What does the Stimulus Package mean to me – the first time home buyer?

You can read over the stimulus plan for yourself it is all right here (House Bill part A) and here (House Bill part B) for your entertainment. It is broken into two sections because it is HUGE (don’t open links if you are on dial-up, the package would of expired by the time you got to read it.) I think they want to bore the public to death with all the verbiage to hide all the garbage that is going elsewhere. But I am not here to talk politics; I vowed not to bring politics into this little blog of mine. I don’t need the endless bantering about the democrats and the republicans.

I just want Frederick First time home buyers to know what’s in it for them. You have heard of that old radio station WII FM (What’s In It For Me.) Well here’s the low down on it.

• $8,000 Tax Credit
• You got less than one year! This offer expires 12/01/2009
• Must be your principal residence.
• This is a tax credit and you can get a refund for unused amount when you file.
• You can’t earn more than $75,000 by yourself or $150,000 jointly
• First time buyer is defined as not owning a home in the last three years
• No repayment unless you sell before owning for three years
• Effective date 1/1/2009 – NOW!

Here’s the document that outline the changes from the previous credit. You can see it for yourself.

Now what do you need to do? Well, get off the fence first of all. Everyone has been waiting for the golden opportunity. Unfortunately without Madame Cleo Tarot card, we can’t look into the future. (That’s a joke, her cards didn’t work either.) If we knew when the market was going to peak or stop tumbling, we would all be Warren Buffet, but we are not. We are sitting close to the Perfect Storm for buyers. The sellers had their day in the earlier part of this decade. You have near rock bottom prices on homes, a tax credit worth 8 grand, interest rates at the best they ever been and an inventory full of possibilities.

• Contact a local lender and get pre-approved
• Contact me to send you a list of homes that meet your needs
• Contact your friends to show them your new home

Have a great day

Bob is a licensed Real Estate agent in Maryland and Pennsylvania. You can contact him via email at bob@gotbob4homes.com or call him on his cell phone at 240-285-4918.  Bob left the Frederick area to manage a resort office near Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland. He still stays in touch with the area that he has grown to love.