DFW Real Estate News » First Time Homebuyers

First Time HomeBuyer Tax Credit for Veterans and Military Personnel Extended Until June 30, 2011

John Jones — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:24:16 +0000

Good news for Dallas Fort Worth area veterans and military servicemembers who would like to purchase a home and receive the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers or the $6,500 tax credit for move-up buyers!

Qualified military personnel, foreign service workers and members of the intelligence community have until April 30, 2011 to secure an executed purchase contract and until June 30, 2011 to close the transaction.

This special program for veterans and military servicemembers was signed into law as part of the original extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit that went into effect on November 6, 2009.

DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED SERVICEMEMBERS
Per the legislation, a “qualified servicemember” means a uniformed servicemember of the military, a member of the U.S. foreign service or the intelligence community who was called to an extended period of oveerseas service for at least 90 days between December 1, 2008 and May 1, 2010. (For those that were not called for extended service, the deadline to execute a purchase contract was April 30, 2010 and the closing deadline is September 30, 2010.)

A member of the military, foreign service or intelligence community who was called for extended duty of at least 90 days but was unable to complete this term due to medical reasons MAY still qualify for the extended deadline.

Consult with a licensed tax accountant to make sure you qualify. I am not an attorney or a CPA and cannot give legal or tax advice!

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE VETERANS $8,000 FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT:

The amount of the tax credit is the LESSER of $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price of the home. For example, a qualified individual who purchases a home for $68,000 will receive a tax credit of $6,800, not the full $8,000.
The home purchased must be a primary residence.
The income limit to qualify for the tax credit is $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for married filers. Single and married filers who make more than this may qualify for a reduced tax credit amount.
Home must be priced at $800,000 or less.
Must be a first-time homebuyer (meaning cannot have owned a home in the last three years).
Non-first time homebuyers may qualify for the move-up tax credit of $6,500.

QUALIFIED VETERANS: This opportunity to get the $8,000 tax credit will end on April 30th. All qualified veterans must have a home under written contract by April 30th but do not have to close the transaction until June 30, 2011.

For more information or to set up a customized home search, please call John Jones at (972) 978-3553 or fill out the quick contact form:

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LINKS TO ADDITIONAL INFO:

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/home.html

Do Home Warranties Make Sense To Purchase When Buying A Home?

John Jones — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:55:00 +0000

Home buyers who purchase pre-existing homes in Texas will likely have the option to ask the seller to pay a portion of their home warranty. This is quite common in Texas. But are they worth it? Some buyers often wonder if that money won’t be better spent by asking the seller to pay part of their closing costs or perhaps to lower the price of the house.

Regardless of whether the seller agrees to pay all or part of the buyer’s home warranty, buyers have the option of paying the full cost themselves.

A home warranty has advantages for both the buyer and seller of a home. The buyer benefits by having peace of mind that certain systems and appliances in the home will be repaired or replaced if they break down. And many home warranty companies also offer protection plans for sellers that cover certain items in the home while the property is listed for sale.

Check out this article from Bankrate.com for some other information about home warranties.

Article from Bankrate.com

FHA Changing Fee Structure for Mortgage Insurance

John Jones — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:07:16 +0000

FHA recently announced they will be changing their fee structure for mortgage insurance premiums. This change will take effect on mortgages insured by FHA after October 4, 2010. FHA charges upfront mortgage insurance, which can be paid at closing or rolled into the loan, as well as monthly premiums. The fee structure will essentially lower the upfront premium from 2.25% to 1% but will increase the monthly premium from .55% to .9% (annualized) for most borrowers. In some cases, the long term cost with the new structure may be lower, for some it may be higher. It depends on many factors.

This article from the LA Times explores some scenarios to see in what cases the new fee structure may benefit some borrowers.

Fannie Mae Unveils New “Homebuyer Credit”

John Jones — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:27:30 +0000

Fannie Mae recently announced a program to stimulate the sales of their foreclosures by offering up to a 3.5% credit to buyers of their foreclosures, paid in the form of closing cost assistance, as well as a bonus to selling agents of up to $1,500.

Here are the details:

Owner-occupant purchases only. Investors will not receive the 3.5% closing cost credit, nor will their selling agents receive the $1,500 bonus. Must be a HomePath property
The closing must occue within 60 days of contract execution.
The transaction must close on or before December 31, 2010.
Buyers and their selling agents must request incentives upon offer submission.

Article from Fannie Mae

Claiming Homebuyer Tax Credit May Increase the Risk of an IRS Audit

John Jones — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:22:13 +0000

According to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olsen, about one in five of IRS examinations done over the last six months were for people who claimed the homebuyer tax credit. So it’s possible this may indicate an increased risk for an IRS audit.

However much this increases the risk, homebuyers who are filing their taxes properly and honest on their returns should not worry. I am not surprised the IRS is auditing more people who have claimed the homebuyer tax credit, especially because of all the rampant fraud that was discovered under the previous tax credit.

Homebuyers who claim the credit should make sure they retain all of their closing information, including a copy of the HUD-1 settlement statement and executed contract.

Original Article from Exclusivereal.com

Time Is Running Out For The Home Buyer Tax Credit!

John Jones — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:51:15 +0000

Buyers who do not have a fully executed purchase agreement by the end of this month (April) will likely miss out on either the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers or the $6,500 tax credit for repeat home buyers.

While there may be a chance that this will be extended or modified in some way, I seriously doubt this will happen unless the housing market and/or economy takes a sharp nose dive in the coming months. Of course, mortgage rates will likely be rising over the next few weeks because of the end of the Federal Reserve program to purchase mortgage backed securities, so it remains to be seen how the ending of these two programs within a month of each other will affect the real estate market.

First time home buyers who successfully execute a contract by April 30, 2010 will have until June 30, 2010 to close the transaction in order to receive the tax credit. Repeat buyers have one extra day on both deadlines.

Details of the first time home buyer tax credit and move up buyer tax credit

Original Article from MSNBC