Washington D.C. – July 30, 2008 – (RealEstateRama) — President Bush today signed legislation supported by Congresswoman Shelley Berkley that will help address the nation’s mortgage crisis. The new law will aid Nevadans facing the loss of their home, help prevent additional foreclosures, and deliver incentives designed to get empty homes off the market and into the hands of new owners.
“This new law will provide eligible Nevadans with the ability to refinance their loans and that will allow even more families to remain in their own homes. Las Vegas continues to feel the impact of the housing slowdown more than almost any other community and our State remains at the top of the foreclosure list, which makes this package even more important for Valley families,” said Berkley. “When a family loses their home, no one wins, and the goal of this new law is to prevent even more foreclosures from sweeping Nevada and the nation. As a result of our housing help package, more families will now be able to refinance their homes by tapping lower-cost mortgages that they can pay in full each month and which are insured by the U.S. government.”
The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act will allow families in danger of losing their homes to refinance their mortgages utilizing affordable government-insured loans. The package also provides up to $7,500 in tax credits for first-time homebuyers.
“The surge in foreclosures has led to huge inventories of unsold homes in Nevada and across the nation. Providing up to $7,500 in tax credits for first-time homebuyers creates a great incentive to get more families into properties that are currently sitting vacant,” said Berkley. “This will also help our cities, counties and other local governments by creating new revenue and by reducing the amount spent on dealing with abandoned homes and blighted properties.”
The new law also:
- Expands homeownership opportunities for veterans and helps returning soldiers say in their homes and avoid foreclosure.
- Provides additional standard deduction for real property taxes to help homeowners who claim the standard deduction by allowing them to claim an additional standard deduction of up to $500 ($1,000 for joint filers) for state and local real property taxes. This provision applies for tax year 2008;
- Provides $11 billion increase in tax-exempt bond authority as well as a provision to enable cities and towns to more efficiently use tax-exempt bonds in the effort to develop affordable rental housing;
- Allows cities and states to buy up and rehabilitate foreclosed properties that are currently driving down home prices, reducing state and local revenues, and destabilizing neighborhoods;
Creates a new fund to boost the nation’s stock of affordable rental housing in both rural and urban areas for low and very low-income individuals and families.
