ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/6/09 12:00 p.m.

Seriously.. I got a house to sell in the next 2 months. This proposed tax credit will help remove a massive weight off my shoulders soon. I gotta say that we will pay for it later. We are Americans we demand instant gratification NOW. NOW ...... NOOoooooooooWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWw!

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/02/06/home-buyer-tax-credits-price-tag-35-billion/

I actually am happy someone through this in.. It'll help me lose less money on my house.

aircooled
aircooled Dork
2/6/09 12:27 p.m.

Hey, its probably thier "new" look:

...now this changes everything. Everyone knows black people make better politicians... I can't imagine there would be any other reason?!?....

RX Reven'
RX Reven' GRM+ Memberand Reader
2/6/09 12:40 p.m.

I closed escrow on my new house on December 30th, 2008 so will somebody who’s only difference from me is that they closed escrow on their house two days later receive this huge, random advantage over me???

Snowdoggie
Snowdoggie Reader
2/6/09 12:52 p.m.

This won't help the housing market. If you can't already find somebody who will drop the price on their house 15K to make a deal, you haven't been looking hard enough.

People who are afraid of losing their jobs don't buy houses. People who are convinced that housing prices haven't stopped dropping yet won't buy houses. It's a consumer confidence issue.

They will have the same problem with the cash for clunkers deals.

CrackMonkey
CrackMonkey Reader
2/6/09 12:54 p.m.

Yes.

They're also talking about making new car sales tax and interest payments tax deductible.

"Hey, your last car was repo'ed, so here a tax break so you can buy another car with more money that you don't have and further bork up the economy!"

"Hey, your last house was foreclosed, so here a hand-out so you can buy anothe with more money you don't have and further bork up the economy!"

Of course, I'm just bitter because neither program does me any good (don't meet AGI limit for the car deduction, and housing in my area is so expensive that $15k probably wouldn't even cover closing costs).

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/6/09 1:14 p.m.

ahh see but I live near a massive airforce base.. the relos come in march/april. This will help me.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair GRM+ Memberand Dork
2/6/09 1:24 p.m.

and how long will it take for the energy savings to offset the costs on these:

  • GSA Federal Buildings: $6.7 billion for renovations and repairs to federal buildings including at least $6 billion focused on increasing energy efficiency and conservation. Projects are selected based on GSA’s ready-to-go priority list.
  • Local Government Energy Efficiency Block Grants: $6.9 billion to help state and local governments make investments that make them more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions.
mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
2/6/09 1:34 p.m.

probably not long.. When I was in college, they spent a tonne of money at the school going with geothermal.. the savings started immediatly.

Yes, there was the huge outlay.. but figure how much it would cost to replace older systems with the same and then look at it.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair GRM+ Memberand Dork
2/6/09 1:44 p.m.
mad_machine wrote: probably not long.. When I was in college, they spent a tonne of money at the school going with geothermal.. the savings started immediatly. Yes, there was the huge outlay.. but figure how much it would cost to replace older systems with the same and then look at it.

of course the "savings" start immediately, but how many years of annual savings have to be added up to offset the cost of the work?

it would cost me $10k to improve the insulation on my home, and i would recognize an immediate savings of $50 per month. in other words, it'll take 200 months (16 years, 8 months) before the savings pays for the work.

but what's the opportunity cost? i could put that $10k elsewhere and make more than $50 per month on it.

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/6/09 1:55 p.m.
AngryCorvair wrote:
mad_machine wrote: probably not long.. When I was in college, they spent a tonne of money at the school going with geothermal.. the savings started immediatly. Yes, there was the huge outlay.. but figure how much it would cost to replace older systems with the same and then look at it.
of course the "savings" start immediately, but how many years of annual savings have to be added up to offset the cost of the work? it would cost me $10k to improve the insulation on my home, and i would recognize an immediate savings of $50 per month. in other words, it'll take 200 months (16 years, 8 months) before the savings pays for the work. but what's the opportunity cost? i could put that $10k elsewhere and make more than $50 per month on it.

angry.. I hear what you are saying it is sound, but you are assuming no spike in energy costs suddenly halves or quarters the payback time.

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
2/6/09 2:06 p.m.

yes.. but what about the cost of replacing older systems that are worn out and need replacing with not only newer.. but much more efficent systems?

