Karen List's (karenlist) Blog

Now is the time for a very rare opportunity for up to $18,000 in combined tax credits from the Federal and State for homebuyers. To take advantage of both tax credits, a first time homebuyer must enter into a ratified purchace contract for a principle residence by the end of this month of April ...

The tax credits and qualifying dates are becoming confusing! I thought it would be a good idea to write an article simplifying the matter for homebuyers who are in the market to buy a home and trying to take advantage of any and all possible tax credits. The $8,000 Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit d...

I just sold a condo in San Jose to a very sweet young couple. They wanted this particular community because it was close to Lake Almaden and they really like the location. They are FHA buyers and this community is not FHA approved. The deadline for spot approvals was Feb 1 and we barely made the ...

Why FHA decided to end spot approvals is a complete unknown to me and is definitely not good news for FHA buyers  and condo/townhome communities that are not FHA approved. As of February 1, 2010, FHA no longer allows spot approvals in said communities. A spot approval is one in which FHA looks at...

This sale is a great story for a home I just sold in San Jose! The buyer is just the most awesome and cool young single man in his late 20’s determined to buy a single family home, although in his budget price range, the market is VERY competitive with investors and all cash buyers. But, he was v...

Check me out on Alikelist at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWfJeYzOs6k

  I just sold a nice 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom condo in Newark in a nice community. This was another very smooth transaction. One item I did learn in this transaction that seems to be a new guideline as of October, is that if one borrower is going to owner occupy the home and there is a co-borrowe...

President Obama signed the federal tax credit into law.   It is expected to contribute approximately $22 billion to the economy, Congress overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan measure this week extending the $8,000 home buyer tax credit to April 30, 2010, with a 60-day extension if a binding contra...

  This home was another fairly smooth transaction with a very sweet couple buying their first home. Although, there are a couple of interesting things about this transaction. This home was a foreclosure. The buyers competed for this home in a multiple offer situation and got it. During inspection...

This was a fun sale. The buyers went into contract in June and just closed the transaction last week. They actually watched this home being built from start to finish and were very involved in getting to choose everything to suit their own taste. They even got to choose where some outlets went a...