Just a few hours ago, the long-awaited (by some) stimulus package made its way through Congress, and it will likely be signed by President Obama by the end of the weekend.  The stimulus plan affects many areas of our economy, as described in this AP press release, but one section in particular should stand out for first time home buyers.

Potential first time home buyers will now have an $8,000 reason to buy a house in the next nine months!  Here are a few of the fine details of this new (soon-to-be-finalized) legislation:

• You must buy a home between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009 to be eligible.
• Only those who have not owned a home in the past three years are eligible for the tax credit.
• The $8,000 tax credit will be applied to the 2009 tax year --- you'll actually receive the $8,000 financial benefit in Spring 2010 (whenever you file your taxes).
• The $8,000 tax credit does NOT have be re-paid, unless the home is sold within the first three years.

There are certainly several other fine points to know (it is, after all, a 1,000+ page piece of legislation), but those are the main points to remember.  If you are a first time buyer, or if you know one, this makes it a great time to consider buying a house.  (Oh yeah, low interest rates, lots of housing choices, and lots of negotiation power with sellers are also a good reasons to get in the buying market.)