I just found this:  http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/calculator.html

I hope you all try it. This can calculate how much what YOU eat affects our environment!!

Audra

Try to bring a reusable bag to the market/ grocery store. Why? Read on...

Making disposable plastic bags requires energy equal to 4 million barrels of oil a year. And we wonder why gas is sooo expensive....

Paper bags use up 14 million trees annually.

Minimize the energy needed to heat your home by making sure your windows and doors are well-sealed with caulking and weather-stripping. This easy and inexpensive fix can save as much as 10 percent of winter heating costs.

Homes with forced-air heating systems can lose as much as 40%of their heat if duct joints are poorly sealed. You probably want to get a qualified contractor to do this one, but some states offer tax credits to help pay for the work. Seal your ducts!

Greener, Cleaner, and Healthy Home

 

There are several ways to keep your home clean and smelling fresh while using less toxic alternatives. Listed below are some tips for a less-toxic household:

•·         Remove your shoes when you enter your house. Your shoes track in harmful amounts of pesticides, lead, cadmium and other chemicals. 
 

•·         Vacuum carpets and floors regularly. Use a fine particulate filter, such as a HEPA filter, in your vacuum cleaner if possible. 
 

•·         Single ingredient, common household materials such as baking soda, vinegar, or plant- based soaps and detergents work very well on your carpet and other surfaces. Soap and water work as well antibacterial soaps to keep surfaces free of bacteria.

Home Cleaning:

•·         Use baking soda on sinks, tubs and toilets.
 

•·         Vegetable oil with a little lemon works very well on wood furniture. 
 

•·         Simmer a mixture of cloves and cinnamon or use vinegar and water as a safe environmentally friendly air freshener.
 

•·         Use vinegar and water in a pump spray bottle for cleaning mirrors and shining chrome.
 

•·         Use dishwashing detergents that are free of chlorine bleach and low in phosphates.
 

•·         Use bathroom cleaners that are free of aerosol propellants and antibacterial agents.

By taking a few steps to clean your home the natural way, you will reduce the existence of allergens.

 

1.  Pricing Your Home Too High
A real estate agent can research comparable sales in your area and advise you of the appropriate price range of your property.

2.  Taking an Inflexible Position on Financing
Have your agent explain what financing options are available.  Being flexible on financing terms may secure a better selling price.

3.  Errors in Market Timing
The market can change on a daily basis.  Ask your agent to determine whether the market cycle is poised to net you the most money.

4.  Not Providing Easy Access for Showing
There are many ways to show a home.  "Appointment Only" is the most restrictive, while lock boxes (key safes) are the most accessible.  If your home is easy for agents to show, more prospective buyers will see it, improving your odds of getting the deal you want. 

5.  Not Utilizing Current Marketing Technology
Make sure your agent is knowledgeable on the latest technologies (such as websites and virtual tours) that cater to home buyers.  Check around to see what technology is being utilized in your specific area.  A good agent will know where you can get the best exposure.

6.  Not "Staging" Your Property Correctly
Put some items in storage, create more light, play soothing music or otherwise improve the ambience.  Your agent can offer helpful advice or recommend professional staging personnel to create the right first impression.

 7.  Believing That Selling Property Is Seasonal
Do not base selling decisions on the seasons as property sells year round.

8.  Pricing Your Property Too Low
One reason to hire an agent is to make sure that you get the highest possible price for your home.

9.  Not Re-evaluating the Market Plan
Re-evaluate your agent's marketing plan every 10 days.  You and your agent may need to make intuitive changes based on the current market and buyers.

10.  Premature Lack of Confidence in Your Agent
Most sellers are unaware that 80% of all buyer activity comes from the sign and MLS.  If you do not have a problem showing the home, but is has not generated any interested buyers, it may be time to re-evaluate the price.

11.  Ignoring the Importance of First Impressions
Spend time on the little details.  Many sales have been blown by unkempt lawns, cluttered closets, unpainted front doors, hard-to-work locks, blown light bulbs, stains, unlit areas and bad smells. 

12.  Not Making the Right Kind of Repairs
Do not be tempted to make improvements prior to listing without consulting your agent.  Some upgrades will not yield any real increase in value, while others may increase property value substantially.

13.  Not Giving the Sales Effort Enough Time
Never give too little time to what is inherently a long process.  Homes may take 3-6 months to sell in any market.  Estimate how much time you have before you need to sell and then plan ahead to allow extra time. 

14.  Not Screening Prospects Adequately
One of the best reasons for hiring an agent is his/her ability to prequalify a prospect financially before valuable negotiation time is lost.  More importantly, your agent may discover when a prospect has an ulterior motive for shopping homes, other than purchasing.

15.  Believing that You Can Not Make a Difference
The top agents in the industry report that sellers themselves are responsible for a least one out of ten sales!  You can network to your friends, hand out fliers at your place of business, and keep your house in "move-in condition."  Your agent should be ready to hand you a few assignments to help make the "team effort" successful.

16.  Testing the Market
Never put your property on the market unless you really want to sell it!  Get ready for a professional sales push when you list with a great agent.  If your plan harbors uncertainty, resolve your concerns before listing. 

