Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, as long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.

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Friday “Prisoners Cash In On the Homebuyer Tax Credit“: According to the latest reports out this week, while the government has been slow to convict tax credit fraudsters, they’ve apparently been quite swift in granting existing prisoners — even many who are serving life sentences — $8,000 each for the homebuyer tax credit! Thursday “Update1: [...]

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The measure, which is expected to be signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, would waive state taxes on mortgage debt that has been forgiven in a foreclosure or short sale.

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Is it time to rush out and buy a house before mortgage rates go up? As the Federal Reserve winds down its intervention in the mortgage market, rates on home loans are generally expected to rise at least modestly during the rest of this year from today’s unusually low levels. Some analysts believe mortgage rates [...]

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IRS issues new guidelines on obtaining home buyer tax credits The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued new guidelines and clarified documentation that taxpayers must submit to successfully obtain the federal tax credit for home buyers. MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS The federal tax credit for home buyers was extended and expanded late [...]

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With all the rules now available, here’s the action message to potential tax-credit seekers: Speed up your search for the house you want to buy. Get moving. There are only 14 weeks to sign a contract and just five months to go to closing.

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Spurred on by the federal government’s economic recovery efforts, there have been numerous changes to the federal tax law for 2009 and 2010. Here’s what your small business needs to know now to take advantage of this year’s expiring rules and what it needs to keep in mind for next year.

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The median home price of an existing, single-family home rose 5.8 percent in November compared with a year ago, the first time the median home price has increased in year-to-year comparisons since August 2007.

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