The US Senate has amended a bill to give homebuyers who were under contract on a home purchase on or before April 30, 2010 an additional three months to close the transaction and claim the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit. Extending the deadline for closing from June 30 to Sept. 30 would allow lenders more time to clear a backlog of 180,000 homebuyers nationwide, said amendment sponsor Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. No extension to the deadline for qualifying for the credit (April 30th, 2010) was approved and Congress is not expeted to do so.
The nations mortgage lender backlong is at record levels due to industry staff reductions over the last couple of years along with the record number of contracts to purchase and mortgage loan applicatiions placed into process due to the end of the tax credit. The legislation was supported by the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors.
Also in the legislation are provisoins to expand documentation requirements for the first-time homebuyer tax credit to require taxpayers to attach property tax bills, contracts, and other documentation to their tax returns when claiming such credit. These measures were sought by the Internal Revenue Service to assist in reducing fraudulent attempts to access the tax credit.
The US House of Representatives has already passed similar legislation and sources from both legislative bodies expect conference committees to complete and approve one compromise bill for the President's signature and enactment as law prior to the July 4th, Holiday.
(c) 2010 by John Tuggle. For Re-Print rights please email mrjohntuggle@msn.com
Blooming for Maryland home buyers.
Comments(5)