As the deadline approaches (at least for now) on the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, home buyers in Berks County need to be aware of a few suggestions.
1. If you haven’t found a house yet, you better do it. Take the advice of your REALTOR if he or she tells you the home you like can’t settle by the 11/30/09 deadline. They are not out to “trick” you. If your agent has a buyer agency contract with you, they are working for you and want to help you.
2. Forget about buying a short sale, HUD home or bank-repo property. Delays are common, and you can’t take that chance. According to Tom Bitler, an agent with Century 21 Advance Realty and a bank repossession specialist, a bank repossession would be a bad choice. “A lot of these properties have delays with documents being ready for settlement. If you are buying a home for the purpose of getting the tax credit, buying a bank repo would not be a good course of action”, Bitler said.
3. Work with a local lender. Get your loan officer the information asked of you by the deadline the lender sets. If your loan package isn’t ready, you won’t make the settlement deadline.
4. Don’t schedule your settlement for November 30th (or the 28th or 29th for that matter). If you hit any snags, encounter any delays, or the mortgage company underwriter asks for any additional documentation, you might not settle until sometime in December. Patty Hoffman, a title officer from Spectrum Settlement Agency, said, “based on my years of experience doing closings, it is better to schedule a settlement a few days in advance of a deadline like the tax credit. If you schedule for the 30th and you need the tax credit, you are playing with fire”.
This is the “trick or treat” season, and the tax credit is a wonderful “treat”, so don’t be “tricked” by not heeding the cautions in this blog. Get your new home, settle on time, get the tax credit – what a treat that will be!
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