Why no $8K stimulus for those over $75K!?!

[alexplantman]

I don't get it, why the salary cap for the stimulus if you a first time homebuyer this year?? Income is one of the components in wheather you don't pay your mtg or not.. It's not like those making $75K are living the good life, lol...

 

Has anyone heard any changes to this first time homebuyer incentive?

[michaeljohn]

I hear you. I bought a house in late 2008. My adjusted gross income, after you subtract 401k contributions, etc., is just under $75K, but because I am not a first-time home buyer, I am also left out in the cold. I'm not sure how my buying a house (my second one in 15 years) stimulates the economy any less than someone else's first-time purchase.

[jlp58]

I don't get it, why the salary cap for the stimulus if you a first time homebuyer this year?? Income is one of the components in wheather you don't pay your mtg or not.. It's not like those making $75K are living the good life, lol...

 

Has anyone heard any changes to this first time homebuyer incentive?

 

Because you are RICH, didn't you know?

 

Typical government BS, if you ask me. More expensive homes, which those under $75K can't qualify for, would stimulate the economy much more than the ones sold on the lower end of the scale.

 

But I guess if you are RICH, you don't need help from the government!

[jst300z]

Since the median income in America is about $50k, your $75k income makes you richer than 1/2 the people in the country, or is that more rich?

[Cactus Flower]

Since the median income in America is about $50k, your $75k income makes you richer than 1/2 the people in the country, or is that more rich?

 

 

I feel that people making $75k a year ARE doing very well...

 

lots of people are making ends meet on half that.

 

If it's spendy to live where you are living... then move somewhere where cost of living is less.

 

I dunno what to say, but I think it's sad to hear people making $75-$100k or more a year act like they are broke..

 

[Cactus Flower]

I don't get it, why the salary cap for the stimulus if you a first time homebuyer this year?? Income is one of the components in wheather you don't pay your mtg or not.. It's not like those making $75K are living the good life, lol...

 

Has anyone heard any changes to this first time homebuyer incentive?

 

Because you are RICH, didn't you know?

 

Typical government BS, if you ask me. More expensive homes, which those under $75K can't qualify for, would stimulate the economy much more than the ones sold on the lower end of the scale.

 

But I guess if you are RICH, you don't need help from the government!

 

 

There is no rule that says the more you make, the more you *have* to spend...

 

in my town.. a person making $50, $75 or $100k could all choose to live in a $125,000 house, the ones making more money don't HAVE to live in a $350,000 house.

Gimme a break. It's a roof over your head.

[Redgirl]

I think it's more about middle class which there really IS no middle class anymore and they were wanting to help those individuals out and give them a bonus. But thats the way i see it.

 

I also tend to think income really doesn't matter it's all a bout living in your means. I'm a stay at home mom but we made our choice for our family. Im glad that we can take the kick back. If I was working at my last job we would be way over 100k and couldn't but I sure helped pay a lot of taxes when I worked outside the home too. I think I work harder now though lols

[Amomof5]

The flaw with the $75,000 cap is that the same salary is not equal in every area. In the midwest, $75,000 might be "rich", but go to NYC, Cali, DC etc and $75,000 is barely getting by, and it isnt just because of housing prices. It is more expensive to just "live". They should either not have a cap or have a cap based on area. A blanket cap is never equal.

 

 

Also, just to clarify, isnt the $75,000 cap for an individual? couples it is $150,000. I would think that most "middle class" in most of the US would qualify for that.

Edited April 28, 2009 by Amomof5

[Redgirl]

Your right it is 150,000. And I agree that it shouldn't be a blanket thing because of housing and cost of living.

 

Im sure others that got the 7500 credit were upset that they had to pay it back as well. Hard to make everyone happy. I think they should have done it as a tax credit, either way its done and nothing we can change about it now.

[Cactus Flower]

Income caps aside..

 

I consider this a big FAT reward for being patient... renting when I knew I couldn't afford and not burdening tax payers when a $300,000 home gets foreclosed on and resold for half that ..

$150,000 loss vs. the $8,000

 

Either way it has to be paid back. By you.. by me.. by all of us. Whenever folks cry about the tax-payer footing the bill.. WE ARE ALL TAX PAYERS in some form or fashion.

 

 

The $8000 isn't terribly life altering and while it's a nice cookie, there is no way (as of this writing) that a person can use it towards a down payment or closing costs. It's an "after the fact" sort of thing.

 

 

My guess is that, in most of the cases, that money will wind up back into the economy in the form of goods & services.

[Amomof5]

Income caps aside..

 

I consider this a big FAT reward for being patient... renting when I knew I couldn't afford and not burdening tax payers when a $300,000 home gets foreclosed on and resold for half that ..

$150,000 loss vs. the $8,000

 

Either way it has to be paid back. By you.. by me.. by all of us. Whenever folks cry about the tax-payer footing the bill.. WE ARE ALL TAX PAYERS in some form or fashion.

