Austin REAL ESTATE

Home Buyers Get Tax Credit Closing and Flood Insurance Extensions

The National Association of Realtors® worked closely with congressional leaders
on both sides of the aisle toward the timely passage of two bills to extend the
home buyer tax credit closing deadline and reauthorize the National Flood
Insurance Program. Both bills had cleared the House earlier and were passed by
the Senate last night, heading for the President’s signature. The tax credit
closing deadline and the NFIP reauthorization were extended to September 30.
Extending the tax credit closing and flood insurance deadlines will help provide
additional stability to real estate markets across the nation, NAR said. The
passage of H.R. 5623, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act, applies the
homebuyer tax credit closing deadline extension only to homebuyers who have
ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, but could not close before
June 30. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the president signs
the bill into law. Senate passage of the National
Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569), reauthorizes
extension the NFIP until September 30, allowing currently stalled transactions
to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapsed period from June
1, 2010, to the date of enactment of the extension. Any new policy applications
or renewals that were signed and submitted during the lapsed period will be
effective from the date of application. In the case of waiting periods, the
waiting period will start from the date of application.