To qualify for the the First-Time Buyer credit, the borrower must:

• Apply for the tax credit, it is a maximum of $8000 for a first-time buyer defined as someone that has not owned a home in the last 3 years,
• The credit does not have to be re-paid unless the home is sold or ceases to be used as the buyer’s principal residence within 3 years of the purchase date,
• In calculating the credit, it is equal to 10% of the purchase price up to a maximum of $8000 and the purchase price must be $800,000 or less,
• The tax credit now applies to purchases made on or after January 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010 and, if contracted on or before April 30, 2010, the purchase must close by June 30, 2010 to qualify.

For the Move-up or Repeat Home-buyer credit, the buyer must:

• Have owned and lived in their previous home for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8,
• The credit does not have to be re-paid unless the home is sold or ceases to be used as the buyer’s personal residence within 3 years of the purchase date,
• The tax credit is equal to 10% of the sales price up to a maximum of $6500 on the purchase of a home of $800,000 or less,
• The credit applies to homes purchased on or after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.  If the contract is signed on or before April 30, 2010 the sale must close by June 30, 2010. 

In addition, since HVCC regulations often prevent the appraiser from being able to use common sense and knowledge of a market, values of properties all across the country have been further depressed.  For a great overview of the issues surrounding the HVCC regulations, see Reuters article “Petition to Rescind HVCC Strikes Hot Button with Real Estate Industry and Consumers”.  The petition was presented to New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cumo, this past Wednesday with approximately 120,000 signatures.  It’s time for legislators to realize they need to really look at the problems and issues we are facing as a nation and seek appropriate solutions rather than passing ‘off the cuff’ legislation that does nothing to address the problem or protect consumer but merely creates more bureacracy. 

The updated first-time homebuyer tax credit benefit also increases the income limit on a single borrower to $125,000 annually and qualified home values up to $800,000, so the new legislation not only extends the benefit, it increases the number of Americans that will qualify.

In addition to full pipelines for many lenders, there are 4 federal holidays, one of which is Thanksgiving which includes Friday as a holiday in some areas, between now and 12/1/09.  Most likely, if you haven’t already found a home to buy or are not already in process of negotiating a contract for sale, it is too late to get into the queue for closing by the deadline.  If you’re going to try or have already initiated the process, be certain that you are prepared to meet lender requests for documentation, etc. immediately to ensure your loan process is as streamline as possible. 

With these record low rates, some of those borrowers left behind in May will want to consider refinancing now.  If you were one of those that missed the last dip in rates, there are some things you know and plan for in order to take advantage of the low rates now.  A word of warning, you can not ’shop’ rates with different lenders effectively if you don’t understand the factors that are included in a true rate quote.  Rates are good only for the minute in which they are quoted.  They fluctuate daily, often many times throughout the day.  If a company ‘posts’ rates on their website, rest assured that the ‘posted’ rate is NOT necessarily going to apply to you because a true rate quote will take in a number of factors that are specific to you and your particular loan scenario.

For example, a true rate quote will be based on your credit score, loan-to-value (the amount you want to borrower versus the value of the property), where your property is located (rates are not the same nationwide), whether or not your new loan will require PMI insurance, and whether or not you will be receiving cash back at closing.

Your rate will be higher if you are paying off a first and second mortgage (considered a cash-out refinance even if you are not getting money back at closing) than if you are simply refinancing the balance on a first mortgage.  However, if your loan-to-value is below 70% and your credit score is near 800 or higher, it may not impact the rate as much so as you can see, it’s very hard to compare ‘apples to apples’ if you are trying to ‘rate shop’.  If you have multiple lenders pull your credit report because they need your credit score to provide you with an accurate rate quote, you risk your score being affected.

A much better strategy for the savvy borrower is to shop for a reputable lender.  If you select a good lender and have an experience loan office, s/he will be able to ensure that you receive the best rate available for your specific loan scenario.  Once you’ve determined which lender/loan officer you want to work with, then you can give that loan officer permission to pull your credit report and provide you with an accurate rate quote. 

