Word to our government;
Please before making laws and regulations, consult with a panel of experts from the industry and listen to the actual feed back before making laws and regulations. I know our representatives have tons of people telling them what to do……..but please seek out experts first……and not just a few, have a panel of them. Perfect example is the new GFE that went from 1 page to 3 pages. The GOOD thing is this form makes the fees stay within reason from the time of application to closing so no surprise fees for borrowers. The BAD thing is you forgot to check how different states collect certain fees and the buyers actually get a credit for lets say taxes for the time the seller was living in the property. Also don’t forget FHA collects an upfront mortgage insurance fee up front that gets financed back into the mortgage amount if borrower chooses that option. Last thing, what if the seller was giving a credit on the sales contract? These credits do not show up on the GFE, so please fix it!
Well, here is a video the great guys at Thinkbigworksmall did about HR 600 House bill that is taking us right back to where we were doing loans before. Please make up your mind……seller to help the buyer out for down payment and closing costs or not help the buyer……..let us know please Mr. Government. 
Reinstating Seller Paid Down Payment Assitance
Finally, after the long journey, home buyers that had a sales contract signed by April 30th now have until September 30th to close on their transaction. It came down to the wire as this was an amendment on HR 4213 “The Unemployment Bill”, then after a couple of political maneuvers had separate bills created for just unemployment benefits extension and tax credit extension. Last night looks like the Senate did a unanimous vote to send this bill to the presidents desk for signing into law before going on break until July 12th. The unemployment bill however got tabled and nothing will happen on that until the Senate comes back.
So, now everyone who still has a signed sales contract before April 30th, I would suggest getting your deals closed before September 30th! Hope this helps, and below is another article from the Wall Street Journal.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100701-705302.html
Since the Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension is attached to bill HR 4213 which is the unemployment bill, there are several hurdles along the way. Currently one of the hurdles is coming from Sen. Tom Coburn (R, OK) and he is using a procedure known as a “Clay Pigeon” which would split the amendments of the bill into 20 separate pieces and would cause voting to take place 20 different times. This slows down the process for approval and could open the door for losing supporting votes. Here is a good website to see updated status of this bill. Hope this helps
http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/1924-Coburn-Now-Using-Arcane-Procedure-to-Stall-Unemployment-Bill
Yes, the Senate has moved the tax credit extension on to the next steps allowing borrowers until September 30th to get financing on their sales contracts they got before the April 30th date. If anyone has already closed though, they can go to the direct links at Tax Forms to print them out and follow the instructions to get your tax credit. Below is a good article explaining what is taking place, hope this helps!
Just wanted to highlight this part of the article though:
“Reid, D-Nev., added the proposal to a bill extending jobless benefits through the end of November. Nevada has the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, and Reid is facing a tough re-election campaign.
The Realtors group has been pushing hard in Congress for the extension. Mortgage lenders, the trade group says, have been swamped with borrowers trying to get approved by the end of the month. Many potential borrowers are unlikely to make the deadline.
“If Congress fails to act promptly, then prospective homebuyers might not get the benefit of the homebuyer tax credit, even though they have completed contracts,” the Realtors said a a letter to lawmakers.
Here is the full article:
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That’s right, their was a bill introduced Thursday that could extend out the cut off date for the loan to close from June 30th to September 30th 2010. Also from this Wall Street Journal article you can see why the extension would be needed for making sure the closing date is met. The caution I put on this is still treat your closing as it MUST get closed by June 30th because this option proposed to extend the date is attached to a bill that is getting a lot of push back for getting the votes to move through congress. The article below is a good one from WSJ and here is another link to CNNMoney about the same subject. Hope you Enjoy Don’t forget to print out those IRS forms……just head over to TAX CREDIT FORMS with direct links to the forms on the IRS website.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/10/real_estate/housing_credit_extension/index.htm
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Yes this is true that this special benefit was extended……..for members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. Basically it will be the same set up as it currently is for all home-buyers, sales contract by April 30, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011. Just so you guys know about the current home-buyer tax credit just out these summary’s below and strongly encourage you go double check the main guidelines from the IRS and get the forms. I have all this summarized for you at the previous post about updated tax forms.
Summary on Current Home-buyer Tax Credit:
1. First-Time Homebuyer claim up to $8,000 credit or 10% of sales price which ever is the lower of the two. A first-time homebuyer is an individual (and that individual’s spouse if married) who has not owned another main home during the 3-year period ending on the purchase date and meets other requirements discussed in the Form 5405 instructions.
2. Long-time resident can claim up to $6500 credit or 10% of sales price which ever is the lower of the two. A long-time resident is an individual (and that individuals spouse if married) who has owned and used the same home as that individuals main home for any 5-consecutive-year period during the 8-year period ending on the purchase date of the new main home and meets other requirements discussed in the Form 5405 instructions.
Below is the direct wording from the IRS.gov site talking about the home-buyer tax credit extension for military and certain other federal employees. Hope this helps
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Looks like the new form came out just in time for all the new home buyers that will be taking advantage of the governments extention of the tax credit. As post about the details for this tax credit before from Homebuyer Tax Credit, I have put direct links to the IRS website for your easy access to the forms and exact guidelines directly from the IRS.
Hope this helps, have a glorious day!
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=218336,00.html?portlet=7
New Homebuyer Credit Form Released; Taxpayers Reminded to Attach Settlement Statement and Other Key Documents
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Yes, got this wonderful information for everyone directly from the IRS.gov site so you will have none of the he said, she said going on. Also have a couple of key website links for your information so make sure to click on them as you read. Hope this helps
From IRS.gov
Updated Nov. 6, 2009, to reflect new legislation — more to be added soon
New Legislation
New legislation, the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which was signed into law on Nov. 6, 2009, extends and expands the first-time homebuyer credit allowed by previous Acts. The new law:
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Well, after the process started looks like President Obama put the ink to the paper and has signed the extension on the unemployment bill which had an amendment attached to extend the home buyer tax credit. Not only did this extend the first time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 for those whole qualify, but added to it several other details I explain in my previous post
Tax Credit.
Looks like everything is the same from when it started added several things like allowing people who lived in their current residence for 5 yours to get a $6,500 credit if they buy a new primary residence. Also raised the income caps for people to qualify. Just remember this is a TAX CREDIT so make sure you do get all the details before you claim this on your taxes. Also be good to talk with a Tax professional.
Hope this helps
According to the CNBC report Obama will be signing the bill for the Unemployment and 1st time Home buyer tax credit extension.
Obama To Sign Bill Friday Extending Homebuyers Credit
Congress took further steps to right the staggering economy by expanding a popular tax credit for home-buyers and extending unemployment checks for the growing legions of people running out of benefits with few job prospects.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/33673455/
Summary:
This extends the credit for first time home-buyers through JUNE as long as home-buyers have a signed contract by the end of APRIL. It also offers a $6,500 for those who lived in their current homes for at least 5 years to buy a new primary residence to live in. The income level has been raised to $125,000 for individuals but homes must cost less then $800,000.
Hope this helps.
