New Legislation to Extend and Expand Tax Credit

New Legislation to extend and expand Tax Credit

New legislation, the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which was signed into law on Nov. 6, 2009, extends and expands the first-time homebuyer credit allowed by previous Acts. The new law:

•Extends deadlines for purchasing and closing on a home.
•Authorizes the credit for long-time homeowners buying a replacement principal residence.
•Raises the income limitations for homeowners claiming the credit.

Under the new law, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. For qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 return.

For the first time, long-time homeowners who buy a replacement principal residence may also claim a homebuyer credit of up to $6,500 (up to $3,250 for a married individual filing separately). They must have lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the replacement home is purchased.

People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009. The credit phases out for individual taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) between $125,000 and $145,000 or between $225,000 and $245,000 for joint filers. The existing MAGI phase-outs of $75,000 to $95,000 or $150,000 to $170,000 for joint filers still apply to purchases on or before Nov. 6, 2009.

General Information

Homebuyers who purchased a home in 2008 or 2009 may be able to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit. The credit:

•Applies only to homes used as a taxpayer's principal residence.
•Reduces a taxpayer's tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar.
•Is fully refundable, meaning the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed.

The credit is claimed using Form 5405, which you file with your original or amended tax return.

See the following link for details from the IRS site: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

Retirement in Asheville - From CBS News

(CBS) Mountain air is not enough for a generation determined to ban boredom in retirement. Martha Teichner visited Asheville, N.C., to explore how some are designing more creative retirements:

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John Bauer was a high school teacher in Michigan before retiring to Asheville, and getting a part-time job as a tour guide at the Biltmore Estate.

"Why do I wanna keep on teaching when I can retire financially and I can try something completely different?" he asked.

Americans just aren't retiring the way they used to ...

"We don't want to just sit down and vegetate," said Jim Wyatt.

And you don't have to go very far from the Biltmore Estate to see how they're redesigning the whole notion.

Nancy Long spent her career writing for newspapers and magazines. Now she's a volunteer docent at the Asheville Art Museum.

Long and her husband, Al, were attracted to Asheville, N.C., because for a small city, it has a lot going on culturally.

But the big selling point was the fact that they could live right downtown and walk everywhere, a growing trend among retirees.

The Longs live in a compact loft in an old commercial building, but here's the kicker: When they retired, they actually lived in Florida … and moved away.

Why?

"We thought it'd be boring," Martha told Teichner.

"Boring," Al agreed.

Ron Manheimer, who heads the Center for Creative Retirement at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, said, "People are saying, 'Well maybe Florida isn't the place to go.

"What I see is very high expectations that something special should happen in and around this time of life, and I think I see people searching for what that would be."

Asheville has been a beneficiary. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is on just about every top ten list of the best places to retire in the U.S.

It says something about Asheville that it's got a Center for Creative Retirement, where $115 a semester will buy you an all-you-can-eat menu of classes taught by retirees themselves … a cross-section of courses in Latin, French, bookmaking, or a how-to class on navigating senior benefits.

Then there's deepening inner stillness.

Asheville property developer Jim Anthony thinks they're looking for a healthy, outdoorsy lifestyle he calls "wellness."

Taking Teichner on a helicopter tour of the area, Jim Anthony said, "I look right down and there's about ten acres right there that we have set aside wildflowers and trail system, because that's what people are looking for."

Anthony is 65, but has no intention of retiring himself. He loves to fly prospective buyers over what will be the first golf course in the U.S. designed by Tiger Woods.

"I think we'll attract more people for this whole setting, this mountain top setting with the trails and the spa and wellness center than for golf."

Anthony is marketing a kind of "Blue Ridge Mountain high" to aging baby boomers with money, whose retirement may turn out to be a third of their lives.

"We walked into Asheville, said 'This reminds me of the Sixties without the Vietnam War,'" said Bill Dorfman. "I loved the Sixties."

The spirit of the '60s is alive and well in Asheville, including the need to do good.

Don and Lisbeth Cooper had all the retirement that money can buy. He'd been in finance, she was in fashion. They built the house of their dreams at the top of a mountain outside Asheville.

And then reality intervened. Lisbeth wasn't satisfied with the care available for her daughter, Danielle, who's had bouts of mental illness. She suggested to Don starting their own mental health care facility.

"And what did you say?" Teichner asked.

"No way, Jose," Don said.

Famous last words.

Together they raised ten million dollars and built the not-for-profit Cooperriis Center which seems more like a working farm than a hospital.

"We're making a wonderful improvement in many people's lives, and it's been very rewarding," Don said.

And they're still at it.

"This was 80 hours a week and still is because we're building a second center in Asheville," said Lisbeth.

"Now, was this your idea of your retirement?" asked Teichner.

"No, I had no clue," said Don.

