Thread: Any Solution to a "Deception"

This is why I give a list of trusted lenders to my clients so they can pick one. My lenders all know they have to compete for my business and it keeps them on their toes. You should have shopped around for a lender.

I know this does not help you now but before some attorney talks you into a lawsuit talk to some other attorneys first. The attorneys I have talked to about lawsuits all say $8,000 is about their minimum cost in a lawsuit. It doesn't make much sense to spend $8,000 to get $8,000.

PS. you might also want to talk to a couple of CPAs just in case your tax preparer was wrong too.

To Greg:

Thanks for replying to my problem. I would have gotten a tax credit for the year 2008 in the amount of $7,500. I have thought of going to a CPA--but don't want to spend money pursuing or beating a dead horse.

I work in the legal field with 8 lawyers but haven't asked them anything concerning this. I work in the state government Attorney General's Office and the attys can sometimes be limited with certain issues.

I thought of contacting my State Senator after the holidays and filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection Office to see what they say.
The thing is; I must be the only person out there who got stiffed........I have heard a great deal negativity about loan officers. This guy was building my ego so I think he knew.

I am not a quitter so will keep pursuing until I get the final answer.

Thanks for replying.

there are a lot of great sites out there that can help you get more data on the property before buying it like

http://www.propertycrunch.com

http://www.zillow.com

and http://www.redfin.com

Originally Posted by unhappy owner

The thing is; I must be the only person out there who got stiffed.....

Stop concentrating all your effort into penalizing your lender and find out if your tax person is wrong. This is why you need to talk to another CPA. You are the first person to bring this up, so it is possible your tax person was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

Originally Posted by Greg

Stop concentrating all your effort into penalizing your lender and find out if your tax person is wrong. This is why you need to talk to another CPA. You are the first person to bring this up, so it is possible your tax person was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

Greg - you always beat me to the punch - I guess I need to wake up a bit earlier!! Anyway, my opinion would have been the same - talk with another tax accountant to see if in fact you are ineligible. I really haven't looked that closely to the tax credit, but of what I did review - I didn't see any limitations (besides houses above the $800K threshold.)

I would think that they (other tax professional) could give you a general idea if you are truly ineligible, at no cost - if they feel that you can get the credit - hire them to do your taxes.

I know that I have been in my house for over 12 years - and I am going to attempt to get my tax credit of $6.5K - gotta love the government that wants to sacrifice the nation! (give $$ to people, just to collect it back [WITH INTEREST] at tax time. I don't know where else they will get the money from, as they don't produce any product.)

Thanks to everyone who answered my question-frustration.

Yes, maybe the tax preparer was wrong also, not just the loan officer.
I consulted with the Head Counsel of the agency that gave me the loan (State of Maryland). He and I had a conversation and he asked if I was going to file a lawsuit, hadn't thought of that!

Since I work w/attorneys I hear the drill..........this atty was trying to cover-up a blunder. I stated the question again to him. Why would I only buy a house because of the $7,500 tax credit and no other reason and then not get it.

Also, to add to the drama, I went over my settlement sheet and found that the $1,000 I put in as good faith money went to the listing agent and my real estate agent (split). I only initialed a fee of $250 when I entered into the agreement. Paperwork was thrown at me continuously at that time. I am not done. Some brokers must work the same as some lawyers....sneak up on you with all that charm.

I am heartbroken.

I'm thinking about something here, about the lawsuit.
What about a lawyer who will charge a percentage of a possible settlement?
Let's say you sue for the $8,000 credit + a $30K or $40K settlement for the "trauma" and gives 30% (or 40% or whatever they charge) to the lawyer once it's over.
It worth a try IMO...

Thanks for replying.

The Attorney General I spoke with said "if I decided to sue, it would probably cost me as much as I would get. I think he was trying to discourage me an hoping I would go away.

I feel I'm not going to let this go until I have exhausted all possible avenues. I have a lot of possibilities to contact that I haven't done yet. Better Business Bureau, Consumer Protection and State Senator of MD. I have been holding off because of the holidays but I don't give up on matters until its really done.

Thank you for your suggestion. I'll keep posting and hope I have some positive news.

Happy Holidays.

It sounds like you may have gotten all of your questions answered and even created a few more for yourself, but I do have a question you should be asking yourself.

But, before I ask it, the question is predicated on the basis that I know nothing about your particular marketplace and current state of the real estate market where you live.

So, here's a question: why did you ever think that buying a home and getting into a 30 year mortgage payment with no money down only to get a $7500 kickback from the government was a good idea?

Real estate is very volatile and some of these financing vehicles are very complex in making these types of obligations for measly $7500 is not a very good idea.

In my market, Boise, Idaho, we have a ton of first-time home buyers entering the market to take advantage of low prices but what's really giving them off of the fence is the home buyer tax credit. since few of these people have a down payment, most of them are getting FHA financing and only putting 3 1/2% down. This is all fine and good with exception to the fact that in the last 12 months the median home price has dropped from $199,500 down to $155,500. That puts these people significantly upside down on their home and all for what: $8000?

I know this doesn't help with your current situation, and I certainly don't want to add insult to injury, but perhaps you could be doing your peer group a favor and letting them know that the tax credit is a bonus, not a reason to buy a home.

With all due respect, I give your agent a thumbs down for not educating you on this. What a bummer.