Victoria Lorusso

$$$ Are you waiting for your economic stimulus payment? It could be mixed in with one of the 383,000 pieces of mail returned to the IRS. Bad addresses caused these to be returned and have left taxpayers frustrated while the IRS tries figure out a plan to get the money into rightful hands.

The great news is that it's easy to let the IRS know where to send your check. Though note, if you are waiting for a rebate check, you must claim in by Nov. 28.

The money being returned is a combination of rebate checks and refunds against taxes already paid. The greater being the rebate checks. The average rebate check is $583 and the average refund check is $988, so don't delay.

The number of checks returned this year is 3 times the number of last year due to the economic stimulus payments. These were sent to taxpayers who were able to meet certain income requirements. A correctly filed 2007 tax return should have solved the problem but in 279,000 cases, the 1040 form addresses were wrong or people have moved since and failed to let the IRS know. I'm sure in some cases, hand writing was an issue as well. It was the same problem with 104,000 returns filed by tax payers that are due for refunds.

So is this you?

"People across the country are missing tax refunds and stimulus checks. We want to get this money into the hands of taxpayers where it belongs," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in announcing the returned check problem. He added that as soon as gets correct mailing information, the checks go out.

Get your information to the IRS

Use the online options via the IRS and you will find the process very simple.

If you are missing a rebate check, go to the IRS's "Where's My Stimulus Payment?" online tracking tool. You can check the status of your stimulus check and get instructions on how to update your address. You can do the same by calling the IRS at (866) 234-2942.

Make sure you go online or make the call by Nov. 28!!

By law, the rebate checks must be sent out by Dec. 31, making the November date important for them to be able to close out the year.

Wondering about the Real Estate Market? Go to www.HomeofFairfieldCounty.com

By Victoria Lorusso

Despiste the turmoil in the rest of the country, Connecticut has been fortunate to have not lost nearly the amount of jobs as other states, but some economists are predicting that will change soon and especially here in Fairfield County.

Don Klepper-Smith who is the Chairman of Governor Rell's economic advisory panel, predicts the state could lose 60,000 - 80,000 jobs over the coming year and most of the jobs will come from Fairfield County as a result of the layoffs associated with Wall Street. Until now, Connecticut's economy has faired well due to a good mix of industries. But Klepper-Smith believes it will not be as bad as the 1989 - 1992 recession in which over 160,000 jobs were lost in the state.

Friday, the US Labor Department reported that 240,000 jobs were lost nationally in October, bringing the unemployment rate to 6.5% from 6.1%. Data for the state shows a loss of 2,300 jobs in September which actually was a lower number than August and bringing the over-all percentage down to 6.1% for Connecticut. Also, while the country has lost almost 1 percent of the total jobs this year, Connecticut lost only a quarter of 1%.

Other economists predict less of a loss of jobs. Either way, we are going to see more job losses through the next two quarters at minimum.

Curious about the housing market? Go to http://www.HomesofFairfieldCounty.com

Writen by Victoria Lorusso

An analysis by First American CoreLogic reveals that 7.5 million single family homes are worth less than what they owe on their mortgage. 2.1 million were close to being upside down as of the end of September.

An automated valuation model was used to analyze the huge database of public records and produce what American CoreLogic claims is the industry's first state-level assessment of households that have negative equity.

Analyzing 42 million properties with mortgages found the states with the highest upside down mortgage percentages were Nevada at 48%, Michigan at 39%, Florida at 29%, Arizona at 29%, California at 27% and Georgia at 23%. These states account for about 58 percent of the nation's upside down mortgages the company estimates. The data reflects that nearly 23% of single family homes are at or near 5% of being upside down.

If you are one of these people, please contact me. There are many ways we can help you avoid foreclosure, save your credit and help you deal with this crisis. Many foreclosures can be avoided thus the ruining of your credit for 10 years by going through a short sale. It is a complicated process that is not expensive, but requires patience and knowledge in the banking market. Call me at 203-249-2693 so that we can talk about how we may be able to help you avoid foreclosure and start re-building your life!

www.HomesofFairfieldCounty.com

www.Victorialorusso.com

If you are in New England it's time to put the garden to bed. And if you are new to gardening, here are a few guidelines for you to follow to have a perfect garden next year.

• Annuals are just that, they are a once a year plant that does not typically withstand our winters. Get a head start now by gently removing them at root.
• Spread any leftover compost or wood chips over your perennials once they have died off. Buy more if necessary. The compost or wood chips will help protect the roots if it is an especially cold winter.
• Still a few weeds? They appear to die off but infact the seeds can still spread. Best if you can to use trowl to nudge them out by root
• Water, water - It may seem that your plants need less water but they need as much as in the summer months for their roots to be strong. So remember to give them a drink.
• If your garden is overgrown, now is a great time to transplant and thin overgrown areas.

Looking for a home with a great garden? Try www.HomesofFairfieldCounty.com

There are lots of things that are published about how to save on energy. I thought of a few I'm implementing around my house that I have not seen published. Here they are:

1. Garage Doors - If you are like me, the front door is seldom used and we go in to the house through the garage which means that we use electricity to get it up and bring it back down even if we are not going to be home long. Garage doors consume alot more energy than you realize, so for the short stops home, we are using the front door again.

2. Light Bulbs - Yes, yes we hear about them but if you are like me, you don't like the cold light they emitt. Last week I found them at Home Depot in both cool light and warm light. Now I'm using them and loving the difference and savings.

3. Dishwasher - Use just one dish? It takes about 5 seconds to quickly wash it by hand. Save the dishwasher for full loads only and for when you are using lots of dishes and pans. You'll likely trim a wash or two a week.

4. Washing Machine - If you think you are saving much by just adjusting the size of the laundry load, you are wrong. You are saving water though. Just like the dishwasher, wait till you have enough for a full large load.

5. Outdoor lighting - Install motion sensors. They serve two purposes. First they are only lit when they sense motion thus saving energy, 2nd, they alert you when they turn on to someone approaching.

Hopefully you find these tips helpful.

Victoria

To view some great deals in Real Estate go to www.HomesofFairfieldCounty.com