Mortgage Blog

Are you a "first time home buyer"? If you haven't owned a home in the last 3 years or have never owned a home, you qualify to purchase a home and then get an $8000 GIFT from the Federal Government as part of the "stimulus package"

You will get the "gift" when you file next years tax return.  It's called a "credit".  I call it a gift.  You don't have to pay any taxes.  You don't have to pay it back.  To get the full amount of the gift, you have to pay at least $80,000 for the home.  It has to become occupied by you. 

This is available for homes purchased by December 1, 2009.  Somehow, I think we'll see a huge number of purchases closed on November 30 or the weeks just before that, as so many of us are procrastinators.  (I even filed my tax return this year on April 15).

And so it continues to be a great time to BUY.  Home prices are low, interest rates are low, and the Fed is giving away cash incentives for people buying houses.