Good morning clients, friends, family and colleagues.
You may be aware that the ‘First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit’ has been extended into 2010 and a new tax credit is available for certain existing home-owners.

President Obama has signed a bill that extends the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) into the first half of 2010. This program had been scheduled to expire on November 30, 2009.

In addition to extending the tax credit of up to $8,000 through June 30, 2010, the extension measure also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time.

Who Gets What?
The program that has existed for FTHBs remains intact with the one exception that more people are now eligible based on an increase in the amount of income someone may now earn.

Additionally, the program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years.

Deadlines
In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010.

Higher Income Caps in Effect
The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased.
Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible.

Joint filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers who earn $245,000 and above are ineligible.

Maximum Purchase Price
Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sales price of $800,000.

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit – Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about the tax credit.
What is a tax credit?
A tax credit is a direct reduction in tax liability owed by an individual to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In the event no taxes are owed, the IRS will issue a check for the amount of the tax credit an individual is owed. Unlike the tax credit that existed in 2008, this credit does not require repayment unless the home, at any time in the first 36 months of ownership, is no longer an individual’s primary residence.

What is the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs)?
An eligible homebuyer may request from the IRS a tax credit of up to $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price for a home. If the amount of the home purchased is $75,000, the maximum amount the credit can be is $7,500. If the amount of the home purchased is $100,000, the amount of the credit may not exceed $8,000.

Who is eligible for the FTHB tax credit?
Anyone who has not owned a primary residence in the previous 36 months, prior to closing and the transfer of title, is eligible. This applies both to single taxpayers and married couples. In the case where there is a married couple, if either spouse has owned a primary residence in the last 36 months, neither would qualify. In the case where an individual has owned property that has not been a primary residence, such as a second home or investment property, that individual would be eligible.

As mentioned above, the tax credit has been expanded so that existing homeowners who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years are now eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500.

How do I claim the credit?
For those taking advantage of the tax credit in 2009, you may choose to either apply for the credit with your 2009 tax return or you may apply for the credit sooner by filing an amended 2008 tax return with Form 5405 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf).

Can you claim the tax credit in advance of purchasing a property?
No. The IRS has recently begun prosecuting people who have claimed credits where a purchase had not taken place.
Can a taxpayer claim a credit if the property is purchased from a seller with seller financing and the seller retains title to the property?
Yes. In situations where the buyer purchases the property, even though the seller retains legal title, the taxpayer may file for the credit. Examples of this would include a land contract, contract for deed, etc. According to the IRS, factors that would demonstrate the ownership of the property would include: 1. the right of possession, 2. the right to obtain legal title upon full payment of the purchase price, 3. the right to construct improvements, 4. the obligation to pay property taxes, 5. the risk of loss, 6. the responsibility to insure the property and 7. the duty to maintain the property.

Are there other restrictions to taking the credit?
Yes. According to the IRS, if any of the following describe your situation, a credit would not be due.

•  
  • You buy your home from a close relative. This includes your spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild.
  • You do not use the home as your principal residence.
  • You sell your home before the end of the year.
  • You are a nonresident alien.
  • You are, or were, eligible to claim the District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit for any taxable year. (This does not apply for a home purchased in 2009.)
  • Your home financing comes from tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds. (This does not apply for a home purchased in 2009.)
  • You owned a principal residence at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase of your new home. For example, if you bought a home on July 1, 2009, you cannot take the credit for that home if you owned, or had an ownership interest in, another principal residence at any time from July 2, 2006, through July 1, 2009.

Can you buy a home from a step-relative and be eligible for the credit?
Yes. Provided the person you are buying a home from is not a direct blood relative, the purchase would be allowed.
Can parent(s) who will not live in the property cosign for a mortgage for their child and the child that is a qualifying FTHB still be eligible for the credit?
Yes.
Can a separated spouse who has not owned a home for four years qualify for the FTHB tax credit if the spouse has owned a property anytime in the last three years?
No. However, the spouse may be eligible for the repeat buyer credit. The best path to take in any situation regarding income taxes is to speak with a professional tax preparer or CPA.

