Tick, Tick, Tick….that’s the sound of the $8000 first time homebuyer credit slipping away
Posted by: Vince Kingston
on Jul 20, 2009 
Many potential first time home buyers may be aware of the $8000 tax credit available when you purchase your first home (or if you have not owned a home in three years). This means every home on the market is discounted by $8000 for first time homebuyers.
However due to the lengthy search and contract period involved with Real Estate, if you are not actively searching now, you are in danger of missing this large freebie. The loan must close by November 31st of this year to qualify for the tax credit. This would appear to be an abundance of time however the average transaction close period is 30-40 days meaning you would want to be in contract no later than early to mid October.
In addition, there are a host of factors that could potentially derail or delay a closing including discovering incurable foundation issues once in contract, delays in contract repair work, appraisal valuation issues, etc. Most contracts once entered into do close, however it is not uncommon to enter into a contract and then eventually extract yourself from that contract several days or weeks later due to items discovered in the inspection process. For example, if a homebuyer was to get into contract in mid October intent on securing the tax credit, and then a week past before the inspection was completed, and then another week past in inspection contract negotiations that ultimately failed, you could have less than 30 days to locate another property, get into contract, and close that transaction by the November 31st cut off. You would be cutting things very close in this example.
The moral of the story: if the $8000 tax credit is part of your purchase strategy, there really is a sense of urgency. I am always available for your questions. You can contact me anytime at vince@vincekingston.com or 971-22-8525 direct.
Tel: (971) 221-8525