Our Association’s Governmental Affairs Director forwarded the following email to me. With all the confusion on Twitter and Blogs about these issues, I thought this was a good summary of where we are:
TO: STATE & LOCAL GADs:
Since there have been so many reports floating around out there I wanted
to give you a brief run-down of where we are at the moment and hopefully
arm you with some information as you get calls from your members and
leadership.Conforming Loan Limits – The extension of the current FHA & conforming
loan limits (125% of median home price up to $729,750) through December
31st, 2010 has been added to the Continuing Resolution and passed the
House & Senate. The President should sign the CR into law over the weekend
with the loan limit increase. This will have an enormous impact on the
availability of loans in higher-priced areas — thanks to all of you for
your dedicated work on this issue over the past month.Tax credit – I know that you’ve been inundated with Realtors looking for
more information about the extension & expansion of the homebuyer tax
credit. Thank you again for your dedicated grassroots efforts on this over
the past month. At this point we are very close to the finish line but we
are not there yet. The Senate has come to a broad agreement that outlines
what the extended and expanded credit ought to look like. This agreement
(the so-called Reid-Baucus-Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson Amendment) has now been
added to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) extension that will be considered
next week.However — while the tax credit has been added to the UI bill
successfully, it has NOT yet been voted on or put to the floor so I would
urge you to not “count our chickens” until we see a vote in the Senate
which will most likely occur on Monday evening. Following the senate vote,
the UI bill will go to the House where it is likely to be noncontroversial
given the importance of the UI extension (and homebuyer tax credit) to
House Democrats.The bottom line is that we will know a lot more by the middle of next week
what the credit extension will look like moving forward into next year.
Any additions encouragement you can give to Realtors to contact
I am including below the tentative agreement in the Senate. Please keep in
mind that neither chamber has voted on this to-date and any or all of
these provisions are subject to change at any point until the president’s
ink is dry.Homebuyer credit – Under current law, the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
is a refundable tax credit available to an individual buying a principal
residence for the first time. The credit phases out for individuals with
income between $75,000 and $95,000 and for joint filers with income
between $150,000 and $170,000. For purchases made on or after January 1,
2009 and before December 1, 2009 the tax credit is equal to the lesser of
$8,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price of the residence. Individuals
must repay the credit only if the principal residence is disposed of
within 36 months of purchase. For purchases made on or after April 9,
2008 and before January 1, 2009, the tax credit is equal to the lesser of
$7,500 or 10 percent of the purchase price of the residence. Individuals
purchasing homes in 2008 are also required to repay the credit over 15
years. This proposal would extend the availability of a homebuyer credit
to homes under a binding contract before April 30, 2010, allowing 60 days
to close.The other modifications are as follows:
1) The credit is phased out for individuals with income above $125,000 and
for joint filers with income about $225,000.2) An $8,000 credit is available to all first-time homebuyers.
3) A $6,500 credit is available to homebuyers who have been in their
current residence for the last five years or more.4) The credit is available only for the purchase of principal residences
with a purchase price of $800,000 or less.5) The proposal incorporates Senator McCaskill’s proposal in the Service
Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009 to eliminate the recapture
requirement for military personnel, including members of the Foreign
Service and intelligence community, forced to sell as a result of an
official extended duty of service and to allow military personnel serving
outside the United States for at least 90 days in 2009 or 2010 one
additional year to qualify for the credit.6) The proposal includes anti-fraud language.
7) The proposal also includes math error authority for the IRS.
Please of course feel free to contact me for additional clarification,
questions or concerns.All the best,
Chris
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Chris Gosselin
Political Representative
National Association of Realtors®
500 New Jersey Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 383-7516
http://twitter.com/NARpoliticsEast
