Mortgage Credit Certificate for Columbus first time home buyers

MCC stand for Mortgage Credit Certificate

How does the OHFA (Ohio Home Finance Agency) MCC (Mortgage Credit Certificate) work? 

From their site:

"Homebuyers who qualify for the program receive a Mortgage Credit Certificate from OHFA, which can be used to reduce their household's tax burden every year for the life of their mortgage loan. With an MCC, a percentage of what you pay in mortgage interest (20, 25, or 30%) becomes a tax credit that you can deduct dollar-for-dollar from your income tax liability. The remaining 80, 75, or 70% of your mortgage interest continues to qualify as an itemized tax deduction, as long as you have sufficient tax liability. The MCC Program cannot be used in conjunction with OHFA's First-Time Homebuyer Program."

Is MCC (Mortage Credit Certificate)  just for first time home buyers?  NOT necessarily...

First time home buyer (not owned their primary residence for 3 years)

OR

Buying in a targeted area

OR

Veteran with an honorable discharge

MCC (Mortgage Credit Certificate)  has been around forever...

In the early 90's I had a client campout overnight... in line to be quailfied to receive the OHFA MCC (Mortgage Credit Certificate.)  Thank goodness you don't have to do that anymore.  

An antiquated aspects to the MCC program....

MCC uses 1980 Census info to determine what are target, and non target... areas.  

OHFA - Mortage Credit Certificate  - Participating Lenders

Real Living Mortgage - June Zepp 614-825-8806

or

Arlington Bank - Brian Hitchcock 614-486-9174

Mortgage

Grants for Grads  - OHFA

Do you use birth control? 

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

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Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

More a short cartoon than a movie - Up to $8000 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit - the movie

Brought to you by Maureen McCabe Real Living HER -Worthington   you gotta love this little cartoon about the first time home buyers tax credit which is currently available.   At the end they refer you to WAHOMEOWNERS.com which is Washington State....

If you are looking for info about Ohio homes... and a mortgage to buy one before the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit goes away....  contact me.

My Mortgage recommendations

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Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

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Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

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Maureen McCabe Real Living HER - Columbus first time home buyers where do you want to live?

Find an area.... in Central Ohio.

This may be part  II or part I  of a step by step guide to finding your first home depending on how you look at it.

This is the second in a series for first time home buyers but I believe this is step one.   Where do you want to live?

Columbus first time home buyers - Where do you work? 

Where do you work?  How long a commute is acceptable to you?  We are lucky in Central Ohio to have very short commutes for a city of this size.

Columbus first time home buyers - Do you need to consider school district 

Are schools a concern?  Are you presently living in a Central Ohio School District? Do you have children in the school district and want to buy in that school district?  Are you trying to stay within the boundaries of a particular elementary, middle or high school?  Remember within the school district the schools for a particular residence  can change year to year.

New to Central Ohio? Are you relocating to Central Ohio and need to find the best school district for your family?  

Places to look include the State of Ohio Department of Education, School Matters from Standard and Poors or other online resources (link to Central Ohio Districts above.)

Columbus first time home buyers - walking

Walkabilty  - Some areas of Columbus are more walkable than others.  Clintonville and many City of Worthington neighborhoods stand out as very walkable neighborhoods in comparison to some "car dependent" areas.

Walk Score

Parks  -  Is proximity to a city park or recreation facility important?  Do you want to live close to one of Central Ohio's Metro Parks?  Or a city park?

Nearby attractions and amenities,  what do you need nearby shopping, restaurants, a theater?  Do you need to be near a community or private pool, or near the bike path?

Columbus first time home buyers - concerned with crime?

Sadly crime is one thing to think about. The City of Columbus provides information to CrimeReports.com

Not all of Columbus' suburbs do. Additional information can be had from the local police.  More about CrimeReports.com Columbus how safe is the neighborhood

Columbus first time home buyers - how much home can you afford?

You love the area where you live now... and you see some For Sale signs on homes you'd love to look at... you've even browsed online... but how much can you afford?   If you have New Albany tastes on a ________* budget you are not alone.  You fill in the blank.  Beechwold? Clintonville? Graceland area? Northeast Columbus? Northwest Columbus? Westerville?  Worthington? Zooland?  Gahumbusville?

That brings us to step 2 which I recently covered, link in the list below.  If you believe you would like to buy your first home in the area I serve, I'd love to hear from you.  Contact me.  My offical Real Living profile says: 

"Locations Served:
Clintonville, Columbus, Dublin, Grandview, Hilliard, Lewis Center, Powell, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Worthington "

We could only pick 10...  Gahanna got left off the list. And of course Minerva Park and Riverlea...are so itty bitty and maybe covered by saying Westerville and Worthington respectively.

