Erie Real Estate

Erie CareerLink - moving

CareerLink has purchased the Sumner Nichols building on 8th & Sassafras and is leaving Lovell Place.  They will be doing some renovations to their new building, which should be conmplete by June.

They purchased the building from from Baldwin Gardens Inc., an affiliate of Baldwin Brothers Inc., of Erie. The purchase includes a 120-space parking lot.  They paid $475,000.  They were paying about $350,000 in rent at Lovell Place.

CareerLink will occupy the first and second floors of their new building and lease the third and fourth floors to the current tenant - Erie County government.  The current lease is for $233,048 a year.

Sure seems like a good all around move for CareerLink.  The question is what does this do to Lovell Place?  Lovell Place has been in bankruptcy for the last 4 years and is for sale for $7.8 million.

More of the story  here.

Buyers that own(ed) a home can take advantage of Tax Credit

The home buyer tax credit has been extended and more importantly, it's be expanded to include more than First Time buyers.

The law extends the present $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers through April 30, 2010. Current homeowners are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit through April 30, provided they have lived in the home they are selling, or have sold, as the principal residence for five consecutive years during the past eight years.

If you meet the eligibility tests you could qualify for a $6,500 credit.  For example, let's say you bought a home in 2000 and lived there until 2008.  You since have been renting, you are eligible because for the creidt because you owned a home and occupied it as your principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years.

If potential home buyers have a binding contract on or before April 30, they will have 60 days to close the transaction.

Income limits for eligible home buyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples. The purchase price of the home cannot exceed $800,000.

President Obama did sign the bill today.

Congress passes Home Buyer extension

Congress passed legislation expanding an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

The House approved the measure today on a 403-12 vote, sending it to the President for his signature.

In summary here's what it does:

• Extend through April 30, 2010 the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (up to $8,000 or up to 10 percent of the purchase price of the residence), allowing 60 days to close, provided that the homes are under a binding contract by that date;

• Provide homebuyer tax credit of up to $6,500 to owners who have been in the same principal residence for five consecutive years during the previous eight years;

• Increase the income limitations to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for joint filers;

• Phase out the credit for individuals with incomes above $125,000 and $225,000 for joint filers at the same rate as current law (over the next $20,000)

• Limit the credit to purchase of principal residences equal to or less than $800,000;

• Eliminate the 36-month recapture requirement for military personnel, including members of the Foreign Service and intelligence community, forced to sell as a result of an official extended duty of service; and

• Extend the  tax credit for one year for military personnel serving outside the United States for at least 90 days in 2009 or 2010.

More details.

House May Vote Today on Homebuyer Credit

The U.S. House may vote as soon as today on a $45 billion plan to expand a tax credit for first- time homebuyers, extend jobless benefits and provide tax refunds to money-losing companies.

The measure won Senate approval yesterday on a 98-0 vote, and House passage would send it to the President for his signature into law. House Majority Leader, Maryland Democrat, said the chamber may act on it today.

The plan would be the first major extension of provisions in February’s economic stimulus plan. The $8,000 homebuyers’ tax credit, slated to expire this month, would continue until April 30, and be expanded to include people with higher incomes and some who already own homes. That would cost about $10 billion in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation.

Read more here.