Last Day For $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
Friday, April 30th, 2010April 30, 2010 – If you haven’t signed a contract to buy a new Chicago condo or single family home by midnight tonight, then you won’t be able to cash in on the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit or the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credit. The federal stimulus deal may be nearly over, but there are other credit programs and incentives ready to pay off if you know how to use them.
There is a 30% tax credit (up to a limit of $1,500) if you buy and install some energy efficient products or improvements, according to an article in the Sun Times. These include installing energy efficient doors and windows, heating, cooling and ventilation systems, insulation and roofing. The deadline for those is December 31st.
There is also a tax credit of 30% with no dollar limit if you install solar energy systems, a residential wind turbine or a geothermal heating system. That deadline is not until December 31, 2016.
Coldwell Banker is also promoting a new “buyer bonus sales event,” according to the Tribune. With this offer, Coldwell Chicago real estate agents are encouraging sellers to offer a 3% colsing credit with a miximum dollar limit of $8,000 for buyers who sign a contract from May 1st though July 31st. The advantage to this is that there isn’t a closing deadline, no income restrictions and you can research most properties online to see what the previous price was. The perk for the seller is that his or her home will be spotlighted in local advertisements and via the Internet.
Coldwell Banker regional VP Kathy Kalnes was quoted in the article as saying that, “We’ve got some momentum going in the real estate market and whether it has to do with the first-time homebuyer money or not we don’t know, but why take a chance.”
Fannie Mae is also offering to allow homeowners who willingly agree to a deed-in-lieu or short sale instead of waiting for a foreclosure to reapply for a new Fannie Mae backed mortgage in two years if they have a 20% down payment. The old wait period was four years. This policy goes into effect July 1st. The difficult part may be getting your local lender to agree to the transaction.
We’ll have to wait and see if the expiration of the tax credit slows down sales of Chicago Condos or if buyers are still willing to make a purchase this year.
[tags]Fannie Mae, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]





