Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended and Expanded - $8000 for First Time Homebuyers and $6500 for Move-Up Buyers

The $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit has been officially extended and expanded to include a new $6500 tax credit for move-up buyers.  Dallas area first time homebuyers and move-up buyers now have until April 30, 2010 to obtain a written, binding contract and until June 30, 2010 to close the transaction. 

Some of the details and guidelines for the homebuyer tax credit were changed slightly with passage of this new legislation.  Some of the guidelines were loosened while others were tightened.  And there is a sepearate set of guidelines for the new $6500 tax credit for repeat buyers as well.

EXTENSION OF THE $8000 FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT

The new legislation extends most of the guidelines of the previous $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit with the exception of the deadline extension, increased income limits and a few other details: 

Guidelines that REMAINED THE SAME:

• Amount of tax credit remains the lesser of $8000 or 10% of the purchase price.
• Home must be primary residence that will be occupied by the owner.  Investors do not qualify.  
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid unless the homeowner sells the home in the first three years. 

Guidelines that worked out BETTER for homebuyers:

• Deadline to obtain a WRITTEN AND FULLY EXECUTED CONTRACT is now April 30, 2010 and the transaction must CLOSE ON OR BEFORE JUNE 30, 2010.  The previous program had no specific date to obtain a fully executed contract, but the deadline to close the transaction would have been November 30, 2009.
• MILITARY SERVICEMEMBERS who were on active duty overseas for a period greater than 90 days in 2008 or 2009 will be allowed until April 30, 2011 to claim the first time homebuyer tax credit. 
• Income limits for single taxpayers raised from $75,000 to $125,000.  The program phases out completely at $145,000.
• Income limits for married couples raised from $150,000 to $225,000.  The program phases out completely at $245,000. 
  

Guidelines that became MORE STRICT for homebuyers:

• Maximum purchase price cap is now $800,000.  Previous program had no price cap.
• Requires written proof of home purchase in the form of a certified HUD-1 closing statement.  Also, the IRS has more authority to conduct oversight on claims for the tax credit.  The previous program was plagued with fraud since it did not require homebuyer to show any proof of purchase. 

 

CREATION OF THE $6500 TAX CREDIT FOR MOVE-UP HOMEBUYERS

This is a completely new program that was passed as part of the legislation that expanded the first time homebuyer tax credit.  Current homeowners who are "moving up" will quaify for the $6500 tax credit beginning with all purchases that close after November 6, 2009 and who meet the other guidelines listed below.  Many of the guidelines and deadlines are the same or close to the same as those of the first time homebuyer tax credit:

General guidelines (beginning after November 6, 2009):

• Amount of tax credit is the lesser of $6500 or 10% of the purchase price of a new home. 
• Homebuyer must have owned and lived in their previous home for at least five consecutive years out of the last eight years.
• Home purchased must be a primary residence that will be occupied by the homebuyer.  Investors do not qualify.
• Maximum purchase price is $800,000.
• Tax credit does not have to be repaid unless the owner sells the new home in the first three years.
• Income limits are the same as for the $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit ($125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for married couples, phases out completely at $145,000 and $245,000 respectively). 
  
• A written, binding contract must be signed on or before May 1, 2010 and the transaction must close on or before July 1, 2010.  This is ONE DAY LATER than the deadline for the first time homebuyer tax credit for some reason, perhaps because simultaneous closings can often take two days to fully consummate.
• IRS will require proof of purchase for the new home and will likely require proof that the previous home was both owned and occupied by the homebuyer. 

 

Stay tuned for some additional updates and some frequently asked questions.  If you have any questions about the extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, please email me. 

 

 

What You Oughta Know About Blog Commenting

Much has been said about blog commenting here on ActiveRain, but what about blog commenting out in the real world? I'm talking about commenting on blogs that are not on the ActiveRain platform. Do you comment on other blogs within your niche? Do you try to grab the attention of the big boys? Why would you want to? How can commenting on other blogs help you? 

 

Commenting on high profile blogs outside of A|R can have a huge impact on your publicity, your search engine results, and your overall popularity within the blogging world. Okay, so you won't get any A|R "points" for commenting outside of A|R, but there is a much larger benefit to be had.

 

Benefits Of Blog Commenting

 

• Grab The Attention Of The Blogs Readers
• Grab The Attention Of The Blogger
• Increase Your Brand Awareness
• Create More Back Links

Yes, blog commenting can do all those things, and much much more, however, there is a catch. You actually have to be a real life genuine human being when your commenting. None of this sissy, "great post thanks for sharing", stuff. You have to add value to the readers of the blog, and you have to add value to the blogger themselves.  "Add Value" is the key. 

