The Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension is Passed!

The Homebuyer Tax Credit extension has been passed into law.   The new extension has some additions to the original bill and is  going to open the  homebuyer tax credit to a larger pool of buyers in the following manner:

1 – People who currently own a home will qualify for a $6500 tax credit when they sell their home and buy another one if  they have owned their home for 5 years or more.

2.  Home buyers with higher incomes will also now qualify for the tax credit -  income level limits have been doubled in the new bill and this could help to boost the sales of “move up” properties.  Higher priced homes have had the most difficulty selling in the current  market and the sales of these homes were not helped by the original $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers only.  At The Burns Real Estate Group and as highly experienced Realtors,  we felt the first time homebuyer tax credit was not  inclusive enough to help provide the kind of stimulus needed in the real estate market, we are glad to see that existing homeowners and higher income earners are now included in the new bill.

Storrs, CT Home Buyers Must Have signed Contracts in Hand by April 30 2010

The extension period for the homebuyer tax  credit goes through to  June of 2010 as long as a buyer enters into a contract to purchase their home before April 30 2010.

Stop the Fraud!

We do not have all the details yet, but it is reported that the new tax credit extension will tighten up the ability of the IRS to stop people from making false claims in order to receive the $8,000 tax credit, which was apparently far too easy to do in the existing first time homebuyer tax credit bill.  As we said in our earlier blog - this bill is meant to help the American people – not scammers who see an easy way to steal.

Unemployment Benefits are Also Extended in the Tax Credit Extension Bill

This bill also includes a 20 week extension of benefits for those who are unemployed, with 7,000 people in the U.S. running out of unemployment benefits every day, Congress had to act on this issue and we are glad to hear this is included in the bill.  Here in Connecticut the average adjusted unemployment rate in September was 8.4% and in towns like Storrs Ct, Tolland Ct, Coventry Ct and other communities surrounding the UConn area, the percentages ranged from 5.5% to 7.5%.  Windham Ct was higher with unemployment at 9.9%.  Our communities are not suffering as badly as some areas in the country but help is needed and the extension of benefits is important.

Let’s help Each other!

We hope that this will help the real estate market and the economy -in the meantime let’s help each other through what has been a very difficult time for many people in this country.  With that in mind,  The Burns Real Estate Group is going to have a contest for the holiday season that will help others and earn the winner some extra cash!  I will be blogging all the details in the next few days,  so if you could use a little extra holiday cash, have some great holiday tips and also want to have money donated to your favorite charity, come back and check it out soon!