FREE MONEY, when you buy your first home…well, not really.

mark — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:20:49 +0000

Yes, it’s time to pay the piper. That free money give away that was supposed to be an economic stimulus, has come home to roost. The First Time Buyer Tax Credit 1.0. This first rendition of the stimulus was flawed by the payback portion in the fine print as opposed to the First Time Buyer Tax Credit 2.0 of 2009/10. This was the real deal,$8,000.00 give away for first timers to get in the game. And, it worked for that brief blip in time.

http://bit.ly/eBCAyi

Free Money

So what does this mean to those First Time Home Buyers that made their purchase with the first rendition? The answer is, when you file your income taxes this year, Uncle Sam wants the first payment on the no interest loan you got for buying a home. Please pay the first of the 15 year payments of $500.00. Dang, what the what? I can see another round of bait and switch crying going on here. “I never read the fine print!” or “My accountant, mortgage person, realtor never explained this to me…I want retribution.” Unfortunately, those mentioned above did not put this together for you. In order to have taken (advantage?) of this incentive, the borrower exclusively, would have had to be the one to file with the IRS in order to receive the ….gift.

First Time Buyer Special

So, where does that leave our First Time Home Buyer that used round one of the stimulus? The first call is to your accountant or tax preparer. Chances are, you tend to get money back due to the interest deduction you are allowed to write off. Insert disclaimer here( I’m no expert, every case is different). What I’m saying is, the buyer has a job still, the taxes are being collected from your pay, you file your taxes and the interest you payed lowers your taxable income, so you may be entitled to a refund….wait for it…here’s the difference….after the $500.00 is paid to the IRS/Treasury, for lending you the $7,500.00 in the first place. It’s not all bad when you look at it that way? You got a new kitchen or bath right? You made the new home habitable? You took it and bet it all on black at the casino? Either way, you received a no interest loan for 15 years. Not too shabby.

So go ahead and enjoy the good life of home ownership. Weild that paint brush, climb that ladder, take out the trash. Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.

Mark McHugh is a full time Realtor working in Rhode Island. He offers expert advise in all areas of home buying and selling in the area. He has helped countless numbers of people acheive their dreams in the real estate market. He can be reached at 401-641-3842 markm@slocumrealty.com

First time home buyers Q & A. There are no silly questions.

mark — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:23:08 +0000

There is no doubt about it these days first time buyers are a very large part of the market. There are some areas of Rhode Island that specifically lend themselves to these buyers. The cities of Warwick, Cranston, Providence are just a few. The affordable housing, proximity to employment, schools and other services, have historically made these great places to purchase property. Most recently I have helped many first time home buyers from all walks of life, get settled in these cities. Through out the process there is a whole lot of educating the buyer that goes on, and it is a ton of information to digest in a single session. Start with the Federal Governments Housing and Urban Developement ( HUD ) site : http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/buying/buyhm.cfm

And as always, call, text, email Mark McHugh 401-641-3842, markm@slocumrealty.com , because there are no silly questions when it comes to buying your first home.

Rhode Island Real Estate by Mark McHugh » home

FREE MONEY, when you buy your first home…well, not really.

First time home buyers Q & A. There are no silly questions.