The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Posts Tagged ‘realestate’

Open Houses Abound As Tax Credit Deadline Looms

Realtors say the next two weekends will be busy as buyers and sellers attempt to get deals inked before a federal tax credit expires.

Question: How should I spend $8000.00 on my home…?

I just recently bought a new home and am receiving the government new home buyer 8000 tax credit. My home was built in 1963 and has over 2000 square feet. The day of closing I ripped up the old carpet and swore to myself not to put carpet back in. Right now I’m living on cement slab foundation (throughout whole house). The home is pretty dated in appliances, windows, paint, tile etc…

I want to spend my money wisely so I need some suggestions. I am considering getting all new windows (17 to be exact) to hopefully make home more energy efficient (save on my electric bill), or getting new flooring (wood floors all throughout house except bathrooms and washer-dryer room, or update kitchen with new appliances and tile etc…

I am open to suggestions and ideas on what to spend the money on. I am even considering doing a little of everything as far as upgrading.
Thanks, Andy

Answer: I would say don’t be in a hurry. The longer you live there the better you will know what you really need. In the meantime go get some bids on the work you are considering, get at least three for each project and then sit down and do your own little cost/benefit analysis.

Or just make a big payment on your principal… Stick it to the bank!

Week of 4-2-10

Yard Sale. 507 5th St. 7am-4pm. 2 Families, bed, lots of stuff! Maricopa VFW Ladies Auxiliary Post 11012. 600 Hazelton St. Maricopa. Yard Sale & Raffle Drawing. Sat., Apr. 3rd 7am-3pm. Lots of good items and clothing and raffle prizes. Tickets may still be purchased at the door for $1.

Use $8000 Tax Credits for this Duplex

Question: If you owned my home, what would you do?

Here is the deal, i own a home in st.petersburg florida valued at around 200,000. I have owned the home for a little over 2 years now. The purchase price was 120,000. I pay the mortgage to the previous owner on a monthly basis of 689.00. It is a 30 year loan, at a fixed 6 % rate. In september, in order to keep up with my property and insurance taxes, i took out a home equity line of credit with bank of america. Right now, i have used about 6500.00 of the 25,000 limit(it is a 10 year HELOC). If you were in my position, what would you do?. Just keep paying on both these loans like i have been, or seek to refinance the entire amount, to pay off the previous owner, and the HELOC. Thank you for your time.
I did not need a bank, since the previous owner totally financed the 120,000 minus the 5,000 down payment.

Answer: I think you have the right idea by seeking to pay off both of the loans with one of your own….however, I do think that 689 is quite low and your new bank loan would be MUCH higher.
Is there any way you can have an apprasial done since that is quite a huge jump in value (80k) over the course of two years…..
Is there a reason that you decided NOT to finance with the bank in the first place?

Home Buyer Tax Credit Deadline Approaches

Local realtors push to get last minute first time buyers and current owners moving up to qualify for the tax credit. read more

Question: Can I get the existing home Buyers Tax Credit, if I don’t want to sell my primary residence?

We want to rent our primary residence out and then buy a bigger house. Can we still get the $6500 tax credit or do we have to sell the current house we’re living in first?

Answer: You are not required to sell.

You must have lived in the current house at least 60 consecutive months out of the previous 96.
You must actually move.

5 area businesses get tax credits for creating jobs

COLUMBUS — Five local companies are receiving job creation tax credits with a total value of $3.27 million in exchange for retaining 1,780 jobs and creating 547 more, the state Department of Development announced Tuesday, March 30.The projects include:

Sell before tax credit is gone…For Sale By Owner (Do-It-Yourself Program) in Oregon

Question: What is the liklihood that the $8,000 first time homebuyers tax credit will be extended?

Answer: 100% Anything to keep the economy artificially afloat.

Jackson Hewitt(R) Weekly ‘Tax Time Tip’: Don’t Delay! Only 30 Days Left For First-Time Homeowners To Reap Valuable Tax …

The special tax credit for both first-time and long-time resident homeowners will soon expire. Extended for seven additional months to allow buyers to find the house of their dreams, this benefit expires April 30, 2010.  In this week’s “Tax Time Tip,” Jackson Hewitt Tax Service® reminds potential homebuyers that if they want to take advantage of the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, they must act …