The deadline for closing on your home to get the $8000 tax credit is November 30th. It is coming up very soon for those looking to buy their first home!! Looking at the calendar, it is a Monday and happens to be the Monday right after Thanksgiving. So if you are planning to buy, I would strongly recommend that you try and close by the middle of November. If you schedule a closing for November 30th and something happens to hold up your closing (seller's side or your side), you will lose out on the $8000. Many mortgage and title companies are closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving, so that limits your time during that week. I would plan for closing no later than November 20th to give yourself time in case there is a problem.
As far as writing a purchase agreement, you really want to try and have a property selected and a purchase agreement written by the middle of October if possible. We can all rush the mortgage process, but if everyone is trying to write a purchase agreement in November and close by November 30th, it may not be possible! If you are buying a foreclosure, banks don't always respond quickly and that can delay your closing. A shortsale is going to be very difficult to get bank approval in time for a November 30th closing.
There is talk of extending or changing the stimulus plan for purchasing a home. But we don't know that it will happen and I would hate to see someone miss it just because they think it will be extended. I have seen a couple of articles with proposed bills in them to extend and change the tax credit. Many people believe the credit needs to be extended to next summer, but there are just as many that don't think the government should spend that much money on the tax credit.
As of right now, we do know that if you buy a home and close on or before November 30th, you may be able to qualify for up to $8000 in a tax credit! If you have questions about the credit, there is information available on the IRS website – www.irs.gov.
