first time buyer

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Passes House

Nov 5th, 2009
by edsmith.
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Congress passed an expanded version of the first-time homebuyer tax credit today. The bill is expected to be signed by Obama as early as tomorrow. The tax credit remains capped at $8,000, but the income limits for the first-time buyers has been raised, which will serve to allow even greater numbers of buyers to participate.

 

In the bill, income limits for buyers claiming the tax credit will be raised from $75,000 to $125,000 for individuals and from $125,000 to $225,000 for couples. The maximum ceiling for a home purchase under this program is $800,000. (Not bad for a first time purchase.)

 

There is an additional provision in the bill that allows for a tax credit of up to $6,500 to existing homeowners should they sell an existing primary residence and purchase another. Under that provision, they must have lived in the home for at least five of the past eight years.

Interestingly, the Senate approved the bill last week by a vote of 98-0. It passed in the House 403-12.

Q: When does the $8,000 new buyer tax credit expire?

Jun 12th, 2009
by edsmith.
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The new buyer tax credit applies if you are a first time buyer and close on a primary residence between January 1st and December 1st 2009.  However, a bill has just been introduced that would not only raise the tax credit to $15,000, but would also make the credit available on any primary residence purchase, even if not the case of a first time buyer. The bill would also eliminate the current income ceilings of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples.

How is the credit crunch affecting real estate? My credit is not great but I would like to consider buying a house.

Dec 18th, 2008
by edsmith.
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The underwriting approvals are tougher today than we’ve ever seen before. On the other hand, we just closed on a property this week that only took 12 days from sales contract to closing. The lender was experienced and knew up front what the underwriters would be looking for. That made a big difference!

If you can go VA or FHA, your odds of success will be greater. Those programs allow for greater debt-to-income ratios and will permit you to close with little or no money down. The conventional markets are much tougher. Plus if you are putting less than 20% down, you will have to qualify for Mortgage Insurance (MI) in addition to your loan. MI approval can actually be worse!