Congratulations to Our "Top Ten" Best EXPO Booths for 2012
1st Place Winners: (tie) The Concrete Service, Inc. and Precision, Plumbing and Heating Systems, Inc.
Each company will receive a complimentary EXPO Booth in 2013
Other Award Winners Included:
Floor Covering Brokers
New Leaf Interiors
Old Mission Windows
ReAction Restoration/Archer Contracting
Team Bob's Heating, Cooling, Plumbing
Williams Pumping Service
VanDrie Home Furnishings
SAVE THE DATE: February 2nd and 3rd, 2013
GRAND TRAVERSE RESORT & SPA
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Check Out Great HBA Member Savings Programs
General Motors - $500 exclusive private offer on most Buick, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles. Business Owners may also qualify for additional incentives, visit http://www.nahb.org/ma and click on the GM logo to find out more.
FedEx Advantage Program & YRC Transportation
Dell - Up to 30% off on top of the line Dell computers. Call 800.695.8133 and Mention NAHB or visit www.dell.com/mpp/nahb
Hertz - Up to 20% off on rental cars and FREE Gold Club membership. Use CDP# 51046. Visit www.nahb.org/ma and click on the Hertz logo to find out more information.
Avis - Up to 25% off rental cars at www.avis.com/nahb or call 800.331.1212 and use AWD code G572900
Budget - Up to 20% off rental cars at www.budget.com/nahb or call 800.283.4387 and use BCD code Z536900
Hewlett Packard - Discounts: 9% notebooks, 5% printers/scanners, 7% handhelds, 12% workstations, 16% servers, 12% storage, 6% third party options (over 10,000 items), plus free ground shipping. To place your order call 1.888.202.4488 and mention pass code "NAHB" or visit www.hp.com/go/nahb
Office Depot - 10% off all delivery orders. Free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Call 800.274.2753 mention NAHB membership or visit www.officedepot.com/nahb
Omaha
Endless Vacation Rentals - 10% discount of over 200,000 vacation rentals worldwide. Destinations include theUS , Canada , Mexico , the Caribbean, Europe & more. Call 877.670.7088 and Mention ID 20090 at time of reservation or go to www.evrentals.com/nahb
Wyndham Hotel Group - 20% off the best available rate at over 6,500 hotels, resorts. Mention ID 8000002688 at time of reservation. 877.670.7088. Go to www.nahb.org/ma and click on the Wyndham logo to find out more.
FTD - 20% discount at www.ftd.com/nahb or call 800.SEND.FTD use code 17421. Includes FTD bridal, Vera Wang and Todd Oldham Collections
FedEx Advantage Program & YRC Transportation
• Up to 29% on select FedEx Express® U.S.
• Up to 25% on select FedEx Express international services
• Up to 20% on select FedEx Ground® services
Visit www.1800members.com/nahb or call 1.800.MEMBERS (1.800.636.2377)
Dell - Up to 30% off on top of the line Dell computers. Call 800.695.8133 and Mention NAHB or visit www.dell.com/mpp/nahb
Hertz - Up to 20% off on rental cars and FREE Gold Club membership. Use CDP# 51046. Visit www.nahb.org/ma and click on the Hertz logo to find out more information.
Avis - Up to 25% off rental cars at www.avis.com/nahb or call 800.331.1212 and use AWD code G572900
Budget - Up to 20% off rental cars at www.budget.com/nahb or call 800.283.4387 and use BCD code Z536900
Hewlett Packard - Discounts: 9% notebooks, 5% printers/scanners, 7% handhelds, 12% workstations, 16% servers, 12% storage, 6% third party options (over 10,000 items), plus free ground shipping. To place your order call 1.888.202.4488 and mention pass code "NAHB" or visit www.hp.com/go/nahb
Office Depot - 10% off all delivery orders. Free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Call 800.274.2753 mention NAHB membership or visit www.officedepot.com/nahb
Endless Vacation Rentals - 10% discount of over 200,000 vacation rentals worldwide. Destinations include the
Wyndham Hotel Group - 20% off the best available rate at over 6,500 hotels, resorts. Mention ID 8000002688 at time of reservation. 877.670.7088. Go to www.nahb.org/ma and click on the Wyndham logo to find out more.
FTD - 20% discount at www.ftd.com/nahb or call 800.SEND.FTD use code 17421. Includes FTD bridal, Vera Wang and Todd Oldham Collections
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Homeownership Can Bring Big Savings at Tax Time
As the April federal income tax filing deadline approaches, millions of Americans are sitting down and sorting through dozens of forms to determine how much money they owe Uncle Sam – or, how much of a refund they will get this year. One of those forms, the Mortgage Interest Statement Form 1098, can mean big savings for home owners at tax time.
When it is time to sell a home, in many cases home owners don’t have to pay capital gains tax on the profit from the sale. Under present law, married couples who have owned and occupied their principal residence for at least two of the past five years do not have to pay any taxes on the first $500,000 in profits from the sale of their home. Single filers earn up to $250,000 tax free.
Another deduction home owners may be able to take is for mortgage insurance premiums. Generally, people who purchase a home without putting 20 percent down have to buy mortgage insurance, and those premiums can also be deducted from taxable income.
Buying a home offers tax savings that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over several years. Home owners rely on the mortgage interest deduction each year to help offset the costs of homeownership and prospective buyers take the deduction into consideration when choosing homeownership over renting.
But the mortgage interest deduction, which has been included in the tax code for about 100 years, is in danger. A national deficit commission has proposed reducing or eliminating the deduction as part of a restructuring of the tax code.
