The Bosshardt Blog

BREAKING: Obama signs $8,000 homebuyer credit extension into law

From CNNMoney.com:

President Obama said he signed into law Friday a bill to provide up to 20 additional weeks of jobless benefits to unemployed Americans and extend the $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers into the middle of next year. The legislation also will extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The controversial credit, which many say has boosted home sales in recent months, was set to expire after Nov. 30.

The bill also creates a $6,500 credit for those who buy a home after living in their current house at least five years. That measure will apply to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The current credit defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a residence within the past three years.

The credit will be available only for the purchase of principal residences priced at $800,000 or less.

The bill will raise the adjusted gross income cap to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers. The amount of the credit currently begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

"It's gonna put people back to work, the home builders, put people in the real estate business," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. "The kind of jobs that can make a difference."

The extension will cost $10.8 billion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Through mid-September, 1.4 million tax returns had qualified for the credit, according to the IRS. Some portion of those returns, which the IRS couldn't specify, represents buyers who took advantage of an earlier version of the tax credit, which was only worth $7,500 and has to be repaid over time.

By the end of November, the credit will have been used by 1.8 million homebuyers, at least 355,000 of whom would not have bought a house without the tax break, according to estimates by the National Association of Realtors.

"The data on the present home buyer tax credit show that the credit has had its intended impact -- sales have jumped in recent months to a projected 5.1 million for the year and housing inventory has been trimmed, thus stabilizing home prices noticeably," said Ron Phipps, the association's first vice president, in Senate testimony last month.

My Property Taxes are Too High. Can I Lower Them?

Posted by Aaron Bosshardt, COO, Bosshardt Realty, 06/10/2009

Gary Schneider sent this to me this morning. Important news for all of us real estate owners:

Good Morning,
Did you know that House Bill 521 was passed and signed into law? The Bill transfers the burden of proof from the homeowner to the Property Appraiser's office in property value disputes. In the past, if you wanted to challenge the Property Appraiser's assessment, you had to prove he was wrong; now the Property Appraiser will no longer have the assumption of correctness, so he will now have to prove he is right. Over the next five years, Florida homeowners and owners of business, rental, or second-home properties are expected to save more than $2.1 billion due to the change in the law.

Gary Schneider

After receiving this email, I called the Alachua County Property Appraiser's office and spoke with JD Durrance. Isn't it funny how there are always at least two good sides to every story. He knew of the bill immediately and shared some concerns that, although this bill was presented as helping the everyday consumer, it might actually end up benefiting the big companies that are hired to fight property valuations for large scale properties. JD reminded me that his office always tries to work with people and rarely goes in front of the Magistrate.

JD shared with me the 8 Factors that determine the valuation criteria for properties. If you do have legitmate concerns about the valuation of your property, prepare to speak in these terms, as that should help your case whether you are working it out or taking it to the review board.

It would be interesting to hear from one of these companies, and I've heard they don't settle or negotiate. They go straight to the value adjustment hearing. With the changes to whom has the burden of proof and the prevailing party's entitlement to attorney's fees, a small, cash-strapped county like Alachua may not have the resources to take on these corporate giants. 

On the surface, this looked like much needed relief for our local community homeowners. Only time will tell.

 

 

How Do You Get The First Time Home Buyer $8000 Credit? And Can You Get It at Closing?

On May 12, HUD Secretary Shawn Donovan announced to a group of REALTORS that very soon they would have an option for HUD borrowers to monetize the $8,000 tax credit at the closing table. That was almost a month ago, and now we hear that officially you can use the money for "some" closing costs.

The gist of it is that you still have to have the minimum 3.5% down payment in order to close. NAR just released a great 8 page booklet on the credits as of the end of May. So it's factual and timely.

Download Government_affairs_tax_credit_brochure_052709

If you don't like this book or perhaps don't want to trust something published by NAR about taxes, the best direct resource is www.irs.gov. Just type in First Time Home Buyer tax credits on their page and plenty of info will show up.

A Look Ahead...The Top 10 Stories of 2009: #4 - Lower Tax Values

Posted by Michael B. Kitchens, Executive VP, Bosshardt Realty, 01/23/09

With 2008 coming to an "adventurous" end, what will the year ahead bring us in the real estate industry?   One thing for sure . . .  it will continue to be a journey of the unknown.  Here is our look at the top 10 stories for 2009...

#4 With Lower Tax Values, Budgets Will Become Tighter

With real estate values continuing to back up, the tax collector is having to do the same.  In 2009, city and county budgets will become that much more tight since they depend on property taxes as their main source of revenue.  The downside is that, with less money, the already horrible infrastructure will continue to fall into disrepair.  Our elected officials will be counted on to be fiscally wise this year in their budget decisions...good luck with that.