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My wife and I decided to buy a house in early April and closed in late May. A big motivator was the $8,000 tax credit. Otherwise we would have wanted to save for another few years before buying our first home so that we didn't totally deplete our savings to pay the down payment + closing costs.
It's such a better deal - we paid $720 a month rent + utilities to rent a townhouse in South Park, and now pay $609 a month mortgage (at 5.00%) + utilities on our home in Brookline and have cut our commute time in half. It's nice to be building equity rather than enriching our landlord.
I filed an amended 2008 tax return a few weeks after closing, sent it to the IRS, and 4 weeks later a check for $8,000 was in the mailbox, which we used to partly remodel the kitchen and recoup the initial savings we used for the down payment and closing. It worked out great for us.
Mortgage loans and the approval process have NOT been reformed. And now the government has now conspired with the mortgage companies and the next wave of sub-prime borrowers, the later being those who need an $8,000 tax credit to buy property. This conspiracy is even more insideous than the previous.
Why not? Obama and his puppets just finished giving away our future tax dollars to put americans in new vehicles which they probably can't afford.
Since the tax credit is refundable, criminals already are or will be gaming the system and take advantage of the $8,000 in free cash available to first-time home buyers. Since the credit is refundable, the tax credit can be claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no federal income tax liability to offset. These criminals will claim the tax credit on their 2009 1040 or 2008 1040X returns even though they never actually purchased a home or they don't qualify for the tax credit.
Some first-time homeowners have been waiting weeks or months to receive their tax credit check even after filing an amended return as required. Mark Green, Georgia spokesman for the IRS, said that’s because the IRS has been bombarded with false claims for the tax credit.
“Unfortunately, we've received forms from taxpayers stating they have purchased a home, when in fact they have not,” Green said. “So the IRS is doing extensive background checks to make sure the information provided to us is legitimate.”
If you don't truly qualify, don't try to play games with the credit. The Internal Revenue Service already has 24 criminal investigations of suspected fraud underway around the country and has executed seven search warrants. Last month a tax preparer in Florida entered a guilty plea on federal charges of fraud in connection with the first-time buyer credit. He's awaiting sentencing and faces up to three years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
I bought a house this summer. The approval process was long and arduous. Mortgage approval processes have become more stringent. I filed for the credit. Because there have been fraudulant claims filed, the IRS is freezing and reviewing most of the claims for this credit. It's taking from 12-16 weeks for the initial processing and can take up to six months before the funds are released.
Quote:
Originally Posted by msina
I respectfully disagree.
Fraud causes all sorts of problems. That's why each and every one of us should take the time to report instances when we see them.
I'm not in agreement. Getting a mortgage is much much easier than it was 20 years ago, even with the dried up credit market.
I call BS. The 8,000 can be written out to a third party. This is being applied as part of the 3% down.
All of this regulation is just talk. No money down is back again just like it was when Fwanks was denying it was a problem.
And I call you on YOUR BS. This is a TAX CREDIT. The buyer will not get it until they file their 2009 federal income taxes. Sorry, but it cannot 'written out to a third party'.
Sorry, I forgot that they could get it by amending the 2008 return - my bad.
Last edited by MsMcQ LV; 08-29-2009 at 06:07 PM..
Reason: further info
I call BS. The 8,000 can be written out to a third party. This is being applied as part of the 3% down.
All of this regulation is just talk. No money down is back again just like it was when Fwanks was denying it was a problem.
View, if unless you have a link that shows that has passed, then you are incorrect. There was talks to have that applied as a downpayment but it has not been official. However I will say that some mortgage companies, will unofficially allow the homebuyers can take out a loan anticipation of the tax credit to be used to pay off that loan.
Again, if your not familiar with the process or do not know someone that has gone through the process, your running with the same scripted media ignorance.
I've purchased real estate and refinanced several times through out my life. Make no doubt, the qualification process is like signing up for a library card, not nearly what it was when I bought my first house. And so the policies of today erode the hard work that I've put into acquiring my home by giving loans to loosers who can't pay them back.
Argue all you want but the facts are the facts. Mortgage practices have and are causing continued de-valuation of property.
Used to be you bought a starter home, lived in it, paid your bills, acquired some equity and, in a few years, you moved up. Now they all just want the 3 to 4 thousand sq. ft. house as a matter of right. Go get a job, work hard, apply discipline and maybe you too can have what I have.
If you have not applied for a mortgage within the last 6 months, your entire post was useless.
$8,000? Big deal. In the higher-cost areas of the country, this is an almost-meaningless amount of money.
I'm pretty much coming to the conclusion that renting is better than buying. The fact is that you can earn more money in the stock market, and if interest rates go back up, you might even do better keeping your money in long-term CDs.
Housing is one area where I am against a lot of the socialistic policies of the American government, such as the mortgage interest tax deduction. All that does is keep the price of housing inflated. The $8,000 tax credit is doing the same thing, although I think it's effect is very minor.
If you have not applied for a mortgage within the last 6 months, your entire post was useless.
Please do let me understand. So everything you speak of is from "personal experience" rather than knowledge? Kindly show your pride and answer the question that I've just asked.
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