The mind boggles!! $8000 in free cash, very few strings attached, from my favorite uncle, Uncle Sam. I’m sure you’ve already spent this money in your mind but here area a few more suggestions related to home ownership.
Let’s say you are short of cash for the down payment but you have a blood relative who would “gift” you the money if you promised to repay them some time in the future. If you were buying a home on an FHA mortgage, you would need 3.5% of the purchase price in down payment money. For $8000, you could buy up to a $230,000 home (assuming you qualified for that much monthly payment) and take a loan from uncle/aunt/grandma/mom. You could then collect your $8000 tax credit from Uncle Sam and pay them back this year. If you’ve read some of our other blogs, you know that the closing costs can be paid by the seller. You could get into that lovely home for FREE.
Or let’s say you are interested in a home but it needs some redecorating such as new carpet or flooring throughout ($4000), new paint in all the rooms ($300) and some new appliances in the kitchen ($3000). None of these fixes would make it hard for you to get mortgage approval but they might make it hard for you to LOVE your home. Buy the home, claim your $8000 tax credit and use the cash to create a home you LOVE. Put in the carpet, repaint the rooms in custom colors and buy those stainless steel kitchen appliances. Then sit back and enjoy.
Or let’s say the home is pretty darn nice but the yard isn’t. It’s been neglected, never had any landscaping or fencing for the kids and the dog, and the deck needs to be removed and rebuilt. Let’s plan a new deck ($5000) and let’s get some landscapers out there to put in the perennials, replace sod and add a tree or shrub or two ($3000). From ugly to lovely. There’s lots more ideas too but these should get you thinking of the POSSIBILITIES for that lovely $8000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.
For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs. “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.