Hands On The Heartland
Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market
The expiration date for the $8,000 tax credit is December 1, 2009. I’m finding out that many first time Kansas City home buyers don’t realize that they must close on the home by December 1st. Diligent lenders and new government regulations on how loans are done is adding time on to loan process – and thus on how long it takes to get a home closed. While it’s still possible to get some loans completed and ready for closing in 3 weeks, you’re asking for trouble if you count on it. In fact, most lenders are telling me to advise buyers to seek no quicker than a 30 days closing and 45 days is a much better plan.
Time Is Running Out On $8000 Tax Credit
45 days before December 1st would put us around October 15th or sooner for getting under contract and having a realistic opportunity to enjoy the $8,000 tax credit. Can you imagine being a home buyer where the appraisal is delayed causing the loan to not be ready by December 1st? What is the recourse for the homebuyer? The answer is none under the current rules. Of course the government is changing the rules on a daily basis and what I’m writing right now could be outdated tomorrow.
As of right now, having a signed contract is not good enough. Having a full loan approval is not good enough. Having a ready, willing and able buyer, seller, lender, appraiser, title company, home inspector, repair company, home warranty company, listing agent and buyer’s agent, is important but if the home closes on December 2nd you can forget about receiving that $8,000 to replenish the checking account, to pay of those credit card bills, to go to the Bahamas or to invest in the stock market (yes, some of us are still doing that).
A good time line is to start looking at homes 60 days before you’re ready to close. So if we started a home search on October 1st that would be enough time to locate a home, go under contract and be closed by December 1st. But if you’re not a gambler and want to allow yourself some time should a close date extension be needed for some reason during the process, then you’re advised to plan for a closing date of, say, November 1st. That would mean starting the home search by September 1st. That’s about a month from now, so if first time homebuyers want to take advantage of the $8,000 government handout, they should get pre-approved, select their real estate agent and start narrowing their search parameters online over the next few weeks.
Posted by Jason A. Brown
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