Archive for the 'First Time Home Buyers' Category
Tax credit doesn’t expire yet for military
WASHINGTON – April 28, 2010 – Members of the military, foreign service and intelligence communities may have an additional year to buy a home and claim the homebuyer tax credit – up to $8,000 – that expires for most Americans on April 30.
To qualify for the extended tax credit deadline, service members must have served on official extended duty outside of the United States for 90 days or more at any time between Jan. 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010. If so, they have until April 30, 2011, to sign a sales contract, and until June 30, 2011, to settle and close on the home. The rule includes both the $8,000 first-time and $6,500 repeat homebuyer tax credit.
Under the law, “qualified service members” includes those serving in the uniformed services of the United States military, a member of the Foreign Service of the United States or an employee of the intelligence community.
The rule that requires buyers to repay the credit if they move out of their home within three years has also beMACDILen waived for qualified service members if they must sell their home after receiving government orders for extended duty service.
© 2010 Florida Realtors®
Tax Credit
Tax credit might be shot in the arm for first-time homebuyers
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – April 7, 2009 – A coalition of powerful groups, including the Orlando-based Florida Association of Realtors, is lobbying the state to find a way to advance first-time homebuyers a new, $8,000 federal tax credit designed to spur home sales.
Many first-time buyers have the income and credit to qualify for a home loan but need help with the downpayment, said Cynthia Shelton, an Orlando Realtor and current president of the statewide trade group. Fronting the money for the new tax credit could draw more qualified buyers into the slumping home market sooner, she said.
A study by Miami-based economist Antonio Villamil concluded last week that “front loading” the tax credit, part of the federal government’s stimulus package, would give Florida’s economy a significant boost – equivalent to creating 33,206 jobs and generating $514 million in federal, state and local tax revenue.
“I was in Tallahassee last week and I met with some senators. We’re pressing like mad to get this through,” Shelton said.
But with state lawmakers rushing to complete their annual session by May 1, the chances of passing any such bill are remote, so other avenues are being explored, said Walt Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast.
“The Legislature may or may not play a part,” Dartland said Monday from Tallahassee. “It’s true, we are out of time” for passing a new law from scratch. Other options being researched that might not require legislation, he said, include leveraging some of the resources of the Florida Housing Finance Corp., which already has a down-payment assistance program. Qualifying homebuyers would sign over their tax credits to repay the fund.
In addition to the Realtors and the consumer federation, the alliance now urging the Legislature to consider the home-financing proposal includes the Florida Home Builders Association, Florida Bankers Association, Florida Credit Union League, Florida Manufactured Housing Association and Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers.
Supporters of what the consumer federation is calling the “Florida formula” said the state has a short time in which to act because the tax credit is for homes purchased by the end of November. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal taxes owed.
Steve Auger, executive director of the Florida Housing Finance Corp., said the agency has provided $66 million in downpayment assistance since 2007, but its ability to continue doing that is jeopardized by the possibility that lawmakers may commit all of the housing agency’s trust fund to the general fund this year because of a record budget shortfall.
“I would hope the legislators would think long and hard about that,” Auger said.
Dartland said that another idea being discussed would involve the state issuing short-term notes that could be sold to participating banks. Those notes could then be repaid with the homebuyers’ tax credits.
Copyright © 2009 The Orlando Sentinel, Fla., Jerry W. Jackson. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Homebuyer Tax Credit
FAR supports push to advance homebuyer tax credit aid
ORLANDO, Fla. – April 3, 2009 – – Finding a way to turn a new $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers into money that they can use right away for a downpayment would spark the recovery of Florida’s housing market and boost the state’s economy, says Cynthia Shelton, 2009 president of the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).
“A revitalized housing market and commercial real estate industry are crucial to Florida’s economic recovery,” Shelton says. “While the new tax credit provides a great incentive for first-time homebuyers to find the home of their dreams here in Florida, many qualified buyers may be unable to take advantage of it because they cannot come up with the necessary downpayment to purchase a home in the first place. We need to encourage Florida lawmakers to take action now – converting the tax credit into cash upfront could help thousands of first-time buyers overcome that financial barrier to homeownership, which generates an economic ripple that stimulates the state’s overall economy.”
With tighter credit restrictions these days, many banks are reluctant to lend money, notes John Sebree, vice president of public policy for FAR. Research indicates that 8,000 to 12,000 prospective first-time homebuyers in Florida could benefit if the federal tax-credit stimulus provision could be accessed on the front-end to help consumers with downpayment and closing costs.
“Finding a state solution to this problem is key,” Sebree said. “The money should only be available to people who are eligible for the new tax credit. The state would advance the cash to these buyers, who would then forward their tax credits back to the state. These families could get their $8,000 tax credit in a matter of months, so it basically would be a short-term loan. But we have to move quickly, since homebuyers have to complete their purchase by Nov. 30, 2009, to receive the tax credit.”
Gov. Charlie Crist is considering the proposal. A coalition of Florida consumers, Realtors, lenders and homebuilders are lobbying state legislators to come up with a “Florida Formula” to allow first-time homebuyers to use the federal tax credit upfront. Spearheaded by the Consumer Federation of the Southeast (CFSE), a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, the alliance includes the Florida Association of Realtors, the Florida Home Builders Association, the Florida Bankers Association, the Florida Credit Union League, the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, the Latin Builders Association, and the Builders Association of South Florida.