Ratte Law Office » Real Estate

Closing Deadline Extended to September 30th for Home Buyer Tax Credit

Chris_Ratte — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:00:44 +0000

Closing Deadline for Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended to Sept. 30th

Washington has once again extended the closing deadline to qualify for the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit or the $6,500 current home buyer tax credit. The new closing deadline is September 30, 2010.

Unfortunately, Congress did not extend the purchase agreement deadline beyond April 30th. This means that only buyers who had entered into a purchase contract on or before April 30, 2010 will be eligible for the tax credit. The extended closing deadline will just give those buyers some additional time to close the sale beyond the prior June 30th deadline.

The extension of the closing deadline was necessary because some types of sales, such as bank owned properties and short sales, require more than the typical 30-60 days to close.

For more information about how the tax credit works, please see my prior posts:

Down to the Wire; Last Days to Qualify for the Home Buyer Tax Credit

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended

TIMING IS EVERYTHING: First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Increased for 2009

For questions about the home buyer tax credit, please contact me or use my online legal services.

Down to the Wire; Last Days to Qualify for the Home Buyer Tax Credit

Chris_Ratte — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:58:53 +0000

There are less than two weeks left to qualify for the federal home buyer tax credit. You must have a signed Purchase and Sale Agreement by Friday, April 30th to qualify. (You then have until June 30th to close the sale.)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and a half, you’ve no doubt heard that the federal government is giving first-time and repeat home buyers a credit on their income taxes for buying a new home. The credit was intended to spur activity in the stagnant real estate market and to give home buyers a cash incentive to invest in home ownership.

First-time home buyers may qualify for up to an $8,000.00 credit. A first-time home buyer is considered to be anyone who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years.

Current homeowners, who are selling their primary residence to purchase a new primary residence, may qualify for up to a $6,500.00 credit. The homeowner must have lived in their primary residence for at least five of the last eight years.

There are some income limits and other restrictions. For more information about how the tax credit works, see my previous post “Timing is Everything; First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Increased for 2009.”

Unlike last year, there is little chance that the tax credit will be extended beyond April 30th. But there’s still time to take advantage of the credit if you act quickly.

Contact me for more information.

Helpful reading:

Lower Your NH Property Taxes with an Abatement

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:03:13 +0000

A tax abatement may save you money on property taxes.

If you are like most people, you probably think you are paying too much in property taxes. In some cases, you may be right.

Property taxes in New Hampshire are based on the assessed value of your real estate as of April 1st of each year. If your assessment is incorrect, then you may in fact be paying more than your share of property taxes.

An assessment may be incorrect due to a number of reasons, such as the information used by the assessor may have been incorrect (i.e. you actually have 3 bedrooms instead of 4), or the assessment is substantially higher than the equalized market value of the property. The market value of real estate may be determined by having the property appraised by a licensed appraiser or by comparing it with local comparable properties which have sold recently.

To change the assessment of your property, you must file a request for an abatement with your city or town by March 1st (in most locations). If the municipality denies the abatement request or fails to respond by July 1st, which is the same as a denial, then you have until September 1st to file an appeal with the Superior Court or the Board of Land and Tax Appeals. To win the appeal, you must prove through appraisals or other evidence that your taxes are unfair, illegal or disproportionately high.

You must continue paying your property taxes during the abatement process, but if the abatement is granted then you will receive a tax refund plus 6% interest. In addition, the new lower assessment amount will then continue for future tax years until there is a good faith reason to reassess the property (such as changes to the property or a town-wide reassessment).

For more information on how a tax abatement can save you money on property taxes, please contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

NOTICE: The information and articles posted on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended as legal advice. Contact me to discuss your particular situation or consult a licensed attorney in your state.

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:10:44 +0000

According to MarketWatch.com, the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit has been extended into 2010. The credit, which is currently scheduled to expire on November 30th, will reportedly be extended until the end of April 2010.

The first-time home buyer tax credit has been extended to spur real estate sales.

So, if you’ve been thinking of buying your first home, you can still take advantage of this popular tax credit.

For more information about how the tax credit works, see my previous post “Timing is Everything; First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Increased for 2009.”

The tax credit may also be expanded to more than just first-time home buyers. If the measure is approved by Congress, then repeat buyers will receive a $6,500 tax credit for purchasing a new home.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING: First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Increased for 2009.

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:38:50 +0000

The United States government wants to pay you to buy your first home in 2009. As part of the massive economic stimulus package recently approved by Congress, first-time home buyers will receive a tax credit up to $8,000.00 for purchasing a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. This credit may be taken on either your 2008 or 2009 tax returns.

The 2009 home buyer credit is a true “refundable” tax credit, which means that: (1) the taxpayer gets to take the credit whether or not they owe that much in taxes and (2) the taxpayer does not have to pay it back. This is a substantial improvement over the $7,500.00 tax “credit” passed by the Bush Administration in 2008. If you bought your home in 2008 you will be able to take a $7,500.00 tax credit, but you will have to pay it back over fifteen years. In essence, the 2008 credit was not a credit at all but a zero-interest loan from the government.

There are some limitations on the 2009 credit. First, the amount of the credit is limited to 10% of the purchase price of the home or $8,000.00, whichever is less. With the exception of some condos and small houses, however, most homes will max out the credit. Second, the credit is limited to single home buyers with an adjusted gross income of $75,000.00 or married buyers with an AGI of $150,000.00 or less. Taxpayers with higher incomes may be eligible for a reduced credit. Third, taxpayers must own the home for at least three years. If you sell your home within three years, you may have to repay the credit to the government. Lastly, the credit is only available to first-time home buyers. This may not be quite as limiting as you think, however, as the term “first-time home buyer” is defined as any person who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years. If you owned a home more than three years ago, you may still qualify. Even if you currently own other real estate, such as investment property or a vacation home, you may still qualify for the credit.

For a free consultation to learn more about the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, contact Attorney Chris Ratté .

OWNER’S TITLE INSURANCE; Quite possibly the best money you’ll ever spend.

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:33:35 +0000

For most of us, buying a home is the largest and most important investment we will ever make in our lives. We will spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars each and every year to protect our house and furnishings from fire and other disasters, but many people are reluctant to pay a small one-time fee to protect the most valuable part of home ownership – the ownership itself. An owner’s title insurance policy is a relatively inexpensive one-time cost that will do just that.

Owner’s title insurance protects the homeowner’s title, or legal ownership, of the property free from any unknown encumbrances. An encumbrance is anything that burdens the property, such as a lien or easement. While most encumbrances will be discovered during a thorough search of the public records at the local Registry of Deeds, many encumbrances cannot be determined by a title search. A few of the most common hidden risks that can cause loss of title or create an encumbrance on title are:

False impersonation of the true owner of the property
Forged deeds, releases or wills
Undisclosed or missing heirs
Instruments executed under invalid or expired power of attorney
Mistakes in recording legal documents
Misinterpretations of wills
Deeds by persons of unsound mind
Deeds by minors
Deeds by persons supposedly single, but in fact married
Liens for unpaid estate, inheritance, income or gift taxes
Fraud

In the case of any defect such as these, the owner’s title insurance will pay for defending against any lawsuit attacking the owner’s title, and will either pay to clear up the title problems or pay the insured owner’s losses. The cost of an owner’s title insurance policy for an average home of $250,000, is only about $575. Compare that to the thousands, or tens of thousands, of dollars it will cost to hire an attorney to defend you in a lawsuit or repair the title defect, and it is easy to see why title insurance could be the best money you’ve ever spent in your life.

For a free consultation to learn more about owner’s title insurance, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.