Searching for your dream neighborhood?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Coldwell Banker. All opinions are 100% mine.

With the start of the year, most of us have already listed down some goals and dreams to fulfill within 365 days. Aside from having important goals for the family, such as improving finances, going into business, allocating time for travel and relaxation, major goals such as moving to another neighborhood or buying a house could also be part of the list. The decision to relocate to another place can be challenging, and there are many options to consider when choosing the right neighborhood.

For those who are doing some research about their future home and neighborhood, they can browse over at the Coldwell Banker website where one can get detailed information about a specific neighborhood such as geographic location, demographics, and other statistics. To find a community, just input the city and state or zip code, and specify statistics such as population density, population age, household income, educational climate and more. Also one can do a school information search and get details such as the school type (public or private), grade span, number of students, students/teacher ratio and more. While it’s best to have an on-site visit to assess a future neighborhood, doing a background study can be a big help in the decision process.

Aside from providing community statistics, the Coldwell Banker website has a Mortgage Center with tools and resources for those considering home financing options. For home-buyers, it’s recommended to learn more details about the 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credits which highlight the following:

– For first-time home-buyers or those who have not owned a house in the last three years, they can receive up to $8,000 tax credit.
– For move-up home-buyers or those currently living in their own home consecutively for five of the past eight years can receive up to $6,500 tax credit.
– Those who are qualified should act and have a written binding contract by April 30, 2010 (close by June 30, 2010.) as there may be no future extensions.
– For singles, the income limit is $125,000 and $225,000 for married couples with phase-out of $20,000 of the credit for both.

Learn more about the 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credit details in their website or get an overview about it in this video:

The 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credit is good incentive for first-time homebuyers and move-up homebuyers. It’s interesting to note that the number of first-time home buyers increased to 47% (considered highest on record since 1981) compared to the previous year based on the 2009 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

The Coldwell Banker Learn Center offers informative real estate resources for buyers, sellers and homeowners. Check out their Home Value Estimator and their YouTube channel where you can view informative videos on real estate. Just for fun, you can also take their Housetrology Quiz and see if you’re an Urbanist, a Contemporarian or a Ranchero. For newbies, they have a glossary for getting to know commonly used terms in real estate.