First Time Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit Extended…and Expanded

The government has extended the first-time home buyer federal tax credit as well as expanded to include many existing home owners. First-time home buyers now have until April 30, 2010 to sign a contract and qualify for a tax credit up to $8,000. And starting November 7, many existing home owners may qualify for a tax credit of up to $6,500.

For more information, check out this flyer provided by the Virginia Association of REALTORS(R):

Information on extended and expanded first time home buyer federal tax credit -

You can also get more information on the extended first-time home buyer tax credit by clicking here.

How The First-Time Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit Works

Bob and Sally show us how the first-time home buyer federal tax credit works (click here if you can’t see the video below)…

Hat tip to NRVLiving.com and NVAR.com

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Time’s a Tickin’ On the First-Time Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit

Time’s a Tickin’ on the First-Time Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit

If you would like to take advantage of the first-time home buyer Federal tax credit, you’ll need to act soon because time is running out. The tax credit expires December 1, 2009, which means that you have to settle on your new home no later than November 30, 2009.

What does this mean practically speaking?

Despite November 30 being the deadline, you should aim to settle by November 15th to help leave room for any delays on your or the sellers’ end. Also, settlement companies will be swamped with settlements the last two weeks of November and may be delayed themselves. And don’t forget that the Thanksgiving holiday takes away at least one, if not two business days at the end of November.

At this point, short-sales are pretty much out of the picture as far as settling in time to take advantage of the first-time home buyer federal tax credit. It takes an average of 90 days to get a response from a bank(s) on short-sale approval and then you will need another 3 to 4 weeks after that to settle. This puts you way past the November 30 deadline.

If you are a home buyer going after a traditional resale or foreclosure, you should ratify a contract no later than about October 1 to 15 depending on the type of financing (conventional vs FHA vs VA). Conventional financing takes about 30 days from date of ratification to process and fun. FHA financing takes 30 to 45 days. VA financing takes closer to 45 days. (These are general numbers - the lenders I work with closely are awesome and get everything done within 30 days no matter what type of financing you go with)

If you are a home buyer who wants to take advantage of the first-time home buyer federal tax credit, you need to start actively searching for a property to purchase immediately. This will give you about a month to search for a property, submit and ratify an offer with enough time to settle before the deadline.

Wondering how to get started in home buying process?

First - click here to read my post, “The Home Buying Timeline”

Second - Click here to contact me so we can chat more about your specific situation and see what’s best for you.

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“Move fast to take advantage of first-time homebuyer federal tax credit” - Washington, DC Examiner

Information on first-time home buyer federal tax credit from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Good News For Home Buyers Using FHA Financing!

Good news for  home buyers using FHA financing! The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has no plans to implement the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), which has been the cause of a wide array of problems for home buyers, sellers and lenders.

The FHA is looking at alternatives to the HVCC it feels would insulate appraisers from pressure from lenders while not hurting consumers and lenders.

I’m all for keeping lenders from pressuring appraisers to “hit the number”, but the HVCC is not the way to do it. Glad the FHA realizes this too and that it’s taking steps other than adopting the HVCC to accomplish this.

If you are thinking about buying a home and using FHA financing, there are several great FHA lenders in the area you can speak with. Email or call me and I’ll send you a list (click here to contact me).