Posted on 11/09/2011 10:26:02 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The government enticed millions of Americans to buy new homes in 2009 and 2010 with credits of up to $8,000.
It turns out this was a trap.
Home prices fell last month 4.4% year-over-year, according to data released by Zillow. The average home has lost around $14,500 in value -- nearly twice the maximum tax credit.
MarketWatch's Brett Arends calls this The Mother of All Boondoggles (via Patrick.net):
The biggest losers? Step forward all those who took up Uncle Sam’s $8,000 bribe and rushed out to buy a new home in Santa Barbara, Calif. You have already lost $50,000 of your $440,000 investment. And that’s even counting the $8,000 bribe!
Others who are already down more than $30,000 include home buyers in places like San Francisco, Seattle, Flagstaff, Ariz., and anyone who bought down the road from the underground bunker of MarketWatch’s own Paul “The Road” Farrell in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I used the credit, but only found out I could use it during signing. We just refinanced and the home appraised for more than it did when we bought.
Of course, this is in rural Kentucky...
There is no frickin’ way I’d have bought anything - ANYTHING - in Seattle, where I just moved from. I expect the prices there to be down even more by this time next year.
Isn’t the 8 grand taxable, as well? Salt in the wound!
“Hurry! Hurry! Step this way ladies and gentlemen. See the world famous bigfoot right here inside this tent! Only $1! That’s right! One greenback! Is he the missing link? Is he the last remnant of an old race? For one dollar, you can tell your friends that you have seen the famous bigfoot!”
People who put their trust in the government get what they deserve.
The end result of liberalism is always the exact opposite of its stated intent.
It turns out this was a trap.
Well, duh.
I predicted as much when this was going on.
The credit was given not to help home buyers, but to help homeowners and banks, by artificially increasing demand and raising the price of houses.
The resulting higher home prices benefited sellers, home owners, and most of all--banks.
Basically, the home buyer tax credit was done to benefit the haves by victimizing the have-nots.
Uh, I wouldn’t say that too loud. I’m fairly sure a refinance didn’t count. I could be wrong.
“People who put their trust in the government get what they deserve.”....
Absofrigginlutely!...
Here’s something even worse.
My wife & I bought new house on 8/28/08 for which we qualified for the $7,500 “tax Credit.
The next year we received a letter from the IRS that we must pay back this $500 per year.
At no time during all the discussion re: these “tax credits” was there any mention at all that those who received these “tax credits” had to pay it back!
My kid is a property appraiser for a government department here in KY. She used the tax credit but didn’t allow herself to be snookered on the home price.
She thought the program was wrong, but said since she was looking for a house, she’d be foolish not to use it.
She now has a fixed mortgage that makes her monthly payments a tad lower than the relatively low rent she was paying. Which was the whole plan. She’s a real tightwad.
—Uh, I wouldn’t say that too loud. I’m fairly sure a refinance didn’t count. I could be wrong.—
No no. I mean I JUST refinanced. I bought in 2009.
Yeah, I was at the signing and the banker said, “did you know you qualify for the $8,000 tax credit?” I said, “Did you say CREDIT?!”
And the rest is history. :-)
There are [at least] two houses in my area built five to six years ago.
They are still empty.
The company STILL wants 500k for them.
“The end result of liberalism is always the exact opposite of its stated intent.”
It’s small consolation that Obama didn’t intend to trash the economy: he’s been extraordinarily effective at doing so.
bttt!
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