Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - Housing Aid Bill Would Aid Owners, Buyers and Sellers

The Washington Post reported this morning that President Bush will sign the huge housing legislation package, despite his opposition to parts of it.

These points stood out when I read the article:

Buyers and therefore sellers could benefit: "First-time homebuyers who purchase a house by July 2009 would be eligible for a tax credit worth up to $7,500, though the credit would eventually have to be repaid to the Treasury. And homeowners who do not currently itemize would be able to claim a new property tax deduction of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families."

Communities could benefit: "The package contains aid to communities to purchase vacant and foreclosed properties, a provision Democrats say would help stabilize urban neighborhoods hit hard by the mortgage crisis but which the administration argues would primarily benefit lenders who foreclosed on the properties."

Distressed Homeowners could benefit: "The package includes a plan to rescue more than 400,000 homeowners at risk of foreclosure by helping them trade high-cost loans with rapidly rising payments for more affordable mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would be given permanent authority to assist borrowers with much larger home loans, as the bill would increase the cap on the size of those loans from $417,000 to $625,000."

The second point, about aiding communities in stabilizing urban neighborhoods had a particular impact since I had just listed to Bill Moyer's Journal on PBS about the Mortgage Meltdown (transcript, video and audio available). This episode opened my eyes wider than they already were to the immense impact  of foreclosures on entire neighborhoods.

Most neighborhoods that I sell in have their share of foreclosures and pre-foreclosures, but none have been impacted like the ones described in Bill Moyer's Journal. We are fairly well insulated here in the Washington DC area. It could be so much worse. Give Mortgage Meltdown a listen. It'll make you mad, but it's stuff we have to know or we can't fix it.

I hope this legislation makes a difference, and soon.

(C) 2008 Susan Pruden.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - RE: Housing Aid Bill Would Aid Owners, Buyers and Sellers

This is huge news for first time home buyers and for our industry! Now, first time homebuyers will receive a $7500 tax CREDIT (a direct deduction from taxes due) for buying a home! This effectively completely subsidizes a $15,000 down payment, but even better, it makes is so Grandparents and Parents can make their donation to the cause of helping the kids buy their first home go even further. Why?

Because if Parents or Grandparent give up to 12K  to a child or grandchild, it's DEDUCTABLE. That's good. But if Junior uses that 12 K to buy a home, Junior gets a CREDIT against taxes due:(effectively) up to $15,000 in real cash savings!

I think that we should all contact our clients to point out to them that with this provision, there will simply never be a better time for their children to step up and buy that first home. This is a real stimulus to the marketplace and to the first time buyer group--perhaps not always here in high-priced California, but certainly in many other places! You can go here to see how a successful agent uses government programs to further her business

www.compassinternetsystems.com/successstories.html and click on Debbie Copeland Success Story. We think you should make plans to market online to first time home buyers through July 09.

We're an approved Vendor Program and you can check that out at http://sealofapproval.realtown.com It's GREAT NEWS!