$8000 Tax Credit Program Coming To An End

 

All good things must come to an end and the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers is no exception. The $8000 tax credit program is scheduled to end on December 1, 2009 – and unless it gets extended by Congress, you must have closed on your new home by December 1 in order to qualify for the credit.

If you are thinking to yourself “December is still a ways off – we are in the middle of August!” here are a few things to think about:

• First you need to actually find a home and get an offer accepted. I see many properties with multiple offers on them and the average person that I am working with right now has “lost” a “bidding war” on at least a couple of houses before their offer was finally accepted. I don’t think it would be unreasonable for you to plan to spend a couple of months looking for a home and getting an offer accepted.
• Once your offer is accepted, then you still need to get a mortgage. Turn times right now for a typical loan seem to run in the 30-45 day period.
• Lastly, remember that according to the IRS, you must actually close on the home home for it to be considered occupied and qualified for the credit.

So if you take the 2 months of searching and add another 30 -45 days for the mortgage… you can easily see that if you haven’t already started the process and you want to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit… it is time to get moving.

Will Congress extend the $8000 tax credit? Maybe… but are you really willing to bet $8000 on it?