Archive for the 'buying' Category

Obama’s Stimulus Package and Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers

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The President’s Stimulus Package may be able to help you buy your first home. Find out whether or not you qualify for the special tax credit available as part of the federal Stimulus Package.

The main thing to consider is that the program is for first time home buyers. If this is your first home purchase, there may be a tax credit available to you. If, for the past three years you haven’t owned a home, you may also qualify. Owning a vacation home or rental property doesn’t make you ineligible for the tax credit.

One question that comes immediately to mind is how much of a tax credit can you get?

The credit can be the smaller of either 10% of what the home costs, or $8,000.

In order to qualify, you would have to buy the home between January 1 and December 31 of 2009.

Neither repayment nor recapture are applicable unless you have owned for fewer than 36 months.

Regardless of whether your tax paid equals the amount of the tax credit or is less, you may still get a refund equal to the maximum credit.

Modified adjusted gross income, known as the MAGI, will be used as the main determining factor of whether or not you qualify for the tax credit. For a single person, MAGI of $75,000 is the qualifying number. For a married couple it would be $150,000.

There are partial credits available for those with a MAGI above these amounts up to MAGI of $95,000 for singles and $170,000 for married couples. Spouses who file separately can each claim the lesser of either $4,000 or 5% of the purchase price.

Changing your tax withholdings in 2009 to the amount of the tax credit may help you save for a down-payment if you intend to buy by the end of the year, but be sure of your plans because if things change and you do not buy your home by the close of 2009 the IRS will expect repayment.

There is a special situation for those with a home under construction. Eligibility is determined based on when the home is occupied.

If you close on the home during 2009 and move in before December 31, 2009, you can qualify for the credit, regardless of building starting in 2008.

A home purchased in 2009 may possibly be eligible for a credit on the 2008 tax year.

Don’t Hesitate to Use Home Buying Tax Credit– Especially When You Are Looking to Buy a Home for the First Time!

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Whether you are a single bachelor or bachelorettes looking for a place to stay or a happily married couple looking to start a family, don’t hesitate to use home buying tax credit ‘ especially if it can shave up to $8,000 from the total cost of a home.

The real estate market in the United States has been hit really hard by the recession, causing jobs to be lost, businesses to go under and belts to tighten. Real estate plays a huge role in our economy, which is why the government has passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to help kick-start the tanking real estate business.

Moving to a picture closer to home, this simply means that you will earn a huge discount when buying a home for the first time. $8,000 is nothing to scoff at, especially when money is tight, and it could mean the difference between a new home and living out the rest of your life wasting money on rent.

Most people don’t hesitate to use home buying tax credit, except that the benefits of such a home tax credit is limited by three factors:

The first factor is the price of the home. The tax credit will help you out 10% or $8,000 when buying a home, whichever is lower. That means a $50,000 home will qualify you a $5,000 tax credit, while a $100,000 home will qualify you for the maximum value of $8,000 in tax credit.

The second factor is your modified annual gross income, or MAGI. Simply put, this value is your total income less a couple of deductibles, then factoring in foreign-earned income. Your MAGI must be lower than $75,000 if you are single or $150,000 if you are married to qualify for the full benefits of the act. You could still be eligible for tax credit if you earn more than the indicated MAGI up to $95,000 for single applicants and $170,000 for married applicants, so don’t hesitate to use home buying tax credit if you fall under these values.

The third and final factor is time. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is applicable only for first-time home buyers who have not bought a principal home at least 3 years before January 1, 2009. The problem here is that the act expires on December 1, 2009, which only gives you a few months to close the deal and transfer the title to your name. You will have to act very fast if you have not already availed of this tax credit break, so gather up the capital and get the paperwork done before Santa even gets around to putting on his red coat

Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers

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New home buyers will like this good news about the tax credit that they can get in home buying process.  There is a certain amount that can lessen the purchase price.  Real estate brokers are recommending hopeful property buyers that now is the best time to acquire a house.  Though there is a recent economic recession, federal legislature created a plan to make home buying easier for aspiring homeowners.  It is considered that those who will be buying a house can get an $8,000 credit or rebate.  This is because of the amended federal housing plan.  But, this benefit has a timeline which is according to the housing plan.  Hence, reward yourself and your family with your dream house at a best price now.

There are not two major federal housing lenders that the government is working with when it comes to this provision.  The loan must be approved by one of these lending organizations in order for you to avail the entire benefit of savings and rebate offered during this time.  And also, one basic requirement is you have to be a new buyer.  This denotes that you must not take out any equity loan and this loan is owned by a company other than the original lender.  It should be a new loan verified by the house that it is qualified for a federal housing assistance.

Contact your local loan officer and ask about the important factors that you need to present by the time you apply for a loan.  These compose of credit score, credit record, bankruptcy or foreclosure.  If you have a previous terrible credit record, do not lose hope.  Let the loan officer help you move on the process and buy the property even if you have a bad credit history before.

After the consultation, you can now find some listings of houses in the community where you plan to stay.  You can also conduct a house visit on weekends to be able to get to know more of the place.  If you have children who still go to school, you can browse through the web and go to the school and talk to their administration.  In this manner, you will know what type of school you want your kids to go to.  You do not have to pick the real estate name in front of your home, just choose what you want.  Bear in mind that the real estate professional will simply work on selling the house and does not give attention to your interest.

Acquiring a house that if for yourself is something you look forward to in the future.  If you are still ‘homeless,’ you will reach a point in your life that you want to invest in a good house.  And you want this to reward you as well as your family.  Regardless on where you want to stay, whenever you are  inside the house, you must be able to say to yourself that this home is really a sweet home to stay.