
Welcome to the
Duluth Area Association
of REALTORS®!
Amendment to St. Louis
County Ordinance 55, Section 17
St. Louis County Environmental
Services Department, in response to the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agent requirements, is in the
process of re-writing the St. Louis County Ordinance
regarding septic systems.
Click on the links for more
information:
Point of Sale Program
Summary of Proposed Changes to Ordinance #55
Proposed Draft Ordinance
Fact Sheets and Point of Sale
Information will be available at the meetings.
They welcome your review and comments on
these issues at their blog site:
http://slcenvironmentalservices.blogspot.com
Bringing
the Dream of Homeownership
Within Reach...

Start by contacting your local REALTOR®
today!!!
It's your time to take advantage
of the $8000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
As part of its plan to stimulate
the U.S. housing market and address the economic
challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed
legislation that grants a tax credit of up to $8,000
to first-time home buyers.
Who Qualifies?
First-time home buyers who
purchase homes between January 1, 2009 and December
1, 2009.
To qualify as a “first-time home
buyer” the purchaser or his/her spouse may not have
owned a residence during the three years prior to
the purchase.
Click here for additional information on the
Tax Credit including the following:
Which Properties Are Eligible? How Much Will the
Credit Be? If the Buyer(s)' Income Exceeds These
Limits, Can He/She Still Get a Credit? and Will the
Tax Credit Need to Be Repaid?
HUD: Tax Credit Can Be Used on
Closing Costs
FHA-approved lenders
received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan
products that enable first-time buyers to use the
benefits of the federal tax credit upfront,
according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development on
so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was
released today.
Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can
develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to
help cover their closing costs, buy down their
interest rate, or put down more than the minimum 3.5
percent.
The loans can't be used to cover the minimum
3.5 percent, senior HUD officials told reporters on
a conference call Friday morning.
Thus, buyers applying for FHA-backed financing
with an FHA-approved lender that offers a
bridge-loan program can get a bridge loan to bring
down the upfront costs of buying a home
significantly but would still have to come up with
the minimum 3.5 percent down payment.
There remain many sources of assistance for
buyers needing help with the 3.5 percent down
payment, including many state and local government
instrumentalities and nonprofit lenders.
In addition,
some state housing finance agencies
have developed their own tax credit bridge loan
programs, so buyers in states whose HFAs offer such
programs can monetize the tax credit upfront to
cover all or part of their down payment. These
programs are separate from what HUD announced today.
The first-time homebuyer tax credit was
enacted last year--and improved upon earlier this
year--to help encourage households to enter the
housing market while interest rates are low and
affordability is high. The credit is worth up to
$8,000 and is available to households that haven't
owned a home in at least three years. The credit
does not have to be repaid, and is fully
reimbursable, so households can get their credit
returned to them in the form of a payment.
Learn more about the credit, including how to
apply for it this year even if you've already filed
your taxes, at
REALTOR.org.
Source: Robert Freedman,
REALTOR® Magazine Online
HOMESTRETCH
Home Buyer Educational
Program
Conducted by Neighborhood
Housing Services of Duluth
Each workshop consists of eight
hours of information and separate individual
counseling session to assess readiness in purchasing
a home. Completing the workshop and one individual
counseling session earns a certificate needed to
meet eligibility for various affordable lending
products throughout Minnesota.
Course Schedule - May 2009 through December
2009
Workshop Registration

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