This fall, construction will begin on The Oak Hill Development in The Hill District, bringing some excitement to the Pittsburgh real estate market. The Oak Hill Development will showcase 450 affordable, yet luxurious, condominiums; some of which will be reserved for renting and the remaining condos for sale to Pittsburgh home buyers.

Pittsburgh Homes For Sale

If you are looking to buy Pittsburgh area condos for sale, you will want to have Oak Hill at the top of your list. The development also includes an impressive 8,500 sq ft community center around a town square, environmentally friendly  and breathtaking landscaping, and wonderful streetscapes.

Contact a Pittsburgh Realtor

If you want to see the floor plans or get on the list at Oak Hill, be sure to contact an expert Pittsburgh real estate agent so you can take advantage of our local Pittsburgh relocation package, Pittsburgh buying guide, and browse the Pittsburgh MLS home search.

Until next time,

Jim

If you are in the position to buy a Peters Township area home, and the time is right for you to buy Pittsburgh property, then you have a little over a month left to take advantage of the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit.

But wait, you say? We have until Nov. 30, 2009, right?

Yes and no. You have until Nov. 30th to be closed on a Peters Township area property.

That means you have to find a Pittsburgh home for sale, make an offer (or two or three counter offers), get inspections, get the Peters Township, PA real estate appraisal (which might come in low, probably sending you back to the offer table), check Pittsburgh, PA property titles (perhaps clear titles), get your Peters Township, PA real estate loan approved, get the loan money on time, and get all problems found during the inspection fixed. All before Nov. 30th.

By Nov. 30th, you must have the house keys in your hand in order to take advantage of the tax credit, so the sooner you start the Pittsburgh area home buying process, the better.

Search Pittsburgh Homes for Sale

An expert Peters Township, PA Real Estate Agent will try to foresee all the potential problems that could arrise in the process of buying a Pittsburgh real estate home, but there always things that could arise that are beyond anyone’s control. Overall, the more time you allow for buying a Pittsburgh area home the better chance you have of closing in time for the credit.

Because though you shouldn’t be buying a home just for the credit, it would really stink to close on Dec. 1, 2009 and miss out on an $8000 tax credit.

If you have questions about Pittsburgh Real Estate or want to browse the Pittsburgh and Peters Township MLS home search, then contact me, Jim Dolanch, for all your Pittsburgh and Peters Township first time home buying tips.

Until next time,
Jim

Pittsburgh and Peters Township First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit Details

 The First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit is a simple plan, but it brings many pages of paperwork, explanation, and rules. To help answer all the questions that can arrise from about the credit, I have chosen some of the top questions I hear, from Pittsburgh Home Buyers as well as, Peters Township Home Buyers:

Pittsburgh and Peters Township Home Buyers Tax Credit Top Questions

1. Are there restrictions on the type of home? What types of homes will qualify for the tax credit?

It is important to note that you cannot purchase a home from your ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.), your lineal descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.) or your spouse. Please consult with your tax advisor for more information. Also see IRS Form 5405.

2. I read that the tax credit is “refundable.” What does that mean?

 
The fact that the credit is refundable means that the home buyer credit can be claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no federal income tax liability to offset. Typically this involves the government sending the taxpayer a check for a portion or even all of the amount of the refundable tax credit.

For example, if a qualified home buyer expected, notwithstanding the tax credit, federal income tax liability of $5,000 and had tax withholding of $4,000 for the year, then without the tax credit the taxpayer would owe the IRS $1,000 on April 15th. Suppose now that the taxpayer qualified for the $8,000 home buyer tax credit. As a result, the taxpayer would receive a check for $7,000 ($8,000 minus the $1,000 owed).

3.What if I purchased a home in early 2009 and have already filed to receive the $7,500 tax credit on my 2008 tax returns. How can I claim the new $8,000 tax credit instead?

Home buyers in this situation may file an amended 2008 tax return with a 1040X form. You should consult with a tax advisor to ensure you file this return properly.

In contrast, for newly-constructed homes bought from a home builder, eligibility for the tax credit is determined by the settlement date.

Yes. The tax credit can be combined with the MRB home buyer program. Note that first-time home buyers who purchased a home in 2008 may not claim the tax credit if they are participating in an MRB program.

Participating in the tax credit program is easy. You claim the tax credit on your federal income tax return. Specifically, home buyers should complete IRS Form 5405 to determine their tax credit amount, and then claim this amount on line 67 of the 1040 income tax form for 2009 returns (line 69 of the 1040 income tax form for 2008 returns). No other applications or forms are required, and no pre-approval is necessary. However, you will want to be sure that you qualify for the credit under the income limits and first-time home buyer tests. Note that you cannot claim the credit on Form 5405 for an intended purchase for some future date; it must be a completed purchase.

