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Use any metaphor you want: the ticking clock, sands running through the hourglass or pages falling away from the calendar. The fact is, time is running out to claim the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit.

Passed earlier this year as part of the economic stimulus package, the credit is good for up to $8,000, or 10% of the purchase price, and applies to people who have not owned a home in the previous three years. (There are some income restrictions.) The best part: Unlike a similar program from 2008, the credit does not have to be repaid.

The bad part: It ends on Dec. 1.

Because it usually takes around 90 days to close on a house after a contract is signed, buyers have very little time left to act. As of Thurs., Aug. 27, there were only 96 days left before the credit ends.

“Buyers have to get a home under contract very, very soon,” said Tom Kunz, CEO of Century 21. “They probably should get out looking.”

What they will find may surprise them: Many of the prime properties have already been snapped up. Home sales have been on the upswing, and inventories are so depleted in hot markets that first-time buyers are struggling to find homes in their price range. (Check prices in your city.)

In Whittier, Calif., for example, there are few repossessed homes for sale. Those are easy to buy because there isn’t a lot of red tape and the bank wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Instead, most of the properties are short sales, where the sellers have to convince their lender to let them sell the house for less than they owe.

“That’s why there’s such a sense of urgency now,” said Irma Tapper, a Century 21 real estate agent in Whittier. “The banks have to approve short sales, and they’re taking three to six months to do that.”

That means a first timer putting a bid on a short-sale might not get an answer form the bank until well after the Dec. 1 deadline for the tax credit. So when an actual repossession listing hits the markets, it creates a feeding frenzy.

The National Association of Realtors attributes much of this activity to the first-time buyer tax credit. It estimates that 1.8 million buyers will file for the credit, and 350,000 of them wouldn’t have been able to buy without it.

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The countdown has started and it’s getting down to crunch time. The $8,000 federal tax credit will disappear on November 30, 2009. So, if you are a first-time homebuyer and have been sitting on the fence, you better hurry and make the decision to purchase a home before you miss your golden opportunity.

Although recent, news reports suggests that Congress is pushing for an extension don’t depend on that. The deadline for receiving the credit is approaching quickly.

Just in case one of your reasons for not jumping in and taking advantage of the credit is because your not sure exactly what it is, here are some facts.

Tax Credit Info-

1. The Tax Credit is for first-time homebuyers. For purposes of this credit, the IRS defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a home in the U.S. as a personal residence in the last 3 years.
2. The Tax Credit does not have to be paid back. However, you must keep the house for 3years.
3. The first-time homebuyer must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien.
4. The Tax Credit is for 10% of the cost of the house up to a maximum of $8,000.
5. Income for a single person can not exceed $75,000. Income for married couples can not exceed $150,000.
6. House can not be purchased from a close relative.
7. Tax Credit applies to houses that closed in 2009 but before December 1, 2009.
8. To claim the credit you must amend your 2008 tax return.

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