Tax credit extension revived, might just survive after all

Homeowners in the lurch

Today is the final day that buyers who contracted by April 30th to qualify for the $8,000 and $6,500 tax credit may close on their home or else they lose out on those funds.

The number of people impacted by the possible loss of credits has been said to be 80,000 while other media outlets say it’s as high as 200,000.

The Senate originally approved a large bill which included extending the closing date to September 30th because many of the buyers are involved in short sales, but the bill failed to pass in Congress.

In a last-minute-before-the-bomb-goes-off Macguyver style move yesterday, Congress almost unanimously approved standalone bill HR 5623 focused on the homebuyer tax credit.

The House is expected to take up the legislation again today, but until the ink dries, we’ll be holding our breath because the Senate bill introduced last night is not standalone, it includes the contentious unemployment benefits extension, so we’ll see if it passes today. Perhaps the pressure of today’s deadline will force the Senate’s hand… there will be some major nail biting today.

CC Licensed image courtesy of Kevin Burkett via Flickr.com.