Why, oh why, would I suggest my daughter buy a house in this market?

Claire is quite the consumer. She shops a lot, (and as a part of her job) reads every magazine, pores over the internet, and knows about practically everything new. Her boyfriend keeps her in the loop technologically, and together they're always on the lookout for the next best thing.

The next best thing last week was a fabulous mid-century house in Phoenix that crossed their path. It's much closer to work and all the functions that Claire attends on a regular basis. It's priced affordably, and is headed toward foreclosure if someone doesn't snatch it up before the end of the year. It fits their style (modern and minimalist) and is a nice step up from their current living arrangement, which is a one-bedroom condo that TJ bought 2 years ago.

But buying a house in this market is a scary proposition. What if the economy continues its downward trend and her magazine has no advertisers? TJ works in the lending industry. Scary stuff.

But the cost of this house is only $200 more per month than they're paying now! And it's absolutely gorgeous!

Here's the kicker. First time homebuyers are given an interest free loan in the form of a tax credit on their home purchase through July 1, 2009. It has to be paid back within 15 years, but if I know Claire, and she'll be moving on before then. Not to mention the benefits if she uses the $7500 to pre-pay the mortgage. She'll make a couple of thousand bucks simply for playing the game!

Here's a link to an article on the $7500 Tax Credit.

And here's the house that I know you'll also want to see.

I'm not pushing anybody to buy a house, and they may well decide that it's not in the cards right now. But they, and others like them, might find this incentive enough to make a home purchase before next summer too good to pass up.

Let me know if you have any questions. I have links to IRS rules, Q&A's, etc.