Craigslist Rental Scams. Tenant and Landlord beware!

I have now heard three reports of rental scams on Craigslist.

While it is unlikely that any cognizant and responsible person would fall for the "Mail the deposit to me in Nigeria, and I will send the keys back" scam, the possible inconvenience for Landlords is less easily dismissed.

My friend Cheryl had the experience of having people cruising her Raleigh rental home while she was there. It was a little disconcerting to her that strange people would slow down and stare, while she was working in the yard and cleaning and doing a little painting.

Then I called her and mentioned that her home was listed "For Rent" on Craigslist. With her name in a Yahoo email address. And rent advertised at $700/month.

She was astounded. The Yahoo email address was bogus, even with her name on it. The rent for the property was $900. No wonder she had seen so much traffic! A few of us got together and flagged the ad off Craigslist.
Cheryl had advertised the rental on Rent.com, where it had been scraped.

It has happened since to two other acquaintances, where legitimate listings on MLS or Rent.com have been scraped and relisted with minor changes. The rent is always well below market, to spur traffic.

One acquaintance who followed through on it got the email. "Silly me. I carried my keys back to Africa. I will mail them to you as soon as I receive your money order for the deposit."
You just have to hope no one is falling for that one...

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit – How to Claim, Where to Get IRS Form 5405

As a follow-up to the post below, what do you do if you decide to claim the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit? A series of articles on Suite101 gives you more information.

IRS Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit – This article describes how to download Form 5405 from the IRS website and discusses who isn’t eligible to claim the credit.

$8,000 Tax Credit for Home Buyers – Not $15,000 – This article discusses the final details of the $8,000 credit and links to the actual economic stimulus package.

$7,500 & $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credits – This article explains differences between these two credits and defines a qualified first-time homebuyer.

More questions? Contact Lena Gott directly.

Air Conditioning Season on the Way. Check your HVAC unit and be ready.

Common HVAC systems in the Cary and Raleigh, NC, area, the packaged unit, also known as a "gas pack" is an efficient piece of equipment that contains both the AC unit and the gas furnace.
These units have a limited lifespan. If the home or the heating equipment is more than 8 to 10 years old, I strongly urge my real estate Buyer clients to have a licensed HVAC contractor check them, inside and out during their home inspection. In that 8 to 10 year period of time it is not uncommon for the heat exchanger to corrode and perforate. The heat exchanger contains the combustion flue gases from the furnace burner. When the wall of the exchanger perforates, the furnace may possibly allow poisonous carbon monoxide gas to enter the home. "That can't be a good thing" comes to mind.
Here is a photo of a corroded heat exchanger that has experienced dramatic failure:

That unit is a hazard to occupants. Much less importantly, it also no doubt ran the heating and cooling bills sky high due to leaking conditioned air out of the home.
This heat exchanger is in a 16 year old furnace and has probably been replaced, as it appears to be brand new:

For a $100-$150 inspection fee, why risk it? Why accept the possibility of an unsafe, worn out heat exchanger to save the inspection fee?
That $100-$150 is money well spent for peace of mind.

$8,000 Tax Credit for first time buyers. Can you afford it?

So, every agent in Cary and Raleigh and Wake County is trumpeting the $8,000 first-time HomeBuyer's Tax Credit. We are all reaching out to first-time buyers to help them.

Well, the Tax Credit is great for Buyers who need to do something this year. It can make buying more palatable in a tough market, amongst incredible doom and gloom.
But, $8,000 is NOT a good enough incentive to get into a bad deal. $8,000 is not enough money to compensate for poor real estate advice from a professional Realtor who is supposed to represent you as a fiduciary.

First-Time Buyers, now, LISTEN UP!
1. Make the deal stand on its own. It must represent good market value, and be a home you would buy with or without a tax credit. Take the Tax Credit as a BONUS, not as a stepping stone that lets you buy something you cannot afford otherwise.
2. Listen closely when you are considering hiring an agent to represent you in the purchase of your first home. Be very wary advice that starts off, "Well, it's a little tight for your budget, but... you'll get an $8,000 credit on your taxes." Don't use the tax credit to help you dig a hole for yourself.
3. If you don't have cash for closing costs, be very careful about committing your tax credit as future payoff on a loan to cover closing costs. Make that tax credit be a bonus when you get it, not a means to cover debt incurred in buying a home.
4. When you get advice, ask yourself who the advice is meant to serve. Are you being pressed to buy a home in a rush? If the deal is not compelling, there is little reason to be in a rush. The Seller may be in a rush, like a builder who needs one more sale before the end of the quarter, so he needs closing quickly before the end of the month.
Or the rush may be to get a paycheck to the agent who is advising you. That is dereliction of responsibility, as the agent MUST advise you for YOUR best interest.
Bottom line?
Get great guidance and advice. Work with a real estate pro who is looking out for YOU. Get a great deal on your first new home. And next year, get a nice cash bonus at tax time!

