This is great news for first-time homebuyers who may have been sitting on the fence until now hoping that prices will drop even further and hoping against hope that interest rates will remain low.  Prices will drop further but will interest rates remain low forever.  Probably not.  In any event, those who are of the scenario above will not have lost their opportunity to cash in on the firstime homebuyer credit.  It's not a done deal yet as this article states however there is room for hope.

The Washington Post October 29, 2009

By COREY BOLES and JOHN D. MCKINNON
WASHINGTON -- Senate negotiators reached a tentative deal to extend a tax credit for first-time home buyers, but its passage remains uncertain.
The agreement would extend the existing credit for first-time home buyers, worth up to $8,000, while offering a new credit of up to $6,500 for some existing homeowners, Senate aides said. The reduced credit would be available to all home buyers who have been in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years.
The new provisions are aimed at broadening availability of the credit beyond first-time buyers and giving the weakened real-estate market a bigger boost while preventing real-estate investors from benefiting.
Many property experts have cited the credit as a reason for signs of recovery in the housing market in recent months. But that recovery was somewhat undercut by the September drop in new-home sales reported Wednesday.
The credit would be extended from its current expiration date of Dec. 1 to all contracts entered into by April 30, and closed before July 1. It is expected that income limits on people claiming the credit would be increased to $125,000 for singles and $250,000 for couples, from the current $75,000 and $150,000, aides said. The credit phases out for people making more than those amounts.
While Senate lawmakers appear to have reached a deal on the substance of the tax credit, they are still at odds over how it would be brought to the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) hopes to add it to a bill currently on the Senate floor to extend federal unemployment insurance benefits. But agreement on that hasn't been finalized.
While Senate Republicans are likely to support the measure, House Democrats have raised concerns that it carries a high cost to the government. The Internal Revenue Service is examining the program for alleged abuse.
Write to Corey Boles at corey.boles@dowjones.com and John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A4
 

The foreclosure tidal wave has hit Washington state just as it has hit states across the nation.  And with the softening economy, homeowners who are having difficulty in making their mortgage payments because of lay-offs, cancelled overtime, sickness, divorce and a myriad of other factors, now face the grim prospect of losing their home.  Amid all this anxiety and stress, there is however a light at the end of the tunnel.

It's called a Short Sale.  That is, where the lender will accept less than is owed for a property when it is a Short Sale.  And they're happening every day.  True there are some other avenues that the lender might ask of the homeowner first before they short sell their home, such as Loan Modification, but if the homeowner does not have the ability to pay the newly reduced mortgage payment and at the same time have the desire to stay in the home for 3-5 years, then a Short Sale is the answer.

With a Short Sale, a homeowner can have the ability to purchase another home in just 24 months.  That's right!  And, a Short Sale does not go on the homeowner's credit report as a foreclosure would.  It saves the homeowner's credit from the devastation of a foreclosure and allows the defaulting borrower to actually move on with life - get out from under the anxiety and stress of not being able to make their mortgage payments. 

With my Visions for Tomorrow program - from the beginning, I list your property, short sell it,  help you find your rental property and in just 24 months sell you your next home.  How sweet that is.  Call me today and let's get you on your way to peace of mind.

Anyone listing with me, I will make a donation in your name or the name of a loved one to the Susan G Komen Foundation towards a cure for breast cancer.