Wednesday, August 12, 2009

$8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit South Bend, IN

Quick Summary of The Tax Credit

First Time Home Buyers can get a tax credit for up to $8,000. But, PLEASE NOTE..the definition of a first time home buyer is anyone who has not owned a home within the last three years! So, even if you have owned a home earlier in life but have not for several years, you could still qualify for this credit.

The Credit is obtained after the closing on the new house: by filing a simple form with the IRS that ammends your 2008 tax return. You should receive the funds within 30-45 days (based on what my clients have experienced thus far). In other words....yes you get a check in the mail for the sum of up to $8,000!

You may be asking: How is the tax credit determined? The credit is 10% of the purchase price of the house, up to $8,000. So basically if you buy a house of $80,000 or more than you will get $8,000 back.

Do you have to pay it back over time like the 2008 homebuyer tax credit? NO! As long as you occupy the property for at least 3 years, the $8000 is yours to keep. The 2008 homebuyer tax credit was up to $7500 and required $500/yr. repayment over 15 years, so it was really a 0% interest loan. This is free money!

If Barack Obama had not owned a house in the past 3 years, could he qualify even though he is unbelievably wealthy? NO! There are some income stipulations! If you make more than $75,000 annually as an individual or $150,000 married filing jointly the credit rapidly diminishes and becomes $0 as your income increases. If all you folks over $150,000 got the credit to, then who would be paying for it for the rest of us!

For complete details or to have a personal property consultation today, please call me at:
Steve Smith at 574-360-2569

For more information, please visit my website:
http://www.goirishproperties.com/

Friday, August 7, 2009

Notre Dame Student Housing Walk to Campus

Go Irish Properties is featuring to excellent housing opportunities for students looking for off campus housing for Notre Dame or St. Mary's for the 2009-2010 school year or Notre DAme football enthusiasts looking for the perfect weekend rental.

A newly remodeled 2 bedroom, 1 bath home jsut blocks from the south entrance to Notre Dame's campus and the new Eddy Street Commons development. This 1920's era bungalow features newly refinished hardwood floors throughout, brand new appliances, a newly remodeled bathroom, fenced in yard, and 1 car detached garage. You can lease it now for $1000/mo. including municipal water/sewer service.

Also available is a fully furnished, newer construction 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath townhome with 2 car attached garage walking distance to campus at Dublin Village Townhomes. This home is available for occupancy August 16, 2009 or is still available for the 2010-2011 school year. With beds and desks in each bedroom and all large furniture including couches, tables, chairs and bar stools included. You can bring your personal items and move right in. Call Steve Smith at Go Irish Properties today for a private tour 574-360-2569 or email at steve@GoIrishProperties.com!

2009 Notre Dame Football Schedule

For all you football fans out there, you can never have too many copies of the 2009 Notre Dame Football Schedule close by. We are publishing it on our blog whenever you need to reference it:

2009 Notre Dame Football Schedule
Sept. 5 NEVADA
Sept. 12 at Michigan
Sept. 19 MICHIGAN STATE
Sept. 26 at Purdue
Oct. 3 WASHINGTON
Oct. 10 Open Date
Oct. 17 USC
Oct. 24 BOSTON COLLEGE
Oct. 31 vs. Washington State (at San Antonio, Texas)
Nov. 7 NAVY
Nov. 14 at Pittsburgh
Nov. 21 CONNECTICUT
Nov. 28 at Stanford

Hotels, Hotels Everywhere in South Bend, IN

On June 21, 2009 the South Bend Tribune ran an article written by Tommy Conroy about the continued growth in the number of hotel rooms in South Bend despite the recession. St. Joseph County now has 4,591 rooms up from 3,811 rooms in 2005 according to the article. Much of the new growth is fueled by specualtion on Notre Dame Football Weekends with new hotels on SR 933 close to campus. Occupancy levels are tenuous and some hotels are going out of business.

One attractive alternative that many Notre Dame alumni and parents of Notre Dmae and St. Mary's students have found is to purchase a maintenance free condo or townhome close to campus. This trend has been increasing fueled by a new construction boom that began in 2005. This market too has cooled leading to some great investment deals to be made in developments like Dublin Village Townhomes, Irish Crossings Townhomes, Ivy Quad, and Notre Dame's new Kite Realty built development, Eddy Commons. Now is probably the best combination of distressed sellers and relatively low interest rates to be seen in the coming years. Rising interest rates and decreased building will mean higher prices for buyers in the coming years, so take advantage and buy now!