                                                                                                                  

                                                 Off  Trail                                                                                                                                                                                        

We walked out our back yard gate in Mayfield and down the alley to Lake Montebello Dr. , over the dammed side of the lake  and  into  the bowl of green below.  Turning West at a break in the woods we  found  a large downed tree that bridged a sluiceway.   Crossing was a little hairy,  but served to get the adrenalin flowing.  We had crossed over to what was  a vine drapped  peninsula formed by the sluiceway and the Herring Run.

Indulging a favorite passtime and remembering  the the long history of 19th century grist mills that  were active upstream, we hunted the bank for evidence of the past and then picked a route of stepping stones to ford the stream and expand our search.    Came upon  a group of kids throwing stones to move a floating ball back to them and a mother from from the burbs showing her son and daughter where she used to play as a child. 

 There is a decrepid  building that looks like something the parks department abandoned years on the West side  of Hall Springs.   For some reason a pathway of young saplings had been recently cleared from the side of the hill to its delapidated entrance.  The lady with the two children said it was abandoned when she was a child and that hill side then was a grassy slope mowed by the city.  I tried to imagine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned by way of  Hall Springs bridge to Lake Montebello Ave pictured above.    Me thinking how fortunate I am to find this  moment 1/2 block from my house. 

Later, sorting what we picked up found it included  two bricks that when paired together reminded me of a love that  goes beyond the grave (See  pictured below).  Additionally  an industrial size 19th century brick  embossed “TROPOL..” below that the word “CANTON”,  and a teaspoon stamped Read’s…

 Read’s drug store chain closed in 1974.  I attended the final auction of  its combined soda fountain equipment centralized at Jack Makowskie’s Auction House on 25th street.    From Read’s many locations they had left nothing behind.  Acres of glassware for sundaes, milk shakes and straws,  stools, all their counters and back splashes. .  The lot sizes were huge.  If you raised your hand you could suddenly be thinking of serious hauling resources?   It was a brilliantly orchestrated  auction – overcoming all reasonable consideration among bidders with an irresistable price per unit and No Mixed Lots.   If you wanted to serve  both sundaes and milk shakes there was no choice, but to over buy or plan on  openning an additional ten stores.   

In my case, it was one store and Ponfields.   54 boxes of sundae stemware and heavily-footed milkshake glasses were distributed between  Beagles Ice Cream Parlor in the 600 block of Fells Point’s  S. Broadway and next door  on the 3rd floor of Ponfield’s Store for Men.    After about three years Mr. Ponfield came over and said the weight of the 30 or so boxes had cracked a joist and that he was not sure how much longer they were going to stay in business.  No one to pass the business onto and families who had  became Ponfield customers  were moving  to the County.   That sense of  loyalty–  father to son or mother with son – and  where  they always shopped  withered on a vine that had no takers.  Two months later the building was on the market and those boxes were forced into a  journey that followed my life for the next 28 years.   Always in their original boxes that over the years suffered bad roofs, wrestled up and down  flights of stairs by free labor, trotted out to a dozen yard sales and back, retrieved from a string of bad relationships -  leaking ice cream ware the length of three decades until 4 years ago.  The last of them were left with the last of the bitches, as they say, and I hope and pray.  

Luck has passed my way since then;  gratefully married three years and now this teaspoon.   I think many have  their own Read’s Story of useless baggage carried through life to hopefully one day reverse a mistake.   By one act of finally letting ago what attrition did not,  the job finally gets done and we feel released from all but the why.

 

                                            This will soon pass!

 Take Delaney  Valley north to to junction with 23.  Stay Straight on 24 and get lost.  If you make your way to Stewartstown,  stop in at the Taylor Haus just South of town and try the Maryland Crab Soup.  Return South on 24 and merge onto 23 towards Norrisville.  You will soon  find Blevins Orchard and Shaws Orchards both selling fresh cider, apples and pumpkins.   We took about three hours for the round trip.

Chicken & Peppers – Recipe tweaked a little from  Renee Rosso’s  Great Good Food because I had a bunch of peppers that needed cooking and increased the basil as I thought the frost would soon get mine.  Served with mash potatoes  gives those suculent juices developed during the long cooking process, a perfect  place to run to.   