Grocery Coupons in the Sunday Newspaper

The easiest way to get grocery coupons in the Triangle is through inserts in the Sunday edition of the News & Observer. The N&O allows you to subscribe to Sunday only; alternatively, Sunday papers can be purchased for $1 at Dollar Tree Stores.

Most weeks there should be at least one coupon insert in the Sunday newspaper. SmartSource, RedPlum, and P&GbrandSAVER are the three most common types. Zero insert days usually fall on a holiday weekend like Memorial Day or Thanksgiving.

Find out exactly which weekends not to expect any of the three coupon inserts mentioned above in the article Red Plum Coupon Inserts.

How to Save Money on Groceries - Lowe’s Foods, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Food Lion, etc.

Do you ever wonder how much money those people you see at the grocery store with hands full of coupons actually save? Depending on their method, it’s possible they easily save 40%-50% every time they shop. One way to save money at Raleigh area grocery stores is to use The Grocery Game. It’s an inexpensive “cheatsheet” of sorts for area grocery stores and some drug stores that tells you exactly which items to buy every week for maximum savings (the list owners track which items are on sale as well as exactly what coupons are still valid from recent Sunday newspaper coupon inserts).

The first store list of your choice is $10 every 8 weeks; all other lists are $5 every 8 weeks. If you shop at two or three different stores, then you pay $15-$20 every 8 weeks for access to convenient lists of what to buy without having to do any of that legwork yourself. These lists pay for themselves many times over the course of 8 weeks, even if you only use the printouts every other time you shop for groceries. The main work required for this system is clipping the coupons that come in the Sunday paper. But once that’s done, all you have to do is sort and print out your intended list from the Grocery Game and head on over to the store!

Here are the lists available in the Triangle area:

• CVS
• Food Lion
• Harris Teeter
• Kroger
• Lowe’s Foods
• Rite-Aid
• Walgreens
• Wal-Mart
  
  

Raleigh Post Office Location Open Late on April 15th

For anyone who needs up to the last minute to mail a tax return or tax extension, there is at least one Raleigh post office location with extended hours on April 15, 2009. The Westgate postal location located at the address below will be open one hour later than usual on that Wednesday and will extend its last pick up until nearly midnight.

Post Office Address:
1 Floretta Place
Raleigh, NC 27676

On April 15, 2009, the business hours will be from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (normally 9-5). The last daily collection will be at 11:58 p.m. (normally 8 p.m.).

This post office location is off of Westgate Road, near Leesville Road and I-540 in North West Raleigh.

Want more information related to April 15th? Here are three tax articles for individuals:

How to Extend Federal Income Tax Returns

Form 4868 Individual Income Tax Return Extension

IRS Mailing Address – Form 1040

Wake County Foreclosure Auctions

Chatting about the Hasentree foreclosure auction on March 20, reminded a couple of us of all the things that can befall a Buyer at the foreclosure auctions at the Wake County Courthouse in Raleigh, NC. It is basically a matter of paying your money and taking your chances.

We agreed that a Sheriff's Deed does not really give the Buyer more than a claim with few assurances. The property may have title issues, IRS liens, easements and encroachments, deteriorated structures, and serious environmental issues.
Unless one is very diligent, any of these problems may exist, without any recourse for the Buyer. Another issue, often overlooked, is the possibility that the home may be occupied. The original owner or a tenant may be living there, and the successful foreclosure auction Buyer will have to deal with that.

If the home is purchased as an investment, it may be easy to negotiate a suitable lease with a tenant, or even the former owner. But if the home is intended as a primary residence, the Buyer must be prepared to follow through with an eviction, if such action is required. This may mean having the Sheriff remove a family or elderly people from the home under extreme duress. It doesn't happen all the time, but before buying a property at the courthouse, the smart Buyer will include occupancy status in his homework.

What can a real estate agent do to help the courthouse foreclosure buyer? Not much. There really is no representation role to consider. It is a matter of doing a lot of homework on many failed purchases before the 'great deal" manifests itself. And a lot of other scavengers are also seeking that deal.

The News & Observer

Our local newspaper, The News and Observer, affectionately called the "N&O" is a great resource for newcomers, as well as a wonderfully written news source. I highly recommend supporting it, by getting a subscription. In the subscription, on Wednesday you will receive the local supermarket flyers, as well as on Sunday, which will also include coupons for all you savvy shoppers.
They also have a wonderful site online. http://www.newsobserver.com/
One of my favorite places on the N&O to visit is Sue Stocks blog, which is all about saving money with many wonderful tips! Visit it here: http://projects.newsobserver.com/taking_stock

Also if you do order a subscription it allows you certain discounts in the immediate area, as well as chances to win stuff, like tickets to local events! Its called the N&O Zone Please visit it here http://www.newsobserver.com/zone/