Well Congress finally got their act together on something.

Both the House & Senate approved a bill to allow homebuyers with purchase contracts dated by April 30, 2010 to close on their transactions until September 30, 2010.  The bill is now on its way to President Obama to be signed into law.

Why the extra time?

According to the National Association of Realtors, approximately 180,000 homebuyers would lose out on the credit as they can’t close by the current June 30th deadline.

NAR blames backed up lenders, delays in Flood Insurance and the Rural Development programs and new construction issues as the primary reasons homebuyers can’t close.

Here’s NAR’s 180,000 list broken down by state:

Alabama, 2,590; Alaska, 830; Arizona, 5,440; Arkansas, 2,090; California, 17,700; Colorado, 3,390; Connecticut, 1,770; Delaware, 400; District of Columbia, 300; Florida, 14,830; Georgia, 6,270; Hawaii, 710; Idaho, 1,270; Illinois, 7,030; Indiana, 3,560; Iowa, 2, 030; Kansas, 1,840; Kentucky, 2,540; Louisiana,1,800; Maine, 840; Maryland, 2,630; Massachusetts, 3,930; Michigan, 6,470; Minnesota, 3,760; Mississippi, 1,530; Missouri, 3,600; Montana, 760; Nebraska, 1,110; Nevada, 3,800; New Hampshire, 690; New Jersey, 4,300; New Mexico, 1,160; New York, 9,190; North Carolina, 4,890; North Dakota, 460; Ohio, 8,510; Oklahoma, 2,760; Oregon, 2,090; Pennsylvania, 5,830; Rhode Island, 500; South Carolina, 2,460; South Dakota, 500; Tennessee, 3,910; Texas, 15,340; Utah, 1,130; Vermont, 400; Virginia, 3,890; Washington, 3,190; West Virginia, 940; Wisconsin, 2,690; and Wyoming, 390.

What about all the buyers that have contracts on short sales? 

Short sale can easily take 4 months or longer to close.  So, if a homebuyer entered into a purchase contract in April, there’s a very low chance they would be able to close by the current June 30th deadline. 

A good portion of short sales will be lucky to be able to close by the soon-to-be extended deadline of September 30th.

Now if only Congress could get its act together on the Flood Insurance issue…

MORTGAGE, EXPERT, MICHIGAN, BIRMINGHAM, BLOOMFIELD, DETROIT, ROCHESTER, ROYAL OAK, TROY