I work out of the Worthington office.

The Columbus first time home buyers series

1. Find WHERE you want to live <--- we are here
   
2. Find an agent <---Columbus first time home buyers - a step by step guide to buying a home
   
3. Find a mortgage loan officer
4. Find a home
5. Find the terms that make the home yours
6. Find out about the home
7. Found it?  Inspected it?  Financed it?  Close it and move on in

* If you don't know where you want to live how can you find someone to help you live there? Purchasing real estate is about "Location, Location, Location...."

Stay tuned for  Step 3 in the Columbus first time home buyers series find a mortgage

find out how much you can afford

Search for homes - Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Worthington

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Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

Columbus First Time Home Buyers

One step in finding a home is to find YOUR agent. 

If you are looking to buy your first home, single family home or condo "CONTACT YOUR REALTOR®"

The thing that may confuse you is that there are so many agents.... you call the number on the sign.  Is that licensed real estate professional YOUR agent?

You go through an open house and meet someone and call for more information, is that person YOUR agent? 

You set up 10 showings in the Clintonville neighborhood with 10 different agents.  Are all 10 people showing you homes your agent?

The agents will each provide you with a Consumers Guide to Agency Relationship.  The guide and the agent will tell you how their brokerage works. They will tell you if they can be your agent and what their relationship to the seller is.

The image is a sign at a Worthington Condominium, it says "CONTACT YOUR REALTOR"

When you call on listings to schedule an appointment one of the first things often asked is "Are you working with a REALTOR®."  I usually say "Are you working with an agent?"   What's the difference? A REALTOR® is a member of NAR, a national trade organization for  the real estate industry.  I don't know if we have real estate professionals in Central Ohio who are NOT REALTORS®.

How do you make someone YOUR REALTOR®?  Or your agent?

Real Living's Advice about finding an agent -  Remember Real Living is not just in Central Ohio or just Ohio.  They are in many other states so their advice sometimes has to be vague.

Real Living's Steps to Buying

My advice about finding an agent - MyRealLiving sign up

1. Find an agent who works in the area you are interested.    
2. Find an agent who you are comfortable with. 
3. Find out how they work, if that works for you find your first house. 

This is the first post in a series for Columbus First Time Home Buyers - a step by step guide to finding a home.

1. Find WHERE you want to live
2. Find an agent  ****
   
3. Find a mortgage loan officer
4. Find a home
5. Find the terms that make the home yours
6. Find out about the home
7. Found it?  Inspected it?  Financed it?  Close it and move on in

While it is the first post in the series this  is the second step.  I skipped "Step 1" didn't I?

You are smart.  There's no putting one past you.  We skipped step one in the series.  We are going to have to go back and do step one next.   Stay tuned.

The market I work in is mainly the north side of Columbus and Southern Delaware County.

Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Worthington

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Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

Real Living HER Website has clock now.   Sometimes. The Columbus $8000 countdown clock!

Thursday August 6, 2009

I saw the Real Living HER $8000 countdown clock  first on Thursday.  Friday morning the countdown clock  was missing.  Sometime Friday the countdown clock on Real Living HER  was back and I thought I got a screen shot of it...  114 days.   Saturday morning the clock is again MIA. 

So are there 114 days left?  or 113 days left?

When the $8000 countdown clocks is visible it says:

"Time is running out for first time buyers to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer tax credit"

When I next see the Columbus $8000 countdown clock I will try to grab a link to it and to the Real Living information for first time home buyers and edit this post.  It is on the front page of the Real Living HER website... sometimes.

Columbus  $8000 Countdown Clock is MIA again

See the Peace of Mind ? 

See the MyRealLiving 2.0?

See the white space under MyRealLiving 2.0 ??? That is where the Columbus $8000 countdown clock will be.  Or is sometimes.  It sits there ticking down the time to the second that you have to be in your first time home. 

If I am not mistaken the Real Living HER countdown clock is set for December 1, 2009.

It takes time to buy a home, it takes time to close on that home.  I have seen estimates that first time home buyers need to be in contract at the end of October to be sure they will be closed and eligible for the $8000 dollars.  Others say that is too late with recent RESPA changes you need to be in contract in mid October.

How is the inventory of homes  in the area you want to live in?  It's a buyers market right?  Plenty of houses for everyone right? 

Guess again. 

Time's a wasting.

Yeah... the clock is on Real Living too... not just the Real Living HER (Columbus Ohio ) site... so buyers in other markets served by Real Living can count down how much time they have to buy their first home, but real estate is local.   The Real Living countdown clock also seems to either sleep in late and not show up for work early...  white space where it belongs on that site too today.

