Nicole Marvin, Realtor, GRI

If you have questions about the Federal Housing Tax Credit that gives an $8000 tax credit to first time homebuyers and people who haven’t had a personal residence in the last three years you can click here http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/home2.html. I am adding it to my “websites to visit” in the sidebar on my main page also. If you have questions, call me and I will answer them for you. What a fabulous opportunity for buyers, but keep in mind the credit is only good for purchases made by December 1, 2009.

Mortgage interest rates are currently very low. Whether you are looking to buy a home, or maybe just need to refinance-it is a great time to take advantage of the low interest rates. If you have any questions, or need a referral for a mortgage loan officer, feel free to contact me.

Tomorrow is the big day! Please take the time to cast your vote. My husband and I voted on Monday of last week and had to wait about two hours in line. So you may want to leave yourself some extra time and expect to wait in line. We are so fortunate to live in the United States of America and have the opportunity to cast a vote for who will be our president. Please exercise your right tomorrow and cast your vote!

Lately I have been getting several calls and emails from clients asking about their property tax valuations. This year was a year for reappraisals and many homes seem to have been valued higher than what they should be, considering our current market conditions. So please take a look at your current value and make sure that it is in line with where it should be. I used to tell clients that their appraised amount from the county tax records was ten to twenty percent lower than the current market value. That is no longer the true. The value should be extremely close (within 5%) of the current market value. If it is too high, you will want to contact your county auditor’s office to get the property valuation reduced.

Greene county residents can click here http://www.co.greene.oh.us/auditor/default.htm to get more information.

Montgomery county residents can click here http://www.mcrealestate.org/Main/Home.aspx to get more information.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you or if you need recent comparable sales for your property.

Okay, I know this doesn’t have much to do with real estate. But my oldest son loves watching Jack Hanna on television and learning abouthis adventures with animals. So I thought that some of you may have children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or friends that may want to see Jack in person, with his animals, also. He will be at Cedarville University on Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 3 p.m.. You can learn more about it (or buy your tickets) by clicking on the link here http://www.greenelibrary.info/Latest/Jack-Hanna.html.

Enjoy!

The Greene county Auditor’s office just posted a notice on the county’s website for residents in regards to the recent wind storm. If your property was destroyed or damaged by the wind storm on September 14, 2008, you may qualify for a tax valuation reduction. But you only have thirty days to respond, so act now. You can get more information about this by visiting their website at www.co.greene.oh.us.

Are you one of the many people in the Miami Valley who reads the Dayton Daily News’ Real Estate Plus section on Sundays? Do you regularly scan the list of recently sold homes in your area? If so, you may find the information on the Dayton Daily site very interesting. Click here http://realestate.daytondailynews.com/homesold?keyword=Montgomery%20County  to search a complete list of recent homes that have sold in the Miami Valley. You can search by the county, city, price, and sale date. 

Hopefully this link will be handy if you are looking for comparable sales, or if you just want to keep apprised of sales in your area. No more newspaper clippings are necessary, you can just click a few times and find it online.

Enjoy!

When you need to transfer your home utilities or add new service, it can be very confusing at to what number to call. In Montgomery and Greene counties, there are numerous companies that offer telephone, water, and trash services. So here is a list that Irongate has compiled, called Numbers to Know, that will assist you with the contact information for these companies. Just click here… http://www.irongateonline.com/assets/pdfs/forms/numberstoknow8.pdf and you will have the complete list.

You may also want to compare the companies that offer these services. Whitefence.com (http://www.whitefence.com/) is a website that will give you detailed information on the various companies that are offered in your area. That way you can make a more educated decision in regards to which company you choose for your needed services.

Many buyers and sellers are confused about the topic of tax proration. This post is an attempt to explain it. As always, I am open to questions that you have. Just leave a comment or email me!

The Dayton Area Board of Realtors website explains it this way…

Real Estate Taxes Pro-Ration of Real Estate Taxes “I just received a real estate tax bill for the second half of last year. I just bought this house. Should I have to pay these taxes even though I did not live in the house at that time?” This is a common question, and the only answer is that in Montgomery County, the buyer has agreed to pay the bill according to provisions in the purchase contract. In the standard Dayton Area Board of REALTORS® Purchase Agreement, buyers agree to pro-rate taxes according to the “short” pro-ration method. Taxpayers should contact their REALTOR® or title company with any specific questions regarding their purchase agreement. In Montgomery County, real estate taxes are pro-rated under what is commonly referred to as a “short” pro-ration. If a property is purchased in the first six months of the year, the buyer agrees to take over real estate taxes beginning with the June installment (representing second half of the previous year’s tax). Taxes would be pro-rated from January 1st to the date of closing with the amount normally deducted from the purchase price. Once the June installment is due, the buyer uses the moneys pro-rated at closing along with his or her portion (closing date to the end of June) to pay that installment. If the property is purchased in the second half of the year, the buyer agrees to take over taxes beginning with the December installment (representing first half of the current year’s taxes). Taxes would be pro-rated from July 1st until the closing date. The buyer would use moneys pro-rated along with his or her portion (closing date to the end of December) to pay the first half of that year’s real estate taxes. While this seems unfair, home buyers should understand that when they sell the property, the taxes are pro-rated the same way. As long as the same short pro-ration policy is applied when the property is resold, then the playing field is level.

The standard “Contract to Purchase” form for the Dayton area gives you the option to mark “long” or “short” for the tax proration method. The short method has been explained above. For other counties (or sometimes with bank owned properties) the seller will pay the buyer using the long proration method. Which means the seller pays the buyer a full six months of taxes at closing, in addition to the prorated portion under the short method.

I know, it is much more confusing than it should be, but these are the rules.  So, the next time you go to write an offer on a home, or are planning to sell a property, refer back to this information. It will help you to figure out what your credit will be as a buyer (at the closing table) or what you will owe the buyer at the closing as a seller.

Comment with any thoughts or questions!