3 chicken breasts split in half with bone & skin retained

12-15 plum tomatoes chopped

4-5 green/yellow/or red peppers sliced thinly in strips

2-3 tables. minced sun dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon  capers

optional ½ teas. brined green peppercorns.

3 garlic cloves minced

¼ teas red pepper flakes

¼ cup minced parsley

2/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup grated parmesan

black pepper and salt

 

1. Preheat Oven at 350
2. Place chicken breast in a glass baking dish with the tomatoes, peppers, sundried tomatoes, and capers.  In a bowl combine garlic, red pepper flake, parsley, ¾ of the basil and pour into baking dish.   Cover tightly & bake for 30 min.
3. remove cover and bake for another 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken from the oven, sprinkle with remaining basil and parmesan. salt and pepper and bake for another 15 minutes.

 

Important: Serve dish with mash potatoes.

      

Announcing a winner to Mayfield’s Lizette Reese Poetry Contest!  The votes are in from a panel comprised of  Lake Ave resident Kimberleigh Eagleston “who has always loved poetry.”, a published poet and Mayfield resident Nate Butler, and three poet friends of Nate.  Here are their comments.     
 

• 1.  A Michigan friend who publishes a poetry blog said, “Tuscan Lady” had some interesting imagery but “Grind” was the best of the bunch, very condensed & evocative.

 

• 3. 2..immediately liked “Grind”. I was struck by the spareness of the language & the familiarity of the feelings & experience described.

 

• 4. They were taken by the concreteness of “Grind” but spent a lot of time discussing the imagery of “Tuscan Lady”.

 

• 5. was impressed by the images in “Tuscan Lady” but was very taken by the condensed language ( almost haiku-like) & the universality of “Grind”.

 

• 6. “The Grind” was the my pick.

 The “Grind” by Courtney Barlett takes First Prize and dinner for two at the Parkside Restaurant.  Runner up is “Tuscan Lady” by Russell Wedekind. 

 Thank you all for your entries and hope for your submission in next year contest remembering Lizette Reese, Mayfield’s first nationally recognized poet.

 The Grind     

 

Bean beginning

Grind, spin, soften, separate

Scoop, sprinkle, saturate

Brew, steam, drip

 

Stainless crib

 

Fill, steam, warmth

 

Carton, cold, milky-white

Pour, blend, rise

Stir, sweeten, cool

Sip, swallow, sigh

 

 The Tuscan Lady by Russell Wedekind

White shoes, white house, white wash to wash

the white days out,

introducing the royal huses;

blues so thick, so rich,

I lose.

 

Tuscan Lady, of many hues.

 

Over dinner, you made me greens,

a rainbow in their shimmer – glisten -

flavors escaping sumptuously

over the brow of your fork,

raised corssed over mine;

 

My lemon drop lover,

the daughter of artists,

prone to fancy and whim,

love, passion, tenderness -

 

you were red in my mind’s eye,

my head ensnared around the thought

of your crimson ways,k bold,

fervently passionate about whimsical

pursuits of passing fancy;

magenta soul

 

Tuscan Lady, sun kissed,

too bright for me to miss

 

In fields, in showers, in days not measured in hours, you threw

me lady, for your brightest color was darkest, antithesis of

mine.

 

Tuscan Lady, o woe of woe’s

Refract some shimmering goodness to those

Who words wish to know the answer

as to where the breath of the shoreline goes

 

Black rock, a point, scar

Upon the façade of our town,

Hazy smeared coast fade

 into the stormy sky of taupe,

 

and you, Tuscan Lady,

are at the reins

of tomorrow

 

3015 Iona Terrace $289,000

In nearby Arcadia a rare arrangement of house and charming in-law apartment (note second door on front porch)  is available on Iona Terrace two block from KoKo’s/Red Canoe/Safeway.  This is an ideal configuration that can flex to family needs and financial ones. 

An easily removed removed separation in the 30 ft wide living room (no studs) divides from the first floor the in-law apartment. This separation can come or go depending on a families needs.    

