Database Of Homes For Sale! Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market? Request a market analysis here!

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

 

West Chester & Liberty Township OH Real Estate: Tuesday Open House – June 15, 2010

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It’s Tuesday, so this must be the Tuesday Open House.

What is Tuesday Open House?? Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”. Open Houses don’t sell homes… good internet marketing does… but it seemed like a good title for this weekly blog post.

It is my way of throwing the doors open on the RealEstate-Ink.com blog and offering up a few quick articles and facts on real estate for the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Mason and Fairfield Township, Ohio areas. It is not intended to be all about homes for sale, but it will be about that some of the time…

The Union Centre Bash:  There have been a number of questions recently regarding the Union Centre Bash and when it was, etc.  So after a little research I found that it is no longer called the Union Centre Bash, but is now known as the Union Centre Boulevard Blast.  It is scheduled to be August 13 -15, 2010.  According to an article in the Journal News that I found online the “Blast” will be more of a regional draw, employing some best practices from similar showcases across the country.  The direction of The Blast will be directed at families, adults, teens and children with multiple activities happening at the same time, “sort of like what you’d see at a state fair.  You can reach the entire article online here >>Union Centre Boulevard Blast

 

New Listing: 5466 Sugar Maple Run, Liberty Township, Ohio.  Check out this new listing in Falling Water subdivision in Liberty Township, Ohio.  This is a terrific two story home located on a private,  wooded lot and features a finished, walkout lower level, island kitchen w/ adjoining morning room & hardwood floors and much, much more! 

 

 

Searching for foreclosures or short sales?  Get a list of all of the foreclosed (bank owned) homes and short sale homes listed for sale in our area for free.  Don’t pay for a list of foreclosures, short sales or distressed properties and don’t pay a subscription fee to any website for one either.  These are homes that are listed for sale and you can have the information on these homes for sale, for free and without any obligation by just clicking here 

 

2010 Home Sales in West Chester & Liberty Township, Ohio:  The tax credit is over and now is when we find out if the homebuyer tax credits for both the First Time HomeBuyer and the move up homebuyer have had an impact on home sales overall.  The key thing to watch moving forward is the unit sales numbers each month for West Chester & Liberty Township compared to last year.  As can be seen on the graph, the last couple of months have seen home sales above last years totals.  The real indicator of the housing market’s recovery will be what happens moving forward with home sales.  Clearly the homes sales in West Chester & Liberty Township Ohio picked up when the tax credits were in effect, but what remains to be seen is; Will the home sales in the next few coming months remain at or above last year’s numbers so that the total sales numbers for the year remain above last year?  If the sales remain stable and we can stay at or above last years sales numbers, then we would have to judge the tax credits to be a success in stablizing the housing market.  If the sales numbers in the few months are not able to be sustained and in fact fall to levels below last year, then all we will have accomplished will be to move sales up into the early months of the year from the later months (July, August, September) and we will not have really improved the West Chester & Liberty Township housing market in the long term.  What you can see on the graph is a steady increase in the home sales from January through May of this year in a much more dramatic peak than in the last two years indicating that there clearly was an impact from the homebuyer tax credit incentives.  We will continue to monitor the home sales numbers and we will see where we go from here.   >>You can read my 2010 1st Quarter Real Estate Market Report here

 

Our Facebook fan page of the week is: West Chester Farmer’s Market  You can find information on the Farmers Market, the products that are available there through the summer and more.  As of this writing their page has 129 fans, so I ask that you check out their fan page, become a fan and invite your Facebook friends to do the same.

 

While you are on Facebook checking out the West Chester Farmer’s Market fan page, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page:

 

 Click Here To Search The Entire Cincinnati MLS Database Of Homes For Sale!

 Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market? Request a market analysis here!

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

West Chester & Liberty Township OH Real Estate: Tuesday Open House

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It’s time for the Tuesday Open House.  What is Tuesday Open House??  Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”.  Open Houses don’t sell homes, but it seemed like a good title for this weekly blog post.  It is my way of throwing the doors open on the RealEstate-Ink.com blog and offering up a few quick articles and facts on real estate for the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Mason and Fairfield Township, Ohio areas.  It is not intended to be all about homes for sale, but it will be about that some of the time…

Real Estate Market Update:  How is the real estate market? That is the big question today.  The answer is very different depending on many factors.  What you heard on the Today Show or read in the USA Today is not going to be the answer though.  Getting your real estate market information from some national expert is a little like getting a national weather forecast:  “In the US today it’s going to be a high of 67 with a chance of showers.”  Really…where?  It’s not much different with real estate.  Some media report will say that home sales or prices will have dropped by some percent across the country.  Again, I say really…where?

Real estate is local and in the market we have today it is hyper-local.  Meaning the market is very different in one area of Cincinnati vs. another.  The real estate market is also very different depending on the price range of the home.  The first time homebuyer price range is very active right now and supply and demand are largely in balance.  Higher price ranges continue to have quite an imbalance of homes for sale, thus continuing to cause pricing pressure.  The moral of the story is… for accurate, local real estate information, contact an experienced local real estate expert.  For more local real estate information, check back here later in the week for my RealEstate-Ink Market Update Report.

