Use of Incentives to Buy Foreclosure Property for Sale
Thousands of Missouri first-time homebuyers are joining the hordes of investors to buy foreclosure property for sale. The scene in the housing market right now is far different over last year.
With the economy still unstable and unemployment rising, many prospective homebuyers were bidding their time to become homeowners, preferring to wait out for the housing and economy to stabilize. But many of them have changed their minds and decided to buy foreclosure properties. The change is driven by the federal government’s $8,000 tax credit offered to first-time homebuyers.
The federal program gives first-time homebuyers a credit of $8,000 on their income taxes provided that they purchase a foreclosure property for sale and closed on the deal before the initiative expires on November 30.
Many first-time homebuyers said that they would not have purchased houses this year, preferring to wait for the economy and housing market to stabilize. However, they said that they changed their mind and decided to buy houses to take advantage of the tax credit program.
The tax credit is not the only program that helps first-time homebuyers in Missouri. The Home Ownership Assistance Program in Columbia also offers 5 percent or $5,000 of the total purchase price of a property to first-time homebuyers. Only first-time homebuyers who have met the income and location requirements could avail of the program. Under the program, eligible homebuyers can use the money to pay for deposit and closing costs.
Additionally, the Missouri Neighborhood Stabilization Down Payment Assistance Program provides down payment assistance of as much as $15,000 to buyers of foreclosure houses. This program is so popular that the almost $4.2 million received by the state from the federal government has been used in just three months upon receipt by the state.
Industry experts are advising homebuyers to take advantage of the assistance program by buying foreclosure homes. According to market data, nearly 320 first-time buyers purchased properties in Columbia, as of September 29.
Meanwhile, low interest rates and the federal tax credit have helped boost the home ownership program in Columbia. The city council has allotted a portion of the local budget to the program since 1990. Last year, the city council’s budget for the program to help buyers purchased foreclosure property for sale was $79, 800.
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- Buying Foreclosure Homes for Sale by First-Timers
- Study: First-Time Buyers Rush to Find Foreclosure Properties
- Foreclosed House Inventories Need Tax Credit Extension
- Buyers Survey Florida Foreclosure Property Listings
