Hi all! I found this information, and couldn't have said it better myself, so thought I'd leave you with this article from Money Magazine. I know the questions about this fall under "how is this bailout going to benefit me?" Good question!

I'll be back in two weeks as I'm going out to celebrate my anniversary with my husband on a cruise for a week!

Enjoy!

What the bailout does for you!!!
The $700 billion bill offers more than just relief for the banking system - it's a sweet deal for John Q. Taxpayer too.
By Amanda Gengler, Money Magazine writer
October 15, 2008: 11:09 AM ET
NEW YORK (Money) -- By now you're well aware that the federal government recently approved a historic bill aimed to rescue our nation's faltering financial system. But what's gotten far less attention than the billions approved to prop up banks, are significant tax benefits included for individuals.

Buried in the 400+ page plan are more than $150 billion in individual and business tax breaks, including another temporary patch for the alternative minimum tax, credits for energy-efficient upgrades to your home and extensions for many benefits set to expire, according to CCH, a tax information and software provider. Some of the breaks apply to the upcoming filing season.

"There are nearly 100 changes to the tax code," says Mark Steber, vice president of tax resources at Jackson Hewitt, a tax preparation company. "There is a little bit of something in here for a lot of people. This is a very pro-taxpayer piece of legislation, separate and apart from the financial bailout related changes."

Here's a rundown on what's new, and what has returned, so you can make sure you're not handing Uncle Sam any more than what you have to.

A quick fix for the AMT. Once again, the government has approved a one-year patch to keep many middle-class taxpayers - about 23 million, according to the tax information publisher J.K. Lasser - out of the reach of the alternative minimum tax in 2008. The law ups the exemption amount this year to $69,950 for joint filers and surviving spouses and $46,200 for single taxpayers. But Congress will have to act again in 2009 for these middle income folks to dodge the AMT going forward.

Mortgage debt forgiveness. The law brings some good news for homeowners who foreclose, sell for less than they owe or restructure their mortgage with their lender. Traditionally, when a lender forgives any mortgage debt, the cancelled debt is treated as taxable income. So previously if you had lost your home, you would have also faced a big tax bill. Double whammy.

The new bill extends a soon-to-expire law that temporarily stops homeowners from owing federal taxes on up to $2 million of forgiven debt. The catch? The debt has to come from purchasing, building or upgrading your primary residence (which includes your original mortgage) - and not from, say, a home equity loan taken out to pay off credit card bills, says Mark Luscombe, a principal analyst at CCH. The new law will extend the break until 2012.

A break on education. Individuals paying college or graduate tuition for their children, spouse or themselves in 2008 and 2009 can deduct - even if you do not itemize - up to $4,000 if your adjusted gross income is $80,000 or less for singles and $160,000 for joint filers. The previous deduction expired last year.

You cannot, however, take this deduction and get the existing HOPE or Lifetime Learning credits for the same person. If you qualify for both you are generally better off with one of the existing credits, says Luscombe. But many individuals who earn too much for the credit can take the deduction, since that income cap is higher, he adds.

A sales tax deduction. For the last few years individuals had the option to deduct state and local sales tax instead of income tax. "This was especially popular in states like Florida and Texas where they don't have income tax, and even states like Illinois, which has a modest income tax but a fairly high sales tax," says Luscombe. But that deduction expired in 2007. The new law brings it back through 2009. Even residents of high income tax states who make a large purchase such as a boat or car during the year may save more with the sales tax deduction then the income, says Steber.

Lower property taxes. Originally only for 2008, but now extended to 2009, homeowners who do not itemize can deduct up to $500 ($1,000 for joint filers) of property taxes in addition to the standard deduction. So homeowners who pay little or no mortgage interest, maybe because they have nearly or already repaid their loan, or they bought the home with cash, can likely save, says Steber.

Tax-free charitable donations. If you're 70.5 years or older you can withdraw up to $100,000 from an IRA and donate it to charity, tax-free. You can tap a traditional or Roth IRA, but you will typically save more in taxes if you go with the traditional account since you can withdraw your Roth contributions tax-free anyway, says Luscombe.

Energy tax credits. The government is enticing you to make your home's energy footprint smaller next year. In 2009 (they skipped over 2008, says Luscombe) you can qualify for a credit of up to $500 for qualified improvements to make your home more energy efficient. These include adding insulation, replacing windows or buying an energy-efficient water heater.

You may also be eligible for a credit on any expenditures for solar or wind power for your home. There's a catch: if you previously took the $500 energy home credit, you're out of luck. It's a one time thing.

Disaster aid. If you were affected by Hurricane Ike or this year's floods or tornadoes in the Midwest, you may qualify for relief, including significant benefits like some of those offered to Hurricane Katrina victims, according to J.K. Lasser. For example, you may be able to deduct more of your losses than traditionally allowed, or to tap an IRA without paying the 10% penalty (you still may have to pay taxes) to help fund the clean up.

