Chandra Mast’s Blog

Hay everybody!  Welcome to January and a very cold start to this new year 2010. LancasterHorse.com is rearing to go; here’s what’s new at LH.com….

Midmonth LH.com completed the transition to our new host Windstream. Not only did we have to move the whole kit and caboodle to a new server, but the board core was upgraded to phpBB3.0.6.  While there were a few hiccups, everything is just about back in its place, with a few new whistles to boot.

Our January SEC meeting was held at the Blue Pacific Grill, where we welcomed our 2010 club officers. Congratulations to our new Prez Breezy, VPrez Time2Ride, Sec’y Appfilly, Membership Director & Queen of Onion Dip Babylark and Treasurer Furlong!

If you are interested in getting off your computer and meeting up with some other horse folk, our February meeting is next week 2/3, in Leola. Please visit online to make your reservations and preorder. Upcoming proposed activities this year include Trail Challenges, Dressage Clinic, Natural Horsemanship Playday, horse camping at Gettysburg, and a visit with an animal communicator.

Our LancasterHorse.com Winter Fundraiser is underway and the Susquehanna Equestrians are hard at work collecting items for our online auction. This is our 3rd annual winter benefit auction. Our 2010 auction is to help defray the costs of colic surgery for Duke, police horse for Lancaster City. Please join us in this very worthwhile cause. These horses are kept entirely by the generosity of the public. They receive no government funding for the program. Please help us help Duke! Online Auction runs from March 15 - March 28th, 2010.

We had 18 new members join up this month, if you see them online give out a shout and please welcome rolespainthorse,  vickie333, kiltieMac, mhg,  stoltzfoos22, horselady, dlgilbert,  lhj5007,  luckyclover, stockwell66, Bits455, circle,  EKAhorses, hjhorses, gartengal,  RAPfrosty, jshadle, and larrym37.

The clock is ticking for buyers who want to claim the extended $8,000 first time homeowner’s tax credit. You must be under contract by April 30th to qualify!( Full Details )

Hey Everyone!

Whoa, in the blink of the eye Autumn is past and ol’ man Winter is here in full force. For most of us, horses and riding in the winter equals one thing – MUD!! The good news is that the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice on Dec 21 is just a few weeks off and the days will start to get longer again.

Here’s what’s new at LancasterHorse.com ….

Last week the LH.com riding club, Susquehanna Equestrians Club (SEC), had our annual Christmas Party. We had a delicious dinner, drinks, gift swap, slideshow presentation (Thanks Mack Productions!) and a snazzy DJ who got everyone out on the dance floor. Our regular meetings will resume next year, the first Weds of each month. All LH.com members over the age of 21 are welcome to join our January gathering and get involved in the 2010 activities.

~The Big News ~ our internet host, DeJazzd, has been recently bought out by another company, Windstream, and p00f, the servers went into a state of lockdown as they began the mirror and migration process. This process began on Dec. 4^th. All new topics, information, responses, photos and new members who have joined since 12/4 will be dropped when the switch occurs on 12/14. While the admins and mods are closely monitoring the website for sql errors, it is likely to get worse before it gets better, and there will be no option to modify anything until the ftp channels are unlocked.  If the website is down during this transition, please check the LH.com FaceBook group for LH site updates.

In November we had 19 new members join, if you see them online give them a holler in the shoutbox to welcome them -Millie, sallycousins, BigRed,  4dogs2kidsandahorse, endlessaley,kissy,JimC, rside2, djswam, bnelson4, FoxTrotter, amandameckley,drskcl,mmcfeaters, suzyq46,manesandtails,ninjarider, and sag.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

By Kim Shindle

The wildly popular Tax Credit Advance (TCA) Loan program is back.

The PA Housing Finance Agency announced that it has allocated another $5 million to fund the TCA program, following the federal government’s extension and expansion of the homebuyer’s tax credit, said Kate Newton, PHFA director of Homeownership Programs.

PHFA’s Tax Credit Advance Loan program provides an interest-free loan to use toward down payment and/or closing costs. If the TCA is repaid by June 30, 2010, the borrower pays no interest for the loan.

First-time buyers will be able to receive up to $6,000 for new construction and $5,000 for existing homes, just like the PHFA program earlier this year, Newton said. PHFA will earmark $3.5 million of the total funds for first-time buyers.

“This time, PHFA will allocate $1.5 million of the funds for non first-time homebuyers, who must also fit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines for the tax credit program. Non first-time buyers will be able to qualify for up to $4,000 for new homes and $3,000 for existing homes,” she added.

Don’t wait too long to apply for the funding because it only lasted four months earlier this year.

“We began offering loans in June and we ran out of money by the end of September,” Newton said. “It’s pretty amazing that a new program took off this fast. Toward the end of the program, we were giving out nearly $200,000 a day in advance loans.”

In four months, PHFA gave $5.75 million in advance loans on first-time mortgages totaling more than $140 million to about 1,300 Pennsylvania consumers.

To find a participating TCA lender, please visit phfa.org or click here –> http://www.phfa.org/forms/participating_lenders/pl_fulllist.pdf

Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers.

The tax credit provides up to $8,000 to first-time homebuyers but is set to expire at the end of November. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales fell 3.6 percent in September, and some industry representatives blamed uncertainty about the tax credit.

Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat
buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years, said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The tax credits would be available to homebuyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of June to
close on their new homes, according to a summary of the legislation being circulated among lawmakers.

Senators were still negotiating the expansion of a separate tax credit that lets money-losing businesses get refunds for taxes paid in previous years, providing them with an immediate source of cash.

