Worried about missing out on a fat chunk of change? Find out if you qualify for a loan today by filling out our short form! Click HERE.

One of the most popular topics with new home buyers is the new 8000 tax credit for new home buyers. There is no doubt that for first time home buyers, this tax credit has been a strong incentive to purchase a home – and the entry level home market has seen improvement as a result.

Now there is talk about extending the 8000 tax credit until 2010 and raising it to $15,000 as well.

According to Bernard Baumohl, an economist at the Economic Outlook Group:

“I’m fairly confident that (Congress) will extend the tax credit, because it is so important that housing come back, but raising the tax credit will be difficult because it reduces taxes even more.”

Current Proposals:

• A Senate bill to expand the tax credit to $15,000 for any home buyer regardless of income was introduced this month by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. It is co-sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

• A House bill to keep the $8,000 credit in place until June 2010 and expand it to all home buyers was introduced last month by Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas. It also would provide a $3,000 credit to homeowners who refinance.

• Another bill in the House, introduced by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, would extend the credit to all home buyers through 2010.

Generally speaking, it seems to be a very popular idea to extend the tax credit deadline and a somewhat popular idea to increase the tax credit from 8000 to 15,000 — but, as we learned when the initial tax credit was passed into law, it ain’t over until it is over — so anything can happen.

There isn’t much time left for free government cash! Find out if you qualify for a loan today by filling out our short form! Click HERE.

When buying a home and ordering an appraisal, starting in May of this year, the rules have changed. In fact, because of the new HVCC rules, many things are now somewhat confusing. Let’s start with the simple part: If you are planning on getting a conventional loan, the HVCC rules apply — namely:

1. Your loan officer cannot order the appraisal directly from the appraiser. The loan officer is required to order the appraisal from the lender who often times will use an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) to handle this process.

2. Your loan officer cannot speak to the appraiser about appraisal related issues.

3. Your loan officer cannot speak to the appraiser about getting appraisal conditions taken care of that the underwriter wanted changed on the appraisal once the file has been underwritten.

The end result of these three things is that there is a higher chance that you will experience a surprise when getting your appraisal back for your new home — and the most common “surprise” is for you to find out that your home’s appraised value is lower than your contracted sales price.

Now for the more confusing part:

What if you are financing your home with an FHA loan? If you are financing your new home with an FHA loan, your loan officer may have to follow HVCC rules… depending on what lender they work for. As of today, some lenders are requiring HVCC rules for all loans — and some are requiring HVCC rules for only conventional loans.

Whether you are financing your home with a conventional or FHA loan, one thing is for sure — no one likes surprises so it is important to ask your loan officer ahead of time about HVCC and what impact it may have on your loan.

For the past four years, aspiring small business owners in developing nations have been able to pursue their dreams thanks to Kiva.org, a unique microlending company that’s become an online sensation.

Kiva has funneled more than $75 million in loans since 2005 to 180,000 entrepreneurs in 44 developing nations. Business owners from El Salvador to Nigeria have benefited from Kiva microloans, opening clothing stores, food markets and bookstores.

Now, as part of a unique pilot program, fledgling American entrepreneurs can take advantage of Kiva’s microloan network. Earlier this month, the company began testing a U.S. expansion, which allows investors to lend up to $10,000 to American startup companies.

The pilot program will provide lending opportunities to 45 small businesses in a handful of major metropolitan areas, including New York, San Francisco and Boston. For this initiative, San Francisco-based Kiva is working with national microfinance organization Accion USA and the Opportunity Fund, a community development lender in San Jose.

The site’s unique platform allows donors to loan $25 or more to a specific entrepreneur. Potential donors can choose from a host of small business owners, whose stories are chronicled on the Kiva site, and track their loan from start to finish, often receiving email journal updates from recipients.

The loan courses typically run six to 12 months. Upon repayment, lenders can move on or decide to re-lend to another Kiva entrepreneur.

About 98 percent of loans are repaid, Kiva president Premal Shah has said.

The company’s foray into the American small business environment comes after a sustained, systemic reticence to lend to entrepreneurs on the part of many U.S. banks, according to Shah.

Despite the stagnant lending environment in the U.S., some business and economics experts question whether pooling American entrepreneurs with their counterparts from developing nation is inherently unfair.

“The needs of U.S. entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs living in developing countries are quite different, and to mix them in one place leaves me torn,” Tamara Schweitzer, a blogger for entrepreneur website Inc.com, wrote this week. “Would I rather help entrepreneurs in developing countries, or some in the U.S. as well? If I give my money to a U.S. entrepreneur, is there someone more deserving of it elsewhere? I think what will be interesting in the coming months is to see where Kiva lenders feel their money is most needed and how overall distribution of funds pan out over time.”

Similar concerns have been voiced inside Kiva’s California headquarters. Some Kiva employees have told Shah that small business owners in developing nations need microloans much more than American entrepreneurs.

“It will be interesting to see if someone from South Central Los Angeles will be able to get a loan on our site more quickly than a small business in south Sudan,” Shah told The Associated Press earlier this month.