The National Association of Realtors® article dated July 1, 2010 Home Buyers Get Tax Credit Closing and Flood Insurance Extensions Without Lapse in Coverage; Bills Now Headed for the President reported that Congress passed two bills which directly affect the real estate market and its stability. One bill extends the home buyer tax credit closing date and the other bill reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program. These bills are now headed to the President for his signature.
This is certainly good news for those home buyers in the Tampa Bay area and around the country who are trying to take advantage of the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit or the Move-Up/Repeat Tax Credit! The original deadline dates for these tax credits were that the a fully executed contract must be in place by April 30, 2010 and the deadline for closing these real estate transactions was June 30, 2010. Now the closing date deadline has been moved to September 30th, and there will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.
National Association President Vicki Cox Golder stated, "What a great way to begin celebrating our nation's most patriotic holiday by opening the door to the American dream of homeownership to thousands of home buyers who would have been shut out of the homes of their dreams through no fault of their own."
The passage of H.R. 5623, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act, affects approximately 180,000 home buyers who were eligible for the tax credit who would not receive the benefit had the closing deadline date not been extended. This extension only applies to those who had fully executed contracts in place as of April 30, 2010.
The National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569) allows the extension of the NFIP until September 30, 2010, allowing transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapsed period from June 1, 2010, to the date of enactment of the extension. This means that any new applications for policies or renewals that were signed and submitted during the lapsed period will be effective from the date of application. "We know that thousands of property owners seeking flood insurance policies will now be able to close transactions. NAR appreciates the extraordinary efforts in both house of Congress to end the lapse in flood insurance," Golder said.
The passage of these bills will have an enormously positive effect on many home buyers in the Tampa Bay area who have dreamed of homeownership. That dream is now one step closer to becoming a reality. Good news for the home buyers. Good news for the real estate market. Good news indeed!
For more information about this and other real estate news, contact an SI Real Estate team member at (813) 631-5144. E-mail us at YourHome@SIRealEstateInvestments.com or visit our website at www.SI RealEstateInvestments.com.
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