Angela Pernisco

Do you remember your class President election? When I was in High School a small group of students got together and ran a campaign for "Loomis". Let me clarify, Loomis was not an actual student of the school. He was simply a baby picture of one of the students. What makes this story interesting is the great character study that it created for our election process.

To begin, Loomis had a great platform. He looked at what the students of the school wanted and promoted those items (via posters and "word of mouth"). He was different yet very liked by all the students of the school. In fact, Loomis was so charming that he was able to get away with the fact that he never needed to inform anyone of how he was going to accomplish the like minded goals of the students. He didn't have a plan, he simply told the student body what they wanted to hear. Word of mouth carried quickly about Loomis and the students who designed him were very successful at promoting him and speaking of him as if he truly existed. They asked questions of each student in the school to see their needs and informed them of how supportive Loomis would be of those needs.

Needless to say, this charming gentleman... uh, picture... won the election by a landslide. On election day the gym was roaring "Loomis, Loomis, Loomis..."

When you vote this year, take a moment to not only look at what is being promoted but also study each candidates "plan" to accomplish each promise. Determine what it would take to accomplish these plans (i.e. tax increases/decrease, increased/decreased government controls, etc.) and vote according to your desired outcome not purported utopian societies.

I thought that would get your attention! My husband and I are restoring an 1895 Victorian home and as part of our research we picked up some books on turn of the century house designs. These books are wonderful and include house plans and "how to" instructions on how to plumb your new home. The cost breakdown is:

• Excavating and preliminary work $ 40.00
• Stone Masonry $250.00
• Brick Masonry $100.00
• Cement Floor $ 50.00
• Rough lumber, paper lining and shingles $450.00
• Flooring lumber $ 80.00
• Outside cornices $ 20.00
• Windows, doors, fittings $450.00
• Other Millwork $ 75.00
• Stairways $100.00
• Plumbing $200.00
• Wiring for electric light and bells $ 75.00
• Mantels and fireplaces $ 75.00
• Painting and glazing $225.00
• Carpenter labor $300.00
• Incidentals $100.00
• Total $2,590.00

Keep in mind that this home has unbelievable details both inside and out. Fir floors, incredible trim and moldings, exterior details, etc. This leads me to ask two questions: 1) Where has our pride of workmanship gone within the building industry? 2) At what point did we start adding zero's to the end of everything?

As a general rule, fashions and trends are cyclical. Bell bottoms were popular in the 60's and 90's, Michael Jackson made his comeback in the early 2000's and energy efficiency and alternative power is currently makings its comeback. Unfortunately, I have not seen pride of workmanship and intricate details make its comeback within the housing market. Granted, we have upgraded our materials from Formica to granite but where is the pride of workmanship? When are appraisers going to recognize the value in details and workmanship? When are we going to return to focusing on quality over quantity?

My husband is a General Contractor and artist in his own right. I often have a great deal of sympathy for him as he comes home frustrated with people wanting to cut corners or sub-contractors who are sloppy. However, every now and then he comes across clients who want to do things the right way only to be faced with the "extra zero's" on the end of the job breakdown. I suppose I simply need to be thankful for my home that has all of the wonderful details and only cost approximately $2,590.00 to build!

As with any bill presented to Congress the federal government's bailout plan contained much more than assistance to banks and the purchase of "toxic mortgages". The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act also contained tax credits that investors and developers can begin taking advantage of immediately.

The tax credits are focused primarily on alternative energy sources such as solar power, small wind power (100 kilowatts or less produced), and geo-thermal power that are incorporated into projects. The federal government offers up to a 30% credit and allows the opportunity to carry over the credit to the next year if necessary. These credits can be in addition to any state or local credits that are available. The bill also removed the $2000 tax credit cap for residential solar installations and increased credits relating to new construction that has energy efficient ratings. You may also receive up to $7500 tax credit for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

These are just a few of the credits being offered and certainly gives us reason more reasons to save our environment and "go green"!

As part of the Federal Governments efforts to assist homeowners who are potentially facing foreclosure a refinancing program has been created called HOPE. This FHA program allows homeowners having difficulty paying their existing mortgages to refinance into FHA secured mortgages that they can afford. For borrowers who refinance using this program, lenders will be required to "write down" the size of their mortgage to a maximum of 90% of the homes new appraised value.

Only owner occupants with no second homes are eligible for this program. Additionally, the following criteria must be met:

• Their mortgage must have originated on or before January 1, 2008;
• They cannot afford their current loan;
• They must have made a minimum of six full payments on their existing first mortgage and did not intentionally miss mortgage payments;
• They do not own a second home;
• Their mortgage debt-to-income must be at least 31 percent;
• They did not knowingly or willfully provide false information to obtain the existing mortgage, and they have not been convicted of fraud in the last 10 years;
• They must follow FHA's long-standing and strict policy of fully documented income and employment.
• Homeowners must agree to share both the equity created at the beginning of their new HOPE for Homeowners mortgage and any future appreciation in the value of their home.
• To participate, existing subordinate lenders must agree to release their outstanding mortgage liens.

If you are facing foreclosure I encourage you to act quickly to seek mortgage relief. You can do this by contacting your current lender, contacting your local HUD approved counseling agency or call the HOPE NOW Alliance at (888) 995-HOPE.

That is right, our dear little town is on its way to being recognized as an official Historic District. Thanks to the efforts of many of our local citizens we are in the final stages of the designation. According to Ruth Offer who attended the October 10^th meeting states that that board is supportive of the designation and believes that we should become a district. They have, however, requested a few alterations to the boundaries and requests that the nomination be rewritten to include the changes. With these alterations it is very likely that it will pass during the February meeting.

Ruth is requesting any information that anyone may have about the histories of their homes if they are located within the district.