First Time Home buyers tax credit and Previous Home Owner tax credit
With all the talk about the extension of the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit I think it is important to mention a few points: First, to qualify as a FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER you cannot have owned a home in the last three (3) years. Thats it! It is NOT TRUE that you can never have owned a home at all. You just cannot have owned a home in the past 3 years. It seems that every time I discuss the tax credit with someone they are surprised to hear that, but its true. We recently closed on a home for a 55 year old woman who had been renting for the past five years since her divorce. She not only qualified for the tax credit but we were able to get her 96.5% financing through the FHA Loan program. She was able to purchase her home in an Adult Community with just 3.5% down payment and received a tax credit which more than covered her closing costs. Also, the recently passed bill that extends the credit has opened the tax credit opportunity to anyone who is not a first time homebuyer but has lived in their present house at least 5 of the last 8 years. Even better, there is even a USDA (rural home) Loan Program which lends up to 100% of the sale price. Add to that a tax credit and you can own a home for zero out of pocket dollars! There are restrictions but isnt it worth a shot?
Also, many people think that the tax credit is just some type of deduction on your taxes. It is real dollars! A good illustration is this: you have a job where taxes are taken out of your pay each pay period and at the end of the year you prepare your taxes. Lets just say for example that you are due to get a refund of $1500.00. This year, however, you bought a house and qualify for the first time homebuyer credit. When you file your taxes you would get the $1500.00 refund due to you plus additional $8000.00!
FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS tax credit: (cash in your hand) * * * Previous Home Owner tax credit: (cash in your hand)The government's effort to help people buy homes seems to be working. What's not being emphasized is that it is ending very soon and anyone eligible needs to act now. First Time Home buyers (Anyone who has NOT owned a home in the last 3 years - even if you owned homes before) and Previous Home Owners (anyone who has owned their home for at least 5 of the last 8 years) both qualify for thousands of dollars in tax credits (a direct cash benefit) of up to $8000.00.The catch is you must be in contract by April 30th of this year and you must close on the property by June 30th. To put it in perspective anyone who needs to sell their home, buy another one and still qualify for the tax credit must get their house listed NOW.Buyers should be actively looking and should have already made arrangements with their mortgage company to have the loan in place. My three favorite mortgage programs right now are FHA, USDA and VA. All three types of government back loans allow for Seller concessions (where the Buyer's closing costs are contributed on the Sellers' side of the closing); FHA then only requires 3.5% down payment (often the equivalent of the tax credit); USDA is a 100% loan (so it is possible for a Buyer to get into a home with NO OUT OF POCKET cost) and VA which is also a 100% loan guarantee for Veterans (and also possible NO OUT OF POCKET costs). Time is running out. If you know ANYONE who has expressed any interest in buying a home or selling their existing home send me their name and number. I'll follow up with them and make sure they don't miss outCall/Text me: 609 709-1429 or email me:
Tom@Sellertom.comLabels: first time home buyer, Home buyer tax credit
