Georgia Governor Signs Housing Tax Credit Bill...
On Monday, May 11, Governor Sonny Perdue signed legislation into law that creates a new state income tax credit for home purchases in Georgia. The tax credit will apply to purchases of eligible properties between June 1 and November 30, 2009, and is expected to spur activity in the housing market.
Passage of this bill was the top legislative priority for the Georgia Association of REALTORS® in 2009. House Bill 261 provides an income tax credit for the purchase of a single-family residence during the six months between June 1 and November 30, 2009.
The credit amount is the lesser of $1,800 or 1.2 percent of the purchase price. The tax credit is applied over three years, with one-third of the credit available each year. If a the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability, the unused credit may carry forward to the next tax year. The credit created by HB 261 may be claimed one time per taxpayer.
The final version of the bill contains the GAR amendment to clarify condominiums and residences occupied at the time of sale are eligible for the credit.
In addition, eligible single family residences include:
New single-family residences; Previously occupied residences that were for sale prior to May 11, 2009. and are still for sale after May 11, 2009;
Owner-occupied residences in which the owner’s acquisition debt is in default on or before March 1, 2009; and
Residences where a foreclosure has taken place and are owned by the mortgagor or the mortgagor’s agent.
This tax credit is in addition to the federal first-time home buyer tax credit, which is available to only those buyers who have not owned a home during the last three years. "I'm proud of Governor Perdue for signing this legislation, and I'm proud to have brought it before the state legislature," said bill sponsor Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah). "This bill will put people back to work, reduce the inventory of unsold homes, and kick-start Georgia's economy."

$8,000 Federal Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment...
Great news for first time home buyers:
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday, May 12 said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.
Previously, most buyers wouldn't receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has been calling for the change.
“We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a down payment,” Donovan says. His remarks came in an address to several thousand REALTORS® gathered Tuesday morning at "The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy," at the 2009 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C..
He says FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

New Georgia law freezes property assessment hikes...
Attention homeowners: Your property assessment cannot increase until after January 2011. Legislation Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law on Wednesday, May 6 makes sure of that. House Bill 233, sponsored by Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta), prevents local governments from increasing the assessments used to calculate property taxes for two years.
Of course, assessments may be lowered, a distinction that is important as counties deal with the effects of another new law that requires assessors to consider foreclosures and other distressed properties when setting property values.
That has led to thousands of homes seeing assessed values fall. Some counties have needed a little extra push to convince them to do that, however.