Real Estate Bailout Tax Credits Apply To Current Homeowners Also!

My wife and I were pretty miffed when the government announced that it was giving away $8000 to new homebuyers last year. Nobody gave us that kind of money when we bought our home! And then after all the idiots and greedy people in the world got into the real estate market and ruined it completely, the government decides to throw money into this morass just to keep the market from imploding completely! Typical government program, we thought, making sure the stable doors were closed after the horse had already bolted!!

The government has now modified the terms of the program. One of the important changes made was obviously to extend the program from November of 2009 to April of this year. But a more important change for current homeowners like my wife and I is that there is a separate tax credit scheme for current homeowners who choose to buy a different home.

This is exciting because after having lived in the same house for over 11 years, my wife and I were not really thinking of moving to a newer home. But this tax incentive may be just the push we needed to consider such an option seriously. And who can say no to taking advantage of some free money?!

So, it was time to start doing some research. After doing some searching, we found a good website that explains the Real Estate Bailout in clear and concise terms. In particular, this site explains the income limits and limits on the prices of the houses eligible for the tax credit in the form of an easy to use table. The table also contains other information pertinent to the the tax credit, including the deadlines for buying a house (contract signing by April 30, and closing by June 30, 2010)

The site also has a YouTube video on it explaining the tax credit as well as the importance of housing in the overall economy. Some of the statistics about the importance of housing for the overall economy were somewhat interesting. For instance, the video mentions that every home sold adds about $60,000 to the local economy! I wouldn't have guessed that much. In addition to such statistics, the video also explains the conditions associated with earning the tax credit, as well as some details about who benefits, how much the program is supposed to cost the government, etc. I have embedded the video in this post for your viewing pleasure!



The site also has links to other sources of information that you can use to further your knowledge of this tax credit if you are interested. If you have been considering buying a home for the first time, or you have tired of your existing house, and are looking at making a move up, this may be the best time to do so. Do it before the deadlines, and the government will pick up up to 10% of the price of your home! Sounds like a good deal to me!!

What do you think? Tell me in the poll below, or through the comments!