$7500 1st time home buyer credit

Included in the same housing bill discussed in my previous post is a nice little 1st time home buyer tax credit, which in more accurate terms is more of an interest free loan from the government when you get down to the finer details. But hey, after the past couple of weeks with Fannie, Freddie, and AIG all getting government bailouts who doesn't deserve a little government assistance nowadays? I mean is beginning to seem commonplace. I'm still waiting for the bail out of my 401k haircut over the past few weeks.

Any way the deal is 1st time home buyers who purchase a house from April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009 are eligible for a $7500 credit off their taxes. The catch 22 is the credit is paid back over the next 15 years that inevitably makes it more of a loan that a credit. If you end up selling the house you will be required to pay back the remaining balance in full, but all in all I say take the money. A 0% loan is pretty hard to come by.

Note: there are a fee income restrictions to the credit.

Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Temporary Increase of the VA Home Loans up to $729,750 with Zero Down

On June 30th of this year president Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Part of the provisions in that bill was the increase in the VA home loan guarantee until the end of 2008. Up until now the VA loan has been capped at $417,000 in the lower 48 states for 100% financing. With this new bill the VA guarantee has now been increased up to a maximum of $729,750 with no down payment requirement, depending on the county. The only drawback is the maximum loan amount reverts back the $417,000 on Jan., 1 2009. Eligible veteran buyers that want to take advantage of this benefit need to act quickly.


Okay, here is how to look up the maximum loan amount for your particular county. Go to https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm the select the appropriate state, enter the name of the county, select “Fannie/Freddie” for the “Limit Type,” and click “SEND.” The applicable maximum guaranty amount is 25 percent of the amount in the column labeled “One-Family.” or $417,000.00. Whichever amount is more.

For more information feel free to contact me over at http://www.smartvaloans.com/ for more information or VA loan approval.