The Existing Home Retrofit Tax Credit (Tax Code Section 25C): Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, up to a $1,500 lifetime limit, for installation in 2009 & 2010 (for existing homes only) of these products:

Building envelope components: (Installation costs not included)

• Insulation material or system
• Exterior window, skylight, door, storm window or storm door
• Metal or asphalt roofs

Qualified energy products: (Installation costs may be included)

• Electric heat pump water heaters
• Electric heat pumps and central air conditioners
• Natural gas, propane or oil water heaters
• Biomass burning stoves
• Natural gas and propane furnaces
• Natural gas, propane, or oil water boilers and oil furnaces
• Advanced main air conditioning fans

The Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Fuel Cell Tax Credit (Tax Code Section 25D): Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, with no cap through 2016 (for existing homes and new construction) for:

• Geothermal Heat Pumps
• Solar Panels
• Solar Water Heaters
• Small Wind Energy Systems
• Fuel Cells

The energy-efficiency home products must be “placed in service” between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010. The credits are only valid for improvements made to the taxpayer’s principal residence, except for qualified geothermal, solar, wind property, which can be installed on any home used as a residence by the taxpayer.

Home owners can claim the 25C and 25D credits on Form 5695 when they file their income tax returns. Check with your tax professional to ensure correct application of the energy-efficiency tax credit. Retain all receipts as well as records that include:

• Name and address of manufacturer
• Identification of the class of eligible building envelope component
• Make, model number and any other property identifiers
• A statement that the component is eligible for the credit

For more information, visit www.nahb.org/efficiencytaxcredit.

The credit ranges up to $8,000 per buyer. There’s now just 7 weeks left to take advantage.

To be eligible, home buyers must be under contract for a new home no later than April 30, 2010, and must be closed no later than June 30, 2010.

In addition to meeting the deadline dates, there’s a basic set of requirements to be tax credit-eligible:

• You can’t purchase the home from a parent, spouse, or child
• You can’t purchase the home from an entity in which the seller is a majority owner
• You can’t acquire the home by gift or inheritance
• Each buyer in the purchase must meet eligibility requirements

There’s other criteria, too.

For one, the sales price on the subject property cannot exceed $800,000. Homes sold for more than $800,000 are ineligible for the tax credit. Furthermore, households earning more than $125,000 as single-filers, or $225,500 for joint-filers, are ineligible.

You can read the complete eligibility requirements at the IRS website, or, you may just find it simpler to speak with your accountant about it. There are some nuances in qualifying for and claiming the tax credit on your returns and getting a professional’s opinion is always wise.

And lastly, don’t forget that government’s tax credit program is a true tax credit. It’s not a tax deduction. This means that a tax filer whose “normal” tax liability is $3,500 and who is eligible for $8,000 in credit will receive a $4,500 refund from the U.S. Treasury.

If you’re currently in the House Hunt, mark your calendar for April 30, 2010. It’s 7 weeks away and you can be sure that as the date gets closer, buyer traffic is going to increase. You may find sellers more willing to negotiate today than several weeks from now.

A “Short Sale” is when a home seller sells his home for a lesser amount than what is owed on his mortgage, and the mortgage lender agrees to accept the lesser amount in lieu of a full payoff.

By way of example, a Short Sale may be appropriate for a home seller whose mortgage balance is $250,000 but whose home wouldn’t sell for more than $220,000.  Rather than pay the $30,000 difference to the lender at the time of sale, the seller enters into an agreement with the lender by which all sale proceeds are paid to the bank and the deficient balance is forgiven.

Short Sales are a preferable alternative to foreclosure but the process still harms both parties. For one, the seller is penalized with a derogatory tradeline on credit for not fulfilling a mortgage obligation. And, two, the lender is forced to take a loss on a mortgage loan.  Versus an executed foreclosure, however, Short Sale damages are relatively limited on both sides.

For this reason, Short Sales are sometimes considered “the economical alternative” to default.

The process of getting a Short Sale approved varies from lender-to-lender and can be time-intensive. Home sellers should not go at it alone — speaking with a real estate agent about the proper protocol is usually the best place to start.  And sellers should be aware of how a Short Sale on their credit can impact future borrowing.

Current Fannie Mae guidelines prevent short-selling homeowners from obtaining new mortgage financing for a period of 2 years.

Insurance costs, tax bills and just plain, day-to-day living will dent a household budget differently depending on where that household is. It can be a nerve-wracking fact for families moving across state borders.

As an aid for the budget-aware, Bankrate.com keeps a Cost of Living Comparison Calculator on its website. The calculator asks 3 questions: (1) Where do you live now, (2) To where you are moving, and (3) What is your salary. It then spits out a detailed, 58-item cost comparison list between the two cities.

Some of the key costs compared include:

• Everyday groceries
• Energy bills
• Routine healthcare
• Home ownership
• Clothes
• Sporting goods

The Cost of Living Comparison Calculator is thorough, with data culled from the ACCRA. You’ll be surprised at how granular the list can get. On the ACCRA website, you can buy a similar report for $5.

On the Bankrate.com site, the data is free.