GRAB THE ATTENTION OF THE BLOGS READERS

 

 

There are people out there that have never heard of you,  never heard of ActiveRain, and surely don't know that you are a fantastic blogger. You have to show them that what you have to offer is something they might be interested in. Besides, they are already commenting on blogs and reading information in your niche, all you have to do is prove that you're worth their time. 

 

How can I grab their attention? 

 

It works much the same outside of ActiveRain as it does here. When commenting on most blogs, you get to add a link to your website or blog, which people will click on if you add value to a conversation. Here's an example:

 

Go to Google and search for your niche, and add blogs to the search like this:

 

 

As you can see by just doing a general real estate blog search, I have over 100 million choices to choose from. Now, click on a few blogs, and check out how they do their blog commenting. Make sure that when you comment you are able to leave a link back to your blog/website. It should look something like this:

 

The box that says website is where you want to enter your web address to your blog/website. That's all there is to it. Find blogs, leave comments, add value to the conversation, leave a link back to your blog/website, and use your analytics (click that link to learn how to install analytics on your blog) to watch the new traffic come in. 

 

GRAB THE ATTENTION OF THE BLOGGER

 

When people comment on your blog, how does it make you feel? I can bet it makes you fell warm and fuzzy right?  I'm talking about those people that leave a comment that makes you click on the link to their profile, add them as an associate, and go find their blog to leave them a comment. Those comments are the comments that get blog writers attention, and in a big way. 

 

I found a blog called New Homes Blog. I started commenting on the blog, and I really enjoy reading what the writer had to say. So, I left some pretty meaty comments, and he emailed me. He asked me to be a guest blogger for his Utah section. A guest blogger! That means that he lets me write blogs on his blog, and leave a link back to my websites for Google juice.  I got his attention by commenting with some great comments to add value to his blog. 

 

The more you put in the more you will get. Start building a relationship with the blogger, and soon enough they just might start talking about you in their own blogs.

 

INCREASE YOUR BRAND AWARENESS

 

The more and more you start to show up on blogs in your niche, the more and more your brand is going to get recognized. By commenting on blogs all over th web,you're going to increase your online visibility.

The more you show up, the more people will be curious as to who you are, which will make people more likely to click on your link to learn more about you. Human curiosity!

Think about it. Who are the most popular people you know of on ActiveRain?

I bet you it's the top commenter's such as, TLW, Lenn Harley, Jason Crouch, Todd Clark, Broker Bryant, Loreena Yeo, C-Tann Star, Bill Gassett, Jeff Dowler, Missy Caulk, Rich Jacobson, Patricia Kennedy just to name a few, or the people who comment on your blog everyday.

These people comment a lot and for good reason, they are creating brand awareness. The more you see them, the more you want to know who they are, and that gives you a click through to your blog/website.

How many comments have you made today? 

 

CREATE MORE BACK LINKS

 

(If you don't know what a do-follow and no-follow link are, before reading this section, I would recommend you read this blog on no-follow and do-follow links first.) 

Just like ActiveRain, when you comment on some blogs, you get a do-follow link to your website.

Every time you make a comment on ActiveRain while logged in, you get a do-follow link pointing back to your profile.

In order to find blogs that are do-follow around the web, you will have to do some research.

So far, I have a list of 25 do-follow blogs that I am currently commenting on. I don't do it just for the link, I also add as much to the conversation as I can.

If I don't have anything to say that is going to add value, I don't say anything at all. I found these blogs by searching Google and researching real estate forums. Unfortunately, I am not going to give you my list of do-follow blogs, I want you to find your own, because it will be more beneficial to you if you do. 

What I am going to do is, give you a head start in the right direction. Finding do-follow blogs is actually pretty easy once you have the Firefox plugin as mentioned in the link above.

Start out by searching Google for do-follow blogs:

 

• Google Search: Do Follow Blogs
•  Do-follow blog search engine.
•  The Art Of Commenting On Do Follow Blogs

 

 

I use these tools and they helped me get a start in the right direction. If you're serious about ranking high for your keywords, commenting on do follow blogs can help you attain your goals. Remember, just because a blog is no follow, doesn't mean you can't get value out of it. Leaving your link is going to get people to click on it, which will bring traffic your way, and increase your brand awareness. 

 

What's It All Mean?

 

Commenting on blogs is one of the most fundamental aspects of social media. You are interacting, creating relationships, and adding value to the on-going conversations around the web. Building your awareness through blog commenting takes time and effort to be successful. But I can attest that if you do it with genuine care you soon will start to see an increase in your blogs activity. Good Luck! 

If you have any stories about how you comment, leave me a comment about it. Or better yet, write a blog about it, and leave a link in the comments so you can add value to my conversation! 

P.S. A good place to start commenting is my new Cache Valley Real Estate blog!

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