"He used to tell me he was bored," Lisbeth said. "He's not bored anymore."

No, indeed. Gone are the days when retirement meant the end. In Asheville, it's clear retirement is the beginning.


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6th Annual Montford Music & Arts Festival

6th ANNUAL MONTFORD MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009

This year’s festival will feature a great variety of food, so come hungry. The Greek Ladies Philoptochos Society will once again sell their delectable breads and desserts, Satay a Go-Go will be back with authentic Thai food, and Twin Cousins will serve delectable Cajun cuisine. We hope that Mr. Gene’s, a Goombay favorite, will be offering fried chicken and fish specialties. If you’re thirsty, fresh lemonade will also be available. For those who want to eat inside, Nine Mile Restaurant will serve up its menu of Jamaican food all day to match Pure Fiyah Reggae Band’s music.
Artists and crafters will be everywhere this year. The winners from last year will be back: Les Powell with his pottery, Wonderland 5 with their fabric creations, and Scott Owen with his fabulous jewelry. A previous winner, Una Barrett, will return with new jewelry designs. Many festival artists show their work on www.etsy.com Check out www.montfordfestival.com for links to the artists’ websites.
The festival is a great opportunity to learn more about nonprofits such as the Animal Compassion Network and the Asheville Vegetarians. The Alzheimer’s Association and Odyssey Community School, among others, will also be represented. So join the fun and spend the day. As always, we’ll have a limited number of chairs available for folks who want to sit and listen to the music. This year’s festival promises to be bigger and better than ever.
Oh yes—the Health Department asks that you please leave your dog at home. See you on
Saturday, May 16!

Performers

Snake Oil Medicine Show, Pure Fiyah Reggae Band, Good Old Boyz, and Ira Bernstein and John Herrmann will headline the Six Annual Montford Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, May 16. The party will start at 10:00 a.m. and keep going until around 8:00 p.m. on Montford Avenue between Cullowhee and Waneta Streets. Other performers include Tater Diggers, Kon Tiki, Vollie McKenzie and the Lead-Foot Vipers, and WestSound. The Montford festival is unique
in that every act features performers who are current or former residents of the neighborhood.
Highlighting the diverse strengths of Asheville’s most historic neighborhood, this year’s festival will offer a wider array of arts and crafts than ever. The juried art show is regarded as one of the best in the region. And the food available on the long block promises to be outstanding!
Celebrating its sixth anniversary, the Montford Music and Arts Festival is free to the public. The festival is produced by the Montford Neighborhood Association and made possible by the generosity of corporate and individual sponsors. Dozens of Montford volunteers make this festival go, and we want to give special thanks to the festival committee: Sharon Fahrer, Ben
Scales, Mitch Russell, Ross Terry, David Patterson, Laurence Pamer, and Wanda Hawthorne.


Performance Schedule

10:00 a.m.—Tater Diggers. This trio enjoys digging into the songs and styles of the mountains,and they’ll sprinkle in a sea shanty or two as well.

11:00 a.m.—Kon Tiki. Tropical lounge swing will make late morning on Montford Avenue
feel like an evening on the beach at Waikiki.

Noon—Ira Bernstein and John Herrmann. John, the Zen Master of Old-Time, will put
Ira through the paces of Ten Toe Percussion.

1:00 p.m.—Vollie McKenzie and the Lead-Foot Vipers. Step to vintage jazz, swing,
and blues with influences ranging from Hank Williams and Ray Charles to Appalachian string bands and gospel.

2:00 p.m.—WestSound. This family band mixes gospel favorites with high-energy soul and R&B.

3:15 p.m.—Good Old Boyz. These rock and rollers can sure enough play outlaw country,
conjuring some of the legends of hard-edged country music.

4:45 p.m.—Snake Oil Medicine Show. Danceable, zany, and crazy, this troupe will cure
what ails you with their potent mixture of music and art.

6:15 p.m.—Pure Fiyah Reggae Band. “Our music is the sounds of the system, the good,
the bad and the oppressed ones.” Move to this powerful music and feel the positive vibration.

Throughout the day, enjoy the artistry of: Asheville Morris Men and Ashgrove Garland—traditional dances of the British Isles melmacpink—hoop dancing.

Don’t miss the Maypole celebration at around 1:00 p.m.!

ERA Real Estate Announces Make a Change. Make a Difference. Consumer Sweepstakes Campaign

ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville is pleased to announce the launch of the national ERA Real Estate Make a Change. Make a Difference. sweepstakes, inspired by the yearlong national sponsorship of "do-it-yourself" home improvement icon, Ask This Old House. The sweepstakes will run from April 1, 2009 through July 4, 2009.

The Make a Change. Make a Difference. sweepstakes provides Asheville-area consumers with information to guide them through the various stages of homeownership from buying and maintaining to selling, while also offering the chance to win a free room re-design.

