Buy my house, win $15,000 from the Fed!

Hey, you want an easy $15,000? Just buy my house which is currently for sale, and you will be eligible for a $15,000 tax credit as approved by the Senate if the House and President Obama approve the stimulus bill as it stands. This replaces the $7,500 tax credit from 2008 that was for first time buyers and had to be repaid. Now anybody purchasing a home in 2009 is eligible for up to $15,000 (or 10% of the house price, whichever is lower) and the credit does not need to be repaid. And, no, I will not consider selling our house for under $150,000 so you would receive the maximum $15,000 for buying our house. Note that this is a tax credit which comes out of your federal income taxes, so you would typically not see the money upfront, it would just reduce your federal tax bill by $7,500 for the next two years. Note, however, that Missouri did pass a bill that would give you a $6,750 check upfront to cover the $7,500 first time buyer credit, so I would hope they would do the same for this improved bill. The big loser? Folks like myself who bought a house last year and were not first time buyers. No tax credit for those of us who were brave enough to buy back in early 2008 before the financial markets nosedived. However, if this new bill gets approved and helps convince someone to buy our house at a reasonable price, we will benefit from the legislation. Come on somebody, buy our house!