Central Ohio Home Source

Well, the final days of opportunity for the $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit are upon us.  If someone wants to close by 11/30, then he or she (or they)  must be ready to rock and roll right NOW…  Most importantly, have that loan officer on speed dial, and make sure that he or she has all the pay stubs, credit pulled, etc., so that when that offer is accepted, all the dominos will be ready to fall to get that house closed in time.

Now, I just had a conversation yesterday with a buyer who had been talking to their loan officer.  The loan officer said, “I heard a rumor that they were going to extend the tax credit and even make it larger than the $8000 that it is right now…”  WHAT??  RUMOR??  Rumors are generally not a good thing to pay attention to, especially when it comes to major life decisions.   That “rumor” is what the National Association of Realtors, and many others in the real estate industry are suggesting.  But I highly doubt that this loan officer in question has a red phone to the White House, or to every Senator and Representative.

Nothing is guaranteed!   That tax credit may go away, and NOT come back.  (If I had to guess, I would say that it will continue or come back in some shape or fashion.  But there is always a chance that other spending initiatives will take precedence (like the proposed Healthcare plan), and your representatives will come to the realization that all of this money has to come from somewhere, and that possibly homebuyers will have to go back to the way it was for all but 2 of the last hundreds of  years of home ownership, and NOT get a cash gift from Uncle Sam.

Just my 2 cents today…

Photo posted via Creative Commons via Flickr…courtesy of e_walk.