I am sure the longer the Real Living  $8000 countdown clocks are on the job the more dependable they will become. 

The Columbus $8000 countdown clock links to some info from my brokerage about the first time home buyer tax credit. 

Whether or not you see the clock the time is still running....

Here are my humble attempts to make the whole thing clear to first time home buyers..

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - the chart

Could you use an extra $8,000?  

$8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit Check Received

Edit:  After a couple of days and a comment on Facebook about it ... you can see it if you use IE.  I mostly use Firefox, so it is not there when I look at the Real Living and Real Living HER sites. 

If you need to keep an eye on the Columbus $8000 Countdown Clock, use Internet Explorer. 

Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Worthington

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

Edit Update Grants for Grads - OHFA

...the state of Ohio's (command.)

Ohio college grads or students surveyed wished for a state grant for a down payment on a house....

Ohio college students reportedly said:  "more students would stay put if there was a state cash grant for a down payment on a house or a state income tax credit for those who stay in-state for ten years."

Stay in Ohio rather than relocate to another state according to a survey that was published in mid June 2009... In an article on NBC4i.com 2009 Amy Basista of NBC 4 in Columbus Ohio wrote  "College Grads See Little Future In Ohio"

Ohio College grads or students working to become Ohio college grads... have their wish! Ohio college grads - a carrot for you 

According to the study from Thomas Fordham Institute  money for a grant for Ohio college grads to buy their first home was their second choice:

Thomas B. Fordham Institute -  Survey a link to a Power Point or .pdf of the 26 page results of the survey.

It was an online survey of 811 sophomores, juniors,and seniors.  The survey was conducted earlier this year in February and March 2009.

Ohio State University students made up 40% of the 811 students surveyed.  Other students surveyed were at   Case Western Reserve, Kent State University, Miami University, Oberlin College, Ohio University and the University of Dayton.

Ohio college grads stay tuned for info from OHFA about the grant for Ohio college grad home buyers.

Central Ohio college grads looking for your first home in the future? 

Search with Maureen McCabe Real Living HER - Worthington

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

Ohio college grads this carrots for you...

Edit Update Grants for Grads - OHFA

A financial carrot.

"A little-noticed provision tucked into the $50.5 billion, two-year state budget signed last week by Gov. Ted Strickland will reward college graduates who choose to stay in Ohio by offering them help buying their first homes."

from an article on Toledoblade.com by  Jim Provance called "College grads offered help with 1st house" well I guess it is also subtitled "Recipients must stay in state 5 years " Five years is nothing. That will be over before you know it...

In a sidebar to the article "How Would It Work"... basically it looks like there is not yet a lot of info about how it will work...but it will be administered through OHFA.  It would be a grant, forgiven after five years but a lien against the property if you'd leave the state, in less than 5 years.

"The program dangles a financial carrot for college and university graduates to settle down in Ohio for at least five years."

If you've enjoyed Central Ohio while a student at OSU, Capital University, Otterbein, Ohio Dominican, Ohio Wesleyan,  Franklin University, CCAD ( am I missing any?) ... if you have enjoyed living here for undergrad or grad school, and have found a job in Central Ohio....this carrot is for you.

Ohio college grads or grads to be....stay tuned to this blog for more details.  I will be watching for info from OHFA about this surprise provision. 

 Maureen McCabe Real Living HER - Worthington

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Image Credit - Carrot is from Cyn74's photostream and is licensed with a Creative Commons license.

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

Claim your share of the First Time Buyer Tax Credit

This is a Re-Blog of a  post from Cindy Jones in the Washington DC area... pricing is a bit more affordable in Central Ohio. Real estate is local but some of this is universal information and time frames. We don't use the term "ratified" in Central Ohio but I believe Cindy's point is that if you are buying a home that is not a short sale or a bank owned property you can get in contract more quickly.    The good news is we do have homes in many neighborhoods that are NOT short sales or banks selling homes they've foreclosed on.  Homes you can negotiate with a "normal" seller relatively quickly.

Keep in mind supply of housing varies greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood in Central Ohio. 

You'd think from listening to the national media that there is a huge supply of housing in every neighborhood.  Guess again.

More for Central Ohio First Time Home Buyers:

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - the basics

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - income limits 

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

Janet  has a way with words doesn't she?  The "Get your butts in gear" was what caught my attention... This is a Re-Blog of a post by Janet Guilbault  in California, a reminder of the fact that you need to be in contract "no later than the end of September."

What Janet said!

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 

 

Could it happen?  Will it happen this time?

This is a Re-Blog of a post written by Dawn  Maloney in Hudson Ohio.

Thanks Dawn!

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online

email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam!