I was never really crazy about showing short sell homes anyway. Now, I'm TERRIFIED to sell one! If the average short sale takes 90-120 days to get to closing, there is just NO WAY a First Time Buyer can buy a house after this week and have any confidence that they'll beat the November 30th deadline to close. This really is hard for them to understand and sometimes I think they think I'm just being "Debbie Downer". The truth of the matter is that when November 30th gets here, they'll probably be about 3-5 weeks away from closing!
I've heard the rumors that Congress may extend that deadline. I've also heard the rumor that they may even increase the Tax Credit to $15,000 and include ALL buyers, not just First Timers. That's great! I hope it happens. But the only thing we have to go by right now, today, is the November 30th deadline. Are you willing to take a chance? My personal fear is that they are going to be so bogged down with the health care issues that they are going to push EVERYTHING else to the rear of the line. We all know how important housing is to the entire economy of our country. I'm just afraid that Congress may not realize how urgently an extension is needed.
I am going to avoid short sales for now. I hate to. They dominate our market here in Northeast Florida. But I just can't imagine facing my buyer on November 30th if they missed the boat on the tax credit.
How are you going to handle this issue?
Ideas and suggestions appreciated!
RONDA,
If you clients needs the $8,000 Tax Credit then you are doing the right thing for your clients. They are best suited to meet their financial needs by staying away from the Short Sales, but there will invariably be trade-offs since the inventory of REO's or traditional sales is much smaller.
I was very confident the Tax Credit would be extended, but now I'm not so sure. There are so many false reports of a Housing Recovery that the gov't might deem an extension unnecessary. I mean you even hear many agents praising the fact they believe the worst is over. That doesn't bode well for future Credits.
Hopefully, they will extend the Credit to anyone that has been under contract for at least 30 days irregardless of when they actually close. I think that would be a fair compromise if they decide not to extend or enhance the current incentive.