Free Money for the Holidays and New Year

Although Santa Claus won’t be sliding down your chimney (sorry if you didn’t know!), Uncle Sam has a great gift for you this holiday season!  Whether you currently own a home or have never owned a home, if you are thinking about a real estate purchase, you just may qualify for the new and improved tax credit.  The complexity of the home buyer tax credits leaves potential buyers with many questions but here are answers to some of the most confusing to help make this a jolly, holly season for you:

Georgia Senator Pushes Extension For First-Time Buyer Tax Credit

If you are still trying to decide what your first home purchase will be, you may not have to beat the clock - yippie!  Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.

**UPDATE on $8,000 Tax Credit

As I have recently blogged about,  FHA-approved lenders can now provide short-term bridge loans to first-time borrowers eligible for the $8,000 home buyer tax credit, which allows buyers to use the tax credit at closing and then they just pay back the loan once the refund is received.  But under guidance issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development late last week, the loans must be on top of — not instead of — the minimum 3.5% down payment normally required on FHA-insured loans.   So that means the $8,000 can go towards repairs required to close and other closing costs or can go towards your principal payment but you still have to come up with the down payment.