Isi Wu's Blog

Hellloooo My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!… How many of you have gone through the home buying process and gone to the title company to sign off your loan documents and actually experienced waiting the day or two before your home finally became officially yours??… For those of you who have never gone through the process here’s a glimpse of what actually happens when you go to sign off your closing documents just prior to your home loan funding and recording at the County Recorder’s Office and getting your keys to your new home!…  the following video is an actual signing for one of my clients (who happens to be just 23 years of age, who purchased her first home without any financial help from her parents… (I want to make clear that this example is one that is happening much more frequently than ever before … and I want to emphasize that anyone I mean anyone no matter how young or old can achieve homeownership if the desire is there…)

I hope this will enlighten you and give you extra insight as to what happens towards the end of a transaction in escrow… By all means please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have… it will be my pleasure to assist you…

Maddi is now a very happy and proud homeowner and I’m very honored to have represented her!…

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

Hellooooo My Wonderful, Beautiful Bay Area!!… Please take a few minutes to preview this Darling Bungalow in San Jose, CA…  Located in the Central District near everything in Downtown San Jose… Perfect little home in a nice single family home neighborhood… for 1st x homebuyer/s, empty nesting, spacious private backyard, huge tandem driveway,beautiful floors,  new roof, new dual pane windows throughout, new gas heater, appliances, ceiling fans, upgraded bath, inside laundry room… Just Move Right In!!… Put on your thinking caps this one is a real little gem…Get it while you can!!… This one is NOT a Short Sale is Not an REO… its a straight sale… Response time will be fast…

Thanks for checking in… Cheers!!…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

 

Hello My Beautiful, Wonderful Bay Area!… Today …Isi’s Fav Spots is highlighting a fun place to go have food and drinks and general merriment… Another one of those places in the Eastbay thats been around for a long time and enjoys a clientele made up of old timers – new timers and once in awhile timers… but always a great place to enjoy some food and drinks and friends or do business… hope you’ll put it on the calendar to go try it out … its a nice place…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwQz1I9MQLw

 Cheers!.. Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

Hellooooo My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area… just had to share this with you… “the greatest glory in living… lies not in never falling… but in rising everytime we fall.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Hellooooo My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area!!…  Happy Day to You!!… You may or may not have heard… but its Happy Hallelujah Day for all First Time Homebuyers who have ratified contracts in place as of  April 30, 2010!!… As of last nite the Senate passed the bill and the House of Representatives passed the same bill earlier this week to EXTEND the closing deadline for Homebuyer Tax Credit Eligibility from June 30, 2010 to the new date of September 30, 2010… The bill now goes to the President for his signature..

To be clear… the extension applies only to transactions with ratified contracts by April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed?  (Nearly 180,000 homebuyers would have missed out on the tax credit had Congress not taken action to extend the deadline to close escrow… Estimates from the National Association of Realtors show as many as 17,700 home buyers in California would not have received the tax credit without this extension…)

Will keep you posted… Thanks for checking in…

Cheers Everyone!…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you…

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

Related articles …

• Congress extends closing deadline for home buyer tax credit  sfgate.com)
• Home buyers must scramble to claim federal tax credit  sfgate.com)
• House votes to extend homebuyer credit 3 months  seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Rush on to meet tax credit deadline  lansner.ocregister.com)

Greetings My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!…  Today I want to revisit what can happen to you if you enter into a Short Sale or if the Bank Forecloses on your property and sells it.

There is NO FREE LUNCH when it comes to the IRS… whenever your home is sold… whether by regular conventional means or if you sold your home at a loss and you paid the difference or by short sale approved by the Bank or involuntarily by foreclosure… be warned you may be subject to taxes!

It doesn’t seem fair and what’s worse… you may not even find out that you owe taxes until the day you open your mail and find a 1099.

The IRS has tax rules for foreclosures or repossessions by lenders of homes belonging to owners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.  There can be severe and unexpected tax consequences for any owner who simply walks away just because he or she has little or no equity and the lender takes over and sells the property.  When a mortgaged property is foreclosed or repossessed and the bank re-acquires it or the bank knows the owner abandoned the property… the bank will send Form 1099 to the owner and the IRS… it will include the foreclosed bid price, the actual debt (loan) amount and the amount short of the debt amount… that amount will be taxed as ordinary income… the same as for your salary.