"This sweepstakes is centered around all the ways in which we can help Make a Change. Make a Difference. in our community," said Sid Border, local ERA® representative. "ERA Sunburst Realty is so much more than a company that buys and sells houses. We truly care about the quality of our community members' lives. Through this campaign, we have the chance to help our customers with every aspect of homeownership, from being more energy efficient, to staging a home for quicker sale, while offering them the chance to win prizes that will Make a Change. Make a Difference. in their own homes."

To enter the national sweepstakes and learn more about how ERA Real Estate can help you Make a Change. Make a Difference.:
Visit www.ERA.com/Ask
Watch at least one (1) video tip on the various stages of homeownership, provided by ERA Real Estate and Ask This Old House
Complete the sweepstakes entry form shown after the video
There are 10 different videos clips, so consumers can enter up to 10 times

Three winners will be randomly chosen to receive a $2,500 gift card from Lowe’s and a Staged to Live Consultation from StagedHomes.com, as well as a $200 gift certificate from American Home Shield. There is NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN and NO LISTING OR PURCHASE OF A HOME REQUIRED TO ENTER OR WIN. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. Promotion begins at 12:00:01 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2009 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT on July 4, 2009. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. States and DC (except residents of N.J. and Ohio) who are 21 years of age or older at time of entry. Void in N.J. and Ohio and where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Subject to full Official Rules, available at www.ERA.com/Ask. Sponsored by ERA Franchise Systems LLC, 1 Campus Drive, Parsippany, N.J. 07054.

"Greening" Your Historic Home

1. 10 helpful tips to green your home while maintaining its historic integrity.
   Keep original windows intact. Studies show that older windows can perform as well as vinyl replacements. Weatherstrip them so that they seal tightly, caulk the exterior trim, and repair cracked glazing or putty around glass panels. You'll reduce landfill waste and the demand for vinyl, a nonbiodegradable material that gives off toxic byproducts when it's made.
2. Use light paint colors for your house's exterior. Light colors reflect heat better than darker colors.
3. Insulate the attic, basement, and crawl space. About 20 percent of energy costs come from heat loss in those areas.
4. Reuse old materials such as brick, stone, glass and slate when making home improvements. If you're rebuilding a staircase, for example, use wood from a summer kitchen or shed that couldn't be saved.
5. Install fireplace draft stoppers, attic door covers, and dryer vent seals that open only when your dryer is in use. An open dampener in a fireplace can increase energy costs by 30 percent, and attic doors and dryer vent ducts are notorious energy sieves.
6. Plant trees. Evergreen trees on the north and west sides of your house can block winter winds and leafy trees on the south and west can provide shade from the summer sun. Using old photos of your house, try to match the historic landscaping.
7. Have an energy audit done by your local utility company, or visit Home Energy Save (http://hes.lbl.gov). Audits can help pinpoint problem areas, and measure energy savings after you improve your home's efficiency.
8. Open the windows and use fans and dehumidifiers, which consume less energy than air conditioning. Many old homes were designed with good cross-ventilation; take advantage of your home's layout.
9. Keep doors airtight by weatherstripping, caulking, and painting them regularly. Recent studies suggest that installing a storm door is not necessarily cost effective.
10. Restore porches and awnings. Porches, awnings and shutters were designed for shade and insulation. To save energy, draw shades on winter nights and summer days.

ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville Announces National Sponsorship with Ask This Old House

Campaign will provide community with greater access to exclusive home how-to information

Asheville, NC (Grassroots Newswire) 2009 -- ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville is pleased to announce that it is part of a yearlong national sponsorship campaign with "do-it-yourself," home improvement icon, Ask This Old House. This sponsorship gives ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville the ability to provide their consumers with information to guide them through all the stages of homeownership, from buying and maintaining to selling.
"This sponsorship brings two powerful brands together to provide consumers with the most trusted home improvement information out there," said Sid Border, local ERA® representative. "We are proud to be associated with such a respected, well-known name in the home improvement industry, and we believe this relationship will help raise awareness of both ERA Real Estate and Ask This Old House as trustworthy, dependable resources for homebuyers, homesellers and homeowners. ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville is in a unique position to use this relationship to benefit our community with special initiatives throughout the year."
Through this sponsorship, ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville will help support the national broadcast portion of Ask This Old House programming on PBS. In addition, ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville will have the ability to offer their community unique and specialized content by leveraging the print and online outlets of Ask This Old House, including This Old House magazine and ThisOldHouse.com.
Broadcast programming aired on PBS beginning October 2008. Check local listings for show broadcast dates and times in your area or visit www.thisoldhouse.com/tvschedule. To find out more information about the sponsorship, visit www.ERA.com/ask or contact ERA Sunburst Realty in Asheville, located at 111 Central Ave., at 828-258-1284.