Buying a home part 2

There are some income limitations in this piece of legislation. The tax-credit will phase out for individuals that make more than $75,000 per year or married couples who file jointly making more than $150,000 per year.

There are some limitations to this bill. If you sell the home within the next three years, you will forfeit the tax credit and have to pay it back to the IRS. You will also be required to make at least a 5% down payment on your home to qualify for the credit. The tax credit will go into effect when President Obama signs the law, but even if you've already purchased a home in 2009, you may still qualify.

There will undoubtedly be some additional details that will be announced by the executive branch that you'll want to take into consideration before buying a house based on the tax credit. You'll want to read the text of the law itself, read the briefings from the IRS and make sure that you qualify for the tax credit.

Overall, this will be a great boom for the housing market and a great opportunity for renters and other potential homebuyers. You don't want to go out and buy a home if you can't afford one, but if you're at a place where you could buy one anyway, now might be a great opportunity.