President Obama signed the Home Buyer tax credit legislation, per the reporting of the United Press International. It’s called the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The San Francisco Chronicle has an excellent bullet-point breakdown of the fine print of the new law. This is a partial summary…
- Up to $,8000 federal tax credit available to home buyers who haven’t owned in the past 3 years
- Up to $6,500 federal tax credit available to to people who currently own a home which they’ve lived in for 5 of the past 8 years, and who purchase a new one to live in
- As far as applying for the credit, I’m pretty sure it’ll just be a line item on your typical federal tax return when you file in April 2010 for tax year 2009
The wonderings:
- I wonder if the $6,500 was a nod to the homeowners who keep shouting “I was responsible, I put 20% down, I didn’t spend all my home equity frivolous things, I paid my mortgage on time…. I did the right thing and where’s my bailout?!?!?” (actually this is courtesy of partner Chris Butterworth)
- I wonder how much impact the new $6,500 credit will have on the ‘move up market’ of folks who sell their starter home and move up to the newer, bigger, nicer house in the suburbs (so to speak)
- I wonder if ‘home owner’ equals someone who owns and lives in their home as of the date the bill became law (i.e. November 6) or as of December 31, 2009?
Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and the only political junkie in the USA who can actually keep her political views to herself. Instead, she focuses on educating her clients about the often-confusing world of residential real estate.
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Home Buyer Tax Credit
Late yesterday the Senate passed a bill that included an extension of the Home Buyer Tax Credit. This morning, the House passed the same bill. For details of what the bill includes/excludes and ideas on whether you qualify, see our broker Jay Thompson’s PhoenixRealEstateGuy blog.
Now goes to President Obama for his signature, some expect that to happen as early as tomorrow (Friday, November 6, 2009). Everybody in Big Media says they “expect” the President to sign it. Here’s where my predicting comes into play, and where somebody (you, our dear readers) benefits from me being a political junkie.
Prediction: the President will sign the bill. It’s a done deal. Home buyers, start your engines. I know, that doesn’t seem like I’m going on out a ginormous limb. Let me tell you why, which I assume is why people bother to read blogs: for opinions.
A President’s first veto is politically & strategically important. The first veto says something about the President, his agenda, his party and his vision for the country. President Obama isn’t going to waste his first veto on this bill because he ultimately supports the idea of it, even if he might have some problems with the minor details. For this President, vetoing this bill would be the height of silly.
Critics of the bill have some valid points:
- Home can’t have a ‘natural’ recovery as long as the federal government is propping up prices via this tax credit
- It’s expensive and we’re spending ourselves into our grandchildrens’ wallets
- etc, ad naseum
Supporters of the bill have some valid points too:
- A tax credit isn’t going to make people who are happy as renters suddenly buy a house
- New home buyers tend to spend a lot of unexpected money getting the home ‘just so’ and that spending is by nature consumer spending, which accounts for 70% to 80% of the US economy
- The tax credit extension will also help the “move up” market which has so far been sluggish
- etc, ad naseum
So, dear readers, if you were on the fence about buying a home… consider it again. For Pete’s sake don’t buy a house just because the feds are waving six to eight thousand dollars in your face. But if being a homeowner suits you now, and you expect it will continue to be your cup of tea for 7 to 12 years into the future, maybe it’s time.
Start your online property search here. Call/email us to discuss your situation and let us help you decide if buying or moving up is right for you.
Thanks for reading our blog, we hope you enjoy it.
Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and the only political junkie in the USA who can actually keep her political views to herself. Instead, she focuses on educating her clients about the often-confusing world of residential real estate.
Tagged as:
Home Buyer Tax Credit
