Displaying items by tag: Pam Ryan Anderson

Spring is here and so are the termites... 

Yes, spring brings lots of flowers, warm days, beautiful sunsets on the beach, lots of college kids and definitely more bugs—including those pesky termites. Spring is a time when drywood termites swarm and you just might find them in your home.

The word is finally out—this is THE time to be buying real estate! Prices are low, interest rates are low, and you can still qualify for either the first-time home buyer rebate of $8,000 or 10% of your purchase price, whichever is less, or the rebate for people that are stepping up in price and buying a more expensive home.

The FHA has typically been a good avenue for first-time home buyers, allowing buyers that have less than perfect credit, very little money down, gift money from family members, explanations about credit problems that other lenders would balk at, or a high ratio of debt compared to their income, be able to purchase a home.  However, the FHA announced at the end of January that they are making changes to their program in order to lessen the number of FHA foreclosures.

As 2009 wound down, real estate wound UP!  The year ended in a frenzy of real estate sales with Realtors showing and selling property like crazy, lenders too busy to get to files, Title Companies having to juggle things to get to closings – WOW!  What a great way to end 2009! 

The Ultimate Shopping for the Holidays: House Hunting! 

Even though I’ve been selling real estate for almost a quarter of a century (Man, that seems like a long time!) it always surprises me how busy real estate gets just before the Holidays. This year one of the best gifts you can give yourself is a new home. Prices are lower than they’ve been in prob¬ably two decades, interest rates are down, and there are tons of deals just waiting for their new owner.

HONEY – STOP THE CAR! THE $8,000 REBATE ISN’T OVER YET!!!

If you gave up hope that you could buy a home before November 30 and qualify for the first-time homebuyers tax credit, you’re going to love this news!

(*First is defined as not having owned a home in the last three years.)

The government is offering a one-time credit of $8,000, (or 10 % of the purchase price, whichever is the lesser amount ) of your first home. For example, if you buy a home for $76,000, then you would qualify for a credit of $7,600. But if you pay more than $80,000 for your new home, then you would qualify for an $8,000 credit.

How do you take advantage of this incredible offer? You must purchase a home that will be your main home before December 1, 2009. You will even qualify if you bought your first home after April 8, 2008. Then you have some options as to how you get your money from the government.

The fastest way that I know of is to do a Rapid Amended Return to your 2008 tax return. However, I heard a rumor that I’m tracking down that would allow you to get your money before you purchase a home. So far I haven’t confirmed that, but if I get that confirmation, I will write an update in my next column.

The other way to obtain the credit is to simply fill out a Form 5405 that you submit with your 2009 taxes.

Personally, I think amending your 2008 tax return might be the best way to go. You would get a check in the mail -- as long as you don’t owe the IRS any money, that is!

We’re running out of time to get your new home before December 1, 2009 and a tax credit from the government! So act fast and call me today!

Pam Ryan Anderson
Real Estate Broker, Ryan Realty
(727) 442-2822

As it’s summer in Florida, the pesky pests are in their glory and “bug” us any chance they get. From mosquitoes to rats, these guys seem to make it their goal to live up to their nickname “pests”. Below are some tried and true methods of naturally, and easily, handling some of these pests.

This is a great one and I use it all the time at my house. Put some Listerine in a spray bottle and keep it outside. Spray it around on the ground or on chairs etc when you’re going to be outside. It totally keeps mosquitoes and gnats away.

Hurricane Season – Well, it’s that time of year again… but, if you have your umbrella with you it won’t rain. That’s my viewpoint on hurricanes. If you are totally prepared, then you probably won’t need your supplies. We seem to live in an area that hurricanes avoid, and it’s my viewpoint that they should just keep on missing us!

 Clearwater, FL ( April 1, 2009) -  For the last few months, I’ve been experiencing quite a different real estate market than the prior 18 months.  Buyers are back, and THAT makes all the difference in the world. In the last three months, I’ve got almost as many properties under contract already as I sold for the entire year in 2008!

 This is the very best time to buy – prices are as low as they are probably going to go, and interest rates are also very low.  The selection is amazing, and I really think this is an opportunity to jump on.