John Paulson made a lot of money while others lost it.  At a net worth of $12.4 billion, he sits at number twenty on the Forbes 400 list.  Now he is predicting the short term future, saying that double digit inflation is coming and it is time to ditch short term bonds for stocks.  All of this is according to a Forbes article reporting on a talk Paulson did in New York a month ago.  He also had some interesting things to say about the real estate market (quote taken from the same article):

“If you don’t own a home buy one,” Paulson recommended; ” if you  own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”

I’m not much for predicting the future, and I think that timelines are quite different in local markets, but this got me thinking.  Although activity is down here in Boise, I still track prices for single family homes and multi-family investment properties on a daily basis.  We have nice homes listed for $70 per square foot in Boise and duplexes for under $100k.  In Nampa, you can buy a duplex, triplex or fourplex for around $30k per unit (read: cashflow).  Rents are still pretty steady as more people go from being home owners to renters again.

So is this the best time to buy a home or investment property?  If it isn’t, it’s pretty close.  Close enough that ten years down the road, you won’t notice that you missed the bottom by a few months.  However, if you wait until the bottom is reached, time will no longer be on your side and you will have probably missed it.

Photo Credit: Forbes.com

The Treasury Department released their details today regarding the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan.  There are a few different versions of the plan depending on the borrower’s situation.  The abbreviated version is that you need to call your lender to find out about your own personal eligibility.  However, here are some of the basic eligibility requirements (taken directly from the Treasury Department’s summary):

• Loans originated on or before January 1, 2009.
• First-lien loans on owner-occupied properties with unpaid principal balance up to $729,750. Higher limits allowed for owner-occupied properties with 2-4 units.
• All borrowers must fully document income, including signed IRS 4506-T, two most recent pay stubs, and most recent tax return, and must sign an affidavit of financial hardship.
• Property owner occupancy status will be verified through borrower credit report and other documentation; no investor-owned, vacant, or condemned properties.
• Incentives to lenders and servicers to modify at risk borrowers who have not yet missed payments when the servicer determines that the borrower is at imminent risk of default.
• Modifications can start from now until December 31, 2012; loans can be modified only once under the program.

To find out if you qualify, you’ll have to call your lender and supply them with your income, debt and asset information.  For more information about the plan itself, check out the following links from the Treasury Department:

• Modification Program Guidlines

• Summary of Guidlines

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks via Flickr

“The plan will help up to 7 to 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages to avoid foreclosure.”

Don’t have enough equity to refinance or are you completely upside down in your home loan?  Or has your income changed, keeping you from qualifying for your current loan?  The government is here to help.  At least, that’s the idea.

The new Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan will help homeowners that don’t currently qualify for standard refinancing options.  This includes people who have less than 20% equity in their home or owe more than their home is worth.  There isn’t much information out about the program yet, but they are planning on releasing more details on March 4th.  For now check out these links or give me a call at 208-631-3545.

• Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan Fact Sheet
• Consumer Q & A
• White House Blog FAQ

*****UPDATED HERE*****

Did you know that the rate structure for your electricity usage recently changed?  Idaho Power announced last week that their residential rates increased an average of 1.61%.  However, the bigger news is that rates are now tiered and priced by usage.  If you use less than 800 kWh (kilowatt hours) your rates stay at a low 5.58 cents per kWh September through May and 5.78 cents per kWh during the summer months.  However, if you use more than 800 kWh but less than 2,000 kWh they raise to 6.2 cents and 6.59 cents respectively.  If you can hang meat in you home in the summer and bake a cake in there during the winter and use over 2,000 kWh you rates will be much higher – 7.13 cents and 8.17 cents per kWh.

This new structure may help reduce a lot of people’s energy use.  If you are close to one of the tiers, say around 850 kWh, you may start figuring out how to reduce the amount of energy you use in order to take advantage of the lower rates.

Curious about how to lower your energy usage?  Check out the tips below or contact us – we’re EcoBrokers, remember?

1. Set your thermostat down one degree and save two to three percent on your heating or cooling bill, depending on the season.
2. Turn off lights not in use.
3. Participate in an Idaho Power energy efficiency program.
4. Wash full loads of laundry and dishes, and use water and energy-saving settings.
5. Use plug strips for computers and video equipment and shut off when not in use.
6. Buy compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs for light fixtures you use more than two hours a day. They use 75 percent less energy!
7. Weather-strip windows and doors.
8. Regularly clean or replace the air filter in your furnace.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the $15,000 proposed tax credit was kicked out of the stimulus package in exchange for a an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that does not require repayment.  The credit will also be extended through the end of August December 1, 2009, but will only be available for those who have not already taken advantage of the $7,500 tax credit.  Remember, that means closing on the home by December 1st, not just deciding to buy by then, so if you’re interested – get on it.

Again, this is not official yet, but I’ll keep you updated.  Find the official press release here.  The IRS has not updated their website yet, but I’ll update this post when they do, so check back.

