You don’t have much time left to qualify for the $8000 tax credit! Locally, many first time buyers in the Cedar Rapids area will also qualify for IFA’s FHA First Home Plus program, which offers $2500 to be used for closing costs, pre-paids, or even minor repairs. Basically you use the $2500 from IFA to allow you to purchase the home with significantly less out of pocket than you normally would with a regular conventional loan. But using these programs adds to the time that it takes to take the loan through processing and paperwork. In Iowa, because of abstracting and other issues, it normally takes about 30 days to close on a house. Both the FHA and the IFA’s processing/paperwork adds another 15 days (give or take) to that process, meaning that from the time you find the home you want to purchase, make an offer, and get that offer accepted – from *that* date – it’ll take about a month and a half to buy your first home. To get the tax credit, your home has to close on or before November 30th. Working back, this basically means that you need to have your home under contract no later than October 15th, and even with that, if anything happens to delay the purchase beyond the November 30th date, you lose the tax credit. I work with a lot of first time buyers. I know the concerns you have. I know how stressful it can be, and I know how to help you navigate all of these issues and will do everything I can to help you take advantage of this great opportunity! Here are a few key points: A tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. {The information on this page pertains to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.} · The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. · The tax credit does not have to be repaid, though if you sell the home within a 3 year period (under certain conditions), the credit can be recaptured. · The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000. · The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. · Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. |