I am getting ready to replace my hot water heater... it is old and and a little undersized.. for an extra $100.. I can have a tankless that is more efficent and will save me money because it only runs when needed...

that is the point I am making. Replacing a system that needs to be replaced with something a LOT more efficent is not that much more expensive. It is like considering replacing your cars exhaust with an aftermarket sport system as compared to putting a whole new stock system on... either way the work has to be done, might as well upgrade while you are there.

poopshovel
poopshovel SuperDork
2/6/09 2:36 p.m.
AngryCorvair wrote: and how long will it take for the energy savings to offset the costs on these: - GSA Federal Buildings: $6.7 billion for renovations and repairs to federal buildings including at least $6 billion focused on increasing energy efficiency and conservation. Projects are selected based on GSA’s ready-to-go priority list. - Local Government Energy Efficiency Block Grants: $6.9 billion to help state and local governments make investments that make them more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions.

Let's not forget the Price is Right portion: "The economy is failing, people are losing there homes, but if you work for the federal government, you might be one of the folks who win...............A NEW CAAAR!!!" To the tune of 600 million. Of course, it's going to "save the taxpayers energy!" - "WHY WOULDN'T WE WANT TO DO THAT!?"

This is from Obama's speech last night. 7:20 is where we learn that earmarks and pet projects are fine, because every bill has earmarks and pet projects. 7:50 is where we learn that DUH! The gubment buying 600 million bucks worth of new cars is an AWESOME deal for taxpayers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGgzOOXvZQI&feature=related

Speaking of people who aren't good with basic mathematics trying to scare everyone into not supporting the "stimulus" bill. Pelosi says "Every month we do not have an economic recovery package, 500 MILLION AMERICANS WILL LOSE THEIR JOBS"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVl2nqjLVeA

HOLY E36 M3! Where are these 200 Million other berkeleyers hiding!?

I joke, I keed. Obviously it was a slip. Besides, nobody knows what the berkeley any of these numbers mean anyway, right?

Back to Iggy's point:

Seems to me as though, rather than trying to encourage new home buyers (if you're too stupid or broke to figure out that it's a great time to buy a home, you don't need a home IMO,) it would make more sense to keep people that are struggling IN their existing homes. Or do both. Whatever. A $15,000 credit would pay my mortgage for quite some time and allow me to save/invest/pay rent at the shop. But since the philosophy is "Punish the smart and responsible and reward the fiscally retarded so they'll blow money on dumb E36 M3," I guess that'll never happen.

Good luck selling the house, ig. (seriously.)

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/6/09 3:00 p.m.
poopshovel wrote: Good luck selling the house, ig. (seriously.)

thanks going to need it.

I bought at a good price and i'm not in over my head but the foreclosures have really dropped prices around everwhere...

Duke
Duke Dork
2/6/09 3:02 p.m.

Hell, a $15,000 credit would pay off at least half of my mortgage.

Salanis
Salanis SuperDork
2/6/09 3:02 p.m.

I would be very happy if our government would invest in some persistent tangibles. The government used to be pretty good at that. They invested in public works and infrastructure projects. They built things that put people to work in the short term, and remained of common value in the long term.

racerdave600
racerdave600 Reader
2/6/09 5:11 p.m.

If they were really interested in helping people get to work they would trash this bill totally and start over. Doing nothing would be better for the economy than this bill.

To put this in perspective, for the price of this bill, you could buy something like the top five largest corporations in the US and still have money left over, and of course this is money we don't have. It has to be either borrowed from another country, tax increases, or we have to print the money and deal with massive inflation. None of these are good.

The biggest problems remains the housing market, an unclear government agenda that's still producing market swings, and berkleyed up banks. Add to this congress's and the president's panic messages and you only make the problem worse. Using fear tactics at a time like this is mind blowingly irresponsible. And congress makes these money grubbing CEO's look like mere children with their ability to waste and steal money.

After the election I had high hopes that Obama would be able to at least not screw things up, but so far, that's all he's done. He's letting Pelosi and Reid run the show and still giving out speeches like he's running for something instead of actually leading a country. And most of his staff pics and appointments are simply a warmed over Clinton staff, most of which are responsible for the problems we have now anyway, not the solution. Very depressing.

carguy123
carguy123 Dork
2/6/09 7:34 p.m.

This bill would be a godsend to the builders, realtors, lenders, buyers and sellers out there and would actually provide some sort of stimulus for the economy. It is one of only a very few aspects of the "Stimulus"/spending package that is national in scope. Most of the plan is a repackaging of localized pet projects that they haven't been able to get passed in the past few years.

RX Reven' there's already an up to $7,500 tax credit/loan program out there for first time homebuyers. After you buy your new home when you file your taxes you get a check for $7,500 minus whatever you owe in taxes. This is a 0% 15 year loan. If you were to get the full $7,500 your payments would be approx $500 a year. There are no monthly payments, you simply increase your taxes for the year by the $500. Since most people overpay their taxes on each paycheck and count on a refund they'd never even notice they were repaying the loan.

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