With just hours left to take advantage of either the $8000 first-time home st buyer or $6500 repeat buyer tax credits, you may find the inventory of decent duplexes offered by traditional sellers and banks gone.
In fact, with time running out, you may feel a bit like Cinderella. Your carriage is about to revert to a pumpkin.
But fairy tales aren’t the only place where the magic happens.
In this case, have your fairy godmother Realtor wave her wand at a short sale.
Legal counsel for Coldwell Banker Burnet’s parent company, NRT, has found that in order to qualify for either credit, a fully executed contract must be in place no later than 11:59 pm on April 30, 2010. Counsel further advises that a short sale is considered a legally binding contract when both the buyer and seller have signed the purchase agreement.
The fact that the lender still has to approve the terms doesn’t prevent the contract from being created. Therefore, that contract qualifies the buyer to earn the credit.
Of course, Cinderella still had to wait for her glass slipper to be returned. Duplex tax credit sales are no different. They must still close no later than June 30, 2010, in order for the buyer to earn the credit, which may or may not be problematic.