Need Mulch?  Are you preparing your home to get it on the market for sale soon?  Don’t forget the curb appeal.  As the old saying goes… you only get one chance to make a good first impression.  So clean up the landscaping and get yourself some fresh mulch.  I’m not sure that there is a better way to go than to get it from the boy scouts.  They even deliver!  You can see the article in the Cincinnati Enquirer here or you can just go directly to the boy scouts site right here.  I am placing my order this week.

Liberty Township Newsletter for March:  The Liberty Township March newsletter is online and has a lot of good information whether you are a Liberty Township resident, potential resident or just live nearby and are interested in the area.  There are articles on everything from the new fire station to information on parks, road improvements, population statistics and much more.  You can find the Liberty Township newsletter here.

 

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: Cincinnati Reds.  How could this week’s Fan Page Of The Week be anything else?  It is less than two weeks until opening day!  As of this writing their page has 96,043 fans.  The Reds fan page as you might imagine has a lot of very interesting information and news concerning all of your favorite Reds players and of course Reds ticket information.  Check it out.

While you are on facebook checking the Cincinnati Reds fan page out, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page.

 

 

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS here!  Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market?  Request a market analysis here!

Visit My YouTube channel at:  www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

 Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

 

West Chester & Liberty Township OH Real Estate: Tuesday Open House

by Leave a Comment

What is Tuesday Open House??  Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”.  It is my way of throwing the doors open on the RealEstate-Ink.com blog and offering up a few quick articles and facts on real estate for the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Mason and Fairfield Township, Ohio areas.  It is not intended to be all about homes for sale, but it will be about that some of the time…

Wondering what homes are selling for in your neighborhood? Get your own personalized market update report for homes both currently for sale and homes that have sold in your neighborhood with our Market Snapshot System.  It’s quick, easy and best of all free!  The information comes straight from the Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  You can get yours by clicking here: 

West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Fairfield Township & Mason Home Values

 

 Check out This Month In Real Estate (video) For March:

 

 

Tax Credit Reminder: The clock continues to tick down on the tax credits.  Our First Time Homebuyer eBooksare still available and there is still time to take advantage of the tax credits and these historically low interest rates. Just don’t wait too much longer.  You can read our previous article on the tax credits and First Time Homebuyers here.

 

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: Cincinnati Magazine.  As of this writing they have 1383 fans.  Their site has a lot of very interesting information and recommendations on Cincinnati dining, entertainment and also good neighborhood and area information.  Check it out.

While you are on facebook checking Cincinnati Magazine out, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page located at www.facebook.com/LowryTeamRealEstate

 Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS here!  Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market?  Request a market analysis here!

Visit My YouTube channel at:  www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

 Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

 

West Chester OH Real Estate: Now Is The Time For First Time Home Buyers

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For first time home buyers now is the time to act.  With the government offering an $8000 tax credit on homes purchased by April 30th, 2010 and with the historically low interest rates available today, this is an opportunity not to be missed! 

First of all there is the tax credit.  It goes like this, buy a home by April 30th, file your tax return and get cash back from the government.  This is a true credit and not just a nice deduction.  Of course there are some limitations based on your income level, etc.  You should definitely consult a tax professional regarding your own personal situation.

Second, we have the low interest rates.  As of today they are hovering around 5.00% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage.  These are terrific rates that will not last!  Why won’t they last?  Because the government’s intervention in the mortgage markets which forced rates to drop dramatically is slated to end on March 30th, 2010.  When this stops, rates go up.  Some experts predict that rates will be over 6.00% by year’s end.  Don’t miss out!

In addition to both of these great factors, home prices and selection are also terrific.  With housing prices having fallen and the available supply of homes for sale still very, very good, this would be a great time to buy even without the tax credit and low interest rates.

So we have:

$8000.  tax credit + low interest rates + low home prices + great selection of homes = FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY!

Get more information on buying your first home by visiting my website .  Available there, are three e-Books packed with information on buying your first home and they are completely free and there is no obligation.

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS here! 

Visit My YouTube channel at:  www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

 Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

West Chester OH Real Estate: The Tax Credit is Also For Those Who Wish to Downsize

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West Chester Ohio Homes For Sale
The tax credit is not just for those buying a bigger home, it also works for those wanting to downsize

When the First Time Home Buyer Tax credit was extended and expanded most people thought the expansion was only for home owners who wanted to move up, those who wished to buy a bigger, more expensive home. In fact, the expansion simply includes those who have owned a primary residence and lived in it for at least five consecutive years out of the last eight years. If current home owners want to downsize they can use the tax credit toward their new home, regardless of whether it costs less or is smaller than the home that they are selling.

It is an anomaly that everyone assumes the tax credit is only for purchasing bigger and better. Many people, especially those whose children have grown and left the nest, want to downsize. After-all, who doesn’t want to make life simpler these days?

If you have been considering selling your home and moving into a smaller space, consider doing so before the tax credit expires. Place your new home under contract by April 30th and close by June 30th and you could have a few extra dollars in your pocket.

Learn more about both of the homebuyer tax credits here!

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS here! Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market?  Request a market analysis here!

Visit My YouTube channel at:  www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

 Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio