Atlanta Home Buyers Take Advantage of $8,000 Tax Credit

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence. It also authorized a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified repeat home buyers. To be eligible, you must have a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010 and a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010.

A tax credit of up to $8,000 is now available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. Unlike the tax credit enacted in 2008, the new credit does not have to be repaid.

Who is Eligible?
• The $8,000 tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.
• The law defines a first-time home buyer as a buyer who has not owned a home during the past three years. If you've owned an investment property that was not your principle residence, you may still be eligible.
• All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.

Types of Homes That Qualify for the Tax Credit
• All homes within the United States, whether single-family, townhomes or condominiums will qualify.
• The home must be used as a principal residence.
• The tax credit includes newly-constructed homes.

Tax Credit Is Refundable
A refundable credit means that if you pay less than $8,000 in federal income taxes, then the government will send you a check for the difference.
• For example, if you owe $5,000 in federal income taxes, you would pay nothing to the IRS and receive a $3,000 payment from the government.
• If you are due to receive a $1,000 tax refund from the government, your refund would increase to $9,000 ($1,000 plus $8,000 from the homebuyer tax credit).

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Atlanta: A Best City To Buy A Home

Recently, Forbes magazine rated Atlanta as one of top 10 best cities to buy a home and I would have to agree.

Forbes magazine 2008 "Best Cities To Buy A Home" list took into consideration appreciation rates, vacancy rates and rent rates in 40 of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.

Exerpt from Forbes magazine "Best Cities To Buy A Home":

"A city that constantly tops our lists of best places for just about anything, Atlanta is a great place to buy a home. With median properties in the $170,000 neighborhood, this booming city is affordable and packed with things to do. Ranked No. 6 on the 2008 Best Places For Business list, Atlanta has jobs and a competitive cost of living. This means taking out a mortgage is a safe long-term decision."

Source: Forbes, Maurna Desmond (07/14/08)

Related Post: Buy a home in Atlanta: Make over $40,000 in 4 Years

Atlanta Home Prices: Relatively Small Decline

In a recent interview, Princeton economist Paul Krugman spoke with Fortune's Jia Lynn Yang about the economy and the outlook for home prices in which he specifically mentions the Atlanta market. See what he has to say.

How far do you think home prices will fall?

My preferred metric is the ratio of home prices to rental rates. By that measure, average home prices nationally got way too high. We'll probably basically retrace all that. So that's about a 25% decline in overall home prices. Only a fraction of that's happened so far. Of course, it varies a lot. In places like Houston or Atlanta, where home prices have not risen much compared with underlying rents, the decline will be relatively small. In places like Miami or Los Angeles, you could be looking at 40% or 50% declines.

Article: How bad is the mortgage crisis going to get?

Related Post: Buy a home in Atlanta: Make over $40,000 in 4 Years

Atlanta Open Houses - Metro Brokers Super Sunday 3/9/08

As a home buyer, there is only one special day of each month when you're given the opportunity to attend Open Houses at over 400 homes throughout metro Atlanta: Metro Brokers Super Sunday. And as a special incentive for attending one of the many Metro Brokers Super Sunday Open Houses, you could enter to win $1,000 cash.

The next Super Sunday will be held on Sunday, March 9th from 2PM-5PM.

For a list of homes open during the March 9th Metro Brokers Super Sunday Open House and for complete rules of entry for the monthly $1000 cash drawing, click the links below.

• Search For Metro Brokers Super Sunday Open Houses
• Super Sunday Promotion Rules

Buying An Older Home in DeKalb County? Old Toilets Will Mean No Water Service

If you plan on buying or selling one of the 165,000+ homes built before 1993 in DeKalb County, please be aware that starting this June buyers will be required to have proof of "low-flow" toilets before the county will hook up water service.

For sellers, having these fixtures already updated before placing your home on the market can be an excellent selling point that makes your home stand out.

To help homeowners meet this new mandate, DeKalb County is offering two rebate options. The first is a $50.00 rebate for the purchase of any approved 1.6 gallons per flush toilet on the list of eligible toilets. The second option is a $100.00 rebate for the purchase of any approved 1.28 gallons per flush toilet on the list of eligible toilets.

For more information on the Toilet Rebate Program and list eligible toilets, click here.