Buying a Home in Pittsburgh Area

All the previous information is just the tip of the iceberg. As you can see, there are many items Peters Township home buyers need to understand about the $8,000 tax credit. You can get the best information form a knowledgeable Pittsburgh Realtor or Peters Township Real Estate Agent; however, make sure you consult your tax professional for the full run down on how the tax credit may affect your taxes or effect savings for you!

And as always, if you have any questions about Pittsburgh Real Estate, Peters Township Homes for sale, or would just like to browse the Pittsburgh Area Real Estate MLS Listings, feel free to contact me, Jim Dolanch, your Peters Township Realtor, anytime.

Until next time,

Jim

Everyday I receive calls Pittsburgh and Peters Township residents about the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit. How do you qualify? What are the details? What do you have to do to apply?

Since the entire tax credit document is very long , I thought I would do a brief overview, with future posts on more specific aspects to the tax credit. 

Please note  the short overview below pertains to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:

• The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
• The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

If you are ready to start the search for Pittsburgh real estate, you can begin by using my free Pittsburgh and Peters Township MLS Search or by contacting me, Jim Dolanch, your Pittsburgh and Peters Township Realtor. Questions about whether buying Peters Township real estate will qualify for the tax credit? I can help you naviage the waters and together we will get you the best deal possible on your Peters Township area property.

Until next time,

Jim

Peters Township Real Estate has seen the same slump a lot of the nation is facing right now; however, we are starting to come out of that slump, which is great news for Pittsburgh home buyers and sellers! Even with with the good news, there is a group that still needs some assistance and your expert Pittsburgh and Peters Township REALTORS are here to help!

Pittsburgh Short Sales

When you are trying to sell your home, but can not sell it for what you owe on it, then you are caught in a short sale. Short sales can be maddeningly frustrating for all involved, because each one has to be approved by the mortgage lenders and that whole process can take a very long time.

Lenders can often take weeks or, in worst cases, months, to respond to a short sale offer. Why? Because they are getting overloaded with requests AND in a short sale, they are getting paid less than what was originally promised. So even though someone may be able to prove hardship in making their Peters Township home payments, the lenders still aren’t super excited to lose the money, even though in the long run they could up getting less if it goes to foreclosure.

So what is a home owner to do? Make sure you work with an Expert Peters Township Realtor, who understands the short sale process for your area inside and out.

Because even when things do go smoothly and your short sale is approved, there can still be mistakes in how long it takes the paperwork to get back to you, making it impossible to close in time and forcing you to start over. Unless you contact an expert Pittsburgh REALTOR and let me help with every step of the process.

Short sales can be frustrating, but don’t worry; the real estate team at JimDolanch.com is here to help you every step of the way.

Are you thinking about how to start the short sale process, or what to see if a short sale might be an option so you can avoid foreclosure? Then contact us, your expert Peters Township, PA real estate agents, with all of your questions and concerns.

Until next time,
Jim

Well, it has been very busy around here with celebrations for our Penguins! They broke the 38 year old game 7 road jinx to beat Detriot 2-1 on Friday. They overcame Crosby being injured and being down until the third period to come back with a wonderful win; it was quite the game to see!



Who got the hold the cup first? Sidney Crosby, who despite his knee injury, came out and held the cup over his ear to ear smile. It was a wonderful moment to watch, for us Penguin fans!



Celebration is still in the air and there is rumor the Stanley Cup will be making some more appearances around town-it already came by the PNC Park this past Sunday, and if you were in the Pittsburgh area yesterday, then you know we had a HUGE parade for our Stanley Cup winners over the weekend that rivaled the Steelers Super Bowl celebration, with 375,000 people attending!



And in true Pittsburgh fashion, the parade was family friendly and a great time for family and friends to gather and enjoy the Stanley Cup victory. Only 2 people in 375,000 were arrested for behaving badly.



Impressive, eh?



Would you like to learn about living in an area where that many people can gather, have fun, and you don’t have to worry about what or who your family might be around? Then feel free to take a look around the Pittsburgh Real Estate and search the Pittsburgh MLS.  I also represent the Peters Township Real Estate area and offer home searches for the Peters Township MLS, so feel free to look around these two neighboring, lovely areas and contact me, Jim Dolanch, your Pittsburgh and Peters Township Realtor for questions about everything and anything about Real Estate.



Until next time,

Jim

The  NAR Board of Directors need to come to their senses.

You see, with real estate sites, there are great little data bases called “IDX” searches, which is what anyone looking for a home in a certain area will use when they visit a real estate site. You can see an example of an IDX here, with my Pittsburgh MLS Real Estate Search page.

Anyways, it seems that the NAR (National Association of REALTORS&reg) had decided that Google can’t index sites that have IDX searches, for reasons that all become a bit long to explain in only one post, but generally for the reason that IDX and MLS data listings are paid for by us Real Estate Agents, and the NAR wants to ensure no one can get them for free.

