It could possibly reduce the profit on the sale of the building which would decrease taxable income.
Is this a second home or vacation home? If he is selling the building for $100,000 and paid $120,000 5 years ago for it, there would not be a benefit to giving the buyer a credit as you cannot claim a loss on the sale of personal property or a vacation or second home.
If this was business use property or other investment type property, he may be able to offset other investment gains and up to $3,000 in ordinary income to reduce his tax liability. He can then carry forward unused losses to future years.
However, if he is not planning to have a tax liability in future years (ex. income will only be from social security) then he would not benefit from this. You also need to look at the amount he could save on taxes vs the amount he loses by giving the buyer a credit.
It would be wise to speak with a financial advisor or tax advisor in your local area as there are a lot of variables that would come into play as to whether or not he could benefit from giving the credit.
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