April 3, 2009
Hello and Welcome back to Good News Friday! Today is Friday April 3, 2009. My name is Bruce Karasik.
After receiving numerous requests from our listeners, we have resumed our weekly Good News Friday Podcast. So each week we will bring you good news and positive developments in the Real Estate Market, Mortgage Market, in our economy and our country. If you miss any podcast, we have archived all or our past shows so you can listen to them at any time by going to www.GoodNewsFriday.com.
If you are a Homeowner or if you are a family or individual who is considering buying or selling, refinancing a home this year, it is important that you know, that there has been a large amount legislation coming out of Washington in recent months that will have a significant affect on you. It is so important that you have the latest detailed information on all these programs. So we are going to be talking about these programs and they can help you. I invite you to listen or read my podcasts each week and call me or email me with any questions so you can get the answers you need to make intelligent informed decisions.
Today we are going to be focusing on the First Time Home Buyer Credit. Many of you have heard about the First Time Home Buyer Credit passed in February of this year.
Here is how it works:
First-time buyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 - or 10% of the home's value, whichever is less - on their 2008 or 2009 taxes.
A big plus is that the credit is refundable, meaning tax filers see a refund of the full $8,000 even if their total tax bill was less than that amount. Does that mean if you purchased now that I would get an extra $8,000 added on top of my current refund?"
The short answer is Yes, but the long answer is that it depends on several factors:
Here are three scenarios:
Scenario 1: Your final tax liability is normally $6,000. You've had taxes withheld from every paycheck and at the end of the year you've paid Uncle Sam $6,000. Since you've already paid him all you owe, you get the entire $8,000 tax credit as a refund check.
Scenario 2: Your final tax liability is $6,000, but you've overpaid by $1,000 through your payroll withholding. Normally you would get a $1,000 refund check. In this scenario, you get $9,000, the $8,000 credit plus the $1,000 you overpaid.
Scenario 3: Your final tax liability is $6,000, but you've underpaid through your payroll witholding by $1,000. Normally, you would have to write the IRS a $1,000 check. This time, the first $1,000 of the tax credit pays your bill, and you get the remaining $7,000 as a refund.
To qualify for the credit, the purchase must be made between Jan. 1, 2009 and Nov. 30, 2009. Buyers may not have owned a home for the past three years to qualify as "first time" buyer. They must also live in the house for at least three years, or they will be obligated to pay back the credit.
Additionally, there are income restrictions: To qualify, buyers must make less than $75,000 for singles or $150,000 for couples. (Higher-income buyers may receive a partial credit.) Applying for the credit will be easy - or at least as easy as doing your income taxes. Taxpayers who have already completed their returns can file amended returns for 2008 to claim the credit.
The stimulus plan improves on the current $7,500 tax credit, which was passed in July and was more of a low-interest loan than an actual credit.
Now more than ever it is important to contact a real professional to get the best advice. So call me or email and I will be happy to talk with you about the most current information about the Real Estate and Mortgage market and how it can affect you. Our goal is to save you money when you buy your home this year or refinance at the new lower rates.
The key to success is having the right advisors and consultants in place so you can have the right strategy. As your trusted Real Estate consultants and advisors, we at the Karasik Team work in our unique ability. My unique ability is consulting, negotiating and overseeing the transaction details. We take a customized approach and enable our clients to make informed decisions to accumulate wealth through Real Estate. In addition, we at Karasik and Associates, Mortgage Consultants, can help you come up with a strategy to determine whether this is the right time for you to buy your first home or to refinance your existing home.
We continue to believe that homeownership will remain to the best avenue for American families to secure their financial future. I look forward our continuing dialog and we invite your feedback. Please feel free to email me at Bruce@TheKarasikTeam.com, call me at my office at 805-267-0366, or you can post your responses on our blog at www.GoodNewsFriday.com. So we do have some good news to be grateful for. And so, my friends, I wish you and your families a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous week. And that’s it for now. I’ll see you back here next week for another episode of Good News Friday!
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