Also, it is important to keep in mind that if you lock your loan before the appraised value has been determined, you will risk your rate changing as values are very difficult to predict in the current market and the loan-to-value is a key factor in your rate quote.

First, get your documentation together, recent payment records, recent bills, any notices received from the credit card company, etc. and create a timeline of events leading up to the rate hike.  If you did, in fact, have a late payment that prompted an unreasonable jump (Ms. Minch’s rate went from 12.99 to 30% which is overkill for one late payment in my opinion), note the circumstances surrounding the late payment.  For instance, if you’d recently lost your job and were late because you were unexpectedly strapped for cash, you need to document it. 

If there was not an ‘event’ that triggered the rate hike, then make note of what ‘reason’ you were give in the written notice you received from the credit card company.  Remember, credit card companies will issue cards stating the rate you will receive on the card and it will often be presented as if you will receive that rate indefinitely, but when you read the fine print, they will state they can adjust your rate at any time.

If you are not in a bind financially and have the ability to transfer your balance to another company’s card or to pay off the account and close it, do it right away.  If you don’t have the ability to do either, with your documentation in hand, call the company.  Note the date, time and ask for the name of who you are speaking with on the phone.  Provide the explanation for late payment or ask why rate was adjusted if there was nothing in your payment history to prompt an increase.  Ask for an immediate reduction to your rate.  If you don’t feel the person you are speaking with is helping you, ask to speak to his/her supervisor or the manager.

Document the conversation especially what you are told regarding your rate if they are going to change it. 

Watch your billing carefully!  Many people utilize online bill pay and since they are not closely reviewing their statements each month or, instead of receiving a paper statement, they get an online notice of their new balance and payment due, the rate may have been changed and they didn’t know it.

There are many consumer protection agencies and legal aid offices around the country.  If you feel you are being treated in an unfair or discriminatory way, contact them and ask for assistance and/or direction.

While the old adage, “he who has the gold, makes the rules”, it is also true that unfair and/or discriminatory business practices need to be addressed and consumers should take action to protect themselves whenever necessary.   

Ms. Minch claims her history had reflected timely payments and an effort to reduce her outstanding debt as she had already paid off one account.  In a 9/29 article on CNNMoney.com, a Bank of America spokesperson stated that a customer receives advance notice of rate hikes and, therefore, the customer has the option to pay off the card at the current rate and close the account.  In most cases, if the consumer had the ability to pay the card off, they wouldn’t have an outstanding balance in the first place.

Unfortunately, Bank of America is not the only credit card company that will suddenly raise a customer’s interest rate without warning causing a significant and often unbearable payment increase.  Many customers with steller credit histories and excellent payment histories find themselves receiving notices of ridiculous rate hikes on credit cards they’ve often had for many years. 

Consumers must start taking action against this type of creditor abuse and speak up.  Consumers should make calls, write letters, go on YouTube.com or whatever it takes if they feel they are being taking advantage of like Ms. Minch.  While there are consumers that default on their unsecured debt, most people are like Ms. Minch and are simply trying to get their debt paid down or off despite difficult economic circumstances or job loss.

While modification of home loans that results in lower payments through interest rate reduction can alieviate some of the budget stress on a delinquent homeowner, if the principal balance of the loan is increased, as is the case with most modifications, the borrower may experience additional hardship in the future by having increased his/her overall debt.  If the home value is already deflated and the principal balance is increased, the homeowner may never really recover financially.

There is legislation proposed in both the Senate and in the House which extend the credit time-frame and/or expand it to include all borrowers.  It has been a year since the implosion of the mortgage industry with the govenment take-over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and many other lending institutions.  The tax credit has been instrumental in bolstering the sales of homes despite rising unemployment.

While we are approaching the slowest sales season for home sales, the holidays and winter months, proponents of extending the tax credit see it as a way to keep the housing market moving forward.  Detractors, however, see rising deficits and increased government spending as problematic for the long-term.

As the legislation stands currently, a first time buyer (defined as someone that has not owned a home in the last 3 years) with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less ($150,000 for a married couple) has to contract and close on their home purchase on or before December 1, 2009 to be eligible for the full $8000 credit.