 4 BRM / 3 BA / Energy Star Appliances / Covered Front Porch / Rear Deck / Family Room / 2 yr roof / 4  yr. furnace

  for more info contact  GeorgeFrazier@LNF  – Long & Foster     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When an opportunity for free lodging on Cape Cod taps you on the shoulder and you turn around to take notice from the routine of life that stretches out ahead of getting  the bills paid and the projects moving forward, it becomes an easy thing to drop the shovel and and say yes.   Our opportunity came in the form of house sitting for my sister’s neighbor’s mother in W. Dennis about half way up the cape.   Out of the blue we suddenly were packing for a week in lobster land with my sister and husband

Fell in love with the beauty and peace of Cape Cod in the fall off season.  Discovered the sport of surf casting for Stripers when they come close to shore during their migration South.  I found out a lot about why I was not catching them by talking to local fisherman and a great book I read on the subject called Striper Surf by Frank Daignault.   I met one grizzled old man nestled down against a drift fence with a pair of binoculars looking out to sea for birds feeding off the wounded minnows or detecting the oil residue, both signs of  a striper feeding frenzy.  I asked  if he came out there often.  He said “In season, every day for the last 30 years”.  If you’re into stripers, send me an email.  I would love to learn more.

 

On the Cape it’s summer late with spare limb in the forecast . Hunger drives up migrating stripers and blues smashing into swoops of minnows driven against the shore,  sky bound to escape. 

 The news I hear volumned low on the TV in which every fourth word comes through, “…unemployment …..record high….stimulus…”,  remind me gratefully I am on vacation.  Moving out into a warm sun for a new perch I sit among the enlarged stage of neighboring sounds that now hold forth, when few of us remain.

For those who knew Dorothy Dobbyn here are a few pictures of her house near Millsboro Delaware.  I drove down over Labor Day Sunday stopping briefly in Denton to check out the Choptank river.  I must say that the drive over the Bay Bridge was spectacular.  It seemed all boat owners had purchased with this day in mind.  Literally thousands of sail boats blanketed the view on both sides of the bridge.  Denton was empty.  Everyone was on the water.

Dorothy has a fun, beachy house sited on a good size and well landscaped lot with various garden beds.  The back door opens to a roomy screened porch with Al’s Tiki bar perfectly attired. Dorothy has wasted no time in meeting her neighbors who grew the crowd to about 15.  There was BBQ, and salads, rum and beer, stories of Tiki bars and rum induced adventures long past, a game of horse shoes was played and before long 4 hours had passed.  I had to leave.  It was then or never. Unfortunately I missed Al’s own grown watermellon. 

 

 

 

 

     3 fillets of catfish

     2 squash (a yellow and a green) sliced  ½ – ¾”  rounds

     2 ea. ½” thick slices of large yellow onion

 -Press 5 or 6 fennel seeds into the flat side of each onion with the flat of a broad knife.

-Sauté in butter or oil for 2 minutes with salt and peppered squash slices then add lid and turn down heat.

-Cook for 4 minutes. Remove squash from pan and hold.

Remove onion carefully and transfer to broiler pan (I used our toaster oven).  Place fillets that have been salt and peppered on top of onion.  Add 3 or 4 slices of lemon and some small bits of butter here and there across fillets.  - broil for 4-5 minutes (3/4 cooked through)

Return onion and fillets to sauté pan you cooked squash in.  There should a fair amount of liquid from the squash and the fish.  Finish cooking fillets on medium/high heat.  Remove fish then reduce liquid to make sauce. Assemble yellow and green squash around fillets & onion on serving plate.

 Restaurants requiring reservations a week in advance will not serve better….catfish.

A Mayfield poetry contest will be held in honor or Lizette Woodworth Reese, a former Mayfield resident  from 1897-1917.   For more information on Ms. Reese see post on this web site ”Provenance, A History of Mayfield House by House” (in Life in Mayfield to left).   

Entries are due Sept 1, 2009. 

All poems have to written within the past year.

1st and 2nd place entries will be published on this site. 

First Prize - Dinner for two at the  Parkside Restaurant.  

All entries  emailed to georgefrazier@LNF.com.