 

 

The $8000 isn't terribly life altering and while it's a nice cookie, there is no way (as of this writing) that a person can use it towards a down payment or closing costs. It's an "after the fact" sort of thing.

 

 

My guess is that, in most of the cases, that money will wind up back into the economy in the form of goods & services.

 

 

I agree with everything you said, especially the bolded part!

[jst300z]

The $8000 isn't terribly life altering and while it's a nice cookie...

 

That's clever, I like that. 'Cookie'. It is a cookie isn't it.

[alexplantman]

I hope they realize after their "dec 09" deadline for this incentive that the banks are still sitting on a lot of foreclosed homes and need to be moved. Obviously those who walked out of their mortgages and let the property go into foreclosure are no longer buyers, so the supply should still be high.... hoping they would either extend that that Dec 09 offer AND waive the $75K cap !!

[delzer]

I don't get it, why the salary cap for the stimulus if you a first time homebuyer this year?? Income is one of the components in wheather you don't pay your mtg or not.. It's not like those making $75K are living the good life, lol...

 

Has anyone heard any changes to this first time homebuyer incentive?

 

 

Yes there are many articles that talked about how this rule makes no sense.Housing authorities talked about this not helping the housing market at all directly because of the income limitations.Trust me 75,000 is not rich and don't let someone try to convince you it is, also don't let people tell you how bad you are for buying a house more expensive than theirs. Look you pay more taxes on 75,000 than on someone making 30,000. Your paying your fair share but then you are excluded from taking advantage of your taxes. It is strictly a redistribution of wealth. Take from the doers and give it to the non-doers or better known as take from the producers and give to the non-producers. As you heard today the GDP shrank more than expected. So much for these new programs and spending.

[Cactus Flower]

I don't get it, why the salary cap for the stimulus if you a first time homebuyer this year?? Income is one of the components in wheather you don't pay your mtg or not.. It's not like those making $75K are living the good life, lol...

 

Has anyone heard any changes to this first time homebuyer incentive?

 

 

Yes there are many articles that talked about how this rule makes no sense.Housing authorities talked about this not helping the housing market at all directly because of the income limitations.Trust me 75,000 is not rich and don't let someone try to convince you it is, also don't let people tell you how bad you are for buying a house more expensive than theirs. Look you pay more taxes on 75,000 than on someone making 30,000. Your paying your fair share but then you are excluded from taking advantage of your taxes. It is strictly a redistribution of wealth. Take from the doers and give it to the non-doers or better known as take from the producers and give to the non-producers. As you heard today the GDP shrank more than expected. So much for these new programs and spending.

 

 

Sorry.... it's all relative. Ask someone who is making $28k a year if they think making $75k would make them rich.

 

I think it would.

 

I tell you it was a BIG step for me to go from $32k to $55k within 3 years (job change)

 

I feel pretty well off at $55k, and I am sure to someone making half that, I am seen as being rich, I've had people tell me so!

[jlp58]

I don't get it, why the salary cap for the stimulus if you a first time homebuyer this year?? Income is one of the components in wheather you don't pay your mtg or not.. It's not like those making $75K are living the good life, lol...

 

Has anyone heard any changes to this first time homebuyer incentive?

 

 

Yes there are many articles that talked about how this rule makes no sense.Housing authorities talked about this not helping the housing market at all directly because of the income limitations. Trust me 75,000 is not rich and don't let someone try to convince you it is, also don't let people tell you how bad you are for buying a house more expensive than theirs. Look you pay more taxes on 75,000 than on someone making 30,000. Your paying your fair share but then you are excluded from taking advantage of your taxes. It is strictly a redistribution of wealth. Take from the doers and give it to the non-doers or better known as take from the producers and give to the non-producers. As you heard today the GDP shrank more than expected. So much for these new programs and spending.

 

My definition of RICH is the following:

 

When contemplating the purchase of pretty much anything, the only questions a RICH person must ask themselves are: 1 -- Do I want it?, 2 -- What color do I want? and 3 -- When will it be delivered? "Can I afford it" would not need to enter into the required thought process for a truly RICH person.

[Cactus Flower]

My definition of RICH is the following:

 

When contemplating the purchase of pretty much anything, the only questions a RICH person must ask themselves are: 1 -- Do I want it?, 2 -- What color do I want? and 3 -- When will it be delivered? "Can I afford it" would not need to enter into the required thought process for a truly RICH person.

 

 

Definitely that is your definition, but there are a lot of people making significantly less than $75k a year that live by that principle, why do you think our country is in the shape it's in???

 

Some people just don't ever look at price tags, they want something, they buy it. It's their mindset. Has nothing to do with being rich.

