Peace's bill helps thousands of seniors and the disabled stay in their homes Tax Credit seeks to provide jobs and rehab work for contractors
Fairfax, VA - On June 8th, Governor Kaine hosted the Governor's Housing Forum with U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner, Congressmen Frank Wolf, Jim Moran and Gerry Connolly, select state legislators, and more than 200 citizens to hear about Virginia's current housing issues and the proposed solutions from Virginia's mortgage brokers, homebuilders, realtors, housing advocates, and local government officials. "Th[e] forum is an opportunity for all the needed partners to hear from each other on the issues facing housing in Virginia. This forum builds upon the work of the Virginia Foreclosure Prevention Task Force and our collective efforts to date," Governor Kaine said.
Following the Housing forum at the Fairfax Government Center, Board Auditorium, Governor Kaine performed a Housing Bill Signing Ceremony for two significant pieces of legislation that address the current housing crisis. First, Governor Kaine signed Del. Chris Peace's (R-Hanover) legislation to increase tax incentives for individuals who purchase a new home or retrofit their current home. He also signed Del. Jennifer McClellan's (D-Richmond) "Truth in Lending" bill that requires mortgage brokers to act in their client's best interests.
House Bill 1938, also known as the Livable Home Tax Credit, offers an attractive incentive of $2,000 for homeowners who make accessibility improvements to their residences or purchase new homes. The program is capped at $1 Million annually and begins on or after January 1, 2010.
Under the current program, if the owner spends $3,000 on accessibility improvements, they would qualify for a maximum credit of $500. Under these revisions, the owner could receive a credit of $2,000. Since many owners who need to make accessibility improvements have limited incomes, the increase in these limits should encourage the elderly on fixed incomes or the more disabled persons greater access to the program.
"In this time of economic challenge leaders must come together to put Virginia First in bipartisan ways, working together for solutions and in this case to help citizens make their homes or purchase of new homes more accessible," stated Peace.
The Livable Home Tax Credit (formally Home Accessibility Credit) is being administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Applications are to be filed with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) by February 28 of the year following the year in which the purchase or retro-fitting was completed. For additional information please contact Kathy Robertson at 804-225-3129.
The livable home tax credit measure was a part of the Help Housing Now package introduced by Peace and a bi-partisan coalition of fellow legislators and representatives of the housing industry- both for-profits and non-profits during the 2009 General Assembly session.
Later that day, the Virginia Foreclosure Prevention Task Force met with mortgage industry representatives, housing consumer advocates, policy experts and researchers to develop strategies to prevent foreclosures and minimize the impact of foreclosures on the citizens of the Commonwealth and the state economy. For more information on the Task Force, visit http://www.virginiaforeclosureprevention.com/.