If you are purchase a home in Harris County by December 31, 2010, you could qualify for a home buyer tax credit via the new Mortgage Credit Certificate Program!
Qualifications
Household Income
You must have a household income less than the following:
- 1-2 Family Members: $78,120
- 3+Family Members: $91,140
- Qualify for a mortgage loan with a participating lender
- Live in the house as your principal residence
Home Purchase Price Limit
Purchase a house less than $316,177.
NOT In One of These Incorporated Cities
Credit Details
- Meet the above criteria
- Reserve a Mortgage Credit Certificate for the following fees:
- $75 due at application
- $75 + 1% of loan amount due at closing
- Close on house by December 31, 2010
- Save 30% on your interest payments up to $2000 per year!!!
Savings
This table shows approximate savings for a 30 year loan at 4.5% interest. The savings for this program are based on actual interest paid. Since interest payment amounts get slightly lower every month, your savings will also go down every month if you are less than the $2000 threshold. The “Effective Interest %” row shows what your interest amount calculates out to when including the monthly discount.
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Remarks
This is an interesting program due to the restrictions. Not only do you have to pay attention to household income and home price, but also whether or not the home a prospective buyer is considering is in one of the excluded cities above. Luckily, none of the excluded cities are close to us out here in NW Harris County, so we should be good to go with that requirement. I do find it interesting that Jersey Village is not included in the excluded cities since it is incorporated. I have no idea how those excluded cities were determined.
In short, this appears to be a good program albeit a very short timeframe to take advantage. It is definitely worth the $150 + 1% up front to take advantage of the offer!
Please feel free to call me or leave a comment here if you have any questions, OR you can call the MCC Hotline directly at 713-260-3553.
What do you think the motivation behind this is?
Is the county trying to prop up the housing market in unincorporated areas (not that I know whether or not that market needs propping up)?
Just thinking about whether this is a short-term or long-term play for the county.
Wes
Great question. I have not read anywhere “why” they are doing it or who was responsible for making this happen.