Santa Clara County 1st-Time Real Estate Buyer Program
Date: Sunday March 22, 2009Posted in: real estate, Santa Clara County, affordable housing, buying a home, first time buyer, tax credit
First-time buyers are being wooed from many different directions these days. As I discussed in a previous post, the IRS is offering a first-time buyer tax credit to real estate buyers who meet certain stipulations. In addition to this federal tax credit, Santa Clara County is offering a Mortgage Credit Certificate Program to first-time buyers. And, as I explain in the federal tax credit post, a first-time buyer is defined as real estate buyers who have not owned a principal residence during the past three years.
A few highlights of the Santa Clara County program:
- It is a dollar for dollar tax credit against the borrower’s federal income tax - currently 15% of the interest paid
- The remaining 85% remains as a standard tax deduction
- The home must be purchased in one of the participating cities in the county - all south county cities are participating
- The home purchased must be owner-occupied
- The buyer’s income cannot exceed $97,800 for 1-2 persons and $112,470 for 3 or more persons
- The MCC Program doesn’t allow co-signers
- Maximum purchase price is limited to $570,000 for resale homes and $630,000 for new construction
- There is a possible recapture tax if the property is sold within the next nine years after purchase
- The County maintains a public list of participating brokers and funding lenders
- Applications for MCC are processed on a first come, first serve basis and there is an application fee of $275
For those interested in taking advantage of the MCC Program, you will want to make sure you are working with a paricipating funding lender. For recommendations on lenders, call me at 408-892-9015 or email me at GMerrick(at)InteroRealEstate.com.
1 Comment
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Hi Gretchen,
Good stuff! There is a lot of good information that people need to know about that will help them in their home buying process. Good for you for helping to get it out there!
Harriet
Comment by Harriet Pecot on March 23rd, 2009 @ 10:31 am