Use Your $8000 Tax Credit as a Down Payment

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.

Previously, most buyers could not receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit. If consumers have access to the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans the cash can be used as a down payment.

Now FHA's approved lenders will be permitted to "monetize" the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

At this point there aren't yet any procedures in place to accommodate the "bridge" loan. But this should be available shortly. For those of you who qualify for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit should start looking for a home now. This should prove to be a significant benefit to the Real Estate purchase market. It won't be long before excess inventory begins to diminish, which will result in rising home prices in a short period of time.