Mike Tarleton

Federal Housing Tax Credit: Special Rules for Qualified Service Members

Call Mike Tarleton at Primary Residential Mortgage with any questions or for a free pre-qualification. (706) 888-0980.

Exemption From Tax Credit Recapture Rules

· Typically, homes that are sold or that cease to be used as a principal residence within three years of the initial purchase are subject to recapture of the tax credit.

· However, qualified service members who sell or move from a tax credit home within three years of the initial purchase due to official extended duty are exempt from the recapture rule.

Extension of Tax Credit Deadlines

· The home buyer tax credit is available for qualified purchases with a binding sales contract in place on or before April 30, 2010 and closed by September 30, 2010.

· However, for qualified service members who are ordered on a period of official extended duty, these dates are extended. For these home buyers, the tax credit applies to sales with a binding sales contract in place on or before April 30, 2011 and closed by June 30, 2011.

· A person who is forced to return to the U.S. for medical reasons before completing an assignment of at least 90 days of qualified official extended duty outside of the United States may qualify for the one-year extension.

Definitions

· "Qualified service member" means a member of the uniformed services of the U.S military, a member of the Foreign Service of the U.S., or an employee of the intelligence community.

• "Official extended duty" means any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010.

The first wave of 200 out of approximately 3,000 soldiers arrived early this morning. We welcome you back and thank you for your service!!!

www.gamedayforheroes.com

Moving to Ft. Benning? Check out this great resource on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Columbus-GA/Ft-Knox-to-Ft-Benning-Useful-Information-for-Ft-Benning-Newcomers/114335591933102?ref=sgm&__a=17&ajaxpipe=1

Several Local Businesses are posting information about Benning, Phenix City and Columbus. This is mostly a real estate related site, but any questions about our area will be answered.

Check out this great video, Flags of Our Fathers, but Columbus Georgia's own Keni Thomas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGiZP-4eHc4

The two main differences in price are due to property tax differences and the builders. Muscogee County GA taxes are the highest in our area. $200,000 in house = around $250 in monthly taxes. Your taxes on that same home in Alabama might be $100 to $125 per month. In Harris County, GA and Chattahoochee Cty, GA they might be around $175 or so.

The other factor is with the builders. With the growth here we have seen a lot of out-of-town builders moving into the area, in particular from the Atlanta market which is very depressed right now. Some of these builders are good and offer a good product at a great price. Others however, have admitted to trying to make a buck here to pay the bills back home, and are selling low quality product to soldiers which is infuriating to me. In this type of forum, I cannot say exactly who to avoid, but I can advise you to ask the residents in the subdivisions about their power billls. If they are $400 to $800 per month, you might think twice about buying in that neighborhood. If those who have bought recently cannot sell and are having to rent their houses, you might think twice about buying there.

Do a google search on the builder. Try to reach the builder by phone. If you do not get a good feeling, stay away from that subdivision.