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03-23-2011, 04:35 AM
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Government Help
Hi Guys
Just wanted to get your feedback on something,here in the UK, our local government has been given a load of cash to help 'first time buyers' get on the property ladder. I think its a good idea, but some folk are sayin why should they give help, they didnt get any. Do you have this scheme in your country, if so, hows' it workin out. Thanks Kevin  
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03-23-2011, 06:48 AM
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Yes, we had such a program nation-wide for several months. It was mainly for first time home buyers (I think first time was defined as not having owned a house within the previous three years!). The money was a refundable federal tax credit of $8000 to those who bought a house. Between January 2010 and May 2010. But the deadline got extended to October 2010 if the contract had already been signed before the first deadline, but the sale not completed.
Also the program got amended to allow even current home owners to get a smaller but still significant credit (I think $6500). The program did stimulate house sales, especially in the April 2010. But then, house purchases slowed again. I'm not sure how much stimulus to the general economy this program was. I did not hear of furniture and appliance stores nor home improvement stores getting a noticeable boost in business. There was said to have been a slight temporary rise in house prices in some areas when sellers and buyers saw that there was an extra $8000 to be had. In my opinion, that is not a successful outcome, as the general economy a needed house prices to fall more in line with a realistic ability of buyers to pay for them on their own income. But yes, there were some houses that had previously been stuck unsold which finally did sell. And that kind of fluidity is needed in the economy.
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"There is some ontological doubt as to whether it may even be possible in principle to nail down these things in the universe we're given to study." --text msg from my kid http://kiva.org/invitedby/margaret2299 My octogenarian mother invites you to join her in making international micro-loans to alleviate poverty. It's cool!
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03-23-2011, 10:13 AM
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We just barely missed the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers here in the United States. Just did not seem fair to miss it by about two months. It really helps people who are living kind of on a tight budget right now due to the economy.
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03-23-2011, 02:50 PM
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And we wonder why we had a housing bubble crisis. Equilibrium says that promoting unnatural markets lead to bad results.
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Marcus Tullius Cicero: The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.
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03-23-2011, 03:45 PM
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Quote:
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03-23-2011, 05:45 PM
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Canada94 (in the UK?), Australia had house buyer grants as well in 2008. I don't know how that worked out, but they do have what looks to me, an outsider, like one heck of an inflated housing market. I was looking on the internet today and the first house I checked in the capital had increased in estimated value by a factor of 4.3 in as many years.
 Hard to imagine how pursuing houses with more money in hand would not drive prices up even further.
__________________
"There is some ontological doubt as to whether it may even be possible in principle to nail down these things in the universe we're given to study." --text msg from my kid http://kiva.org/invitedby/margaret2299 My octogenarian mother invites you to join her in making international micro-loans to alleviate poverty. It's cool!
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03-23-2011, 10:25 PM
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Quote:
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"Those who can't remember the past are condemmed to repeat it".- George Santayana.
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03-23-2011, 11:52 PM
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I was able to cash in on the $8000 new home buyer credit. It was not the only reason I bought but I would be lying if I said it didn't give me incentive to rush. I was looking at buying a foreclosed home in the range of 230k but many needed repairs and it was obvious that the people being foreclosed on by the banks were mad, and most od the houses I saw were vandalized. Walls kicked in, appliances and pipes ripped out, graffiti, you name it. Ended up getting a smoking deal on a 2000 sq foot house in a gated community. With the $8000 credit and 5k builder incentive I made out like a bandit. The state of California also had a 10k new home buyer credit which applied to new buyers and new homes but I missed the deadline on that one. Our state is so broke it's not even funny. I don't even know how they were able to offer that.
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