Governor signs home tax credit bill. Governor Schwarzenegger today signed AB 183 providing $200 million for home buyer tax credits.  The bill allocates $100 million for qualified first-time home buyers who purchase existing homes and $100 million for purchasers of new, or previously unoccupied, homes.

Eligible taxpayers who close escrow on qualified principal residences between May 1, 2010 and December, 31, 2010, or who close escrow on a qualified principal residence on and after December 31, 2010 and before August 1, 2011, pursuant to an enforceable contract executed on or before December 31, 2010, will be able to take the allowed tax credit.

This credit is equal to the lesser of 5 percent of the purchase price or $10,000, taken in equal installments over three consecutive years. Under the bill, purchasers will be required to live in the home as their principal residence for at least two years or forfeit the credit (i.e. repay it to the state).  Buyers also must be at least 18 years old and be unrelated to the seller.  First-time buyers are defined as those who have not owned a home in the past three years.

To learn more about the California Home Buyer Tax Credit, click here

 

Option ARM mortgages still pose a risk. Inside the fallout from risky housing boom loans in Sacramento, one particularly notorious brand of mortgage, the option ARM, still looms as big potential trouble. Read more…

 

More homeowners are opting for 'strategic defaults' Underwater on their mortgages and angry at banks, more borrowers are choosing to hand over the keys, even if they can afford the payments. Read more…

 

Homeowners love their yards. They plant gardens, create cozy areas for entertaining, and install decorative elements that they’re as happy to look at from the kitchen window as they are from their chaise lounge. Read more…

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