TIME RUNNING OUT FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS CREDIT

The opportunity to take advantage of the First Time Home Buyer Credit may soon be gone. The current $8,000 tax credit is available for homes or condos purchased and closed on by December 1, 2009.

Given the popularity of the current program, Realtors, lenders and appraisers are very busy processing transactions for first time buyers – which, by the way, also include former homeowners who have not owned a home during the past three years, according to program guidelines. In order to ensure a qualified closing before the deadline, buyers are encouraged to begin the process right away, if they have not done so already.

The process begins by working with a Realtor to identify the right property for you and becoming pre-approved for a mortgage with a performance-based lender. We recommend entering into a binding purchase agreement by November 1, 2009 to best avoid the risk of missing the December 1 deadline.

There are four great reasons to buy now. Inventory, incentives, interest rates and prices.

While inventories are coming down, they are still at historical times and there are great selections available for all buyers.

Incentives such as the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit will not be available forever. Complete program details about the credit can be found at CBWeirManuel.com.

Interest rates are also at all time lows as noted in the market statistics in the box above.

And prices. Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel believes that we are now at the bottom of the market and prices will never be better.

While there is some talk in Congress about extending the tax credit program, nothing is certain at this time. Our recommendation for anyone contemplating the purchase of a new home is to act now.