It sounds like a deal that is too good to be true -- the possibility of up to $14,000 from the government to be used to defray the cost of buying a home. It’s true all right, but comes with some restrictions.

The states “Home Run” grant program offers $6,000 up front to Utahns who buy new homes that have never been lived in. Eight-thousand dollars is offered through a federal stimulus package that provides a tax rebate to "first-time home buyers" – those who haven’t owned a home in the past three years. These homes do not have to be brand new.

Both programs began Jan. 1 and will end Dec. 1. It is possible to take advantage of both incentives on the purchase of a single home.

Both the state and federal home buying incentives come with caps on income – a married couple cannot make more than $150,000 combined income to be eligible, and singles cannot make more than $75,000 if they want to participate. There is a partial tax rebate from the federal government for those who earn more, but that is only allowed up to $170,000 for joint filers and $95,000 for singles.

“We have a lot of people who are interested in the state incentive,” said Shar Benson, broker and owner of Shar’s Realty in Roosevelt, “but most of the time the houses are lived in. We had two homes that would have qualified but they were rented over the winter.”

Josh Harbison will soon close on a new townhome in Roosevelt, reportedly just one of two on the market in an affordable price range, and eligible for the state’s $6,000 Home Run grant.

While the state grant money is being snapped up quickly on a first-come, first-served basis along the Wasatch Front, where there is a glut of new homes in all price ranges, in Duchesne County new construction kept a fairly even pace with demand.

In the Vernal area, there are new homes on the market and under construction. Therein lays the catch for those hoping to see some of that construction completed - - the state’s Home Run grant money will likely run out this summer.

As of Monday there was funding remaining for 926 of the $6,000 grants, according to the Utah Housing Corporation Web site. It’s estimated that about 100 state Home Run grants are applied for weekly.

Harbison, the Roosevelt branch manager for Mountain America, said the $6,000 in state grant money certainly helped him out but it wasn’t a deal maker.

“It was really nice, it took our mortgage from $152,000 to $146,000,” he said. “It did make the difference between buying new construction and an existing home.”

The state grant must be applied to the down payment, said Lane Yack, associate broker with Coldwell Banker RS West.

“I had someone ask if they could get the grant up front and apply it towards new furniture for their new home and the answer was ‘no,” Yack said.

The Harbisons said their lender made the process of applying for the state grant very manageable.

“We signed one paper and the lender did the rest,” Harbison said. “I will find out when we close how many more (papers) there are but it seems to be pretty easy.”

Not all lenders are set up to help buyers deal with the paperwork involved, Benson noted, so it’s wise to find out ahead of time if your lender is in the loop.

If you’re in the market as a first-time home buyer – again, this is anyone who has not owned a “principal residence” within the last three years, Benson recommends considering taking advantage of the federal tax rebate.

The rebate is good on the purchase of “any single-family home, town house, condominium or co-op that will be used as a principal residence.”

Benson advises working through an accountant to find out how much of the $8,000 you would actually see back on your taxes. If you end up owing money you won’t see the entire $8,000 you may have been planning on, she said.

Still, Chris Jaussi, CEO of Timberhawk Homes, points out that for those who qualify, the federal tax rebate is "like an $8,000 gift for buying a new home." Something else to consider is that you don’t have to wait for a year to get your tax rebate, he said.

Those who want to can file a 2008 amended return and get their $8,000 refund check in three to six months.