First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit – A Sad Sad Story

By now, most everyone knows the details of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit – if you don’t here are the basics:

• $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers or those who have not owned in the last three years.
• Current homeowners are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit if they have lived in their current home consecutively for five of the past eight years.
• Income limits are $125,000 for singles and $225,00 for couples.
• Qualified homeowners need to have a written, binding contract by April 30, 2010 to be eligible.

When the tax credit was extended from November through April and my husband and I were thrilled at the possibility of taking advantage of the opportunity to buy a home in Austin, TX. Unfortunately, even though we were approved for a mortgage last summer in Chicago, qualifying factors have become more stringent and we were not approved for a mortgage when we reapplied last fall.

{insert kicking, screaming, and Nancy Kerrigan-esque “whyyyyyyy’s” here}

Even though we aren’t able to take advantage of the tax credit, an estimated 22 million did in 2009 and many more are in the process of reaping the benefits of the extention in 2010 – and we are happy for them.

Really. We are.

As we sit in our one bedroom apartment. Eating Ramen Noodles.

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