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PART 1. Paying for energy is an expensive part of home ownership, and you never know when prices will shoot up. Preparing for that and making some changes now will pay off in a big way and ease the burden of your energy bills. Did you know that energy wasted through poorly insulated windows equals the same amount of energy we receive from the Alaskan Pipeline each year?
In a typical home, windows can account for up to 50% of the heat gain or loss. Control your windows with proper blinds or other treatments which allow you to take advantage of free heat in the winter, while saving on cooling in the summer!
• Close your window treatments during the summer when direct sunlight is coming into your home. Your home will remain cooler and your air conditioning will work less, saving energy.
• When winter rolls in keep your south facing window treatments open during the day to allow sunlight to enter your home and warm it up. Keep them closed at night.
• Lower the temperature of your water heater to 120o F and still safely clean dishes and have hot showers. Many are set too high at 140o F. Also wrap tank-style water heaters with an inexpensive insulating blanket. You can save 1100 pounds of CO2 per year for an electric water heater and 220 pounds for a gas heater.
• Consider getting that fresh smell into your just washed clothes by air drying them. Washers and dryers use a lot of energy. Use cold or at most, warm, water settings for washing clothes. Raising your thermostat just a degree on your cooling system can typically save 2% on your cooling bill! Set your thermostat at 78o F or higher. Window treatments such as cellular shades can block over 60% of the heat transfer through the window pane.
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Welcome to Skogman Realty
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Welcome to Skogman Realty, your source for Cedar Rapids real estate. If you own real estate that you're thinking of selling, I would be happy to provide you with a FREE Home Evaluation.In today's competitive real estate market, timing is everything. Many good homes are sold before they are ever advertised. Beat other homebuyers to the hottest new homes for sale in Cedar Rapids with my New Listings Notification. Whether you are buying or selling a home, hire someone like me, who wants to earn your business. I invite you to contact me as I'd be happy to assist you with this important transaction.In addition, if you have any general questions about buying or selling real estate in Iowa, please contact me as I'm more than willing to help. Please browse my website for listings, reports and important local real estate information.
Sincerely,
Tim |
First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit
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Home Buyer Tax Credit Monetization: How To Claim The 8,000 Tax Credit While many people have many questions, I decided to cover the most popular ones that I hear. What people are asking me about the first time home buyer tax credit being used as a down payment. What do I fill out to claim the $8,000 tax credit - In order to claim your tax credit, you will need to obtain the IRS Form 5404 from IRS.gov website.
Can you assign the Tax Credit to someone else - The IRS will only issue the tax credit to the taxpayer, not a third party. You cannot assign the claim for this credit to a third party.
Can you use The tax credit for your down payment? - The hot topic recently is "can I use the tax credit for my down payment?" and the naswer to that question is technically yes-but-you cannot use the tax credit to cover the first 3.5% of your down payment, you must come up with that on your own or have it gifted to you from a blood relative.
Once you come with the initial 3.5% down payment that is required by FHA, you can use the 8,000 tax credit to add to the down payment. |
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