Old pairs of jeans can be cut into shorts, made into book covers or bags, used as cleaning rags, worn for yard work, tied in a knot and used as a doggie chew toy, or kept around for another 10 years when they'll be in style again.

Americans buy 2.3 million pairs of shoes each day!! Instead of throwing your old shoes out, clean and donate gently used ones and keep grubbier ones around for yard work. Nike will take worn-out athletic shoes (of any brand) and recycle them into new surfaces for basketball courts, running tracks, and playground turf.

How about a bouquet of long-stem...pesticides? No thanks. Show someone you really appreciate them with a handful of organic/ fair-trade flowers or, better yet, blossoms fresh-picked from your yard or a local farm. A nice pot of planted flowers or herbs will provide enjoyment for even longer. You can find small potted trees for the home as well as larger varieties for the yard, a green gift will last for years and help reduce global warming.

Shine your shoes with natural alternatives to toxic shoe polish. Try rubbing the inside of a banana peel on your leather shoes, then buff them with a clean cloth. Or rub a bit of vegetable or olive oil into the leather until it's clean and shiny. And make sure to contact your sanitation department to learn how to dispose of any old shoe polish safely.

Go Green at Work!

• Go paperless when possible.
• Think before you print.
• Request to be removed from catalogs, newsletters, and junk mail lists. The average American receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year. Save trees! visit the National Do Not Mail list at www.directmail.com
• Post employee manuals and similar material online instead of distributing paper. It's also easier to update the information when you keep it online.
• Use nontoxic cleaning products.
• Brighten your office or cubicle with plants. They absorb indoor pollution.
• Recycle toner/ink cartridges and buy remanufactured ones. You'll help keep approx. 2.5 lbs of metal and plastic out of landfills and conserve half a gallon of oil.

Q 9.  What are the tax implications of a short sale?

A A short sale where the lender agrees to reduce some or all of the outstanding debt may give rise to forgiveness of debt income (also called "cancellation of debt" income).  The amount of the debt that the lender agrees to write off is treated as ordinary income.  The taxpayer will generally receive a 1099 tax form from the lender in the amount of the debt reduction. This rule applies whether or not the underlying debt is recourse or nonrecourse.** (See Rev. Rul. 82-202, 1982 - 2 C.B. 35 and Rev. Rul. 91-31, 1991-1 C.B. 19.)

Even though the lender may be taking this action to facilitate the sale by the owner who is under a notice of default and facing a foreclosure, the agreement between the owner and the lender is considered voluntary and treated as a debt reduction. 

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**Although this is the majority opinion on this issue, please note that these rules are complex and there is some disagreement even among tax specialists whether the I.R.S. does, in fact, treat reduction of debt in order to facilitate a short sale on a nonrecourse loan as forgiveness of debt income. 
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In addition, if the owner has owned the property for some time and has refinanced to take out some of the equity, the owner could be subject to capital gains taxation when selling the property as well.  For example, the borrower has a remaining loan on the property when the borrower refinances in order to buy other investment property (or to buy a car, or to take a vacation, etc.) and now owes $300,000 to the lender.  Thus, the taxpayer's adjusted basis may be lower than the outstanding balance on the loan (as in the example below).

The tax calculation would look like step one in calculating a foreclosure sale of recourse debt.

SHORT SALE

Example:

1. The unpaid principal of the loan is $300,000;

2. The sales price (FMV) is $250,000;

3. The taxpayer's adjusted basis in the property is $50,000.

Sales price (FMV $250,000) less taxpayer's adjusted basis ($50,000) results in capital gains for the taxpayer.

Sales Price (FMV)           $250,000
Less  Adjusted Basis    $50,000
Capital Gains                  $200,000

Additionally, the taxpayer would have ordinary income from the lender's write off of any debt, which in this example would be $50,000 (** See the discussion above in this question)

 Loan Balance                $300,000
 Less Sales Price          $250,000
 Ordinary Income            $50,000

TAX EXEMPTIONS

Q 10.  Are there any exemptions from the relief of indebtedness income?

AYes. There are four circumstances where the taxpayer can get relief from taxation on forgiveness of debt income:

(1) The taxpayer is insolvent (the taxpayer's debts exceed their assets as determined under Bankruptcy Code Section 108(d)(3);

(2)  The debt is discharged as part of a bankruptcy proceeding;

(3)  The debt discharged is qualified farm indebtedness; or
 
(4)  The debt discharged is qualified business indebtedness (see 26 U.S.C. §108(c)).
 
Additionally, as this is being written, President Bush has asked for legislation that would amend the tax code so that certain taxpayers involved in short sales would not have income from forgiven indebtedness. The indications are that if this amendment were enacted it would provide relief only to homeowners and not to investors.

Q 11.  Are there any exemptions from the capital gains taxation in a foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure or short sale if the property is a principal residence?

A Yes. If the sale, whether through a foreclosure or deed in lieu or short sale, generates capital gains and if the property was the seller's principal residence, the seller may be able to use the capital gains exclusion of $250,000 if single and $500,000 if filing a joint return. This exclusion does not apply to the ordinary income from debt relief.