home buyer tax credit: Even Prisoners Get a Home Buyer Tax Credit - 06/27/10 12:12 PM
Even Prisoners Get a Home Buyer Tax Credit  
The IRS is working to get money back that was mistakenly given out to over 1,300 prison inmates.  More than $9 million in tax credits earmarked specifically for home buyers has been now claimed by prisoners and 241 of them are serving life sentences. 
What is the government to do - arrest them? 
None of these inmates filed joint claims so there is not even a spouse to go after.  This complication is largely due to the fact the IRS does not keep accurate records of everyone who is actually in incarcerated.  
Apparently, prisons are not required to … (18 comments)

home buyer tax credit: Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension - Buyers May Still Get a Break - 06/19/10 06:16 AM
Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension - Buyers May Still Get a Break 
 
Some home buyers and their Realtors® have done everything possible to plan for a tax credit at the closing table. But, even the best laid plans can sometimes have their glitches.  
As the predetermined June 30th deadline approaches for the Home Buyer Tax Credit, some buyers are living with the possibility that they may be disqualified from actually getting this promised incentive.  
What can happen to derail such a well-laid plan?  Ah, so many things. There are title issues, the time that a bank needs to process a loan, … (11 comments)

home buyer tax credit: NAR is Asking for an Extension on the Home Buyer Tax Credit - 06/05/10 04:19 PM
NAR is Asking for an Extension on the Home Buyer Tax Credit 
As we all know the home buyer tax credit expired on April 30 for purchase and sale agreements with a closing deadline of June 30.  Now, the National Association of Realtors is asking Congress for an extension of that window date. 
One of their arguments is that so many of the properties under agreement are foreclosures or short sales and these types of transactions need more time to close.  Short sales are not, well - short.  They actually take longer to close than the average home buying transaction.  
Lawrence … (14 comments)

home buyer tax credit: Was the Home Buyer Tax Credit Really a Help or Just Hype? - 05/01/10 07:01 AM
Was the Home Buyer Tax Credit Really a Help or Just Hype?
 
Now that the drop dead date of April 30 has come and gone we can look at the government's home buyer tax credit through a different set of eyes.
I don't know how this program played out with most Realtors® but I really had very few people who were driven by it or that actually took advantage of it.  It was more a question of, "If it happens fine - if it doesn't that's fine, as well." 
As a home buyer, if you did not have a home … (9 comments)

home buyer tax credit: Coming Down the Final Stretch - Can You Still Get in on the Home Buyer Tax Credit? - 03/18/10 08:44 AM
Coming Down  the Final Stretch - Can you Still Get in on the Home Buyer Tax Credit? 
With just about six weeks left to get into contract on a home, time is running out on the government's program to give first-time and existing home buyers a tax credit. Everywhere you look these days you see symbolic clocks ticking and widgets with the hours dropping away, reminding home buyers that that it's time to act quickly. 
 
Is there really still time?  
In a word - yes.  If you have been looking and there are potential properties in your sight, you still … (8 comments)

home buyer tax credit: First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - There is Still Time - 02/20/10 02:08 PM
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - There is Still Time 
Once again, we are coming around the bend with the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - and the rush is on. 
 
The tax credit, as I wrote about in my book, "Buying a Home" was originally written to be a $7,500 loan that would have to be paid back over a period of fifteen years.  That was in 2008.   
 
Early in 2009 it was revised to be an $8,000 credit that would be a complete credit and not have to be paid back at any time.  It … (6 comments)

home buyer tax credit: Massachusetts Home Buyers - The Clock is Ticking on the Home Buyer Tax Credit. - 02/08/10 07:09 AM
Massachusetts Home Buyers - The Clock is Ticking on the Home buyer Tax Credit. 
The home buyer tax credit which was scheduled to expire last November, was extended and is available to all Massachusetts home buyers.  
Is there still time to take advantage of it? 
Absolutely - but you must look for a home as soon as possible since you will need to have your home under contract by April 30 to be able to take advantage of it. 
What are the guidelines? 
As a first-time home buyer, you are eligible for an $8,000 tax credit which does not have to be … (4 comments)

home buyer tax credit: Massachusetts Home Sales Have a Yearly Increase - 01/30/10 02:44 AM
According to a recent article in the Boston Globe, Massachusetts home sales are on the upswing.  Home sales in Massachusetts saw an increase of 3 percent in 2009 which was the first such year-to-year increase since 2004. 
In December home sales rose 16.8 percent to 3,350 from 2,868 in the previous year. 
This increase in sales is welcomed news at a time when we are all looking for positive signs in the housing market.  Prices also improved a bit with the median home price in December at $295,000 from $267,250, which was up 10.4 percent from December of 2008.  This was … (3 comments)

home buyer tax credit: The New and Improved Home Buyer Tax Credit - 11/05/09 01:59 PM
The much-anticipated extension to the home buyer tax credit has finally been approved.  The Senate's vote yesterday resulted in a 98-0 win and today it was passed in the house.  The bill now moves to the President's desk for a final signature. 
First-time home buyers have been eligible for tax credits of up to $8,000 since last January as part of this year's economic stimulus package.  The newly backed program will expand the credit to include existing home owners.  
Under the revised program, those who have owned a home for at least five years will be able to apply for tax … (121 comments)

home buyer tax credit: Taking Advantage of the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit in Massachusetts - 03/04/09 10:24 AM
While some home buyers have been spurred on by current prices in Massachusetts, low interest rates and a huge inventory, there is now another reason to pull the trigger on a home purchase this year. 
As of March 26, 2009 there is a new economic stimulus tax credit that is providing a great opportunity for first-time home buyers. 
A first-time homebuyer is defined as anyone or their spouse who has either never owned a home or has not owned a home for at the past three years.  
Although there is much debate about whether or not the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment … (5 comments)

home buyer tax credit: Update - $15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit Cut from Stimulus Bill - 02/13/09 10:44 AM
The much-anticipated $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers has been scaled back to an $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers only.   
A few days ago, following extensive lobbying in Washington, home builders and realtors had hailed the proposed $15,000 tax credit.  Charles McMillan, President of the National Association of Realtors, had indicated that the credit might lead to 1 million additional home purchases.  Toll Brothers' CEO, Robert Toll had said, "The $15,000, I have no doubt, will make the greatest difference."  Pulte Home Builders' CEO, Richard Dugas was urging Congress to push the credit up to $20,000 or more and … (2 comments)