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Many Consumers Ignore Energy Tax
Credits

Climate
change, turmoil in the world's oil
regions and consumers' apparent refusal
to drive less, conserve energy and
reduce demand means rising energy costs
are here to stay.
Yet few consumers take advantage
of federal tax credits and related home
improvements that could lower energy
bills.
Most homeowners (74 percent) are
aware of federal tax credits for certain
energy-saving home improvements, but
only 23 percent took advantage of it on
their 2006 tax returns.
That's despite the fact that 78
percent of homeowners reported that
their 2006 heating/cooling costs
increased 5 percent or more than their
2005 costs, and only 32 percent believe
that their home is already energy
efficient.
"The 2006 Energy Efficiency Tax
Credit Survey" of 1,040 American adults
conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for
building products manufacturer Johns
Manville may sound a bit self-serving,
but

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Secrets to a Successful Move

Planning
to move this summer? You're not alone --
summer is the busiest time of year for
professional movers, according to the
American Moving and Storage Association.
It's an arduous process, but these tips
will make your transition much smoother.
If you're planning to use a moving
company, call now. As busy as they are,
they usually need plenty of notice --
often at least six weeks or much more if
you're moving a long distance.
Be sure to build in some overlap between
the closing/possession date of your new
home and the last day of the lease on
your rental (or closing date of your
current home). Moving always takes much
longer than you think. If you want to
make any changes to your new home -- for
instance, paint some walls, put in new
carpeting or refinish wood floors --
plan enough time to do it BEFORE you
move in so your furniture and belongings
are not in the way.
Pare down your belongings. There's no
sense moving things you don't need or
want. Look through your house for rarely
used items. Discard anything that's
beyond repair, have a yard sale to get
rid of the rest, and plan to load unsold
merchandise into your car right away so
you can take it to the charity of your
choice.

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Equal Housing
Opportunity
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"PERFORMANCE" Guarantee

Your Home "SOLD AND CLOSED" in
120-Days or I Will Buy It.
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Vacation Property
Sales Increase

According
to the National Association of Realtors, more
than one million people bought vacation homes in
2006. Industry experts say the NAR data is good
news for those considering purchasing a vacation
home.
"Their data basically reported that
vacation-home sales rose in 2006 based on a 4.7
percent increase over the previous year," says
Christine Karpinski, author of, How to Rent
Vacation Properties by Owner, 2nd Edition: The
Complete Guide to Buy, Manage, Furnish, Rent,
Maintain and Advertise Your Vacation Rental
Investment (Kinney Pollack Press, 2007).
Despite those results, is now really a
good time to buy a vacation property?
Vacation home sales and investment home
sales together accounted for 36 percent of all
existing and new residential transactions.
Karpinski says, the survey results signal a
"definite green light to anyone thinking of
buying a vacation





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