Tax Credit and CHFA Update
November 24th 2009 11:31 am
Well my last update told you that the IRS tax credit has been extended and expanded to include non-first time buyers. I do have one correction. I reported that the $6,500 for “move-up” buyers went into affect on December 1 but it actually went into affect the moment that the President signed the bill. So if you have bought a house that closed since November 6, Then you can get an extra $6,500 for the trouble.
CHFA has also extended it’s Jumpstart program so that first time buyers can still take advantage of getting their FHA downpayment covered with a loan that is equal to 3.5% of the purchase price but there will be no interest or payments charged as long as the loan is paid off by February 1, 2011. This assumes, of course, that once the buyer gets their $8,000 tax credit (or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less), they will pay off that CHFA 2nd loan. If they do not pay it off by February 1, 2011 then CHFA will start charging monthly payments at 8% and the payoff term is over 10 years, not 30 years so there is a good incentive to pay that off by February 1, 2011.
At any rate, this is a great way to help a first timer with little money to get into a home and not have them worry about having a payment on that 2nd loan. Unfortunately, this program is not allowed to be used by the so called “move-up” buyers. By the way, That term is a little bit deceiving. Any buyer that owned a home and buys another home may be eligible for the $6,500, not just “move-up” buyers assuming they meet all of the criteria.
CHFA still has very lenient income limits, as high as $87,400 on this Jumpstart program and $98,800 on the regular CHFA Homeopener program. The purchase limits are up to $324,300.
CHFA still requires the buyer to put a minimum of $1,000 in to the transaction and each person on the loan will have to attend a first time buyers class which can be taken in a classroom setting or on-line. For more info on all the CHFA programs go to www.CHFAinfo.com or give me a call. I will be happy to answer any questions.
If you are a REALTOR and you want more in depth awareness of what is going on in the Mortgage industry, consider attending a 2 hour workshop that I am presenting on December 2 from 12-2pm at the Denver Board of Realtors. This will cover new tighter underwriting guidelines, FHA Condo Approvals, the new RESPA/TILA laws, and much more. Call the DBR at 303-300-8500 to register.
A great site for all things REAL ESTATE is www.insiderealestatenews.com This is edited by John Rebchook, formerly of the Rocky Mtn News.
Let me know if you have any questions. Mark Afman