First-time home buyers scramble to beat deadline for $8,000 tax credit

First-time home buyers scramble to beat deadline for $8,000 tax credit

Ashley Johnson took a whirlwind tour of roughly 40 homes this summer.

The 26-year-old was staring down a deadline: Buy a home by the end of November in order to get $8,000 in free money from the federal government.

Who qualifies: First-time buyers and those who have not owned a home in three years. To claim the full amount, single buyers must have a modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less; for married buyers, that number is $150,000. Single buyers making more than $95,000 or married couples making more than $170,000 do not qualify.

How it works: A buyer purchases a home and then claims the credit on his federal income tax return. The credit offsets taxes the buyer might owe. If the buyer owes only $5,000 in taxes but is eligible for the full $8,000 credit, he gets a check for the difference — $3,000. Buyers can amend their 2008 tax returns or claim the credit on their 2009 returns.

Four years after Hurricane Wilma battered South Florida, some homeowners are still dealing with claims [South Florida]

Four years after Hurricane Wilma battered South Florida, some homeowners are still dealing with claims [South Florida]

Marta Ayala’s colorful artwork is showcased throughout her immaculate Parkland home. Every room also features vivid reminders of 2005’s Hurricane Wilma: cracking paint and yellow water drip marks, some as long as 10 feet.

Weeks after the storm, Ayala and her husband, Carlos, got $12,700 from their insurer, The Hartford, to repair their roof. In 2006 and 2007, they paid for more repairs. Still, they needed buckets to catch dripping water during heavy rains.

Earlier this month, the Ayalas broke ranks with the thousands of Floridians waiting for Wilma insurance settlements. The Hartford agreed to pay $39,000 for a new roof.

“It has been a battle,” said Carlos Ayala.

Tibor Hollo, South Florida’s dean of the deal, is thriving

Tibor Hollo, South Florida’s dean of the deal, is thriving

So you want to buy a Miami condo but are afraid prices will keep falling? Or, maybe you’re worried about losing your job or have heard those stories about how hard it is to land a condo loan.

Veteran Miami developer Tibor Hollo is offering at least one salve for would-be buyer anxiety: A no-income, no-assets, no questions-asked loan for 75 percent of a unit’s value, plus a money-back guarantee.

If potential buyers no longer want the condo in three years, he’ll release them from their mortgages and refund their down payments. For investors, he’ll take it up a notch — leasing a unit back, managing it and covering all carrying costs, while guaranteeing a 3 percent return on investment.

The fine print: Only units in Hollo’s Opera Tower near Miami’s performing arts center qualify for the interest-only loans, which come due in five years. He’s also not budging on unit prices, which average out to just under $400,000.

Some deadbeat landlords must forfeit rents to condo associations

Some deadbeat landlords must forfeit rents to condo associations

Each month, Judd Tyler, the president of his townhome association, discovers his community doesn’t have enough money to pay all of its bills.

So the townhome board took action. It is among the first in the area to obtain a court order to force delinquent landlords to turn over rent payments to them.

“The problem is these investors have given up hope on keeping their unit,” Tyler said of Charleston Place Townhomes, near the Westchase area. “They just wait to lose the home in foreclosure. Meanwhile, their tenant is using all of these amenities, and the rest of us have to pay for it.”

The court order, signed late last month, grants what’s called a blanket receivership. It requires many of the tenants to pay their rent to a court-approved, third-party receiver instead of the landlord. In fact, it’s against the law for the landlord to collect rent until all past-due fees and legal costs are paid.

A sign of recovery: bidding wars for houses [South Florida]

A sign of recovery: bidding wars for houses [South Florida]

After a recession-driven hibernation, competitive bidding for homes is back in Southwest Florida.

But before anyone cracks open the bubbly, take note: The phenomenon — by far — remains the exception, not the rule.

Still, experts take the news as a sign that the region’s long-suffering real estate market might have found some footing, loosening the grip that buyers have enjoyed and perhaps heralding better days ahead.

Because real estate is such a big part of Southwest Florida’s economy, the return of home bidding could also be a sign that the recession — which started earlier here than nationally and reached more deeply — could be running its course.

Board’s use of reserve funds results in fine for the owners

Board’s use of reserve funds results in fine for the owners

Q: Our board willfully used funds from the reserve account without unit owner approval for other purposes. The state imposed a fine on the association and not the board. Who is responsible for such action?

R.E., Miami

A: The fine will be paid from general funds of the association or by special assessment. This means that each member will pay their share. It is said that the board is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the association. This is true, but each member is responsible to elect trustworthy and knowledgeable members to the board. In addition, each member has a responsibility to monitor the actions of the board and this means reviewing the financial reports and attending meetings. If the members are complacent and the board fails to comply with the statutes or the documents, then the members must pay for the errors of the board and any fine imposed on the association.