That makes sense, right? No one wants to lose business money, esp now as the economy is not so strong. So what are we Real Estate Agents upset about?

Well, the NAR decided that Google was to be included in the “scrapper” sites that are not allowed to index real estate sites with IDX listings. That means that I can not submit specific data about a listing to search engines, like Google, thus making it harder for you to find a home I am listing, even if it fits everything you are searching for online. You would actually have to go to my site directly to now find that home-general online searches through search engines won’t let it show up.

See why real estate agents everywhere might be upset? So far the rule is actually only being pushed by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of REALTORS&reg,  and you can learn more here, but this has the looks of becoming a nation wide rule by the NAR, and should certainly be protested by real estate agents everywhere. IDX searches are great, and I pay a premium to have my Pittsburgh MLS listings as comprehensive as possible and I certainly do want Google and other search engines to show my listings when someone searches a specific neighborhood, or even address, in the Pittsburgh Real Estate Area and Peters Township Area.

The upcoming ruling by the NAR will determine if the Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of REALTORS&reg can count Google as a “scrapper” site and insist that real estate agents no longer share IDX and MLS listing information with Google. This is certainly something we will be keeping an eye on, as it will not only affect how my listings show up in search engines, but if will affect whether you can easily find the home you are searching for, should it become a nation wide rule.

Until next time,

Jim

The Pittsburgh chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women Foundation, aka, CREW, will be having a Lunch Program on Tuesday, May 12 with speaker Bekcy Hooman and you can register for the event here.

What, exactly, is CREW?  It is the philanthropic arm of CREW Network, an association of women in commercial real estate that provides a series of hands-on lessons and experiences to convey the opportunities for women in commercial real estate, which has traditionally been a male-dominated field.

Some of the great community outreach programs done by CREW include taking teen girls armed with construction equipment out to construction sites, office buildings, shopping malls and downtown Pittsburgh to learn first hand the skills that will make them successful candidates for careers in commercial real estate.

And with great life experiences like that, I would guarantee those young ladies will be ready to take on the world in any field they choose, because truly the confidence they gain from learning new skills will carry over to any job they hold. I am quite proud the Pittsburgh real estate market is strong enough to support the CREW Foundation, and if you are interested in joining, supporting, mentoring, or getting your daughter involved in their CREW Careers: Building Opportunities, go by their site to learn more.

Until next time,

Jim

19th century American songwriter and Pittsburgh native, Stephen Foster, wrote these still relevant song lyrics:

“Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count iitsmany tears. Oh! Hard Times, come again no more. While we all sup sorrow with the poor, there’s a song that will linger forever in our ears..”

The hard times have hit again for Pittsburgh Real Estate; however, residents of Lawrenceville, the area where Foster was born and raised, are hoping that the hardest of times might just pass on by. Why such optimisim for Pittsburgh Real Estate Owners and Residents? Because Pittsburgh has all the makings to be a “next neighborhood”.

What is a next neighborhood and how do you know if you live in one? Urban Studies Theorist, University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management professor of business and creativit and director of the Martin Prosperity Institute, Richard Florida, has studied the Pittsburgh Area and feels that Lawrencevillehas what it takes to attract new residents with jobs in the design, engineering, and technology areas, which are careers that drive contemporary economic growth. The modest housing costs, clean air, beautiful scenery, walkable neighborhoods, great shopping, numerous restaurants and entertainment for all ages sets the stage for draw in and keep new, contemporary residents who are eco-conscious, highly skilled and seeking small community with big city amenities. That is Lawrenceville.

You can learn more here about Florida’s thoughts and study and if you would love to learn more about Pittsburgh Area Real Estate and the wonderful area of Lawranceville Real Estate, contact me, your Pittsburgh Real Estate Expert.

Until next time,

Jim

There has been a lot of news circulating about the $8,000 tax credit-what the rules are, who can qualify, who can’t, and what restrictions there are and, most importantly, what the tax credit means for Peters Township Home Buyers and what effect the tax credit might have on the local Pittsburgh Home Selling Market.

Quite frankly, the text version is very long, very wordy and a little difficult for someone not used to real estate, tax and government jargon to search through quickly for their questions. I could write posts upon posts about the details of the tax credit (and I may still write them). However, when it comes to reading through pages and pages of information, searching for your Peters Township Real Estate and Pittsburgh Real Estate answers, sometimes a great video can do just the trick so much more easily.

 Thanks to Jay over at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy, I came across this video, done by Chief Tax Economist from the Nathioal Association of Home Builders.  It is great, concise, and hits all the main questions and answers about the Tax Credit.  You can find the Q&A he refers to at the end of the video here.

As always, should you still have questions that weren’t covered by the video, feel free to contact Peters Township Real Estate for all your Pittsburgh Area Expert Realtor advice.

Until next time,

Jay