Gary Dwyer

A recent study from the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) showed that 89 percent of homebuyers chose a real estate agent to help them with the purchase of their new home in 2010 vs. 69 percent in 2001.

Some of the key reasons cited for this increase include the complexity of the buying process today, the desire to work with a licensed and trained professional, the myriad of issues that can come up with regard to financing, condo associations and title issues.

Other reasons noted were the desire for buyers to have someone help them evaluate a property, coordinate showings, provide negotiation expertise and assist them in managing the process.

In an effort to close some large tax loopholes in 2010, a provision was created that would have required all persons who receive rental income in 2011 to track and send 1099 forms to everyone that they did business with and paid over $600.00 for goods and services.

For small landlords that may rent part of their home out, have a 2 or 3 unit home property, or even vacation home owners that rent out their property for a few weeks a year, this requirement would have been a onerous paperwork nightmare and would have required many to have to hire a professional accountant or tax preparer to deal with all of the required paperwork.

The National Association of REALTORS, along with other organizations and small-landlords, were able to convince Congress and the President that this level of paper-pushing was not going to have any demonstrable benefit and if anything, would be counter-productive to small, non-professional landlords. Thankfully, the law was repealed today and the requirement is no longer in effect.

If you are one of the millions of Americans that benefited from the home buyer tax credits over the past few years, you may have to start to repay them when you file your taxes this year.

The Internal Revenue Service is sending a letter to taxpayers who claimed the credit that explains if, when and how they have to repay it. There are different IRS letters for different situations, including a purchase of a home in 2008, 2009 or 2010; a sale of a main home; or a change in the use of the main home.

For example, a taxpayer who claimed the full $7,500 first-time home buyer credit on their 2008 tax return will repay $500 as an additional tax on their returns each year from 2010 to 2025, or until the home is sold or is no longer used as the owner's principal residence.

The credit for homes purchased in 2009 and 2010 does not have a repayment requirement unless the home ceases to be used as the taxpayer's principal residence within three years of the purchase.

If you have questions, the IRS website at www.irs.gov contains detailed information about repayment requirements for the federal home buyer tax credit or consult with your accountant or tax professional.

Over the past few days I have been busy assembling my tax information in preparation my upcoming annual meeting with my tax accountant. He does a great job and is always asking me questions about "did you do this or that" or "you may want to do this over the next year" in attempt to find me every possible legal tax deduction I can take.

One of the major deduction that was available in 2010 to homeowners was the energy tax credit for investing in upgrades to properties (generally primary residences but in a few cases second homes were eligible) that would make them more energy efficient.

As you are preparing to file your 2010 taxes (and thinking about investments for 2011) here is a link with a summary of federal tax credits available for improving your home's energy efficiency - http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

Forget a fancy dinner, chocolates, flowers or expensive jewelry. Man or woman, homeowner or renter -everyone has the same item at the top of their Valentine's Day wish list - a lockbox.

As a buyer agent, I love lock boxes. It makes a property much more accessible for showings and, particularly when it is the first showing, it can save the listing brokers time if my client doesn't think the property will meet their needs. If the buyer likes the property, we can always schedule a second showing with the listing broker or follow-up with specific questions after the showing.

I also like lock boxes for after the sale and the buyer has the keys in their hands. It is not uncommon for a homeowner (or a tenant) to get locked out of their house, thinking that they had the keys in their pocket. Even worse, realizing that you have lost your keys on a Saturday evening out and it is now 1:30 a.m. and there is no one home to let you in. Even if someone may have a set of keys for an emergency, the thought (and process) of waking someone up in the middle of the night is not pleasant. In most cases, it requires the services of a locksmith which can be expensive and time consuming.

The simple solution is a lockbox which can be purchased at many hardware stores and home improvement centers such as Home Depot and Loews. There are a variety of styles available - from ones that connect to a fence or pole to ones that can be screwed into a wall or fence post. For $30.00 or so you can save yourself a lot of time, money and aggravation.

So this year, spread the love on Valentines Day with a lockbox - they may not love you for it that night, but at some point you will be the love of their life!