Yesterday, President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The bill is an effort to help reduce foreclosures and revitalize the housing market.  While some of the provisions won’t take effect until the 4th quarter (or until the current Economic Stimulus package ends on Dec. 31, 2008), some the items take effect now.  Here are some of the highlights of the bill.

• First time home buyer tax credit.  What is essentially a 15 year, no interest loan, this max $7500 government loan will help first time buyers and is effective as of 4/8/2008.  The loan amount is based on the purchase prices and NAR put together a handy file that can be found here: NAR PDF.
• FHA foreclosure rescue, which is a refinance program developed for people with trouble sub-prime loans.
• Loan originator requirements. The purpose here is to prevent fraud and require minimum licensing and education requirements for people and strengthen the existing state run programs.

While I could go on and on, you can find even more of the highlights here.

As you’ll see, many of the provisions are dependent on the ending of the current stimulus package, while at least one is available immediately.  Since I’m not an accountant or financial consultant, I encourage you to contact yours to see how provisions in this bill may help you.  If you’ve purchased a home (as a first time buyer) after April 9 of this year, then definitely check on how to take advantage of the tax credit provision.

If you’ve been thinking about purchasing your first (or second or third) home, feel free to contact me. I’ll be happy to help guide you through the process.

Photo used with permission via creative commons courtesy of thinkpanama

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