15,000 Reasons to Buy a New House

Another agent just called a colleague of mine to ask if his clients could delay by about a week on the purchase of the home they’d agreed to buy.  The clients didn’t want to buy the house until they were sure they’d get that $15,000 tax credit portion of that the stimulus package promises, and they thought it might pass within a week.

I think it’s cute that someone thinks our government works that fast and that a)the House and Senate would ever agree to something that quickly and b)the minute the plan passes – boom! – a check for 15K shows up in your mailbox.

According to the web site of the author of the plan, Georgia Senator Johnny Isaksen, the $15,000 tax credit would

…not have to be repaid.

The amendment would allow taxpayers to claim the credit on their 2008 income tax return. It also seeks to prevent misuse by only allowing purchases of a principal residence and by recapturing the credit if the home is sold within two years of purchase. The amendment would sunset the current $7,500 housing tax credit on the date of enactment.

So, see, go ahead and buy the house whenever you want.  They’ll make it retroactive or cover you somehow.

Read the entire press release from his web site here.