$8,000 Tax Credit Not Just for 1st Time Home Buyers 
 Monday, February 23, 2009

 We're still trying to find all of the goodies in the $787 billion dollar stimulus bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday, but the details of the New Home Buyer Tax Credit appear to be the shot in the arm this real estate market needs.  

The new law refers to the tax credit as a first-time home buyer tax credit, but the law defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a primary residence for three years prior to the date of purchase of the new home.  That's not what most people thought first-time home buyer meant, but this new definition opens up the tax credit to many more buyers.

 So here is what you need to know in a nutshell:

 1.  The home must be purchased in 2009.

 2.  The home must be your primary residence.

 3.  The person buying the home must not have owned another primary residence for at least 3 years prior.

 4.  The $8,000 is subtracted from the money you owe the federal government when you file your personal tax return in April  of 2010.  (It's a refundable tax credit so you would even get a refund check if your total federal tax is less than $8,000)

 5.  Here's the catch:  You must live in the home as your primary residence for at least 3 years or you'll have to pay the credit back to the federal government (exceptions might be made for death or divorce).  Single filers are limited to income of $75,000 and $150,000 for joint filers. 

 6.  Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have been hovering in the high 4's in Atlanta for the past couple of weeks.   

      This is the time to buy!