Obama's Home Stimulus Plan is an attempt by the government to try to stimulate the housing market which has been in a rapid decline. Home values have plummeted, and foreclosure is at an all-time high rate. This program has several facets involved in its attempt to jumpstart the housing market, and ultimately the economy.
There is a First-Time Buyers Stimulus Plan that provides a tax credit to help people who have not owned a house in the last three years make a home purchase. It is at 10% of the purchase price, up to $8,000. The really great thing about this tax credit is that it is a refundable credit, meaning you don't have to owe that much in taxes to get the amount. It would come as a refund. The maximum income allowable to qualify for this is $75,000 for a single person and $150,000 for a couple. The home has to be purchased between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.
The Refinance Package is an option for people who need to refinance their mortgage, but they have not got the traditional 20% equity any longer due to the dropping market value of the real estate. Refinance can be done for qualifying homeowners who owe up to 105% of the current market value of the home. Applicants for this program must be current with their house payments, and can't have been more than 60 days late during the last year. The application deadline for this program is June 10, 2010.
The Mortgage Modification Package is available to millions of homeowners who are behind in their payments already. This is a program specifically to prevent foreclosure by lowering monthly payments through actually reworking existing loans. The banks receive stimulus funds in the form of an incentive to do these loan modifications. The applicants for this program must have experienced financial hardship. The application deadline is December 31, 2012.
Obama's Home Stimulus Plan has several arms reaching out to save the sinking housing market and the drowning homeowners, too.
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