Buy a House Fast

Home buyers and homeowners can still benefit from significant tax credit advantages thanks to the Economic Stimulus Package that the Obama government passed in 2009. What’s more, if you’re a first-time home buyer, and have bought a house in 2009, or plan to buy one before April 30, 2010, the housing stimulus can provide a refundable tax credit of $8,000.

So if you’re planning to buy a home and want to save money – your timing couldn’t be more perfect!

To understand the qualifications and implications of this package, read on!

1. Who is a first-time home buyers? – The law defines it as a home buyer who has never owned a home, or has NOT owned a principal residence (rental houses don’t count) for the last three years. If you are married and plan to buy a home together, you will be eligible only if both you and your spouse are first-time home buyers.
2. By when do you need to buy your house? – Originally, to qualify for this tax credit benefit you should have purchased your house between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. It has now been extended to benefit buyers who sign a contract by April 30, 2010 but close the deal before June 30, 2010.
3. Does income matter? – Apparently it does. To qualify, buyers must make LESS than $75,000 for singles or $150,000 for couples. If you belong to a higher income bracket, you may receive a partial credit.
4. How much tax credit will you get? – Despite being called the $8,000 housing tax credit, it is important to note that NOT all home buyers will receive the same amount. The tax credit is calculated at 10% of the purchase price up to the maximum of $8,000. This means that in order to avail of the whole $8,000 as tax credit, your house should stand at a property value of more than $80,000.
5. How does this work? – There is a difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction, this one being the former. An $8,000 credit means reducing this amount from the total tax owed to the IRS and NOT just your total taxable income. Besides, being a refundable tax credit – if your total taxes owed to the IRS are less than $8,000 you can get a refund for the balance amount!
6. How is this different from the $7,500 tax credit? – The $7,500 housing tax credit was more like an interest free loan for 15 years – which has to be repaid by the home buyers. The $8,000 tax credit on the other hand does NOT need to be paid to the IRS. Yes, it is yours to keep!

With so many incentives to buy a house, you really want to take advantage of this law, if you can. If you’re really looking to buy now, you should hurry up with the process – April 30 is just around the corner!

Looking for the perfect affordable home in the DC area, including Maryland or Virginia? Express Realty Services has a great selection of homes to fit your budget. We can even show you our latest remodeled and renovated homes from our sister company, Express Homebuyers!

Just call Express Realty Services at 1-877-9EXPRESS (1-877-939-7377)

Lost in the Crowd?

When buying a home, you will likely become acquainted with a whole slew of real estate professionals.  From the realtor who helps you select a home to the listing agent who shows you some promising inventory, the experience can be difficult (and extremely frustrating) when any of these pivotal characters fail to meet your expectations.  One of the most controversial areas today is the whole appraisal process.

Help for the Weary

The folks over at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing their best to ensure that no one plays fast and loose with the appraisal process.  To that end, they’ve created a new code that holds appraisers to a higher standard of quality and professionalism. Sounds great, right? Well, it has already gotten serious backlash from people in the real estate business who believe stricter rules can only hurt an already struggling housing market.

As a result, Fannie and Freddie have tried to clarify what the new code means for homebuyers like you.  One major change outlined in the clarification document is the need for mortgage lenders to accept appraisals only from professionals with experience in the region in question.  Think about it: wouldn’t you want the appraisal coming from someone who knows the area your future home is in?

While communication between and real estate agents is permitted in the process (after all, realtors can be an excellent source of information), they cannot have a hand in selecting the appraiser.  The concern here is that a realtor eager to close a deal will select an appraiser they enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship, one willing to provide the estimate necessary for the transaction to be completed as quickly as possible.  Similar arrangements can often exist between appraisers and lenders, who have been known on occasion to lean on appraisers to overstate property values. While that may help a seller sell his house fast, it certainly won’t help when the buyer faces this dilemma: “I wanted to buy my house fast, but it didn’t meet appraisal. Now what do I do?”

Appraisal Delay or Consumer Protection?  You Decide which is Best.

Basically, Fannie and Freddie’s goal in creating a new code is to protect the homebuyer, and restore purity to the appraisal process.  Whatever delay these new measures may cause will be more than made up for by the increased confidence buyers will have in the accuracy and integrity of the professionals they turn to for an estimate.