Rapid City

First time home buyers right now have some great incentives. Qualified buyers (based on income) may choose to use the South Dakota Housing Program (SDHA). Rates for loans insured by SDHA have just changed to 4.75% for fixed rate. There is a stepped program where the rates start at 3.75% and step up over five years to 5.75% maximum. Using a stepped program allows people to have slightly lower payments in the beginning when they have all of the expenses of moving in to a home or may be advantageous to people who can foresee pay raises in the future. Buyers need to qualify at the maximum rate to get the loan, thus avoiding the problems which hit the sub-prime market. Locking in the fixed rate (4.75%) or Fixed Rate Plus options (5.25%) are great options for people with stable income right now.

First time home buyers closing before Dec 1, 2009 may also be able to qualify for the $8000 tax credit. (See my blog on the tax credit). The SDHA loans may be pared with other loan programs such as VA or FHA. If you would like more information about how these programs work together, please contact me at caroll@PropertyByReferral.com.

Are you wondering if this is a good time to buy your first Rapid City home? Right now we have a great selection of homes available. Currently there are 1,025 single family homes and town homes or condos listed as active in our Rapid City MLS. Today you can have sellers competing for your offer instead of competing with many other first time home-buyers for the few Rapid City homes available, which happened a few years ago.

In addition to the great choices available in Rapid City for first time home-buyers, there are now tax credit incentives to aid first time home-buyers. Recently, the Recovery Act extended the first time home-buyers credit to cover purchases after April 8, 2008 and before December 1, 2009. This is similar to an interest-free loan which will be paid back (or recaptured) over 15 years for first time home-buyers.

For qualifying purchases of principal residences in the U.S. after Apr. 8, 2008 and before July 1, 2009, eligible Rapid City first time home-buyers may claim a refundable tax credit equal to the lesser of 10% of the purchase price of a principal residence or $7,500 ($3,750 for married individuals filing separately).

The credit for new Rapid City first time home-buyers is recaptured over fifteen years. Your Rapid City tax consultant can give you the specifics as to how this impacts you personally.

Interest rates are still phenomenally low.  This makes a huge difference in total payment as a first time home-buyer. Added to the negotiation power which comes from properties competing to sell to you, Rapid City first time home-buyers may find this is the perfect time to purchase their dream home!

Contact me for links to Rapid City homes you would like to check out.