Alpharetta Cumming Lake Lanier Real Estate Blog

To take advantage of the $8000 HomeBuyer Tax credit your loan must close by November 30th, 2009!

Congress legislation providing a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyer's general information refresher below...



If you qualify and would like to take advantage of the tax credit at a time when mortgage rates and home prices are low, contact us today. It's a fantastic time to buy a home in the Cumming, Alpharetta and Lake Lanier area, especially since you may also qualify for the new $1800 home buyer tax credit passed in Georgia.

The Georgia Homebuyer tax credit makes for a powerful new home stimulus plan when combined with the Federal $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. For more information on the Georgia Tax Credit click here.

Call us today! It's a great time to buy in Georgia! Also, check out the foreclosure listings in the area through a special link on our website.

Labels: $1800, $8000, 2009, Alpharetta, cumming, first time home buyer, georgia, Home, lake lanier, market, real estate, stimulus, tax credit

Lake Lanier will receive $8.3 million in federal stimulus money out of a larger package of $293 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mobile District.

There is a possible added bonus in the form of $3 million to complete a study tied to the management of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin. That basin and the use of its water has been a contentious issue between Georgia, Alabama and Florida. The new study would set guidelines for when and how much water should be released from Lanier. That may prove welcome to people in the Lake Lanier area because the Corps recently surprised people with its decision to increase outflows from the lake.

Click here for a full breakdown of the projects planned for Lake Lanier. The Corps promises to start awarding the first contracts within 45 days.

Labels: lake lanier, stimulus, US Army Corps of Engineers

Here are the basics to the recently passed Federal Legislation that grants a tax credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers.

Who Qualifies?
First-time home buyers who purchase homes between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.
To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” the purchaser or his/her spouse may not have owned a residence during the three years prior to the purchase.

Which Properties Are Eligible?
The 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.

How Much Will the Credit Be?
The maximum allowable credit for home buyers is $8,000. Each home buyer’s tax credit is determined by two factors:

The price of the home—the credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to $8,000.

The buyer's income—single buyers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000—may receive the maximum tax credit.

If the Buyer(s)’ Income Exceeds These Limits, Can He/She Still Get a Credit?
Yes, some buyers may still be eligible for the credit.

The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $75,000 and $95,000 for single buyers and between $150,000 and $170,000 for home buyers filing jointly. The amount of the tax credit decreases as his/her income approaches the maximum limit. Home buyers earning more than the maximum qualifying income—over $95,000 for singles and over $170,000 for couples are not eligible for the credit.

Will the Tax Credit Need to Be Repaid?
No. The buyer does not need to repay the tax credit, if he/she occupies the home for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during the three-year period, the credit will be recouped on the sale.

Labels: 2009, first time home buyer, stimulus, tax credit

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 is a hot topic and is expected to be signed by the President this week. So what will the bill do? Here's a look at some key points to help understand the bill.

— Give the Treasury Department the power to extend Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac an unspecified line of credit and to buy their stock, if necessary, to prop up the mortgage companies. The two companies back or own $5 trillion in U.S. mortgages — nearly half the nation's total.

— Allow qualified homeowners facing foreclosure to apply for lower fixed-rate, 30-year mortgages backed by loan guarantees from the Federal Housing Administration. The original lenders would have to agree to take a loss on their loans.

— Create an independent regulator to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The regulator could establish minimum capital requirements for the two companies and limits on their portfolios. It would also have approval power over the pay packages of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives.

— Provide $3.9 billion in grants to communities with the highest foreclosure rates to buy foreclosed and abandoned properties.

— Give about $15 billion in housing tax breaks, including a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time homebuyers who bought homes between April 9, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

— Put a cap of $625,500 on the loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy in certain high-priced areas, and a cap in other areas of up to 15 percent above the median home price.

— Count any federal infusion for the mortgage giants under the debt limit, essentially capping how much the government could spend to stabilize the companies without further approval from Congress. As of Tuesday, the national debt that counts toward the limit stood at about $9.5 trillion, roughly $360 billion below the statutory ceiling.

— It also includes important changes that will dramatically affect senior citizens through modifications to the standard Federal Housing Administration HECM reverse mortgage product.

Labels: fannie mae, foreclosure, Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, freddie mac, housing bill, stimulus, The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008