Photo Credit:  alykat via Flickr

Some of you may have heard about the $7,500 Tax Credit that is being offered to first-time homebuyers.  If you haven’t, I’ll give you a quick rundown:  First-time homebuyers, defined as those people that haven’t owned or bought a home in the last three years, can qualify if they closed on a home between April 8, 2008 and June 30, 2009.  Currently, the credit has to be paid back over fifteen years (starting two years after you file), so it is more like a zero interest loan, but congress is trying to make it a true credit without a payback and they are trying to increase the tax credit to $15,000.

The $15,000 tax credit is not yet a law, but it has passed through the Senate and will most likely be signed off in Obama’s Stimulus Package.  The major updates will include not having to pay back the credit as well as opening it up to anyone buying any home, not just first-time homebuyers.  The time frame of the $15,000 credit will piggyback the current tax credit and may possibly be extended to the end of the year.  So those of you that have already purchased a home may be able to amend your taxes and get your tax credit.  Of course, everyone’s tax situation is different so don’t do your taxes based on this blog.  Instead, talk to an accountant.

I’m following this closely and will keep you updated via this blog, but if you have any questions, please give me a call.

***UPDATED HERE***

What would be the first thing you tried to save (besides people and pets)?

This guy asked the firefighters to save his Ferrari.  Not sure I’d disagree with the decision; I’ve got an unreasonable attachment to a car myself.  Seriously though, I’d grab my laptop, but besides that, I’m not sure what else I would need.  Everything else would be replaceable.

So, yeah, what would you grab?

Photo Credit: Kansas City Star

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

In case you don’t want to take the 4 minutes to watch the video, I will list the myths for you here:

1. Sellers today are desperate – Very few sellers are in a desperate situation.  Don’t look at the days on market as an indicator of a good deal, instead focus on why the owner is selling.
2.  Don’t buy before prices have bottomed – This is a classic mistake because the bottom won’t show itself until prices are on their way up.
3. You can’t buy a home with less than 20% down – FHA is still offering first-time home buyers financing with 3.5% down.  Obviously, you still have to qualify, but the program does exist.
4. Now is the absolute worst time to sell – Although it is not a good time to sell, many markets are recovering.  Our own market here in Boise and the surrounding areas has been seeing much more activity in the past month compared to the last two quarters.
5. Before you refinance, shop around – I’m not sure I agree with this one, but the advice is true that your current lender will fight hard to keep your business so it may not be worth your time to shop around.

There you have it.  Now go search for a home or sell yours.

The market is tough right now for many Boise area sellers.  Most of them need to sell at any cost, leading to short sales and foreclosures all over the valley.  However,  a lot of sellers have the option to rent their home in hopes of waiting for the market to recover in order to sell again.  But many of these homeowners have never played the role of landlord before.  Since CityBurb has specialized in working with first-time home buyers and sellers, it made sense that we put together a program for first-time landlords as well.

CityBurb now offers Property Management services for Boise, Meridian and Eagle property owners (we’ll look at other areas on a case by case basis).  The CityBurb advantage is that as licensed real estate agents and members of the Intermountain MLS, we can advertise our rental listings to all of the other real estate agents in the valley and make use of all the web services that draw listings from the MLS.  And in the CityBurb spirit, we’ll be sharing our fees with other brokers and agents as an incentive for them to bring renters to our clients’ properties.

This concept is nothing new in the commercial leasing world, but in Idaho property managers are not required to be licensed and so very few are.  By being licensed we can offer the following advantages:

• An unbiased opinion on whether the owner should rent or sell the home
• The ability for an owner to simultaneously offer a home for sale or rent
• A larger pool of potential tenants by offering purchase options

We’ll also be able to help renters by showing them more than just the properties we have for rent since we’ll be cooperating with other management and real estate companies.  And we’ll be able to identify renters that could be potential homeowners and assist them with purchase options.

Our website will be updated soon with available rental properties and details about our new service.  In the meantime, if you know someone who is struggling to sell their home or are tired of dealing with tenants, send them our way and we’ll take care of them.

Once again I will be venturing into a bowling alley, by choice, to show off my incredible ability to knock down 10 pins with one little eight pound ball (I’ve been working out a lot so I might move up to a nine or ten pound ball this year).  Last year, as you may recall, I signed up a CityBurb Bowling Team for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake bowling fundraiser.  Our team raised $540.00 for the event.  Not bad, but I think we can do better.  I’d like to raise $1,000 this year as that is the amount it costs the organization to support one match.

I know there are a lot of causes out there and I know there are a lot of other things you need to spend your money on right now, but I really think this is worth taking a look at.  Big Brothers Big Sisters has a huge impact on our community.  From their site:

According to Parents

• 88% of the youth improved in self-confidence
• 75% of the youth improved in the ability to express themselves
• 73% of the youth improved in their sense of the future
• 71% of the youth improved in making decisions

According to the Youth

• 68% of the youth reported improvement in wanting to learn new things
• 68% of the youth reported improvement in friendships

According to the Volunteers

• 69% of the youth improved relationships with other adults
• 68% of the youth improved in trust

So what can you do?  Get your wallet out and click here.  Or, you can sign up to be on our team and help us raise money and go bowling on February 21st at 4:00pm.  We’ve got room for 10 9 team members, so act quick.  Either way, you’re making a difference.