Make a Good Life

Hope for "Millennials" found at the car wash.....

My office is next door to a busy car wash.  I have my car washed there often and besides that, I drive by about a dozen times a day.  The adorable young men (I guess they are in their 20's) who work there are very hard-working.  They give me a little hope that not all young(er) people lack home-training.

I just finished venting to someone today about people sitting on park benches playing guitar (in the middle of the day!), or sitting in coffee shops(I know....this is my own issue to work out....).  I went on about how the "Millennials" (born 1977 to 1998) and younger just grew up without work habits, expecting things to be handed to them....the whole hoo-hah about entitlement, etc.  and what did their parents teach them anyway?  This sense of entitlement and lack of work-ethic is the root of our many social problems as well as the demise of our economy, starting with the free mortgage money we have been throwing around for years.....etc.  I have a horse and it is high.  The person to whom I was venting is used to it...

The point of this post (and it is a negligible one at that) is my appreciation for these hard-working young men.  They are literally out there bending and scrubbing from about 8:00 am until 6:00pm...same guys.  They are polite, friendly and concientious and not afraid to get out and work for a dollar. I always have absolute respect for anyone willing to work, and to work hard.  And kudos to their parents.....

The latest on the $8000 tax credit and how to use it

I was inundated with hits and emails and calls after I posted the last post about the $8000 tax credit and how to use it as a down-payment for a home.  I still do not have the succinct answer I want...nor can I find the information easily online, or elsewhere. So-I commiserate with you trying to find the information.

Here is the latest from a lender I trust, Shelly Zigler with PC Bank.  I will follow up with those who have contacted me within the next few days when I find out if this died after it passed through the Legislature......since Session is over (with the exception of a special session yet to be announced) I am assuming it died.

Read this below.....sounds sketchy and I am not sure of the logistics of making the timing work....but here it is:

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, qualifying taxpayers who purchase a home before Dec. 1 receive up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately. People can claim the credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.

The filing options to consider are:

File an extension. Taxpayers who haven’t yet filed their 2008 returns but are buying a home soon can request a six-month extension to October 15.  This step would be faster than waiting until next year to claim it on the 2009 tax return.  Even with an extension, taxpayers could still file electronically, receiving their refund in as few as 10 days with direct deposit.

File now, amend later. Taxpayers due a sizable refund for their 2008 tax return but who also are considering buying a house in the next few months can file their return now and claim the credit later.  Taxpayers would file their 2008 tax forms as usual, then follow up with an amended return later this year to claim the homebuyer credit.

Amend the 2008 tax return. Taxpayers buying a home in the near future who have already filed their 2008 tax return can consider filing an amended tax return. The amended tax return will allow them to claim the homebuyer credit on the 2008 return without waiting until next year to claim it on the 2009 return.

Claim the credit in 2009 rather than 2008. For some taxpayers, it may make more financial sense to wait and claim the homebuyer credit next year when they file the 2009 tax return rather than claiming it now on the 2008 tax return. This could benefit taxpayers who might qualify for a higher credit on the 2009 tax return. This could include people who have less income in 2009 than 2008 because of factors such as a job loss or drop in investment income.

I read this to say that if buyers are even considering buying a home soon, and they are approved for a purchase loan (or will be), they can file for the credit now and use that to close. If for some reason the loan doesn't close, come 2009 tax season, the buyer will be held accountable with penalty interest added.

For the latest updates CLICK HERE

Sunday Open House

Visit me at The Reserve at Cooper Point this Sunday from 1-4pm.  I am hosting this home, the last owned by the original Street of Dreams builders in this community.  Address is 3549 37th Ct. NW

Click here to see the listing:

http://www.greenerealty.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=29049786&PRM_MlsName=NorthWestMLS

Area Stats. for March 2009

New listings                                         Total Active Listings                   

March 2009     March 2008          March   2009   March 2008  

429                        602               1,551                  1,980               

We have closed 533 sales Year to Date in 2009 vs. 679 Year to Date last year (2008).  Average market time Year to Date is 114 days. 

Want $8000. loan towards a down-payment on a new home?

The Senate Ways and Means Committee unanimously adopted our amendment to the state budget authorizing the State Treasurer to invest $25 million in a short-term loan program in order to provide an advance payment of the federal first-time home buyers’ tax credit, allowing potential home buyers to utilize the tax credit as down payment when closing the sale of their first home.

The 2009 Economic Recovery and Revitalization Act included a “refundable” tax credit worth up to 10% of the home purchase price with a maximum of $8,000 for taxpayers who purchase a home between January 1 and November 30, 2009. There is a demand from first-time home buyers – responsible people with jobs, good credit, and the ability to make the monthly mortgage payment. However, many of these potential home buyers still need down payment assistance and they can't get the $8,000 until after the sale is closed. Lack of down payment is the only barrier to home ownership for up to 50 percent of qualified first time home buyers. The Washington State Treasurer’s Office, Housing Finance Commission and Washington REALTORS® are proposing a Tax Credit Advance Loan program that would advance the $8,000 tax credit at closing of a home sale and be repaid when the credit is received by the IRS.

Please read the article below, dated April 15, 2009, prior to the approval noted above.

 

REVIVING THE HOUSING MARKET

A plan to get things moving

Despite the glimmers of hope President Obama, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and others may see on the horizon, the economy's short-term prognosis remains weak. Key to getting it healthy will be restoring some vigor to the ailing housing sector, and a creative but responsible plan now being pushed in Olympia aims to help with that.

The proposal would make a federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers go farther by allowing it to be put toward the actual home purchase. A provision of the federal stimulus package offers a credit of up to $8,000 to buyers who haven't owned a home in the past three years -- buyers must also have incomes of no more than $75,000 for an individual or $150,000 for a married couple to qualify -- but it's a refundable credit. In other words, you don't get the money until weeks or months after the home purchase has closed.

A budget proviso authored by the state Treasurer's Office and pushed by Sen. Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens) and the state Realtors would set up a mechanism to get the tax-credit money to buyers at closing, removing the lack of a sufficient down payment as an obstacle.

The treasurer would deposit up to $25 million in a short-term, interest-bearing, federally-insured account to fund the program, and the institution receiving that deposit would in turn make a low-cost line of credit available to the Housing Finance Commission, which would pre-qualify borrowers for the federal tax credit and make that amount available at closing. The money is paid back as soon as the tax credit is made available. The Housing Finance Commission would assess a modest administrative fee to the buyer.

The state Realtors would put up $400,000 as security against unforeseen losses.

State Treasurer Jim McIntire estimates that up to 2,800 homebuyers could take advantage of the program -- no small number in today's market. "It's a start," McIntire says, a way to help get the housing market moving again.

The real-estate slump has hit private and public sectors hard. When home sales plummet, so do sales of appliances, furniture and other home fixtures. State, county and city budgets have suffered as real estate excise taxes have dwindled.

Responsible efforts to start turning those trends around -- that excludes a return to the practice of making mortgage loans that can't possibly be repaid -- are welcome. The Legislature should approve this one.