Is the Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended? No. The Senate approved a proposal yesterday to extend the CLOSING period of the tax credit from the current June 30th to September 30th. If you weren’t eligible for the credit today you won’t be when and if the Senate and House vote to pass the actual legislation and turns it into law. The extension is to benefit those that were already in contract by April 30th.
The Wall Street Journal also reports on those trying to fraudulently claim the tax deduction by backdating contracts. This is my favorite recent real estate related quote:
Backdating a contract would be both wrong and risky. “That would be fraud on the federal government,” notes Mark Fiedler of Coldwell Banker Legacy, Rio Rancho, N.M. “As a broker, I would not participate in that activity, although there may be others who might. My license enables me to earn a living, and the FBI is not someone I want to cozy up to.” Besides, Mr. Fiedler says, the FBI is “busy putting people in jail for mortgage fraud right now, so let’s not overwork them.”
This extension is great news for anyone who has a property under contract. It takes a lot of pressure off of the buyers who have been rushing to close on time. Banks and title companies have been backed up because of the rush to buy at the end of April. Too bad the tax credit has expired; it motivated a lot of people to get off the fence.