$15,000 Home Buyer Credit Passes Senate for ANY Buyer

Making heads or tails of the economic recovery wrangling going on in Congress is difficult. There seems to be an abundance of nebulous terms and descriptions floating around that really don’t state specifics. I’ve read some of it but news today for the housing industry and potential home buyers looks to be promising

Yesterday the Senate approved a tax credit for home buyers and added it to the Recovery Act. It appears that the $7,500 credit currently in place for first time home buyers in place is being revised.

In an amendment today to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1) this showed up:

ANY home buyer on any home is eligible for a tax credit of $15,000 or 10% of the value of the home, which ever is less. Previous stipulations required that the person was a first-time home buyer. There are still repayment regulations if the home is sold within a certain amount of time so this is not designed to help with short – term investment purchases.

The home buyer must come with at least a 5% down payment, which can not be part of an assistance program or a loan to be repaid to someone else.

The Recovery and Reinvestment act is a hotly contested item in Washington right now. This part may, or may not, remain the same as the Act moves toward a vote.

If it stays somewhat in this configuration, those folks who have been waiting to purchase homes may find this is the perfect incentive to do so.