As the tax credit deadline approaches buyers need to really ask themselves if they are willing to gamble on a short sale contract. Short sales often take 3,5,7+ months to get a response from the lender which is really starting to flirt with the tax credit deadlines. Of course I never recommend you buy a house because of the tax credit money … but reality is that the tax credit is very important to a lot of people. This article below is written out of the Orlando, FL area and is a good example of this issue.
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Rachel Nacion-Ograyensek and her husband are getting nervous. The house that the two apartment dwellers want to buy—the one with the double oven, pool and tiled patio—may slip away from them. It’s on the market as a short sale, so the owner can’t act until the mortgage holder approves the discount price. But the Altamonte Springs, Fla. couple insists on buying their first home in time to take advantage of the federal government’s home buyer tax credit, which now expires April 30, 2010.
“The house is our dream house—it’s perfect for us,” Nacion-Ograyensek said. “We are trying to get in on the tax credit, but it’s done in April, and it’s already February. We’ve gotten to the point where we’re passively looking for other houses, but none are quite right.”
Under pressure from the real estate industry, Congress extended and expanded the tax credit last fall. It was to have ended November 30, 2009 and benefit only buyers who had not purchased a home in the past three years. Like the original, the latest version is worth as much as $8,000, but it gives both first-time buyers and qualified existing homeowners until April 30 to secure a contract on a home, and until June 30 to close the deal.
Though real estate agents and homebuilders hope the measure boosts sales, as the previous version was credited with doing, some fear that buyer’s intent on getting a short sale bargain will not make the new deadlines ….
Taken from The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.), Feb 18, 2010. READ ENTIRE ARTICLE – Click Here
Tags: buying a short sale, short sale contracts, short sales, short sales and tax credits
