Macomb County MI real estate - 1st time home buyers info & advice

Looking through my calendar today I realized that first time home buyers in my area (Macomb County MI) who wish to purchase this year in order to take advantage of the (up to $8000) 1st time home buyers tax credit could run out of time if they don't start the process soon.

BUSINESS DAYS LEFT BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE 1ST TIME HOME BUYERS TAX CREDIT - 97

Here is a breakdown of how these business days will be spent during a typical home purchase transaction:

Please remember:  You must be the owner of your new first home by the end of November in order to take the 1st time home buyers tax credit.   There has been much speculation about it being extended, but as of this writing it has not been extended. 

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Inevitably a phone call from a prospective home purchaser gets the wheels running
inside of my head and I ask the question:

"Could I have your permission to write a blog article about your question?"

With thanks to Lisa for her wholehearted agreement, here was her question:

"My apartment lease isn't up until October 1st, but I read your article about not
waiting until the fall to start the process to purchase a home.  I don't want to miss
out on the 1st time home buyers tax credit, but I also don't want to pay extra for
my lease and a mortgage payment.  What do you suggest?"

Lisa asked a very good question and one in which I'm sure many prospective home
buyers are asking themselves.

My advice to Lisa was pretty straightforward and simple:   Start gathering your
paperwork for your mortgage pre-approval and sit down with a mortgage lender (or
her bank or credit union loan officer).   

Lisa could then start to look for her new home in July and August, with a target date
to have an offer to purchase accepted by the end of August - early September.
Closing is taking approximately 30-45 days for an FHA mortgage.  With that in mind,
the home Lisa decides to purchase wouldn't close (become hers) until the end of
September - beginning of October. 

What about her October apartment rental payment?   She would pay for that and
not have a double housing payment as her first mortgage payment wouldn't be due until
November 1st.

Lisa thanked me for my time, but I was the one who was grateful that she called.
Her phone call stressed to me the importance of getting the word out to potential home
buyers who do not want to miss out on the First Time Home Buyers tax credit.  She also
was a very good sport and gave me permission to post her question here, so that others
could learn from the question that she asked.



~Kris Wales~  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI

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Do it soon.

I just finished writing an article for my Macomb County MI real estate blog and informed first time home buyers that they should not wait until early fall to start looking at homes to purchase.

In the past week my buyer clients and I have experienced the following: Home inspectors being booked solid and difficulty in getting a home inspection done within the contract time frame, multiple offers on clean and well priced homes, and homes sold before we can make our appointment to view them.

The (up to) $8000 tax credit from the federal government does have an ending date:  November 30, 2009.   

Please be careful - your contract to purchase your home must close on or before that date.   Many first time home buyers think that they have to have an offer in writing before that date and they will qualify for the 1st time home buyers tax credit.   This is NOT true.   Your home purchase must close (be fully completed and the home in your name) on or before November 30th.

If you wait until September or October to begin your home search it may be too late.  (I'm not being pushy with this statement, I'm seeing signs of the frantic pace already that buyers are being put through.)

~Kris Wales~  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI

One of the key points to remember about the 1st time home buyers tax credit that
is good for purchases through November 30th of this year is that the credit is calculated
using 10% of the purchase price of the home.

In the coming weeks I'll be posting links to the various homes (and condos) for sale in
Macomb County MI that are priced between $80,000 and $90,000.

It used to be that for first time home buyers who wanted to keep their mortgage payments
to a comfortable price that finding a home in this price range was darn near next to impossible.
This isn't the case anymore, thankfully.  

Now many home buyers can not only find a nice home in the $80,000-$90,000 price range,
but they can utilize an FHA mortgage with as little as 3 1/2% down and take advantage of
the 1st time home buyers tax credit that is currently being offered by the Federal government.

To take a peek at the homes in Roseville MI that are priced between $80,000 and $90,000
click on this link.

Please don't forget - the tax credit does have an expiration date and none of us know if it will
be extended.

If you would like to search for homes in other cities and townships in Macomb County MI using
up to date MLS provided information you can visit me at my Macomb County MI homes for sale
search site. 

~Kris Wales~  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI

In speaking with a lady who called earlier last week regarding the $8000 first time home
buyers credit from the Federal Government I realized that once again there are so many
misconceptions out there for consumers.

It is most certainly not the consumers fault that they are confused.   First, they are told
that it is only for first time home buyers, yet the government fails to promote just as
heavily that the definition of first time home buyer is one that hasn’t owned a home
in the 3 years previous to a new purchase.

The caller also asked if the $8000 credit could be used towards the purchase of a home.

 Sadly, the answer is no. 

 The federal tax credit for first time home buyers that is good through December 1, 2009
can only be obtained after your income tax is filed.   I wish the government had thought
to issue vouchers for home buyers to use instead of waiting, but they didn’t.

 One other misconception:   The tax credit is up to $8000.    If the home that you purchase
is $60,000 for example, then the tax credit to you would be $6000.    (10% of the price of
the home is what you would receive for the tax credit.)   If the home is purchased for $100,000
then the tax credit would be $8000.

 If you would like to see a breakdown of how this tax credit works, and all of the in’s and out’s
of it please click here.  I have a PDF file for consumers to download that explains how this
Federal tax credit works in comparison to the one that was out last year.

 ~Kris Wales~  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI

Search homes for sale in Macomb County MI using MLS provided data