First Time Home Buyer Stimulus
Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 3:38 pm.Congress recently signed the 2009 Stimulus Plan, but what does it really mean and how does it affect you and the real estate market? After some reading and research, I found out that there are four primary sections of the Stimulus Plan that affect real estate.For first-time home buyers, who purchase a home this year (between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009), it means that you'll receive more of a tax credit than the first-time home buyers in 2008. You'll receive a tax credit of $8,000 versus the $7,500 in 2008. Most of the qualification requirements are still the same, like the income limitations [$75,000 for single tax payers and $150,000 for married tax payers (see further notes below)].The credit is still "refundable," which just means that if you owe the IRS less than $8,000 you'll receive the difference between the amount you owe and the credit. A difference between this year's credit and the previous year is that you wouldn't have to repay the credit back. In 2008, a first-time home buyer would have had to pay the credit back over a 15 year period. This year's Stimulus Plan allows the buyer to not have to repay that credit as long as the property remains he primary residence for at least 3 years.The homeowners who have made energy efficient home improvements this year, will receive 30% of the total cost of the improvements not exceeding $1,500. Energy efficient improvements include energy efficient exterior doors and windows, insulation, heat pumps, furnaces, central A/C and water heaters.FHA-insured reverse mortgage limits have also increased. $417,000 was the loan limit for FHA-insured reverse mortgages across the country, but that was changed due to the Stimulus Plan. The loan limit was increased to $625,500 country-wide.In 2008 FHA and Conforming Loan Limits were reduced to $625,500 from a limit of $729,750. The Stimulus Plan restores that limit to $729,750, making higher cost homes more affordable.
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July 26th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Further notes (from eZine Articles)
Here are some eligibility conditions declared by the Federal Government to avail the home buyer tax credit:
. Firstly you must be a citizen of US.
. You must be above 18 years of age.
. The house you are looking for must be in US.
. The house must be for your principle use only.
. The house in consideration must not be a gift or an inherited property. Otherwise you would be deprived of the accessibility to the tax credit.
. The annual income of a single person must be below or equal to $ 75,000.
. For couples income has to be less than $ 150,000.
Here are some benefits that this first time home buyer tax credit offers you:
. Unlike the tax credit of the year 2008, the person dos not need to pay it back.
. The house must be bought between January 1, 2009 & December 1, 2009. These dates should not be considered as the dates of moving in as these are the dates of purchasing. Here it can go up to $ 8,000.
. People who have bought their first home and it is their principal residence on or after April 1, 2008 & before January 1, 2009, now qualify for up to $ 7,500 of tax credit.
. People can directly contact the HUD (US Federal Housing & Urban Development Department) & the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) through their official website in order to avail the first time home buyer tax credit.