The Internal Revenue Service recently released the new form that eligible home buyers need to claim the first-time home buyer credit this tax season and announced processing of those tax returns will begin in mid-February. The IRS also announced new documentation requirements to deter fraud related to the first-time home buyer credit. The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the home buyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law extended the credit to a broader range of home purchasers and added new documentation requirements to deter fraud and ensure taxpayers properly claim the credit. With the release of Form 5405 , First-Time Home Buyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit, and the related instructions, eligible home buyers can now start to file their 2009 tax returns. Taxpayers claiming the home buyer credit must file a paper tax return because of the added documentation requirements. The IRS expects to start ...

January 13, 2010 With 648 total property sales reported in December 2009, the Sarasota real estate market saw the most closed transactions since March 2007, a 33 month span. Overall sales in December 2009 were also 52 percent higher than December 2008, when only 406 properties changed hands, and 70 sales higher than the 578 sales reported in November 2009. Median sale prices were also up last month for both single family homes and condos. For the full year 2009, the trend lines have been dramatic. Monthly home sales have climbed to the high 500s and low-to-mid 600s, compared to 2008 when sales often dipped to the low 400s and even into the 300s. The overall number of closed sales in 2009 stood at 6,699, compared to only 5,459 in all of 2008, for a 22.7 percent increase. In addition, the overall property inventory has plunged from the 10,000 to 13,000 range in 2008, down to the low 6,000 level at the end of 2009. For local Realtors®, the monthly and annual trend stands in contrast to...

What do you find when you visit Siesta Key , besides the great bargains in Siesta Key real estate ? You will find sunny beaches with crystal-white, powdery sand that stretch for miles. Shops that range from the chic and elegant to the hip and funky, with all sorts of fashion, beach accessories and souvenirs. Restaurants where you can go to grab a quick breakfast or lunch in your flip-flops and sandy toes, or to relax in style over an extraordinary dinner and drinks while watching the spectacular sunset over the Gulf of Mexico . Enjoy the sunshine and tropical breezes and forget you troubles and worries and start thinking about how soon you might be able to move here permanently. There is plenty of outdoor recreation here and on the other islands like: fishing, shelling, swimming, parasailing, boating, snorkeling and more. Shallow water near the shoreline of Siesta Key, and year-round lifeguard protection make it a great family beach Siesta Key beaches are among the finest in the world...

Consumers will no longer be left in the dark about the closing costs involved to complete the sale or purchase of a home- costs that account for an average of 5% of the purchase price. Changes in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) that took effect on January 1, 2010 require lenders to fully disclose all closing costs including the costs of obtaining a loan and estimated costs for title insurance , settlement and other services within three days after a buyer applies for a mortgage . Forms used in the closing process, including the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the HUD-1 Settlement Statement , have been overhauled to make it easier for consumers to understand estimated costs and compare them with final costs at closing. The new GFE encourages consumers to shop and compare fees from various lenders before choosing a mortgage. The new HUD-1 makes it easy to compare the GFE estimates with the final HUD-1 closing statement and flag discrepancies prior to closing. Howev...

The housing market , which brought the economy to its knees in 2008, struggled to recover in 2009. The modest gains of the past year can be credited in many ways to federal support that will be removed at some point in 2010. That makes for an uncertain outlook for the year ahead, one filled with questions about what policymakers will choose to do and how markets will react to those decisions. “The can has been kicked down the road,” says Ivy Zelman, chief executive of Zelman & Associates, a housing-research firm. Here’s our list of five big issues to keep an eye on in 2010: Mortgage rates : The Federal Reserve has kept mortgage rates low for most of 2009 by committing to purchase up to $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities . Mortgage rates stayed at or below 5% for much of 2009 thanks to the Fed’s purchases, which have already been extended once, to March 31. Whether the private market is ready to fill the gap when the Fed exits is one of the hottest debates between econom...

Helpful information about Sarasota-Florida Real Estate Market in reference to: Premium Properties Sarasota Blog Xena Vallone Realty ( view on Google Sidewiki )

Xena Vallone Realty is a full service, Sarasota area, Real Estate company offering Residential, Commercial, Property Management, Leasing and Land acquisition. Our team of experienced real estate professionals provides unparalleled expertise in the unique qualities and demands of the markets we serve. At the heart of our approach is the belief that every client and every property is special, and we are dedicated to providing careful counsel and personalized guidance throughout every real estate transaction. in reference to: "Xena Vallone Realty is a full service, Sarasota area, Real Estate company offering Residential, Commercial, Property Management, Leasing and Land acquisition. Our team of experienced real estate professionals provides unparalleled expertise in the unique qualities and demands of the markets we serve. At the heart of our approach is the belief that every client and every property is special, and we are dedicated to providing careful counsel and personalized guid...