Sellers of residences acquired within the past two years or so are going to incur losses.  Even assuming no price declines, losses will result because of expenses for real estate brokers, lawyers and the like.  Sellers will not be able to deduct those losses… it makes no difference that they are forced to sell because of ie)… job changes or health reasons.

**  There’s also information floating around that Banks where distressed properties have overtaken the area in certain markets…are taking steps where even after they approve and close a property for short sale… they will be actively tracking the owner of that short saled property over the next 6 years… during that time if their credit rating goes up and if they attempt to purchase another home they will be pursuing them for the  “short amount” they lost when they approved that person’s short sale 6 years prior… This bit of information is not fact – as of yet here in California… yet people… Everyone please do everything you can to protect yourselves BEFORE A FORECLOSURE OR SELLING… PLAN AHEAD… especially before attempting to sell on a short sale or going through a foreclosure… please get legal and tax advice… do the planning BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!!…

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Frequently Asked Questions on Short Sales answered by my Short Sale partner IFR  visionaryrealtynews.com)
• 75% of modified home loans will redefault  money.cnn.com)

Good Day my Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!…          A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn’t slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American ….Good idea … One light bulb at a time . . .

Check this out . I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments . They were all made in China.
The next day I was inAce Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking …

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else – even their job . So,after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track . Let’s get behind her!

My grandson likes Hershey’s candy . I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now.. I do not buy it any more.
My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico …Now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything ..

 This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets . I was in
 the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, “Everyday Value” I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats – they were the same except for the price ..
The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in – get ready for this – the USA in a company in Cleveland, Ohio…

 So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here ..

 On to another aisle – Bounce Dryer Sheets . .. .Yep, you guessed it, bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using  for years and at almost half the price!

My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA – the job you save may be our own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!

(We should have awakened a decade ago .. . .. . . . )

Let’s get with the program . . . .. Help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U . S . A ..

I passed this on ………. Will you ???????

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• One light bulb at a time….um okay.  svmoms.com)

Hello My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area… Its just a fact these days… many many people are in need of a way to earn some money for food, shelter and basic necessities… I happened to come across this article and thought it might be helpful and might shed some great ideas to keep going… at the bottom of the 24 ideas are various comments made by readers… pros and cons to ideas suggested but give it a whirl and check it out… Please share with others if you find it helpful…

http://bit.ly/bDcUW7

I wish everyone a way to find some sunshine in their lives…

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Home sales dip, prices rise in Bay Area  sfgate.com)
• Home sales dip, prices rise in Bay Area  sfgate.com)

Helllllloooo My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!…  Part of all things wonderful here in our neck of the woods… is the awesome music and artistic talent that is seemingly endless and so rich with diversity… we can find music just about anywhere… in many forms and venues… one not quite yet a destination but wonderful quietly kept venue is a place called Zen’s in San Leandro…  known amongst karaoke aficionados as the place to be on certain days of the week to trip the light fantastic and test out your vocal skills…  on the last Saturday of every month there is a live “local” band that performs for your dancing and listening enjoyment… Just this past Saturday we went to see SOB (Same Old Band)… one of the better Top 40 local bands in the Bay Area…. here’s a sampling for you… Enjoy My Friends!…

watch?v=mDwafzUvLlM

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients throughout the Eastbay…

Good Morning My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!….  There’s just something to be said about working with clients who pay attention to their purchase and any legislation that might affect their transaction…

First thing this morning received a call from a client in escrow… he just heard on the news that there may be another $10,000 tax credit for 1^st x homebuyers specific to the State of California… was this true and could we get included??…

Personally I hadn’t heard so after checking with my local board, CAR, other sources including CAR Legal… IN CASE YOU HAVENT HEARD  … there is indeed an extension that will go into effect sometime in May of this year which will give first time homebuyers an additional $10,000 tax credit from our great state of California! In addition to the $8,000 tax credit from the federal government…  if your buyers are in contract by April 30… This piece of legislation is very very good news !!… we’re advised to wait a few days for the details to come out…

Keep checking in… Will post updates as more details roll out…

 Hope this news comes in handy for you… It’s a bright sunny day… Cheers Everyone!!

 Your comments are always welcome!!…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…