Upcoming Events:
Golf...golf... and more fabulous golf! Friday, May 1
Monday, May 18
TREPAC Golf Tourney AMBA Spring Golf Event at Falconhead Golf Club at Great Hills C.C.
Tuesday, June 2 WCR Golf Tournament at Star Ranch
15201 Falconhead Blvd
5914 Lost Horizon Drive
2500 FM 685 in Hutto
Shotgun start @ noon
Shotgun start @ noon
Shotgun start @ 1 p.m.
$99 ENTRY FEE
*$165 ENTRY FEE
$99 ENTRY FEE
Includes lunch, 18 holes of play, dinner and a goodie bag
Includes green fee, cart, range balls, lunch, beverages, dinner and gratuities
Includes 18 holes of golf, fajita dinner, 30-day membership, cart, and an extra round of golf to be used anytime this year!
*$175 after April 17 registration deadline
APRIL 23 WCR’s 3rd Annual Diversity Bake-off ABoR Auditorium - 11 a.m. MAY 1 TREPAC Golf Tournament Falconhead Golf Club - 10 a.m. MAY 2 HBA MAX Awards Phillips Event Center - 6 to 10 p.m. MAY 18 AMBA Spring Golf Event Great Hills Country Club - 10 a.m. MAY 23-JUNE 7 HBA’s Annual Parade of Homes Mueller Development JUNE 11 ABoR Foundation Tour of Homes Barton Creek Community JULY 25 WCAoR Green Expo 2009 Dell Diamond - All Day Event
—Associates In— PROGRESS Enjoyable. Entertaining. It’s all About You.
APRIL 2009 • VOL. 13 • ISSUE 12
First-time Homeowners Reap Benefits From $8,000 Tax Credit repay the credit as long as they retain ownership of the home, as their primary residence, for three years. This incentive is also retroactive covering homes purchased and closed after Jan. 1, 2009 and continues through Nov. 30 of this year. Kevin Roy of ERA Bettinger REALTORS says REALTORS should in effect become cheerleaders for the new tax credit because by doing so they will help themselves as well as their buyers. “The more we promote the positives in our word and action, the faster the economy will recover,” he says. “Sitting back like Chicken Little expecting the sky to fall is not helping anyone. For those who qualify, 2009 is proving to be a unique and compelling opportunity to purchase a Presorted Standard home.” U.S. Postage PAID Lozano says she is Austin, Texas already seeing a differPaid Permit #715 ence but thinks the real estate industry will see even more impact as more people begin to hear about the credit. “I don’t believe that the consumer truly understands what a tremendous opportunity www.realtylineonline.com this is,” she says. “I am
Taxes are always on people’s minds when April rolls around, so it’s the perfect time to educate potential first-time buyers about an improved and extended tax credit that could generate savings that are substantial enough to help turn them into a buyer instead of a looker. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allows a qualified "first-time" buyer—defined as an individual who has not owned a home during the past three years—to receive a federal tax credit of 10 percent of the cost of their principal residence, up to a maximum credit of $8,000. Buyers receive a tax credit on their personal income tax return in the calendar year following the year of closing on their home or they may be able to amend their current 2008 return. “I have at least two loans in which I am sure the tax credit was the deciding factor in getting the buyer off the fence,” says Beth Lozano of Cornerstone Mortgage. “These people would have qualified regardless, but the tax credit helped them to decide to do it now rather than “someday.”’ Unlike the previously available tax credit, the modified version does not require homebuyers to
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doing what I can to spread the word about the credit and my loan applications are definitely up. It’s hard to say if the increase in applications is due to the tax credit or the historically low interest rates.” As more buyers benefit and start reaping the savings, they will become cheerleaders of the credit as well, as evidenced by a situation Roy encountered recently. “I was speaking with a lady in the checkout line and upon seeing that I was a REALTOR®, she bragged about how she had just purchased a new home and received a check back after filing this year’s taxes. She then asked why more people are not taking advantage of the plan and I noted that it's probably because people don't understand it.” The credit can become confusing because there are many factors to take into consideration. There are full credits and partial credits and decisions about which year to claim the tax credit. For answers, Lozano recommends that REALTORS refer their clients to www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com. But once the stipulations are understood, it is clear that the tax credit has a huge potential to create a positive impact on the industry. "This temporary tax credit provides one more sound reason for first-time buyers to take advantage of today's attractive interest rates and ample inventory of homes, as well as save on their federal taxes," Roy says. "The benefits are significant.”