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 Steve Goddard  Thursday, July 15th, 2010  Steve Goddard - 2010 C.A.R. President Dear C.A.R. Member,
Good news bears repeating.
President Obama recently signed a bill extending the closing deadline for the federal
home buyer tax credit to Sept. 30, 2010. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates that as many as 17,700 home buyers in California would not have received the tax credit without the extension. Perhaps you know someone who now will benefit from this legislation.
The president also signed HR 5569, the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010, funding the program through Sept. 30, 2010—good news for homeowners in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley and other 100-year floodplains. As you know, flood insurance is required for mortgages on properties in a 100-year floodplain. Congress has allowed the program to lapse three times this year, forcing many real estate transactions to be put on hold and, in some instances, cancelled. What happens in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., really does matter to your business.
The passage of these two pieces of legislation—which C.A.R. and NAR advocated for—demonstrates the importance of REALTOR® involvement in government. Legislative wins such as these require a focused and relentless presence at the state and national levels.
C.A.R.’s advocacy in the political arena this year also helped preserve property profiles after title companies stopped providing them in reaction to a letter issued by the Department of Insurance; thrice defeated a 3-percent independent contractor withholding proposal that would have accelerated income tax payments for our members; and defeated point-of-sale retrofits proposed through several pieces of legislation that could have added as much as $20,000 per home prior to closing escrow.
Continue reading: Your July Message from C.A.R. President Steve Goddard
Caylyn Brown Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Californians have a brief window of opportunity to receive up to $18,000 in combined federal and state homebuyer tax credits. To take advantage of both tax credits, a first-time homebuyer must enter into a purchase contract for a principal residence before May 1, 2010, and close escrow between May 1, 2010 and June 30, [...]
Caylyn Brown Friday, March 26th, 2010
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 [...]
Caylyn Brown Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
The California legislature on Monday passed AB 183, providing $200 million for home buyer tax credits. The Governor is expected to sign the bill into law this week. C.A.R. supported this important legislation since its inception. Part of a package of four bills passed at the request of the Governor, AB 183 is designed [...]
Caylyn Brown Thursday, November 5th, 2009
More good news for consumers, our members, and the housing market recovery. Following the Senate’s favorable vote yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives just voted 403 to 12 to extend the home buyer tax credit, expanding the parameters to include existing homeowners and not just first-time buyers. As you may know, C.A.R. and our partners at NAR have worked for months urging Congress and the Senate to extend and expand this crucial piece of legislation. We expect President Obama to sign the legislation in short order.
As it now stands, the federal tax credit will be extended through April 30, 2010, with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to the deadline. First-time home buyers will continue to be eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000, while existing homeowners will be eligible for a reduced credit of up to $6,500. To qualify for the $6,500 credit, existing homeowners must have lived in their current residences for at least five years. The bill also increases the qualifying income limits from $75,000 for single tax filers and $150,000 for joint filers to $125,000 and $225,000, respectively. The purchase price of the home is capped at $800,000 in both instances.
Continue reading: Tax Credit Expanded!
Charles McMillan Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
To: All REALTORS®
From: Charles McMillan, 2009 NAR President
Re: Tax Credit Extension/Expansion Gains Momentum
Dear Fellow REALTOR®,
With Congress moving quickly on a number of key issues, I wanted share some important news that you won’t read in the newspapers.
In my latest podcast, I explain why momentum is building – both in Congress and the Administration – in support of extending and possibly expanding the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.
http://www.realtor.org/about_nar/presidents_report/_podcast_archive/mcmillan_credithealthreform_20091020
My podcast also provides updates on other important activities in Washington, D.C., this week:
- First, NAR’s federal political coordinators are in town to urge Congress to act now on the tax credit. If you haven’t yet sent a letter to your Representatives and Senators, please go to the REALTOR® Action Center now and answer the call. We are so close – please keep pushing!
Continue reading: NAR Update – Tax Credit Extension/Expansion Gains Momentum
Kenneth Harney Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Quick passage by the House last week of a bill extending the $8,000 home buyer tax credit next year for military, diplomatic and intelligence personnel serving overseas increases the odds that Congress will agree to an extension, maybe even an expansion, of the entire credit program well into 2010.
The White House is also [...]
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