Homebuyer's Tax Credit

Just in case any of you out there didn’t know it…..there are PLENTY of homes available at VERY affordable prices……AND……interest rates remain historically low. So-o-o-??? Is this not the time to buy?? AND….to sweeten the pot, there’s the tax credit, up to $8000 for qualified first-time buyers whose income is within IRS-established limits…..AND….up to $6500 for some already existing homeowners. AND….this is money that never has to be repaid, provided one lives in that home for three years. One is considered a “first time home buyer” if neither the husband nor the wife has owned a principal residence in the U.S. within the last three years. Existing homeowners are eligible for up to that $6500 if they have lived in their residence for five of the last eight years. Isn’t this something REALLY worth looking into? There may NEVER be a better time to buy a home. I’m certainly not qualified to give you tax advice…..your tax attorney or accountant is the person to see. BUT: when a buyers’ market is as strong as it presently is, and these opportunities are at hand…….You get the picture…l!
Paula Solomon

Did you know? That 62% of all state governments have adopted GREEN building policies? That Residential GREEN building is expected to increase 100% over the next five years? That 70% of homebuyers said they were more inclined to buy a GREEN home in a down economy than a non-green home? That consumers are demanding it and government is requiring it? (source: Green Outlook 2009: Trends Driving Change)
And WHY? Well, for one thing, GREEN homes’ use of toxic-free building materials and natural ventilation to filter and bring fresh air in and vent stale air out helps combat indoor air pollution, oftentimes worse than outdoor pollution. Healthier home environment means healthier people living in it. Unless you enjoy visiting your doctor, this isn’t such a bad idea.

Interested in saving money? GREEN. Find that builder familiar with green-building techniques. The US Green Building Council has demonstrated that the net cost of owning a GREEN home is comparable to----or even cheaper than---owning a standard home. It has found that a GREEN home is often more durable due to its high-quality materials and construction processes, thus requiring fewer repairs. Materials such as bamboo, hemp, agrifibers and soybean-based products. (??? yes!) GREEN homes, the Council advises, use 40% less energy than comparable standard homes. Energy generated by the sun, wind, geothermal energy can reduce dependence upon conventional energy sources. How nice would that be??

Yes, as Kermit the Frog has said, “it isn’t easy being “green”…but there are so many very real benefits to living GREEN. Don’t you think? And besides….we MUST save the earth…..it’s the only planet with CHOCOLATE!

The Story

1989. My husband and I were litigation attorneys practicing in New York and had been invited to lecture before the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in Phoenix. I had had my own firm in Garden City, NY and my husband was a then partner of Phillips Nizer, in Manhattan. For several years prior, I had been in charge of planning the annual Continuing Legal Education seminars for the NewYork chapter of the AAML and had tried, unsuccessfully, to make reservations at The Boulders in Carefree, it being one of the premier boutique resorts and golf communities as cited by Andrew Harper’s “Hideaway Report”. But our group was not of a “Hideaway” size and it simply could not be accommodated. We, however, could be. And so, lectures concluded, we journeyed up to Carefree, climbed the mysterious and inexplicably beautiful boulder pile just as the sun was about to set, gazed out onto what was then endless desert and mountain vistas……and fell hopelessly in love. Neither of us ever thought we would leave New York, but we knew this is where we would live. It was a dream that neither of us had ever considered before, but a dream we then knew would have to be realized.Continue...