Hope everyone is enjoying the start to the summer.  I am.

I’m currently in my hometown of Chicago for business, but I have to say it’s a great day to be here because of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup parade.  While walking to do some media interviews downtown, I joined the thousands and thousands cheering the Hawks.  I got to see the Stanley Cup and then started looking to see  if Ferris Bueller would show up!

And it gets even better because my White Sox are playing the Cubs!

I wanted to address yesterday’s bill introduced in the Senate that would extend the deadline date of closing for those eligible for the federal tax credit.  This is a great idea and I applaud Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nevada) along with Senators Johnny Isakson (Georgia) and Chistopher Dodd (Connecticut), the Senate Banking Committee chairman, for continuing to recognize the role housing plays in our economy.

If you remember there were two major deadlines to qualify for the extended and expanded homebuyer tax credit.  To be eligible for either the $8000 or $6500 tax credit, homebuyers had to be under contract by April 30.  And closing had to occur prior to June 30.  The new bill would extend the deadline for closing until September 30.

We have heard from many, many Coldwell Banker professionals who expressed concern that the June 30 deadline was too ambitious and many home buyers  – through no fault of their own – might be unable to close in time to receive their tax credit.    Very simply, our financial institutions need more time to process the large amount of contracts that were written prior to April 30.

Considering the importance of housing to our nation’s economic health, it would be a shame if those who took advantage of the tax credit were unable to benefit because they couldn’t close in time.

Picture courtesy of Flickr user scazon