Extension of First time homebuyer tax credit is one step closer to becoming law

The extension of the first time homebuyer tax credit moved one step closer to becoming law yesterday when it passed the Senate.  The bill is predicted to have enough support to pass the House of Representatives and then it will be sent to President and assuming Mr. Obama signs it the extension of the first time homebuyer tax credit will become law.

Over the last couple of weeks I have seen many erroneous headlines regarding the extension of the first time home buyer tax credit including this one which showed up in my email box this morning “FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER EXTENSION IS FINAL!!”.  For the bloggers and writers of these articles its time to go back to school by viewing this video on how a bill actually becomes a law.  The first time homebuyer tax credit extension is NOT final.  It moved one step closer to becoming final but it is not there yet.

If the first time homebuyer extension does become final and there is a good chance it will, first time homebuyers will have until April 30th, 2010 to get into contract on a home and receive a tax credit up to $8,000.  The fine print is the house has to close by June 30th, 2010.  The income qualifications have been increased to $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.

Another part of the bill which hopefully will spur some activity in the Spring Texas real estate market is the inclusion of a tax credit for move up buyers.  If a buyer has owned his current home for the last 5 years, he will be eligible for a $6,500 tax credit.

It is very probable that the first time homebuyer tax credit will be extended and expanded but its not there yet.  Stay tuned!!