 

Heck a 5 year old can feel 'rich' with a $20 bill. LOL

[MICKGREEN]

It should be based on the median house price in the county you buy in, like the FHA limits. My fiancee and I make ~190k a year, but our county's median houseprice is 650k. If you apply the 3x salary mortage calulation, we can only afford a 570k house. That means that if we tried to stay where we are, we would be buying a below average house. To those who say just move, according to salary.com, our income would drop 50-60% depending on where we went. I know that my job in South Carolina, pays $12 p/hr because they tried to outsource some of our department there (thank god it was a disaster.) They found out that former Walmart employees don't make very good IT PM's - there is a reason we have BS's, PMP's & CCNA's. We are moving upstate and taking on a 90 min commute so we could buy something we would like to call home. Also, what my fiancee does for a living, she can only work in NY, Boston, Toronto, San Francisco, London or Paris - not exactly lost cost areas I would love to move to a low-cost of living area, but once you adjust the income level it just doesn't pay-off. Besides, I love where I live.

[Guest CinciJeff]

http://photobucket.com/images/arabian%20ho...p;source=header

 

wonder same thing

[jst300z]

My fiancee and I make ~190k a year,

 

If you, or someone at your income level are looking for ANY financial assistance, be it local or govt, there are probably other finacial issues that need addressed first. I am NOT saying you have financial issues personally, I am saying ANY person/family at that income should be the last person in line looking for a handout or some sort of financial assistance.

 

If you make one million dollars in 5 years, an $8,000 'cookie crumb' will not improve your situation but it could help someone who really needs it.

[MICKGREEN]

My fiancee and I make ~190k a year,

 

If you, or someone at your income level are looking for ANY financial assistance, be it local or govt, there are probably other finacial issues that need addressed first. I am NOT saying you have financial issues personally, I am saying ANY person/family at that income should be the last person in line looking for a handout or some sort of financial assistance.

 

If you make one million dollars in 5 years, an $8,000 'cookie crumb' will not improve your situation but it could help someone who really needs it.

 

My Property taxes are going to be 13k a year, so getting some back from the gov't would be nice;) I understand where you are coming from. I was more upset about people always telling us to move to another part of the county & how crazy we are to live here. There is a very good reason why NY is soooo expensive - to us, it's worth it.

[jst300z]

Real estate taxes can be crazy, that's for sure. But look at it like this: Where you live, the amenities that surround you, the weather, the lifestyle dictates cost. Or more simply, location, location and location.

 

Two people, one lives in Fargo (nothing wrong with Fargo) and the other lives in San Diego. Fargo's cost of living, compared to southern California, is a lot cheaper. SD offers sunset views, 72 degrees everyday with rain 3 times a year, multiple professional teams, the Pacific ocean and sandy ladies. Fargo has....snow.

 

Supply and demand. Everybody wants the beach, the amenities and the lifestyle. If it takes triple the income to enjoy these benefits, that's the cost of having the best. Does that mean your beachfront house should not get the Obama $8,000? Heck yeah.

[alexplantman]

My fiancee and I make ~190k a year,

 

If you, or someone at your income level are looking for ANY financial assistance, be it local or govt, there are probably other finacial issues that need addressed first. I am NOT saying you have financial issues personally, I am saying ANY person/family at that income should be the last person in line looking for a handout or some sort of financial assistance.

 

If you make one million dollars in 5 years, an $8,000 'cookie crumb' will not improve your situation but it could help someone who really needs it.

 

 

That's not the point... But if that poster or myself pay more taxes than the next guy, we should also get a slice of the pie!!!!!!!!!!! We sacraficed ourselves in time / money to go to undergrad / grad school, put in the time in our careers to earn $$, so the $ didn't come for free...

 

Yet, we are the ones bailing out the dead beats walking out on mortgage loans b/c they can't afford it or decided they don't want to pay it b/c they are upside down... what do we get in return? nothing...

[hurricanesfans27]

My fiancee and I make ~190k a year,

 

If you, or someone at your income level are looking for ANY financial assistance, be it local or govt, there are probably other finacial issues that need addressed first. I am NOT saying you have financial issues personally, I am saying ANY person/family at that income should be the last person in line looking for a handout or some sort of financial assistance.

 

If you make one million dollars in 5 years, an $8,000 'cookie crumb' will not improve your situation but it could help someone who really needs it.

 

 

That's not the point... But if that poster or myself pay more taxes than the next guy, we should also get a slice of the pie!!!!!!!!!!! We sacraficed ourselves in time / money to go to undergrad / grad school, put in the time in our careers to earn $$, so the $ didn't come for free...

 

Yet, we are the ones bailing out the dead beats walking out on mortgage loans b/c they can't afford it or decided they don't want to pay it b/c they are upside down... what do we get in return? nothing...

 

you get to buy a house real cheap thats what you get in return

[d00daa]

Wow. Lots of class envy in this thread. Really, really sad. And frankly insulting.

 

Our HHI is $75k/year, single earner (me). Family of four. I certainly don't consider us "well off."