You Snooze, You Lose Your Change at $8,000 Stimulus Cash
FIRST CAR: THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING. IS IT TIME FOR YOUR FIRST NEW HOME?
By The New Home Council
“There’s no time like the present”, “time’s a wastin’”, what are you waiting for?”, “time is of the essence”. There are a lot of ways to say hurry up and do something, and the message from the new home industry is loud and clear. If someone wants in on $8,000 stimulus cash in the form of a First Time Buyer tax credit, now is the time to act. The official deadline to close a sale on a new home and qualify for an $8,000 stimulus bonus is November 30, 2009. As of now there is no reason to believe this offer will be extended by the goverment. While the end of November may see like a long way off, the real deadline to act is now. The reality is that it takes a minimum of four to six weeks to close a sale on a new home. This time is needed for the buyer to receive approval and verification from a lender, for the home to be appraised, which is taking much longer than usual because appraisers are being more careful. The lender and title company have to do title research and make sure all the paper work is in order. Dialed-in, this is about fast as the process can go.
Working backward, the deadline for finding a new home, and having a Purchase and Sale Agreement accepted by the seller is between today and the end of October at the latest. Here’s some advice on how to make this happen. Start or ramp-up a search today. This allows from two to three weeks to find a home that fits, and from four to six weeks to get the paperwork through the system. A good place to start a search is www.firstnewhome.net. The New Home Council, a local association of new home marketing professionals, has assembled a large collection of new homes, condominiums and townhomes suited to the first time homebuyer. On the web site is information on pricing, special offers, locations, availability and financing. Links point to information on the $8,000 stimulus and tips for how to go about choosing a first new home.
A good way to narrow down a search is to give some thought to the neighborhoods that have the most appeal, then spend time visiting the models in person and getting to know the specialists who are on site to help explain the stimulus program and who can assist in meeting the deadline for obtaining the $8,000 in government stimulus money.
Currently there are dozens of homes priced from $150,000 to the mid- $300,000 that fit the budgets of most first time buyers shown at www.firstnewhome.net.
So, why wait? Today’s the perfect day to buy a new home and grad up to an $8,000 stimulus tax credit.
