Jim Guido's Blog

This coming Saturday, March 27th at 8:30 p.m. local time, the largest ever public demonstration for action on climate change will take place as lights are symbolically turned off for one hour in homes, office buildings, iconic landmarks, government buildings and retail establishments across the globe for Earth Hour. It is reported that Ninety-two countries and regions around the world have now made the pledge for Earth Hour.This pledge is to show the world what can be done to fight climate change. Last year 88 countries got involved in the lights out event. This event is inspiring millions of people around the world to get involved and show support for the future of our planet. Some of this years supporters include the Las Vegas Strip, Mount Rushmore, Sea World, the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. They are  joining other iconic landmarks from around the world in switching off the lights for Earth Hour. These Countries areparticipating in Earth Hour for the first time and they include: Brunei, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Kosovo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Faroe Islands. We are going to participate and I hope you will too. Let us know if you did.

For more information, visit www.myearthhour.org.

I am in full support of the legislation recently introduced by Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY17) that would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the so called “marriage penalty” from the Home Buyer Tax Credit. The current guidelines require both spouses to have the same exact ownership history in order to claim the tax credit. This is unfair and a standard that does not apply to unmarried couples, effectively penalizing married home buyers. The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 provides a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence and a tax credit of up to $6,500 for repeat home buyers who have owned a home for five consecutive years out of the prior eight years. The tax credit is available for eligible purchasers who are in contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.The bill called H.R. 4701,was introduced by Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY17). It will provide relief to certain married couples who would otherwise be ineligible for the first-time home buyer credit. The bill provides that married individuals filing a joint return would qualify for the appropriate credit even where one spouse is ineligible. For example, if one spouse is a first-time home buyer and the other is ineligible, the couple would be treated as first-time home buyers. However, such a couple could qualify for up to $4,000 as opposed to the full $8,000 tax credit. I hope you support this too, and if you have the time let your elected representatives know how you feel about this.

The California Association of Realtors reported yesterday that nearly half of home purchases statewide last year went to first-time buyers. This is the highest level since 1995. The Realtor Association’s chief economist said first-timer dominance may dip a bit this year because of the pending end to the $8,000 federal homebuyer tax credits. This survey of 15,000 association members conducted last summer and it showed that 47 percent of single-family resale purchases went to first-time buyers which was  up from 35.9 percent in 2008. The survey was not broken down by county or metro area. As reported the rise was due to falling prices, low mortgage rates and the tax credit. Its great news to learn that a large number of first time home buyers were able to become home owners. Lets hope that this trend continues.