On Friday, the President signed a bill which extended unemployment benefits AND expanded the homebuyer tax credit. This makes this officially official.

The details are here:

• First time homebuyers can receive a 10% (up to $8,000) tax credit when purchasing a home.
• Repeat buyers can receive up to a $6,500 tax credit when purchasing a new home, if they’ve lived in their current home for 5 consecutive years or more.
• These homes must be purchased (signed contract) between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010. (A buyer has until July 1, 2010 to close.)
• Single buyers must have incomes of $125,000 or less; Couples must have incomes of $225,00 or less to be able to receive maximum credit. (The amount of credit available tapers off for higher earners.)  These income guidelines have changed from the previous qualifications.
• The home must be $800,000 or less and be a primary residence.
• Military personnel serving overseas for 90 days or more have an extra year to qualify for the credit.
• The credit does not need to be repaid unless you live in the home less than three years (with some exceptions for military or other circumstances).

Word is also that there will be stricter qualifications for filing for the credit, so be prepared to hold onto a copy of your HUD if you plan to apply. Hopefully this will prevent the problems we talked about before.

There are a lot of resources for this new credit. Here are some:

Realtor.org: The Basics about the Extended Homebuyer Credit.

CNN Money: Presdident extends unemployment benefits.

The Examiner: Homebuyer Tax Credit Gets President’s Signature

NAHB: FAQs about the new Homebuyer Tax Credit.

Related...

• November 5, 2009 -- Breaking News: The Homebuyer Tax Credit Passes Congress
• April 6, 2010 -- Remaining Weeks of Homebuyer Tax Credit
• October 30, 2009 -- Delays in Receipt of $8,000 Tax Credit
• June 23, 2009 -- New Rumors about the Home Buyer Tax Credit