Tracy Brister

Industry News

FHA Preps Tax Credit for Down Payment Use

By Diana Golobay
May 12, 2009 3:08 PM CST

Home buyers qualifying for Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages may soon use the new first-time home buyer $8,000 tax credit as a down payment, US Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan said today. The process of applying the tax credit toward down payment, called ‘monetization’ in the industry, allows for FHA-qualified borrowers to use the tax credit to obtain a government-insured mortgage.
Donovan’s announcement came at a National Association of Realtors legislative summit this morning, although HUD’s details on the initiative aren’t scheduled for official release until next week. The initiative will allow FHA-approved lenders to monetize the tax credit through short-term bridge loans, letting borrowers access the funds at the closing table. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a down payment,” Donovan said, according to NAR.
The tax credit arrived as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for qualifying taxpayers that buy homes in 2009. The law states that qualifying home buyers may claim up to $8,000 — or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately — on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. Unlike the previous law — which required recipients of the tax credit to repay the funds over a number of years without interest — the new home buyer credit effective with the passage of the act does not have to be repaid.

Pulte-Centex merger could signal housing market rebound

Deal creates largest homebuilder in U.S., Central Texas.

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, April 09, 2009

Pulte Homes Inc. will become the largest homebuilder nationally and in Central Texas, catapulted to the top by a planned merger with Centex Homes that some local experts say could signal a housing market rebound. Local developers say more consolidations could follow as homebuilders try to survive the worst housing downturn in a generation.

The merger, announced Wednesday and expected to become final later this year, is a stock-for-stock deal valued at $1.3 billion. In Central Texas, the merger pairs the second- and third-largest builders: In 2008, Centex sold 767 homes, and Pulte sold 665, according to housing market researcher Metrostudy. Richard Dugas Jr., president and chief executive officer of Michigan-based Pulte, said the combination "puts us in an excellent position to navigate through the current housing downturn." The combined company will operate under the Pulte name. Read more.....

First-time purchasers get a tax credit windfall if they buy before December

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: February 17, 2009: 12:13 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There's a nice windfall for some homebuyers in the economic stimulus bill awaiting President Obama's signature on Tuesday. First-time buyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 - or 10% of the home's value, whichever is less - on their 2008 or 2009 taxes.

A big plus is that the credit is refundable, meaning tax filers see a refund of the full $8,000 even if their total tax bill - the amount of witholding they paid during the year plus anything extra they had to pony up when they filed their returns - was less than that amount. But there has been a lot of confusion over this provision. Adam Billings of Knoxville, Tenn. wrote to CNNMoney.com asking:

"I will qualify as a first-time home buyer, and I am currently set to get a small tax refund for 2008. Does that mean if I purchased now that I would get an extra $8,000 added on top of my current refund?" The short answer? Yes, Billings would get back the $8,000 plus what he'd overpaid. The long answer? It depends. Read more...

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