75 More Days Until Tax Credit Expires

Time is running out for first-time buyers or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past three years to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit. Considering the time it takes from the point of finding a home to closing, prospective buyers should act now, as there are only 75 days left to take advantage of the credit.

First-time buyers should act quickly in order to close by midnight on November 30 and qualify for the credit. The Get the REAL Story^® campaign has made several resources for first-time buyers available on www.REALstoryNJ.com, including a frequently asked questions (FAQs) flyer on the tax credit. First thing to do is contact a REALTOR.

Terry Iwaniw
REALTOR Associate
ReSales & Investment Realty, LLC
Off: 856-795-3111 x263
Cell: 609-417-1086
http://snjrealestate.ning.com
http://www.snewjerseyhomes.com
Connect on Facebook – http://profile.to/terryiwaniw

Tags: first time buyer tax credit, tax credit for buyers

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, H.R. 1, was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. A couple of key npoints that were supported by REALTORS® and The National Association of REALTORS® were:

• 1. $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that would be available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. View a chart detailing this provision.
• 2. Commercial real estate provisions, which focus on green building and energy efficiency as well as business tax incentives. H.R. 1 provides significant funds for New Jersey energy programs, which in turn, could help support commercial property owners’ investment in energy efficiency upgrades.

This is the perfect time to buy your next home. Besides the additional tax credits (they net against your current tax liability – if you owe money, this credit reduces that amount and if you have money being returned to you, this increases the amount you have coming), home prices are at their lowest in decades, and interest rate are at a point where they cannot go anywhere but UP.

This has also reinstated the higher loan limits for Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. View the newly approved loan limit estimates.  Lastly, you may want to view an outline of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which President Obama announced on February 18, 2009 designed to help up to 7-9 million families avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages.

Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, first time home buyers, home buyers, loan limits, obama, tax credit, tax credit for buyers

Stimulus Advances With Tax Credit Changes

The $790 billion stimulus package hammered out by House and Senate conferees late yesterday increases the home buyer tax credit to $8,000, from $7,500, and drops the repayment feature for buyers who hold on to their property for at least three years.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ® has sought removal of the repayment requirement because it discourages buyers from taking advantage of the tax credit. The three-year minimum holding period is a safeguard against speculators’ use of the credit.

The legislation also extends the effective date of the credit to December 1 from June 30, and extends eligibility to borrowers who buy their home with the help of state or local financial assistance that comes from the proceeds of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds.

The credit remains open only to first-time buyers (those who haven’t owned in at least three years) and some income eligibility restrictions apply, but those are unchanged from the existing program.

Other provisions reportedly in the bill that could help housing markets and communities include:

• FHA and conforming loan limits.
  Specifics have not been released but reports indicate that the 2008 limits have been reinstated for 2009 except in those communities where the 2009 limits are higher.  Additional increases in individual communities may also be available at the discretion of the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Foreclosure mitigation and neighborhood stabilization.
  Funding for states and localities to be used for neighborhood stabilization activities for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes are authorized. Some news reports put the funding level at $2 billion.
• Rental assistance.
  Up to $1.5 billion to provide short-term rental assistance and other aid for families during the economic crisis.
• Transportation infrastructure.
  Up to $29 billion for highway construction projects, $8 billion for rail projects, and $5 billion to weatherize low-income homes.
• Rural housing development.
  Increased funding for the Rural Housing Service direct and guaranteed loan programs.
• Low-income housing grants.
  Allow states to trade in a portion of their 2009 low-income housing tax credits for Treasury grants to finance the construction or acquisition and rehabilitation of low-income housing, including those with or without tax credit allocations
• Tax-exempt housing bonds.
  Tax-exempt interest earned on specified state and local bonds issued during 2009 and 2010 will not be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). In addition, financial institutions will have greater capacity to purchase tax-exempt state and local bonds
• Energy efficient housing.
  Grants for energy retrofits for federally assisted housing (Section 8), funding for energy efficiency and conservation block grants to states, and Increases in the residential tax credit through 2010 for certain energy efficient upgrades.

Tags: Alternative Minimum Tax, AMT, buyers, buying a home, economic stimulus, Energy efficient housing, grants, tax credit, tax credit for buyers