What I bought with my $8,000 tax credit

Ryan McKeown, 26, is a software technician for a health care company.

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I didn't want to dip into my retirement account for a down payment, and the tax credit let me buy a three-family house without emptying my retirement.

I closed on the house in May, and it is in a neighborhood that's not quite as nice as where I was living, but it's getting better.

I took the second floor one-bedroom apartment and rented out the top floor one-bedroom apartment and the ground floor two-bedroom. The rent will help pay off most of my mortgage, which is an FHA loan.

I have very low monthly housing bills now, but I couldn't have afforded the house I wanted without the tax credit. And I got the check about seven weeks after I filed my amended tax return.

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