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Low Mortgage Rates Make First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit More
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Posted By - Featured Agent - 03/10/2010
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With mortgage rates being kept low many homebuyers are using the first-time homebuyer tax credit along with these low interest rates to get a mortgage on a home. This has promoted more people to enter the housing market when they otherwise may have shied away.
Homebuyers are finding that the incentive to get a home is higher when there is the tax credit involved. Many people worry about things like closing costs with a home, but they are secure in the first-time homebuyer tax credit for costs they may incur while buying. So, one thing left that may dissuade people from buying a home is the cost of the mortgage.
However, mortgage rates have been very low as of late, in some cases 4.75%, and homebuyers are finding owning a home to be a more realistic option. Even if a new homebuyer doesn't qualify for a rate as low as 4.75%, they still are getting rates around 5% for the most part.
If you are looking into buying a new home and want to use the first-time homebuyer tax credit keep in mind that you must be under contract on a home by April 30th and have closed by June 30th to qualify.
Buying a home is a big responsibility and although low interest rates and the first-time home buyer tax credit make purchasing a home appealing, be sure you are in the financial position to buy a home before proceeding.
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In Atlanta's Buckhead, Vacant Office Towers Set Off Battle
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Posted By - Featured Agent - 03/10/2010
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By MAURA WEBBER SADOVI at The Wall Street Journal...
Few of the country's office markets are as competitive as Atlanta's upscale Buckhead neighborhood, where the owners of four new and largely vacant office towers are locked in a bruising battle for tenants.
Consider the deal that Phipps Tower just cut to attract its first tenant, Speakeasy, a 37-year-old Atlanta communications-consulting company that provides coaching to corporate executives.
The company, which is moving from Midtown Atlanta, just leased roughly 14,000 square feet in the building. While new tenants signing long-term leases in Atlanta these days can get 12 to 18 months of free rent, Speakeasy got more than 18 months, according to a person familiar with the matter. Also, Speakeasy's starting rent is in the low-$30-a-square-foot range including expenses and the landlord will be contributing something in the range of $80 a square foot to build interior space, the person says.
Back when the developers of the new Atlanta buildings were penciling out their finances, landlords were offering just six months of free rent, interior work worth less than $50 a square foot and rents starting in the mid-$30 range, according to Andrew Lechter, executive vice president and branch manager in Atlanta with Studley Inc., a real-estate services firm that specializes in representing tenants.
But Atlanta's office market tanked and Phipps Tower had little choice if it wanted to lure Speakeasy. "If Phipps Tower didn't do the deal then somebody else would," says Mr. Lechter, who wasn't involved in the Speakeasy lease negotiations. "It's an ugly time to be a landlord."
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