ShareHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
The window is starting to close on an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.
House purchases must be closed before Dec. 1 to qualify for the credit, which can be received now or when you file your 2009 taxes. The deadline is sparking a surge in home sales, particularly for homes costing less than $250,000, industry analysts say."That credit had had a big influence in the market around the country, and is obviously making some impact locally," said Jim Gaines, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. "The National Association of Realtors estimates around one-third of home sales this year reported nationally are first-time home buyers. In a normal market, it’s between 10 and 15 percent."With most home sales requiring a minimum of 60 days from signing the contract to closing the deal, buyers shouldn’t wait much longer, advises David O’Brien Jr., executive director of Housing Opportunities, a Fort Worth housing counselor."If somebody doesn’t have a contract on a house by the middle of September, it’s going to be tough to get the credit," he said. "I predict title companies will be snowed over in November."The tax credit, which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is for 10 percent of the home’s purchase price, up to $8,000 for a first-time home buyer, defined as a buyer who has not owned a house for the previous three years. The credit is available for those with adjusted gross income of less than $75,000 for a single filer and $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly, said Susan Greenwood, a certified public accountant in Fort Worth.The credit is for houses bought from Dec. 31, 2008, until Dec. 1, 2009, and can be taken either as an amendment to your 2008 taxes or on your 2009 taxes, Greenwood said."It’s very easy to amend your return for the credit," she said. "You don’t need to have a tax preparer do it. Just remember to make sure you don’t do it twice — now and on your ’09 return."The Internal Revenue Service will process an amended return, which can be filed online using Form 1040X and attaching Form 5405, in eight to 12 weeks, spokesman Clay Sanford said.Though the IRS has not said how many homeowners have used the new tax credit, local real estate professionals say the credit has had a large impact on their business."Of the 24 buyers I’ve helped close since March, all but two were motivated by the tax credit," said Tracey Amaya, a Realtor with Re/Max Trinity. "A lot of them have been younger buyers and single women. The majority of the properties have been foreclosures."Janice Thompson, a senior loan officer in the Fort Worth office of Granite Mortgage, said about one-third of the Plano-based company’s mortgages have been from people using the tax credit."Some buying an FHA home are almost getting everything back that they put into the house," she said. Loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration now require 3 1/2 percent of the cost of the home as a down payment.
@Nyx.CommentBody@