Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus Sales Event aims to pick up where federal home-buyer tax credit left off

Apr 27, 2010 2:02 PM

Coldwell Banker's "bonus" riffs on federal credit.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate is launching the Buyer Bonus Sales Event, an effort to boost home sales by having a seller offer a buyer a credit of 3 percent (up to $8,000) off the purchase price. Starting May 1, the deal offers buyers who sign a contract to purchase a home before July 31, 2010. There's no closing deadline once the contract is signed.

If you're in the market for a new home, look for a Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus Sales Event yard sign or for properties tagged as a Buyer Bonus home on the Coldwell Banker Web site.

If the $8,000 figure sounds familiar that's because it equals the maximum federal tax credit, which is in effect until the end of this month. The federal tax credit applies to first-time home buyers who have not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase and who enter into a contract to buy a home by the end of this month and close by June 30.

The federal program also offers a $6,500 credit to what the Internal Revenue Service calls long-time residents, people "must have owned and used the same home as a principal or primary residence for at least five consecutive years of the eight-year period ending on the date of purchase of a new home as a primary residence." There's also an exception for members of U.S. armed forces and certain federal employees living abroad.

If you're a seller working with Coldwell Banker, you might want to ask your real-estate agent is willing to give up part of his/her commission since your sale price will have decreased.

—Gian Trotta

Essential information: If you're buying a new home, get a thorough home inspection and check out our home-buying basics.

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