$8,000 Tax Credit...Time Has Been Extended!!

Attention First-Time Home Buyers!!! Time is running out has been extended to claim your $8,000 tax credit…as of August 19th there are only 103 days left to close on a home . You now have until April 30th to be under contract on a home to receive the credit. That may seem like a long time…over 3 months! But in house-hunting time, that’s not very far away. Also, most people will wait until the last minute and find themselves in multiple offer situations as the deadline approaches. This happened last time to several of my clients and they lost out on the home they really wanted because they were unwilling to pay over list price. My advice...DON'T WAIT!! 

Let’s work backwards for a moment: On average, you need about 30 days from the time you have an accepted contract until you are able to close. So, if you need to be closed on something by the end of November, then you would need to be under contract on something by the end of October. Ideally, you should be under contract on something before the end of October. Not only are lenders and attorney’s going to be overloaded with files to close before the tax credit expires, but we also lose a few working days for Thanksgiving Holiday. This means things will be VERY hectic for lenders, underwriters, and attorneys at the end of November, and they may need more than the usual 30 days to get your file closed. The sooner you can get your file to them the better!

So now we are looking at mid-October for you to be under contract on something. We are nearing the end of August now. That really only gives you 6-7 weeks of looking at properties before you would have to make a decision and start writing up an offer. It can sometimes take several days to negotiate an offer, or longer than that if you are working with a foreclosure (banks are typically slower at responding than regular sellers are). Again, the sooner you start looking at homes and narrowing down your choices, the better!

Given the 100-odd day deadline looming upon us, I would not recommend procuring a sale with a home listed as a “short sale”. Short sales can be very tricky, and can take several months to actually get closed. Also, since short sales are contingent on the bank’s approval, they may not close at all…leaving you back at square one with your home search. Short sales are only recommended for those with no time frame needed.

What’s the next step, you say? Talk with your lender and make sure your loan pre-qualification is taken care of so that when you do find a property, you can jump on it without hesitation. Then, give me a call so we can get the home search started! Remember, Buyer Agency is at NO COST to you! Put my 8+ years of knowledge and expertise to work for you.

One last thing worth mentioning, and that’s the $1,800 State tax credit. This credit is open to ALL homebuyers closing on a home before November 30th, 2009. The credit is broken up over 3 years worth of tax returns. So…all in all, there is almost $10,000 worth of FREE money available to you for purchasing a home in the next 3 months.

Act NOW! Don’t wait! Don’t you want FREE money from the government simply for buying a home?? The deals are amazing, rates are low, and you get paid almost $10,000 for making the smartest decision of your life. Call or email me today and I will help you get started!