More and more people who want to buy the houses and condos in Cleveland are excited about opportunity to benefit from the First Time Buyer's Tax Credit.  I receive numerous questions regarding this credit from potential buyers. Let's get the answers together in order to help more first time buyers realize the advantages of buying houses and condos in Greater Cleveland in January-December of 2009.

The most frequent question is: Who is the First time buyer?

Answer is  not that obvious as it seems to be. Every person who did not own the primary residence in last three years prior to purchase is considered to be a First Time Buyer. For married couples, both spouses should be the First Time buyers according to the above definition. If husband or wife owned the primary residence during three-year peiod prior to purchase, none of the spouses is eligible for this credit.

Interesting question comes from the potential buyers of condominiums in Mayfield Heights and other communities of Greater Cleveland: Does the Real Estate tax credit apply to condos?

The answer is Yes, it does apply to any housing that will be used as a principle residence. It includes single family detached houses, attached homes like condominiums, townhomes, manufactured homes (aka mobile homes) and houseboats.