Shanna N. Lafontaine
RE/MAX Affiliates Inc.
614-599-HOME (4663)
"Your Home, My Serious Business"


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Thank you for visiting me on the web. My site contains a multitude of tools to help you search for your next home, sell your existing home and learn more about buying and selling real estate.

Sit back, relax and have fun while browsing through the options.  Check out "Why use a realtor?" to better understand the importance of working with a professional, and be sure to check out the local info link to pick up lots of useful information about greater Columbus.

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If you are looking to sell your home please visit the Seller's Corner to learn how I can help you with the marketing and a quick sale of your home.  Also check out common Home Selling Mistakes to help prevent your home from sitting on the market while the competition sells.

I would be delighted to assist you with your next real estate transaction, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to provide you answers to any questions you may have, and become your realtor for life.

Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program for first-time homebuyers 



The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) will be making $12.5 million in Mortgage Credit Certificates available to approximately the first 1,000 qualified homebuyers statewide.

  • Must be a first-time buyer
  • Loan must have closed on or after March 23
  • Can be used with the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit
  • Can be taken every year for the life of the loan

An MCC creates an income tax deduction that reduces a household's federal income tax liability and allows the household to have more available income to make mortgage payments.

Homebuyers who qualify receive a Mortgage Credit Certificate from OHFA, which can be used to reduce their household's tax burden every year for the life of their loan.  With an MCC, a percentageof what you pay in mortgage interest (20, 25, or 30 percent)  becomesa tax credit that you can deduct dollar-for-dollar from your income tax liability.

The remaining 80, 75, or 70 percent of mortgage interest continues to qualify as an itemized tax deduction, as long as you have sufficient tax liability.

 

 

2009 ends with a bang for Columbus home sales

Indicators forshadow a stronger market in 2010

(Jan. 25, 2010) Home sales in the last four months of 2009 were up 24.3 percent over the same time in 2008, according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. In the month of December alone, 1,464 homes were sold, 150 more than the year before.

 “This is great news for central Ohio housing,” said Sue Lusk-Gleich, President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “Sales and home prices are up while inventory, months supply and days on market are down. After more than two years of market challenges, we're excited to be able to be able to make this type of positive announcement.”

The average sale price was $157,130 in December, an increase of nearly 5 percent from the same time in 2008. Residential inventory shrunk 2.7 percent and homes spent an average seven fewer days on the market than a year ago.

“The number of homes listed for sale continues to decline which is what the market needs to occur in order to correct itself. Our inventory skyrocketed in 2007 and 2008, causing home sale prices to decrease. It was simply a matter of too much supply and not enough demand. But 2009 saw a real stabilization of those inventory levels. Accordingly, home sale prices are rising.”

The months supply, an estimation of the number of months it would take to sell the entire current housing inventory, dropped 12.7 percent to 8.99 between December 2008 and 2009. The total dollar volume rose 16.9 percent, to more than $230,000,000 over the same time period

- Columbus Board of Realtors>