It's official, buy a new home for your personal residence and get an $8000 tax credit if the property is purchased in 2009! This should spur some buyers who are on the fence to get off and get more serious, and especially those first-time buyers who are waiting to make a decision.

There is money out there for FHA loans-buyers with good credit (not perfect), a job and who have access to 3.5% of the purchase price. These buyers are finding it possible to buy homes again where three years ago, these folks were literally priced out of that dream. The 3.5% funds can be gifted to those buyers, and the seller can pay a majority of the closing costs, which allows a buyer to purchase a home without needing 20% down. I am not promoting buying a home beyond a person's means, but to show people it is possible to buy homes again the old fashioned way.

A friendly reminder to the renters, usually you have paid a security deposit and last month's rent-this helps free up cash to use toward your down payment that most people forget they have. Not to mention the tax benefits of the interest paid on a monthly mortgage payment gives you more of a tax return in the following year..

It does seem most first-time buyers still need help with the gifted down payment to qualify for a loan, but this may an important step to helping those would-be homeowners establish some sort of equity. The average buyer's market last's about three years, as does the average seller's market-We are halfway through the current buyer's market right now if this proven trend repeats itself.

My suggestion is to still stay within a person's comfort zone when buying a home-and that has been my theory for twenty years. Be conservative, but do not miss out on buying in todays world. It is your home, not a retirement account. Enjoy the living room, kitchen and yard, better than a piece of paper.
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