Homebuying Tip: Keep a House Hunting Scorecard

In our continuing effort to help you be as informed and knowledgable as possible about the home buying process, we offer this important advice.

Keep a House Hunting Scorecard

When you are looking at real estate, nothing can be more frustrating than trying to think back to which house had which feature that you liked or didn't like.

Keep score of the houses you tour after inspecting each home.  Record its positive and negative aspects and write down your overall impressions.  Eliminate those homes which don't measure up to your satisfaction.  Review your "nice-to-have" list to see how many additional positive points each property may possess, and keep tabs on those "Must Have" items each home has.  These scorecards will be very helpful in narrowing down the field for your final selection.

If there is any area of the home buying process that you have a question about and would like for us to post a tip about it here, leave us a comment or question below and we'll cover that for you in a future post.

Tax Credits Not to Miss

Tax year 2006 is the first for which you can get a tax break for making your home more energy efficient.

You can take a 30 percent credit up to $2,000 for the cost of solar water heating or photovoltaic equipment in your home. You can get a 10 percent credit up to $500 for insulation and heat-reducing metal roofs, and up to $200 for energy-efficient windows. Labor costs, though, don't count.

(For more information, see IRS Form 5695. The credit is entered on line 52 on the your form 1040.)

If you bought property and reimbursed the seller for the portion of property taxes he paid for the year, you may deduct that amount on your return, unless you're subject to AMT, which disallows property tax deductions.

(This deduction is entered on your 1040 form Schedule A)

For more tax advice, we suggest you consult a tax professional.  If you have questions, please post a comment here.

Housing Starts Slip in January

Construction of new, privately-owned residences fell 14.3 percent last month, according to a report issued recently by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The report also showed that housing starts were 37.8 percent below the January 2006 level.

Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans says, "While the number of housing starts fell last month, recent data still provides great insight into the continued stabilization of the housing market.  While it is premature to say the weak real estate market that dominated 2006 is behind us, it is fair to say that 2007 will be a year of stabilization. Because of this, we expect unsold home inventories to fall throughout the year, eventually allowing builders to quicken their pace of new home construction."

If there is any area of the home buying process that you have a question about and would like for us to post a tip about it here, leave us a comment or question below and we'll cover that for you in a future post.

Homeowners - Beware of This Scam

You could be victimized by a scam where someone tries to lure you into applying for a loan secured by your home.

The Federal Reserve put out that warning recently in response to questions and complaints from people about direct-mail solicitation scams that describe a "Community Reinvestment Act Program" that entitles certain homeowners to cash grants or equity payments.

"Some of these solicitations may be read to indicate that the Federal Reserve endorses or supports the offers they contain," the Fed said.

"These solicitations appear to be a deceptive effort to encourage consumers to apply for a mortgage loan secured by the consumer's home."

In a prepared statement, "The Federal Reserve cautions the public about loan solicitations or other offers from lenders or mortgage brokers that offer consumer cash grants or equity disbursements as part of a 'CRA Program."

There is a 1977 federal law called the Community Reinvestment Act.  But that law does not entitle people to grants or loans.

If there is any area of the home buying process that you have a question about and would like for us to post a tip about it here, leave us a comment or question below and we'll cover that for you in a future post.

Housing Continues to Plunge

Housing construction plunged to the lowest level in nearly a decade last month as the housing industry continued to struggle with a severe slowdown.

Across the country, the median home price is now $219,000, down 2.7 percent from a year ago.

Construction of new homes and apartments plunged by 14.3 percent in January, pushing total activity down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.408 million units.

The weather was blamed for part of the setback. November and December had been unusually mild while more normal winter weather returned to much of the country in January, depressing building activity.