Find out more about the threat to the mortgage interest deduction, and read “The Tax Benefits of Homeownership,” a study from economists at the National Association of Home Builders that provides specific examples of savings for a variety of income levels and ownership situations, at www.SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com.
Contact the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area for more information at 231.946.2305 or visit their web site at www.hbagta.com.
Form 1098, which home owners receive from their lenders, shows the total amount of home mortgage interest paid during the year. Home owners who itemize their federal income tax deductions can deduct 100 percent of their mortgage interest payments on a first or second home for up to $1 million of mortgage debt. They can also deduct the interest paid on up to $100,000 of home equity loans.
For most home owners, this means they can deduct ALL of the mortgage interest they’ve paid on their home each year.
The ability to deduct home mortgage and home equity loan interest isn’t the only tax benefit for home owners.
The three most important sources of tax savings for home owners are:
- Deductions for mortgage interest
- Deductions for real estate taxes
- The capital gains exclusion for the sale of a principal residence
Home owners are also able to deduct the state and local real estate taxes they pay each year on an owner-occupied home.
When it is time to sell a home, in many cases home owners don’t have to pay capital gains tax on the profit from the sale. Under present law, married couples who have owned and occupied their principal residence for at least two of the past five years do not have to pay any taxes on the first $500,000 in profits from the sale of their home. Single filers earn up to $250,000 tax free.
Another deduction home owners may be able to take is for mortgage insurance premiums. Generally, people who purchase a home without putting 20 percent down have to buy mortgage insurance, and those premiums can also be deducted from taxable income.
Even home owners who don’t use the home as their principal residence and rent it out may be able enjoy some tax benefits, including interest and depreciation deductions.
Buying a home offers tax savings that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over several years. Home owners rely on the mortgage interest deduction each year to help offset the costs of homeownership and prospective buyers take the deduction into consideration when choosing homeownership over renting.
But the mortgage interest deduction, which has been included in the tax code for about 100 years, is in danger. A national deficit commission has proposed reducing or eliminating the deduction as part of a restructuring of the tax code.
Find out more about the threat to the mortgage interest deduction, and read “The Tax Benefits of Homeownership,” a study from economists at the National Association of Home Builders that provides specific examples of savings for a variety of income levels and ownership situations, at www.SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com.
Contact the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area for more information at 231.946.2305 or visit their web site at www.hbagta.com.
Home Builders Applaud Menendez Bill to Restore the Flow of Credit for Home Building
ORLANDO, Feb. 8 - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today commended Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) for introducing the Home Building Lending Improvement Act of 2012, legislation to help restore the flow of credit for new housing production in order to create jobs, meet rising housing demand and bolster the economic expansion.
"We applaud Rep. Menendez for sponsoring this bill and leading the effort in the Senate to end the severe credit crunch for home building that is needlessly idling residential construction workers and hampering the housing and economic recovery," NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev., said while attending the International Builders' Show in Orlando.
With new housing inventories at or near record lows in many parts of the country, builders should be gearing up to produce homes to meet sizable demand from pent-up household formations and the growing list of metro areas on the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index whose economies are recovering.
Unfortunately, banks have largely cut off home builders from the credit they need to finance new projects or complete those still underway.
Resolving this situation will enable home builders to start rebuilding the economy. Constructing 100 average single-family homes creates more than 300 jobs, $23.1 million in wages and business income and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for local, state and federal government. And there is a considerable economic ripple effect from there. New home building contributes to the local tax base, which supports schools, police, firefighters and road construction in municipalities across the land, and most of the products used in home construction are manufactured here in the United States.
Similar legislation to resolve the ongoing credit problems for home builders was introduced in the House last year by Reps. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) and Brad Miller (D-N.C.). H.R. 1755, the Home Construction Lending Regulatory Improvement Act, currently has 87 House cosponsors.
"Without access to financing, small home builders cannot keep their doors open, let alone meet the rising demand that is emerging in scores of markets across the nation," said Nielsen. "The Menendez bill will help address the housing production credit crisis and establish an effective foundation to help housing regain its health, contribute to job growth and strengthen the economic expansion."
NAHB: Chairman Bernanke Speaks to Builders
NAHB: Chairman Bernanke Speaks to Builders
WHEN: Friday, February 10, 2012, 12:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: Live from the International Builders' Show to this webpage
Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee in Congress in early October, Bernanke specifically acknowledged housing's role in economic recovery and job growth and the challenges facing builders in today's market.
READ MORE
WHEN: Friday, February 10, 2012, 12:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: Live from the International Builders' Show to this webpage
Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee in Congress in early October, Bernanke specifically acknowledged housing's role in economic recovery and job growth and the challenges facing builders in today's market.
READ MORE
Wall & Roof Insulation
Wall & Roof Insulation: from Reed Construction Data, James Armstrong, CPE, CEM, LEED AP
Adding insulation to an existing building is the simplest of all measures and one that homeowners have been practicing for years. The building’s insulation value is increased to a point where its thermal energy is contained, and the impact of outside environmental conditions on interior conditions is reduced. This approach has a limited opportunity in commercial facilities due to the volume of fresh air they require. Selecting appropriate insulation for a new, sustainable building is key to strategies to reduce energy use.
Read More
Adding insulation to an existing building is the simplest of all measures and one that homeowners have been practicing for years. The building’s insulation value is increased to a point where its thermal energy is contained, and the impact of outside environmental conditions on interior conditions is reduced. This approach has a limited opportunity in commercial facilities due to the volume of fresh air they require. Selecting appropriate insulation for a new, sustainable building is key to strategies to reduce energy use.
Read More
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