Realty Check For Idaho

Watch today’s short report on the housing market- Some where around 32% of loan modifications have become permanent while the rest  moving towards some form of foreclosure.  It seems that banks are trying a little harder to get these loans modified to 31% of your monthly gross income, not your take home money but your gross. Idaho has been witness to a rise in values that we most likely will never see again. Lost jobs and income combined with values that have seemingly taken us back, back, back-are not helping recovery. If your payment is good and your paying down your principle and living life more power to you. If your payment has become a hardship and starts taking away your quality of life, look for help.. Take action and stay in your home, call    Joshua Groesbeck 208-353-7131 or josh@homeswithjosh.com or www.homeswithjosh.com

Money Saving Tips In Your Idaho Home

Whether it is your primary residence or your second home in Idaho you can always save a few bucks. These tips are just a few ways to save some money in all four seasons for your home here in Idaho. Living and working here in the Treasure Valley we all know in this crazy economy that your bank account can change much like the weather. When a storm is a brewing you wouldn’t leave your home without a jacket so compare that to the economic future (chance of rain) why wouldn’t you start saving some money. Joshua Groesbeck 208-353-7131 or josh@homeswithjosh.com and www.homeswithjosh.com

1. Install a programmable thermostat: Installing one of these little guys can
really help your utility bills and the earlier you get it installed, the more it saves!
Estimates are that for every degree you lower the thermostat, that’s 5% off your bill
(in the winter). I like to think of it this way – why spend money to heat or cool
something that I’m not even going to be there (or awake) and enjoy? The power
company has enough of my money!
2. Lower the temperature on the thermostat: HVAC systems have two settings
- off and on. By lowering the temperature of the thermostat, you leave it in the off
state for longer periods and thus use less energy. Less energy, lower bill!
3. Wash your clothes in cold water: Detergent technology has gotten so good
that washing in hot water is no longer necessary, you can save lots of energy by
washing with cold water rather than hot water.
4. Line dry your clothes: Get a rack or clothesline and dry your clothes on that,
instead of in your dryer. If that idea isn’t entirely appealing, consider drying larger
items (towels, sheets) on the line and your regular clothes in the dryer to cut down
on the time.
5. Lower the temperature of your water heater: You can turn the temperature
of your water heater down to conserve some extra energy, there’s no sense in
making it really hot only to add cold water to it during showers. (the only caveat is
that you should check your dishwasher for a booster, it’ll need the temps that high
for cleaning purposes)
6. Wrap your water heater with a water heater blanket: One of your biggest
energy sucks in the house is your water heater, that tank that keeps your water nice
and hot for your showers. Wrapping a blanket reduces the amount of heat it loses
into the area around it.
7. Clean out your refrigerator coils: Dust off the coils on the refrigerator and
you can improve its efficiency, thus lowering the electricity bill of the one thing in
your house that’s always on.
8. Find and plug drafts: You don’t need the cold air from the outside to infiltrate
your home (or your warm air blowing out), so try to find all the drafty windows and
doors in your home and seal them up. Your energy bill will thank you.
9. Change your air filter: The more you run your HVAC system, the more that air
filter will catch. The more it catches, the more it clogs. Yep, you guessed it, the
dirtier it gets, the harder your HVAC needs to work to push air. Swap that baby out
and improve your system’s operating efficiency.
10. Get your furnace tuned: I had no idea but you’re supposed to get your furnaced
“tuned” every few years, it could increase your efficiency considerably.
11. Swap out regular light bulbs with CFLs: The technology in CFLs now is so
good that most people can’t even tell the difference (other than by looking at them).
Swapping them out reduces your energy use and are best used in areas where the
lights are on most often. They’re more expensive but they last longer and use less
power.
12. Institute a one light, one person rule: Leaving the lights on in your house is a
great way to spend money, so try reducing your electricity usage by instituting a
one light, one person rule. Each person in the house can only have one light on at a
time.
13. Reduce phantom electricity use: Phantom electricity is the electricity your
appliances use when they’re “off.” This happens because we love our instant on
appliances! To help reduce this, you can plug them all into a surge protector and
turn that off to ensure you aren’t losing power to something you’re not even using.
14. When buying appliances, reliability trumps price: When you’re buying new
appliances, be sure to read reliability reports because you don’t want to spend less
only to find out you bought an inferior product that won’t last.
15. Shop around for homeowner’s or renter’s insurance: Renter’s insurance is
already pretty cheap so you might not get much savings there but homeowner’s can
vary greatly.
16. Consider a home energy audit: These aren’t cheap but they can identify things
you can do to make your home more efficient and thus save you more money.
17. Remember to return those cans and bottles for deposits: If you live in a
state that collects a deposit on cans and bottles, remember to redeem them!
Unfortunately in Maryland we don’t do that (but that also means we don’t pay it),
but I’d love to see it instituted here so that we could entice more recycling.

By following some of these steps you just never know you could be on your way to an early retirement……..

Joshua Groesbeck or josh@homeswithjosh.com and  www.homeswithjosh.com

Home Buyer Tax Credit

1. In some cases, you can use it as a down payment or for closing costs. For the most part, home buyers can’t use the tax credit as an automatic down payment, although “tax credit funds can be used for the basic down-payment requirement (3.5 percent) on an FHA-insured loan only when it’s handled through a state housing finance agency (HFA),” says Lemar Wooley, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

If the home loan is handled through an FHA lender (and not an HFA), the tax credit can be “used to add to the down payment above the 3.5 percent required amount. It can also be used for closing costs,” says Wooley.

Many state HFAs are running or sponsoring programs that will use a tax credit for a down payment. These programs often place a second lien on the home as collateral to secure the eventual repayment of the tax credit funds. Some HFAs lend directly to home buyers while others work through networks of state-approved lenders. For a list of what state HFAs are doing, go to www.ncsha.org.

2. You don’t get a check at closing. Many homebuyers assume that the $8,000 is given to them at closing. Not true, says Winter Park, Fla.-based accountant David Keeler.

“Taxpayers need to wait until they’ve actually filed their income tax return to receive the tax credit,” says Keeler. “The homebuyer credit reduces one’s tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis, and if the credit is more than the tax you owe, the difference is paid to you as a tax refund.”

The IRS says first-time home buyers who purchased a home in 2009 can claim the tax credit on either a 2008 return, due April 15, 2009, or a 2009 return, due April 15, 2010. The credit may not be claimed before the closing date. But, if the closing occurs after April 15, 2009, a taxpayer can still claim it on a 2008 tax return by requesting a filing extension or by filing an amended return.

3. You don’t always get the full credit. “This is one of the biggest misconceptions out there,” says Maynor Perez, a real estate sales associate with Positive Realty in Doral, Fla. “If you pay $50,000 for a home, you will not get the full $8,000 tax credit.”
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In fact, the top credit for homes bought in 2009 is $8,000 ($4,000 for a married individual filing separately) or 10 percent of the residence’s purchase price — whichever is less. So, for a $50,000 home, the home buyer would receive a $5,000 tax credit. And, if you buy a house for $800,000 or more, you’re not eligible for the tax credit.