Buy Your Las Vegas REO Before the Tax Credit Vanishes

Posted by Robin Camacho | Uncategorized | Saturday 9 January 2010 12:53 AM

Time is running out to take advantage of the extended (and expanded) home buyer tax credit. The $8,000 credit is still available to first-time home buyers – but it’s going away very soon. And those of you who wait until the last minute might not find a home at all when the feeding frenzy begins as the deadline nears.

“First-time home buyers” who purchase homes between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010 are eligible for the credit. To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” you may not have owned a home during the past three years.

Current homeowners are also eligible for a tax credit up to $6500, so long as the home being sold or vacated was their primary residence for 5 consecutive years within the last 8. You don’t have to sell your existing home, but you must occupy the new home for three years or risk recapture of the credit.

The maximum allowable credit for first-time home buyers is $8,000 or 10% of the sales price, whichever is less. Single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 may receive the maximum credit. The credit decreases for higher-earning homebuyers. Single homebuyers earning more than $145,000  and couples earning over $245,000 aren’t eligible.

To qualify, you’ll need to have a written binding contract to purchase in effect on April 30, and the deal must close by July 1, 2010.  Those buyers who are waiting until the last minute are going to be competing with all of those other buyers who made the same mistake!

The market hasn’t slowed down much at all. A few people are still sleeping off the holiday spirits, so those who are shopping now are getting offers accepted a bit more readily. I’m busier than I’ve ever been during a holiday season, and I expect sales to continue to rise. So much for the winter slow season. As buyers realize they can’t wait any longer if they want the tax credit, we’ll see more competition for an already-short supply of REOs.

I’m No Kaczynski, But…

Posted by Robin Camacho | Uncategorized | Tuesday 5 January 2010 5:20 AM

Three months it took me to get up the nerve to tackle a new blog format.  I can sell real estate with my eyes closed (hey, have you seen some of these REOs?), but learning a new blog format paralyzes me every time.

I couldn’t help but think about Ted Kaczynski and his hatred for the modern world. So I did a little research, and the similarities between Ted and I were just freaky.

Ted was born on May 22. I was born on May 22. Ted is an American. I’m an American. Ted is male. I’m female. See, even the dissimilarities are surreal.

Ted decided to start a bombing campaign after watching the wilderness around his home being destroyed by development. Say what? Okay, Ted…you lost me on that one. I’m kind of missing development about now.

Three months. So many changes – all exciting.

The Robin Camacho Team has grown rapidly to keep up with the demands of our clients. Many LVA readers will remember when it was just Ron, our Top10RealEstateValues.com researcher, and me. Anyone who’s been in my new office lately has been amazed that , despite our size, we’ve been able to remain focused on what’s important – helping our clients do well .

First and foremost, I have moved up to Realty ONE Group. Realty ONE is now the largest real estate company in Nevada, with over 1600 active agents. The offices of Robin Camacho & Associates are located in Realty ONE’s location in southwest Las Vegas. There are Realty ONE offices scattered throughout the valley, making us very accessible to our clients.

There are now 9 agents on our Team, as well as full-time transaction coordinator Phyllis Washburn, and of course our full-time researcher.

I’m very pleased to announce that my sister, Sheri Wilson, has recently joined our Team. Sheri is a 33-year resident of Gardnerville, and a former top-producing agent in northern Nevada. Ron Branson brings 30 years of experience as a top-producing agent, former broker and association President in Coeur D’Alene. Lucy Stewart is a former current planning administrator for Clark County, and maintains a land-use consulting business in addition to her real estate license. Along with Lucy and Ron, Shawn Preston, a former Range Rover salesman, concentrates on serving our commercial real estate buyers. Judy Mitchell is a former nonprofit director with a reputation for great client service. Linda Masciola, Lana Jones and Nick Marquart round out the Team. Every Team member shares my core philosophy of understanding and adopting our client’s thinking. When your focus is correctly placed on the needs of your client, their success becomes your success.

Enough about me – let’s talk about you.

If you’ve purchased a home in Clark County recently, you should be aware that the deadline for appealing your property’s assessed value  is January 15. If your tax rate is too high when compared to comparable homes, it would be prudent to contact Clark County’s Assessor’s Office (702.455.3882) immediately to request the proper form for filing an appeal.