<http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/15/news/economy/bailout_tax_credits.moneymag/mailto:money_letters@moneymail.com>

Hi all!

We've had some good rains here the past couple of days--and we've needed it. But now it's time to cut the grass one last time for the winter!

This week's topic--Home Warranty's. I am finding out that many people--those who've owned homes for a while, as well as those who have never owned a home, have no idea what a Home Warranty is, so I'm here to explain them to you.

There are a number of Home Warranty companies out there, and basically, what they are is a company where you "buy" a warranty on your home for one year. It costs approximately $400 for coverage (varies according to your coverage level). If one of the covered systems in your home goes on the fritz--whether is the air conditioning system, heat, plumbing, hot water heater, dishwasher, you name it, you call up the Home Warranty company and say "Hey! It's broke!" and they will send a local company to fix it. You have to pay a fee of about $50 (also varies with the coverage you get), regardless of the price of the repair. The Home Warranty service pays for the rest.

I highly recommend getting a Home Warranty when you buy a home. If it's a new build, though, everything is likely covered under the original builder's warranty, so it's not as much of an issue. With an older home (5 years or more), it's a good idea, though. When I bought my home, it was 8 years old. I got a Home Warranty with it, and 8 months later, my A/C system quit. It cost me $45 for a $1,600 repair. Talk about RELIEF! I didn't have to scrape up that $1,600!!

The good part about a Home Warranty is that you don't have to wait to buy your home to get one. Some companies will only sell them to you when a property is sold, but others don't have that requirement.

When it comes to buying or selling a home, as a seller, you can offer a Home Warranty for buyer's peace of mind. As a buyer, you can request in the negotiations that the seller pay for the Home Warranty. If that doesn't happen, you can always call once you've moved in to your home and tell them you just bought a home and you would like to get a Home Warranty.

You can renew your Home Warranty annually if you so choose, but it is not a requirement. Make sure when you get one, though, that you pay attention to what is covered. I bought a Home Warranty for a property once, and made sure I had coverage for the A/C system, however, found out when I needed it repaired that this company DIDN'T cover geothermal A/C systems. That was quite frustrating. They always say "Read before you sign on the dotted line!" and even though I know that, I didn't this time.

If you have a Home Warranty in effect, and are in the process of selling your home, most companies will allow the warranty to transfer to the new owner.

Good Luck!

Hi!

I know it's only been a day, but I thought it was worth posting again so soon because of the new program HUD has just rolled out called Hope for Homeowners.

If you go to www.hud.gov it has fact sheets that explain the details, but in short, this program is designed to help homeowners that want to stay in their homes, but can no longer afford the payments, but if they sell the home, it will have to sell through a short sale.

It is designed to work through your current lender, with HUD, to refinance your existing mortgage to 90 percent of the current appraised value through a new fixed 30 year FHA mortgage.  There are restrictions, of course.  It must be your primary and only home, and when you do sell, you share the equity in the home with FHA, but considering you would walk away with NO equity in a short sale, this could be a great option for you if you qualify.

If you, or someone you know are in a position where you are unable to pay your mortgage, take a look at the website above and go to the information on Hope For Homeowners.  Check out the qualifications and see if you qualify. 

All-in-all, it looks like a good program that could help a lot of homeowners in trouble right now.

Good luck!

Hi all!

I know I missed a week, but I'm back now! 

One thing about buying a house is that it's a time in your life when you pay particular attention to your credit score and what your credit report says about you and how you handle your finances.

We all are now aware that we can get a free annual credit report, however, after doing some research, I discovered a few things.  First off, like with any other search parameters, when you put in your search terms, it will bring up a plethora of places that say "free credit report" and when you go to the sites, you find out that you have to sign up for a "trial period" for another service and then remember to cancel the membership before you get charged.  I can never remember when I have to do that, so I don't like to sign up for those free trial periods.

Well, the good part is that there is a good option.  There is only one site that the Federal Trade Commission authorizes to give the free credit reports.  Mind you, you will not get your credit score (unless you pay a price--go figure!), however, it's still a good idea to get the free credit report from the 3 credit bureaus so you can see if there are any potentially negative things on your credit report that you need to clean up prior to getting a loan.

SO, if you haven't gotten your annual free credit report yet, go to www.annualcreditreport.com and you can get your report from each of the bureaus.   To verify it is you, they ask questions that only you will know that will appear on your credit report.

It's a good idea to check your report annually anyway, but if you haven't looked at it in a while, or your planning on buying a house in the next few months to few years, or you know you need to clean up your credit, take some time and get your free credit report.  If there are issues, there are directions on each of the sites on how to file a dispute.  I've had to do this, and while it may seem tedious and time consuming, it was worth it in the long run to get the issue pulled off my credit report.

Enjoy!