About Yamhill County, OR

More Newberg Homebuyers Qualify for Homebuyer Tax Credit

President Obama has just signed an expanded version of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit that was set to expire on November 30. This will allow more Newberghomebuyers, both first time homebuyers and move up homebuyers, to qualify for the tax credit.

The new version of the tax credit has the potential to stimulate the housing market even more than the old version due to the fact that more Oregonians will qualify under the new rules. Although the tax credit remains at $8,000 for home buyers that have not owned a primary residence in the last three years, it has been expanded to include a $6,500 tax credit for home buyers that have lived in their current primary residence for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight years. Under the old rules, move-up home buyers did not qualify.

Consider these three examples:

Example 1:
Jane purchased a home in 2002, lived there for 5 years as her primary home, moved
out in 2007, and turned that home into a rental property. If Jane decides to buy a
new primary residence today, she would qualify for the $6,500 tax credit based on
the fact that she lived in the same residence as her primary home for at least five
consecutive years out of the past eight.

Example 2:
Harry purchased a home in 2004, and lived there for the past 5 years as his primary
home. If Harry decides to buy a new primary residence today, he would qualify for
the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that he lived in the same residence as his
primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

Example 3:
Nicole purchased a home in 2006, and lived there for the past 3 years as her primary
home. If Nicole decides to buy a new primary residence today, she would not qualify
for the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that she did not live in the same residence
as her primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

The tax credit applies to Newberg, Oregon homes purchased for less than $800,000 before May 1,
2010. If you sign a binding contract to purchase a home before May 1st, you would
need to close on the transaction before July 1, 2010. It works kind of like a gift certificate that can be redeemed for cash. You simply file a form with the IRS right after you buy your home, and the IRS will send you a check for the full amount of your credit.

The income limitation for single tax payers in Newberg went up from $75,000 under the old rules to $125,000 under the new rules. For married tax payers, the income limitation went up from $150,000 to $225,000. This means that more people will qualify for the credit - especially in parts of Oregon with higher costs of living. This should help stimulate parts of the housing market that may not have been impacted by the old version of the credit. As an example, earlier this year I helped a single Fire Fighter get into a townhome. He works a lot of overtime and makes around $90,000 per year. This disqualified him for the tax credit under the old rules, but he would qualify under the new rules.

There are many creative ways of structuring your home purchase transaction in ways
that maximize the benefits of the credit. Here are a few examples:

• The credit applies to 1-4 unit homes as long as you live in one of the units as your primary residence - you could live in one unit and rent out the others.
• If two unmarried individuals buy a home, and only one of the individuals qualifies for the credit based on their income or past home ownership status, the individual who qualifies for the credit can claim the full credit. (Note: In the case of married couples, both spouses must qualify for the credit.)
• The credit applies even if you have co-signers on your mortgage loan.

Combined with the USDA Guaranteed Rural Home Loan or an FHA Loan, lower property values, many great homes on the market and today's great rates, there has never been a better time to buy a home in Oregon.

Home buyers who work with a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist are much better equipped to save money and navigate the complexities of the tax credit.

It's official.

In landslide votes, the extension/expansion of the first time home buyer tax credit passed both houses of Congress and is now on its way to the President's desk for signing tomorrow.

The credit now goes through May 1st, which means you can sign a contract through May 1st as long as you close on the property by June 30th.

It gives up to $8000 for first time buyers (defined as not having owned a home for the past three years) and up to a $6500 credit to move-up buyers who have owned and occupied their current homes for at least five years.

Again, you have to be an owner occupant of this primary residence, no investors here, and there is an income cap for single filers at $125,000 and joint filers at $225,000. Oh, and the home you buy can't be more than $800,000.

This is great news for the economy and all those folks who drug their feet and didn't get in on the credit the first time around. Now with the expanded credit, people will be able to "move up" too!

Yamhill County Public Health is offering vaccine clinics for H1N1 and seasonal flu shots starting today. These clinics are by appointment only and will continue through next week while supplies last.

Seasonal flu clinic
This vaccine includes the flu shot for low-income people and the nasal spray. Cost for the nasal spray is $39.75, which can be billed to Medicaid. For both the nasal spray and the flu shot, people without insurance or unable to pay may be able to receive the flu vaccine for a reduced price of $15.19 or less. For healthy people between the ages of 2 - 49, the live flu vaccine (nasal spray) is a good option according to Dr. Robert Moore, Yamhill County Health.

Moore adds that some medical providers and pharmacies may be receiving additional supplies of seasonal flu vaccine as they become available.

H1N1 vaccine clinic
The H1N1 flu vaccine is in limited supply and only people in these groups will be vaccinated at this time:

• Children ages six months to five years
• Pregnant women
• Parents, household contacts and caregivers of children under six months old

To schedule an appointment or for more information, please call the Yamhill County Public Health information line at 503-434-7443 or 503-55407842. Yamhill County Public Health is located at 412 NE Ford, McMinnville.

So, by now you have received your tax statement in the mail and were surprised to see that instead of your taxes going down like you thought they would, they went up. How could this be you ask yourself, how can the value of my home go down and my taxes increase?

The reason is because property taxes in Oregon are based on assessed value, not real market value. Under Measure 50 which was voted in, in 1997, the assessed value of your home will rise 3% each year, plus any bonds or levies that were voted in.

Even though the market has continued to decline, in part due to the high number of short sales, taxes won't reflect that until next year.

In Yamhill County, here's the breakdown of where your tax dollars go:

The majority goes to fund schools. One Yamhill County property tax dollar gives 55 Cents to education (K-12, community colleges, educational service districts), 28 cents to neighborhood services provided by cities and special districts (police and fire protection, libraries, parks, urban road maintenance, and more), and 17 cents to county government services (public safety, road improvements, electronic, public health and more.)

Taxpayers who feel their assessed or real market values may be too high should call the assessor's office to discuss the basis for their property's appraisal and if they choose, they may appeal. Appeals may be filed through Dec. 31. You can find the information regarding appeal on the back of your tax statement.

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum Hosts

Photo Contest

Only two weeks left to submit photos

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - Only two weeks remain to submit photos to the first annual "Clicks Away: EASM Photo Contest." All submissions are due by November 1.

Categories include:

People: Individuals experiencing the Museum.

Aircraft: Aircraft, spacecraft or exhibit in the Museum or on the Museum campus.

Event: People or activities at a Museum event (Easter Eggstravaganza, Hall of Honor, Loose Goose Fly-Out, etc.).

Employee: Best photo submitted by an Evergreen employee, Museum employee, intern or volunteer in the previously listed categories.

Winning entries will be displayed in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, featured in an issue of the Museum's member newsletter, Wingspan, and posted on the www.EvergreenMuseum.org. Additional prizes will be announced on Nov. 1. All submissions are due by Nov.1.

For entry forms, model release forms and official contest rules, please visit www.EvergreenMuseum.org, or call 503-434-4006.

The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is best known as the home of the world's largest wooden flying boat, the" Spruce Goose", SR-71 "Blackbird", the Titan II SLV Missile and the Grumman F6F-3 "Hellcat". In addition, there are more than 150 historic aircraft, spacecraft and exhibits on display, along with artwork, traveling displays, the Spruce Goose Café, the Cosmo Café, the Rotors, Wings & Things store, the Right Stuff Store and Oregon's largest IMAX® 3D theater. The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily except when it is closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Easter. The Museum facility is located at 500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way, across the highway from the McMinnville Airport and about three miles southeast of McMinnville, Ore., on Highway 18. Regular visitor admission is required. Call 503-434-4180 for more information, and visit www.evergreenmuseum.org.