If you are a military member who is looking into purchasing a home for the first time you may be curious to know if you qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit that everyone has been talking about this year.  Many service members that purchased a home over the past year using this tax credit have quite possibly had the question run through their head “Will I have to pay back the first time homebuyers tax credit if I have to get re-stationed?” or “I just came back from a deployment – do I have enough time to purchase a house before November 30 when the tax credit deadline is?”.  Thanks to an extension and revision of the bill these questions have now been answered.

The Service Members Home Ownership Act of 2009 was presented not even a month ago for approval and last week Congress approved both the extension of the first time homebuyers tax credit for an additional year for service members who were deployed outside of the U.S. for over 90 days in 2008 and it would also allow service members to not have to pay the $8,000 credit back if they have to get re-stationed before the initial three years of owning their home.

Many military personnel who purchase homes usually either have to sell their homes or rent them out if they are getting changing locations and are no longer going to be able to live in the home.  This was causing a lot of military members to not want to purchase a home and take advantage of the first time home buyers tax credit because more than likely they would have to relocate within the first three years of owning the home and the chances that the new home could remain their primary residence is usually slim.  With the Service Members Home Ownership Act of 2009 military members no longer have to worry about these provisions in the First Time Homebuyers Credit.

Robert Dietz, the director of tax issues for the National Association of Home Builders, predicts that the approval of the Service Members Home Ownership Act of 2009 will probably result in an additional 10,000 home sales.  While he says this won’t have an impacting effect on the national level of the housing market it will have an effect on the local communities, especially the communities that are near Army, Marine, Air Force, Navy or Coast Guard bases.

No matter if you are in the military or if you are not there are certain tips you will want to use when purchasing a house whether it is in New York, New Jersey or anywhere in the U.S.  To get more information on what steps and precautions you should take when purchasing a home get a no cost, no obligation copy of “5 Myths that Can Ruin the Purchase of Your Home” by Steven T. Decker.  This book is being offered free to residents and those who are looking to become residents of New York or New Jersey.