IRS Tax Tip 2010-27
If you purchased a home in 2009 or early 2010, you may be eligible to claim the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, whether you are a first-time homebuyer or a long-time resident purchasing a new home.
Here are seven things the IRS wants you to know about claiming the credit:
For more information about these rules including details about documentation and other eligibility requirements visit IRS.gov/recovery.
Links:
YouTube Video:
Subscribe to Tax Tips
HUD TAKES ACTION TO SPEED RESALE OF FORECLOSED PROPERTIES TO NEW OWNERSMeasure to help bring stability to home values and accelerate sale of vacant properties
WASHINGTON – In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced a temporary policy that will expand access to FHA mortgage insurance and allow for the quick resale of foreclosed properties. The announcement is part of the Obama administration commitment to addressing foreclosure. Just yesterday, Secretary Donovan announced $2 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Program grants to local communities and nonprofit housing developers to combat the effects of vacant and abandoned homes.
In today’s market, FHA research finds that acquiring, rehabilitating and the reselling these properties to prospective homeowners often takes less than 90 days. Prohibiting the use of FHA mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days of acquisition adversely impacts the willingness of sellers to allow contracts from potential FHA buyers because they must consider holding costs and the risk of vandalism associated with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.
The policy change will permit buyers to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales. This will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.
“FHA borrowers, because of the restrictions we are now lifting, have often been shut out from buying affordable properties,” said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. “This action will enable our borrowers, especially first-time buyers, to take advantage of this opportunity.”
The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one year, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA Commissioner. To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of “flipping” where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general conditions:
Senate Approves Tax Credit Extension, Expansion
The Senate yesterday passed legislation to extend the $8,000 home buyer tax credit to May 1, 2010, for first-time buyers and add a $6,500 tax credit for repeat buyers if they've lived in their home for five of the past eight years. Home prices are capped at $800,000. The legislation was included in a bill to extend unemployment benefits and is expected to be passed by the House today or tomorrow. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation when it's sent to his desk. Under the bill, income limits are expanded to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for joint filers. Individuals with incomes up to $145,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $245,000 qualify for reduced credits.Households who have binding contracts in place by April 30 will be allowed an additional 60 days to complete their transaction. The deadline for members of the military serving out the U.S. for at least 90 days between Jan. 1, 2009, and May 1, 2010, has been extended one year.Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a check. Taxpayers will be able to claim the credit on their 2009 income tax return for purchases made in 2010.
Prediction: Homes Sales to Rise 11 Percent
Sales of existing homes will rise 11 percent in 2010, and sales of new homes will climb 21 percent over this year, Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann predicted in a speech Tuesday at the organization’s annual meeting."We still see a concentration in the lower end of the market," Brinkmann said. "The entry level homes are in demand."Brinkmann also predicted further declines in existing home prices, with the median falling to $164,200 in the first quarter of 2010.David Stevens, commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, concurred, adding that mortgage rates will rise to 5.6 percent by the end of 2010, though not enough of an increase to discourage a 12 percent increase in mortgage applications next year.Source: Associated Press, Alex Veiga (10/13/2009)
Federal Index Shows Home Prices Rising
U.S. home prices rose 0.3 percent in July compared to June, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday.The index is 4.2 percent below what it was in 2008 and 10.5 percent off its peak in April 2007.The index excludes most expensive homes from its calculations, so prices appear to have declined less than they have by other measures.The report "supports other evidence that the three-year long decline in prices has come to halt," Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients. Other economists were less positive. "We think house price indexes are likely to edge somewhat lower in the fall when foreclosures become a larger share of home sales," Barclays Capital economist Nicholas Tenev wrote in a note to his clients.Source: The Associated Press, Alan Zibel (09/22/2009)
Congress Urged to Extend Tax Credit
The National Association of REALTORS® is calling upon its 1.2 million members to urge Congress to extend the successful homebuyer tax credit into next year.Since its inception earlier this year, the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit has brought 1.2 million new buyers into the market—350,000 of whom would not have purchased a home without the credit, according to NAR. The credit is due to expire November 30.“Now is the time for Congress to keep this recovery going by extending the tax credit through 2010 and making it available to more homebuyers. We have all seen how the credit has been a spur to bring homebuyers into the market, and have seen the beginnings of a real recovery in the housing market. Housing has always led this nation out of economic downturns, and can do so again,” said NAR President Charles McMillan. Write Congress NowREALTORS®, the leading advocates for homeownership and housing issues, will be writing to their Senators and Representatives to tell them of the successes with the tax credit thus far, and press them to extend and expand it now. McMillan added that the market has improved, but it has not yet fully corrected itself. “The credit needs to be available for an additional period of time in order to sustain the progress that’s been made so we can continue to see our markets fully recover. Uncertainty about the future of the credit will dampen consumer demand. The only way we can assure that the progress we've made can continue is to extend the credit and to do that now,” he said. As the current deadline for the credit looms, potential homebuyers need to complete a contract, satisfy any contingencies, secure financing, and go to closing by November 30. In today’s market, NAR estimates that it generally is taking between 45 and 60 days from contract to closing.“That means potential homebuyers who qualify must act now, and so must Congress,” McMillan said.Source: NAR
Now's the Time to Buy in Real Estate Investors are returning as the real estate market recovers. BusinessWeek’s real estate guru Marc Roth points out these opportunities, which he says make sense if investors are willing to look over the property carefully and ask tough questions. Options they should consider include:
New Home Sales Surge 9.6% in July
New U.S. home sales surged 9.6 percent in July, rising for the fourth straight monthand beating expectations as the housing market shows continuing signs of rebounding from its historic downturn.The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 from an upwardly revisedJune rate of 395,000. Sales are now up 32 percent from the bottom in January, but off 69 percent from the frenzied peak four years ago.Last month's sales pace was the strongest since September and exceeded the forecasts of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a pace of 390,000 units. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in February 2005.The median sales price of $210,100, however, was still down 11.5 percent from $237,300 compared to the same time a year ago.There were 271,000 new homes for sale at the end of July, down more than 3 percent from May. At the current salespace, that represents 7.5 months of supply, the lowest since April 2007. The decline means builders have scaled back on construction to the point where supply and demand are coming into balance.
CONTACT US | VIP Membership | REO DEPARTMENT | REHAB CONTRACTORS | Get On The Foreclosure List | $$ THE WEALTH SYSTEM $$ | **PASSWORDS** | Property Restoration | SIGNS | INSURANCE | CLICK AND BID PROPERTIES | We Buy Houses!!! | List Your Home With Us! | Partnership Program | Looking To Buy A New Home? | REFINISHED HOMES | Sold Homes | Alsip | Antioch | Aurora | Bartlett | Beach Park | Bellwood | Bensenville | Berkeley | Berwyn | Bloomingdale | Blue Island | Bolingbrook | Broadview | Burbank | Burr Ridge | Best Buy List | **FORECLOSURE LIST** | Home | 15 vs 30 Year Mtg Calc | Mortgage Calculators | Blog
Copyright © 2010 Chase Real Estate LLCPortions Copyright © 2010 a la mode, inc.Another XSite by a la mode, inc. | Admin Login| Terms of Use| Site MapAll rate, payment, and area information are estimates and approximations only.
