Just by making a few changes to your withholding allowance, you could destroy some big debt. But you have to be careful, or you could end up owing the IRS! Stacy Johnson explains…
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If you're renting a home, you probably can’t wait for the time when you can get a place that belongs to you. Now, thanks to first time home buyer programs, it is easier to buy your first home than you may think.
First time home buyer programs were created for people who are ready to buy a home and need a little assistance to make it happen. The programs vary. For low income earners, it could come in the form of financial assistance. For others, help could be simply walking you through the process so you understand how to buy a home and make the best decisions.
One of the advantages that goes along with these first time home buyer programs is lower interest rates. This is often a stumbling block for people who are looking to buy their first home and these programs are aware of these problems. If you find the right program, you should be able to find the help you need in finding the lowest interest rate possible.
With all of the regulations and laws in place, buying a home can be confusing. With so much money at stake, mistakes can be costly. This is where first time home buyer programs are useful. They can help you through the entire process and give you the confidence you need to bid on your first home.
If you are a first time home buyer, you are eligible for help of some sort, so be sure to take advantage of it before you sign any paperwork. There are different programs available, some through the government and some through private institutions. It will be to your advantage to seek out first time home buyer programs so you can save some money on your home purchase.
Even the IRS is currently offering one of these first time home buyer programs in the form of tax credits for people who purchase property. If you do this wisely, you can purchase property without a lot of money down and might even come out ahead on the deal. What the IRS is doing is giving out deductions of $8,000 to anyone who buys property and this money can be spent on absolutely anything.
Therefore, you can use this tax credit as a down payment on a property and if you are a first time buyer, it will cover your entire down payment because it will be a lower percentage than others. This is just another way that first time home buyer programs can help you.
For more specific details on the current first time home buyer programs that are available right now, contact us. We'd be happy to answer your questions and guide you through the first time home buying process.
We've written about this subject a couple of times before, but it bears repeating now. Repeat home buyers need to act fast to capitalize on the expanded tax credit.
This past November, Congress elected to expand the home buyer tax credit to repeat buyers after seeing the success the temporary financial incentive had on the housing market and overall economy. As a result, current homeowners who will have lived in their home for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 may now be eligible to receive a $6,500 tax credit.
To qualify for the tax credit, the repeat buyer must have signed a binding contract by April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. Tax credit eligibility is subject to income limits, $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples. In addition, the sale price of the home being purchased can not exceed $800,000.
Of course, there is no requirement that existing homeowners must have sold their home to be eligible for the $6,500 tax credit. However, existing homeowners who want to benefit from this incentive to move quickly, particularly those who prefer to first sell their current home before purchasing a new one, need to move quickly. In normal situations, it takes around 3 months or longer to sell a home, and these are not normal times. So acting now is critical, if you hope to secure a buyer for your existing home before purchasing your new home and still fall under the time frame allowed by the expanded tax credit.
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Ice storms in the Midwest, blizzards in the nation’s capitol and northeast, and a wet El Nino weather pattern out west has brought some wild winter weather across the United States. This arctic chill explains why building construction has been falling this winter.
According to the Commerce Department, new home construction starts fell 4 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000. That’s a drop of 23,000 starts from November. Poor weather conditions reflected construction start declines of 19 percent in the Northeast and Midwest. They were down 1 percent in the West, but actually rose 3 percent in the South.
Applications for new building construction permits rose 11 percent in December to an annual rate of 653,000. That’s the highest level of activity since October 2008.
The January numbers may continue to show a decline as well. Arctic temperatures have gripped the heartland, the eastern seaboard, and even sent temperatures down into the 20’s as far south as Central Florida. In addition, heavy rains have drenched the golden state. Southern California has seen flooding, mudslides, and even tornados as more than five inches of rain has pounded coastal and inland valleys.
Overall, new home construction is down 75 percent from the peak of four years ago. However, it’s up 14 percent from last January when the housing industry hit bottom.
Hopefully the extension of low mortgage rates, falling home prices and the stall in home sales will urge some buyers to act, and we'll see these numbers turn around as Spring approaches.
A new bill before Congress would establish a watchdog agency to oversee everything from credit cards to mortgage loans.
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