Homebuyers who qualified for the Homebuyer Tax Credit now have three more months to make the closing deadline.
This morning, President Obama signed the Homebuyers Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623), which extends the closing deadline to Sept. 30, 2010. The extension only applies to buyers who had a ratified contract in place by the April 30, 2010 deadline, but had not yet closed.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) had estimated that without a deadline extension as many as 180,000 buyers nationwide (7,030 in Illinois) could lose the tax credit because of a backlog in pending mortgage applications.
Obama also signed the legislation (H.R. 5569) extending the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until Sept. 30, 2010. The extension allows NFIP to issue new and renewal flood insurance policies for real estate transactions.