Old House New House Living

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Just ask your question and we will work diligently to provide the most relavent information so that you can make an informed decision.

Understanding Your Homeowner Insurance Policy

As homeowners, none of us can ever truly be prepared for tornadoes, floods or other natural disasters. But having adequate insurance can reduce potential losses. Surveys have found that nearly half of homeowners couldn't identify or verify the value of all their possessions if they were lost in a disaster or know whether their insurance will cover all of their home repairs. A homeowner policy usually doesn't cover: flood, earthquake, landslide, mudslide, sewer backup or identity theft. Your homeowner policy may not cover claims related to: dog bites, swimming pools, trampolines or operating a business from your home. Sites such as Insure.com and MSN Money.com  are good places to help you better understand your policy (cash value or replacement costs?), know your coverage (are floods, earthquakes and water-line breaks covered?) and document your valuables (just what do you have, how much is it worth and how do you prove it?). 

It is also good to understand your policy as it relates to fire. As someone who recently had a family member lose their home to fire, please find out if your policy provides for temporary housing costs and learn how they place value and reimburse you for your belongings. If nothing else, you will have peace of mind knowing how the process works. Additionally, please don't put off purchasing that fire proof safe for important papers and valuables; and consider using automatic web-based back up systems for your computer so that you do not lose all your data. Carbonite.com is one such service that is easy and invisible while providing a huge value at a low cost and I am sure there are others.

The State of Ohio is trying to keep young professionals in Ohio after college.

The Ohio Finance Agency  (OFA) provides a Grants for Grads program.  Recent college graduates, including those earning postgraduate degrees, can now receive down payment and closing cost assistance and a favorable mortgage interest rate through OHFA’s Grants for Grads Program. Eligible borrowers can use the grant to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses associated with buying a home. 

If you are an income-eligible first-time homebuyer, graduated from an Ohio high school and have earned an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate or other postgraduate degree within the last 18 months, you can take advantage of the Grants for Grads Program.  Income restrictions for the program limit income by area so the income for a grad in Hamilton county could not exceed $69,200 in non targeted areas and $83,040 in targeted areas. Your lender will be able to more appropriately establish this requirement for you.

Like many other programs this one has a hook- in order to qualify for the grant the buyer must maintain residence in Ohio for at least 5 years- or pay back a portion of the grant.  The aid comes in the form of a mortgage loan that’s forgivable after 5 years.

Here is the most recent update regarding the Homebuyer Tax Credit and possible extension of the June 30^th Closing Deadline.

 What has happened

The United States House of Representatives passed today (June 29) HR 5623 – the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010 – by a vote of 409-5.

 The bill would extend the deadline for closing tax-credit-eligible transactions from June 30 to September 30, 2010.

 What’s next

The National Association of REALTORSâ (NAR) has worked vigorously to get the Closing Deadline extended.

 With this victory in the House, the bill now moves to the Senate where the outcome is much less certain.  It may or may not happen.

 The best advice still is to proceed with any pending transactions as if the June 30, 2010 closing date will remain final and binding.

Newsweek accomplishes an analysis of all public schools in the US based on how well a school challenges its students, through advanced training and college placement courses and testing.  Only 1600 schools made that List which represents about 6% of all schools.  Seven (7) of our local schools made that List:

  65    Walnut Hills

  77    Wyoming

 190    Indian Hill

 694    Mariemont

1262    Turpin

1427    Mason

1592    Loveland

Check out the article for yourself:

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html

If you’re like many people, coming up with a down payment and getting a mortgage loan are keeping you from realizing the American Dream.

Here is a little known fact about the HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT. 

Certain military members and federal employees are eligible for the HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT till April 30, 2011. See excerpt below from IRS.gov :

“1.   Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase. Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

2.       In many cases, the credit repayment (recapture) requirement is waived for members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community. This relief applies where a home is sold or stops being the taxpayer’s principal residence after Dec. 31, 2008, in connection with government orders received by the individual (or the individual’s spouse) for qualified official extended duty service. The credit is still allowable even if this happens during the year of purchase. Qualified official extended duty is any period of extended duty while serving at a place of duty at least 50 miles away from the taxpayer’s principal residence (whether inside or outside the U.S.) or while residing under government orders in government quarters. Extended duty is defined as any period of duty pursuant to a call or order to such duty for a period in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period.

Question and Answer

Q. Are both spouses required to be overseas for the requisite time period in order to qualify for the 2011 extension to claim the credit?  

A. Only one spouse must be overseas on official extended duty for the requisite amount of time for either spouse to be eligible for the 2011 extension of time to purchase a principal residence and claim the credit. “