Bob English

The holidays are fast approaching, and soon after that we'll be heading into tax season. Now most people look at March and April as tax season, but the sooner you get started on this daunting task (i.e. organizing receipts, etc.) the sooner you can finish and the more likely you are to not miss out on any potential tax benefits you're entitled to.

Here are some of those benefits commonly overlooked:

1) If you're looking for a job in your current field, you may qualify for a deduction of the money you spend on your job search if the deductions total more than 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Moving expenses can also be deducted if the new job is more than 50 miles away.

2) Medical bills that exceed 7.5% of your AGI can be deducted, but not insurance premiums. However, if you are self-employed and don't qualify for a workplace health plan you can claim your insurance premiums.

To see a few more tips and read the rest of this post, just visit my Lancaster County PA real estate blog: bobenglishsellshomes.wordpress.com.

For more tips and hands-on help, give me a call at (717) 413-2749.

This past August, HUD introduced a revamped version of last year's Home Affordable Unemployment Program. In that original program, unemployed homeowners could get a three-month forbearance on their mortgage payments while they looked for a job.

Unfortunately, the program was not a resounding success. In fact, the number of people who qualified for this aid was shockingly low. Only 10,000 of the 13,000,000 (million) unemployed in the United States qualified for the aid, which was also only a three month forbearance...not much when you consider that nearly half of those who are unemployed have been unemployed for at least 6 months.

For the rest of this article, information on criteria and how to see if you qualify, visit my Lancaster County PA Real Estate blog.

October is National Fire Prevention Month, and with that in mind here are some resources to help you with fire prevention and safety in your Lancaster county home.

One of the best things about the Internet is that so many information resources that used to be difficult to obtain or just flat out unattainable are now at our fingertips. The fire safety checklist below is compiled from some of these resources, and I’ve included some links to those resources as well for your convenience.

• When you’re cooking, always stay in the kitchen.
• Keep dishtowels, paper or plastic bags, curtains and anything that can burn at least three feet away from the range top.
• Keep grills at least 10 feet away from all other objects, including the house.
• Store lighters and matches in a locked cabinet to make them unattainable to children.
• Keep space heaters at least 3 feet away from things that can burn, such as curtains or stacks of newspaper. Always turn off heaters when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Have chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves and central furnaces inspected once a year and cleaned when necessary.
• Make a fire escape plan for your family with two exits out of every room. Pick a meeting place outside. Hold a family fire drill at least twice each year.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home. There are two kinds of smoke alarm sensors – photoelectric and ionization. Try to buy some of each kind or get “combination” smoke alarms with both kinds of sensors.
• Put smoke alarms inside or near every bedroom. Test monthly to make sure they work. Replace batteries once a year.

For additional safety information and links, visit my blog: Lancaster County PA Real Estate.

For more tips and hands-on help, give me a call at (717) 413-2749.

Socializing on the web has become a way of life for many older children and teens. 40% of young people visit websites like Facebook or MySpace on a typical day, and those who do hang out for an average of almost one hour.

Sharing to much information on the web can have real-life ramifications, but parents can suggest that they think carefully before posting personal information about themselves and others. It can even be risky to publish certain facts about their families, such as when they will be out of town on vacation. Some teens suffer as a result of harasssment by individuals or groups who could be mistreating them both at school and online; parents may want to watch for signs of cyberbullying, which has become more common.

76% of parents who have facebook profiles are linked to those of their children-and its a non-negotiable rule in 41% of households. Despite their monitoring efforts, 33% of parents said they still worry about what their children might be up to online. Not surprisingly, 30% of kids say they would choose to "unfreind" their parents if they could.