It’s easy to sit back and read the blog and say to yourself, ” That’s just Ken spouting off. What does he know?”

Every now and then I come across something in the mainstream press that tells me I’m not far off the track.  In this case, no less than the New York Times is thinking along the same lines as the MD Suburbs of DC.

As you may recall, I’ve been writing about the impending deadline for the $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.  This is the free money the US Government is willing to give you if you have not owned a house in the last three years.  The real catch is that you need to settle of the house (i.e., have the real estate legally transferred into your name) no later than November 30th.  I also pointed out that because of the weekends (Saturday and Sunday), holidays (Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day) and the Thanksgiving three-day work slow down the average first-time home buyer has little chance og getting to settlement before the deadline.

I also wrote about the propensity of people to believe rumors about the extension and expansion of the tax credit.  After all, wouldn’t it be nice, if the US Government really did us all a favor and just let any home buyer claim a tax credit.  Oh. And make that $15,000 instead of just $8,000.  Would you like fries with that shake?

The Mainstream Media Thinks The Credit Is Going Away

Let’s see who might think the MD Suburbs of DC might be on track:

• a post by Quicken Loans — Missing the First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Deadline: When Hesitating Costs You $8,000.  To thier credit Quicken Loans picked up on my post about the countdown to the deadline and than re-worked it a little.  They were kind enough to give me credit for the idea.  (Thanks, Quicken Loans)
• a post in the New York Times — Fight in Congress Looms on Tax Credit for Home Buyers authored by David Streitfeld- in this article, the Times profiles a young couple who took advantage of the tax credit and also provides some good analysis about the chances of an extension or expansion of the tax credit.

Now, some may think that Quicken Loans may actually be trying to get people thinking of buying a home to get with the program and buy (and also get a mortgage from Quicken Loans).  However, the New York Times doesn’t have this agenda.  In fact, many say that the New York Times is a prime example of the “liberal media” hell bent on promoting the “tax and spend” government programs of which the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is an example.

Credibility

It’s always good to know that I’m not the only one thinking that this whole Government give-away program is not going to last forever.  Sure. It would be nice.  Sure. It may actually help pull the housing market back into something that resembles “normal”.  However, as the New York Times points out, the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was really meant to jump start the housing market — not sustain it over the long term.

So there you have it! Some credibility. Some corroboration.  It really isn’t just Ken spouting off.

(I want to thank The Clozing for pointing me to the article in the New York Times. The Clozing is the brain child of Sellsius — another great real estate blog)

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