Kathy O'Neal

If taking advanage of the First-time Tax Credit Program is part of your plan, please know that the clock is ticking down.

If you plan on taking advantage of its generous tax credit, remember that the program expires November 30, 2009. Also, be aware that the time you'll need to close on a transaction can be up to 60 days.

From about now, you would have a little less than 6 weeks get the contract signed.

The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit program was part of the 2009 economic stimulus plan. It provides up to an $8,000 tax credit if you quality. A big chuck of money, by any standard.

Who qualifies? Here are the basics:

• Buyer may not have owned a "main home" in the past 36 months.
• Can't buy the home from a parent, spouse, or child.
• Your adjusted gross income for the household must be below $95,000 for single tax filers and $170,000 for joint tax filers.

Also be aware that not everyone who is qualified will get the full $8,000. The credit can not exceed 10 percent of a home's purchase price. And, if your income is close to the limit you will get a reduction in the full benefit.

But remember that this is a true "Tax Credit." It is not just a deduction. For example, someone claiming the $8,000 credit who had a normal tax due of $5,000, would be entitled to a $3,000 refund from the IRS on April 15, 2010.

You can check the program's criteria if you are in the market, but if you are serious about taking advantage, don't wait much longer. If you can't settle on the property by end of November, you won't be able to qualify.

[The Kathy O’Neal Team serves home buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia, with special focus on Chantilly, Centreville, and the communities of the Western Fairfax region.]

EPISODE 15 - REAL ESTATE IN CHANTILLY

Chantilly and Northern Virginia area home sellers looking for a competitive advantage in the marketing and sale of their home should take a good look at enhancing energy efficiency.

In this series of episodes with Ardently Green, Inc. founder, Bob Weatherwax, we discuss how enhancing your home's energy profile can add value now, as well as give you one more advantage when it comes time to sell your home.

In Part 2 of this series we discuss in more detail what the energy audit involves and what typical follow-on work may include.

Where is the real energy loss typically occurring in most homes?  Should you apply major energy saving strategies without first doing an audit?  Where does window replacement fit into the energy picture?  How much will typical remediation work cost?

Who should listen to this series?

Anyone anticipating the sale of their home within the next year, who sees energy efficiency as a powerful added selling point in the marketing of their home.  Additionally, home energy efficiency is a win on several other levels.  It helps home owners save money on escalating energy costs, provides a more comfortable and clean living environment, reduces the environmental impact of energy waste, and adds to the long term goal of national energy independence.

Before you sell your home, take a good look at how energy efficiency can play a role in your selling strategy.  Or, if the sale of your home is not in the short-term future, consider how these strategies can save money now and add value to your home when it does come time to sell.

[The Kathy O’Neal Team serves home buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia, with special focus on Chantilly, Centreville, and the communities of the Western Fairfax region.]

EPISODE 14 - REAL ESTATE IN CHANTILLY

Chantilly and Northern Virginia area home sellers looking for a competitive advantage in the marketing and sale of their home should take a good look at enhancing energy efficiency.

In this series of episodes with Ardently Green, Inc. founder, Bob Weatherwax, we discuss how enhancing your home's energy profile can add value now, as well as give you one more advantage when it comes time to sell your home.

We discuss what a home energy audit involves, how much it is likely to cost, and what are typical follow-on strategies to upgrade your home's energy efficiency.

Who should listen to this series?

Anyone anticipating the sale of their home within the next year, who sees energy efficiency as a powerful added selling point in the marketing of their home.

Additionally, home energy efficiency is a win on several other levels. It helps home owners save money on escalating energy costs, provides a more comfortable and clean living environment, reduces the environmental impact of energy waste, and adds to the long term goal of national energy independence.

Download this episode (right click and save)

[The Kathy O’Neal Team serves home buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia, with special focus on Chantilly, Centreville, and the communities of the Western Fairfax region.]

Chantilly and Northern Virginia area home buyers who have not yet locked-in on their mortgage interest rates will have noticed that those rates have moved up in the wake of last week's better than expected job statistics.

The government's July Non-Farm Payrolls report adds to the idea that the recession is losing just a bit of its bite

There were 247,000 jobs lost last month, and that is a fair amount less than what was anticipated. Not good to be sure, but definitely could have been a lot worse.

You have heard it reported that job loss stats are a lagging indicator. Job losses and job gains are slower "effects" that show up closer to the rear of the recessionary cycle rather than at the front.

The Recession of 2001 was a good example.

Government data shows that job loss hit its highest point during that recession in October 2001, 1 month before the recession's official end. At the same time, job losses continued for another year, and then turned positive in October 2002.

So, even though rates spiked up some, in the bigger scheme of things maybe this will qualify as a small dose of good news.

[The Kathy O’Neal Team serves home buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia, with special focus on Chantilly, Centreville, and the communities of the Western Fairfax region.]

If you are a home buyer searching in the Chantilly Va area,, and you are considering new construction homes, Little River Commons is a community to know about. It is just across from Kirkpatrick Farms, off Gum Springs Road, and just west of South Riding on Route 50 in the Chantilly area.

Here are some helpful links.

TO VIEW "FOR SALE" PROPERTIES IN LITTLE RIVER COMMONS : CLICK HERE