Don’t miss out on a chance at credit



As part of the Economic Recovery Plan, Congress included a generous tax credit to assist first-time homebuyers and bring some stability to our housing market. The credit can be worth up to $8,000 and has already been wildly successful. In Indiana alone, nearly 5,900 Hoosiers have received the credit so far, but time is running out to take advantage of the program.

If you are in the process of buying your first home and are hoping to receive this credit, here are five things you should know:

• To be considered a first-time homebuyer, you — and your spouse if you are married — must not have jointly or separately owned another principal residence during the three years prior to the date of purchase.

• You cannot claim the credit before there is a completed sale and purchase of the residence. The sale and purchase are generally completed at the time of closing on the purchase. To qualify for the credit, the completed purchase must occur before Dec. 1.

• The credit is either 10 percent of the purchase price of the home or $8,000, whichever is less.

• The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is more than $75,000 or $150,000 for joint filers.

• The credit for qualified 2009 purchases does not have to be repaid, as long as the home remains your main home for 36 months after the purchase date.

Last week, Congress voted to extend the Dec. 1 deadline by one year for service members deployed overseas this year. This will ensure our men and women in the military, intelligence community and Foreign Service are not penalized for their service and can take advantage of this opportunity when they return.

In addition, I am currently working on providing this extension to more homebuyers. I recently co-sponsored legislation, H.R. 3640, that would extend the deadline until Dec. 1, 2010, and open up the credit to all homebuyers purchasing their principal residence.

Extending the deadline is not just good for new homebuyers, it’s good for current homeowners, too. By boosting home sales in areas that have experienced significant numbers of foreclosures, this credit has begun to stabilize home values for neighborhoods across the country. In addition, new home sales have promoted home construction and Realtor jobs in our community; putting our neighbors back to work. It just makes good sense, and I hope Congress will consider an extension soon.

— Brad Ellsworth, U.S. Representative,9th District



Columnists spew garbage every week



This letter is about the three lady journalists/writers who write this baloney in your paper every week.

You know, the ones that go by the names of Susan Estrich, Froma Harrop and Diana West.

All three of these women spew out garbage from one week to the next, making the late Molly Givens’ articles look tame compared to theirs.

The only two writers that really make any sense is Ellen Goodman and Kathleen Parker.

Subject No. 2: I like reading other people’s letters to the editor, especially the one the little girls wrote about farm safety. She wrote it like a pro.

I also liked the one the lady from Clinton wrote about her husband, an unemployed vet, getting the runaround in the job market. How would those bigshot CEOs like to go looking for a job if they didn’t have one and getting turned down everywhere they looked? A retired disabled vet with 20 years defending this country should be top priority with any employer.

As for letters thanking businesses for sponsoring their events, if some of us had their money, we could probably sponsor events, too.

Maybe somebody should write to the paper thanking some of us.

If it wasn’t for us customers, these businesses wouldn’t have the money to sponsor anything big or little.

One last thing: Mitch Daniels, worst governor this state’s ever had. Always knocking the tobacco companies; never once do I read where this guy knocks the beer companies, only tobacco.

He made sure when he announced the tax on tobacco that the nosy Associated Press was there to get the word out to the newspapers.

They say this guy’s a millionaire. I’d be a millionaire too if I sold the toll road out that wasn’t his to sell in the first place.

After all the idiot stuff he’s done to this state, if he ever runs for president, he won’t get my vote.

I can only imagine what this guy could do to this country. Notice I said to it, not for it.

‘Til next time, take care and be fair.

— John Weddle, Brazil