TAX TIME - $8, 000

If you bought a home last year, you may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000 when you file your 2010 tax return. But before you start shopping for hardwood floors, make sure you qualify. And even if you're eligible, you'll need to take extra steps to prove that your claim is legitimate.

•When you signed the contract to buy your home.To claim the credit on your 2010 tax return, you must have signed a contract to purchase your primary residence before May 1, 2010.

•When you closed. Home buyers who closed as late as Sept. 30, 2010, qualify for the credit, as long as their original contract called for the purchase to be completed by June 30. Congress added the extension because many of last year's home purchases involved short sales or homes in foreclosure, and banks have been slow to process those transactions, says John W. Roth, analyst for tax publisher CCH.

•Where you lived before you bought the home. For homes purchased Nov. 7, 2009, to April 30, 2010, there are two tax credits: a first-time home buyer credit and a repeat home buyer credit.

The first-time home buyer credit is worth 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to a maximum of $8,000. The law defines a first-time home buyer as someone who hasn't owned a principal residence in the three years before the purchase.

SPRING IS SPRINGING IN SILVER SPRING ...: 0 )

 The best time to sell a house is just around the corner, spring!

"Whether it has something to do with the birds chirping while the flowers are blooming or extra cash from tax time, spring is the number one time to sell a house. It was last spring that I found this out. My husband and I decided that it was time to make a change in our lives last year in spring. We had a new job offer in Ohio so we decided to pack our bags and hire the movers to come. It was a sad moment seeing our house empty and a lonely for-sale sign out in the nicely trimmed front lawn. Fortunately for us, we are both still young and enjoy the chase of adventure."


Call me to list your home... *wink 240-305-9462


Ok thats't not Silver Spring but guess where I am going next?