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Good News Friday Podcast
Week 21(4 Minutes and 50 Seconds)
Hello and Welcome back to Good News Friday! Today is Friday November 13th, 2009. My name is Bruce Karasik.
A new federal law has just been passed that extends the tax credit for first time homebuyers through June 30th, 2010. There are some important changes to the previous bill that both first time homebuyers and existing homeowners need to understand. Prior to this current bill only first time homebuyers qualified for the credit. This new bill not only provides an $8,000 tax credit to first time homebuyers but also provides for a $6,500 tax credit to existing homeowners who have lived in their home for five consecutive years and sell that home to buy another home.
Here is how the new bill works:
There is a Deadline
In order to qualify for the credit all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010
Higher Income Caps in Effect
The income limits for single tax payers have been increased from $75,000 to a new limit of $125,000. The income limit for married couples has been increased from $150,000 to a new limit of $225,000. There is a partial credit available up to $20,000 over these new limits.
The maximum purchase price must not exceed $800,000
The tax credit is not repayable as long as the home qualifying remains the primary residence of the buyer for 36 months. To qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit the buyer must not have owned a primary residence in the last 36 months. To qualify as an existing homebuyer you must have lived in your home for 5 consecutive years during the last 8 years.
I would be happy to discuss your unique situation with you to determine how this new legislation can help you. The timing of the tax credits and very low interest rates could create a golden opportunity for you to buy your next home and save thousands of dollars.
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 the best avenue for American families to secure their financial future. I look forward to 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.
The Good News Friday Podcast brings 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.
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!
