Thursday, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009 extending the current $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit to November 30, 2010 for members of 
the military, Foreign Service, and intelligence corp who served at least three months of qualified overseas duty in 2009. At least for now the program is set to expire on November 30th, 2009 for everyone else. The justification for the extension stems from the fact that if you’ve been serving abroad, it makes it difficult to look for a house and take advantage of the program. Extending it another year certainly makes sense.
The bill still needs to pass the Senate, be reconciled, then signed by the President before it is law. Given the circumstances this seems highly likely.
As for plans to extend the existing tax credit for all non military persons, there are several proposals floating around on capitol hill. These range from extending the current law for another six months to increasing the credit to $15,000.00, extending the credit to all homebuyers, and even extending a $3,000.00 credit to those refinancing in 2010.
You may remember that before the current law was passed there were several options that were far more grandiose. It is likely the current law will be extended in its current form with little change for a period of 6 to 12 months. That being said, it is unlikely we will have certainty on this issue until November 30th. I would not advise complacency now. If you are in the market to buy a home now and you are a first time home buyer… get cracking. You are running out of time. Too, if you are waiting in hopes for a better deal to come out of Washington next year, don’t hold your breath. It is unlikely.
If you have not started the process due to poor credit, now is the time to start. Put together a plan that will have you ready to purchase before this possible second opportunity passes you by.