Senators in both political parties were hoping to add both tax provisions to a bill that would give people running out of unemployment insurance benefits up to 20 more weeks of federal aid. The Senate could vote on the overall bill as early as Thursday, but lawmakers were still haggling over several unrelated amendments Wednesday evening.

Popular bills like the one to extend unemployment benefits often attract amendments that would have a difficult time passing on their own.

Republicans were demanding that they be given a chance to offer amendments to restrict federal aid to the beleaguered community activist
group ACORN and on requiring that people receiving unemployment insurance be processed through E-Verify, an Internet-based system that employers use to check on the immigration status of new hires. Majority Democrats have refused to add the amendments.

If the Senate passes the bill, it would go to the House, which passed a similar bill extending unemployment benefits last month. House leaders have also said they support extending the tax credit for homebuyers.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has been negotiating for several weeks with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to craft an extended tax credit for homebuyers that would pass the Senate. Lawmakers didn’t release a cost estimate for extending the tax credit, though similar proposals were projected to cost about $10 billion.

Industry representatives said uncertainty about the tax credit is hurting new home sales. September’s decline was the first since March.

It takes 45 days to 60 days to close on a house, making it unlikely a sale made today would be consummated by the end of November, said Lucien Salvant, spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. “Buyers right now have an incentive to hold off, not knowing whether the credit will be extended,” Salvant said.

About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that
350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

The tax credit for money-losing businesses is a favorite among Republican lawmakers. Businesses could get tax refunds by using losses
from 2008 and 2009 to offset taxable profits made in the previous five years. Under current law, they can only offset profits from the previous two years.

The provision would help a variety of industries, including retailers, manufacturers and home builders, though it’s expensive. “It’s clearly a way to put cash in the hands of some major economic players,” said Clint Stretch, a tax policy expert at Deloitte Tax.

A similar proposal that was ultimately dropped from the economic stimulus package enacted in February would have cost nearly $20 billion
over 10 years. Lawmakers are working to reduce the price tag. Because people are so strapped for cash, this is a good way to get
refunds when businesses need them for operating expenses, said Rachelle Bernstein, vice president and tax counsel for the National Retail
Federation.

WASHINGTON (AP) ― © 2009 The Associated Press

Washington - Tens of thousands of people may have taken advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit to defraud the government, an IRS watchdog office said Thursday, in testimony that could jeopardize efforts to extend the popular program. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George told a House panel that more than 19,000 people filed 2008 tax returns claiming the credit for homes they had not yet purchased. Russell said his office had identified another $500 million in claims, by some 74,000 taxpayers, where there were indications of prior home ownership.

He told a House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee that they also found 580 taxpayers under the age of 18 who claimed $4 million in first-time home buyer credit. One was 4 years old. George said that while the IRS has since taken steps to tighten oversight, “some key controls were missing to prevent an individual from erroneously or fraudulently claiming the credit.”

The home buyer credit was a key element of the $787 billion stimulus package enacted last February. Under the measure, low- and middle-income first-time home buyers purchasing a home between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 of this year could claim a credit of up to $8,000 on their 2008 or 2009 income tax return.

The Internal Revenue Service says it has processed claims from more than 1.5 million individuals or families. The General Accountability Office, in a report to the subcommittee, said that represented about $10 billion in tax revenue. With the program scheduled to expire in a month and the housing market’s recovery still shaky, there have been various proposals in Congress to extend and expand it.

At one end, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., says the program should be extended for a month while lawmakers take another look at how it is being run. On the other end, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., with the backing of banking committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., wants to extend it through next June 30, and expand it to include all home buyers, at an estimated cost of $16.7 billion.
Housing and Human Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, in testimony to Congress earlier this week, was noncommittal, saying the administration understands the urgency of the housing situation but wants to get a better grasp of the costs involved. Linda Siff, IRS’ deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, said in testimony to the hearing that the agency “recognizes that there is
potential for both fraud and errors” when a new tax credit is enacted. She said the agency “will vigorously pursue those who filed fraudulent claims.”

As of the end of September the IRS, according to the GAO report, has frozen more than 110,000 refunds pending civil or criminal examinations, identified 167 criminal schemes and commenced 115 criminal investigations. Russell said the IRS has implemented computer programming to reject claims from people who have not yet purchased a new home. He also acknowledged that the agency has installed filters to catch claimants who had entered information on tax returns indicating they may have owned a home in the three previous years. Those could include deductions for home mortgage interest or real estate taxes. Stiff stressed that those claims flagged as potentially erroneous may be found, on further examination, to be legitimate.

While the program has widespread support in Congress, there are growing concerns about the costs. The cause, said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., “is a worthy one.” But “I hope we can find ways to pay for it.” Critics have also characterized the program as a subsidy for people who would have bought a new home regardless of the tax credit. The National Association of Realtors has estimated that one-fourth of those who have claimed the credit, about 350,000, would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer

Doug Rebert of Prudential Homesale talks to Fox 43 about what a median sale price is, median sale prices for homes locally, and the historical rise of home prices since 2001. Here in Central Pennsylvania, home values are holding steady or rising! Realtors and appraisers are the best tools a homeowner can use to find out what their home is worth in today’s market compared to other homes in their area.

October has come to Lancaster County.  Chilly mornings, acorns crunching under our hooves, treetops fringed with red, orange and yellow……

Here’s what’s new at LancasterHorse.com:

The next time you log in you will be able to use a dozen new smilies to express yourself. Thanks to pebbleeeees for scouring the weirdest corners of the web and bringing back these treasures.

I’m proud to announce that during the month of September, LancasterHorse.com has gained over 900 horse crazy members!  If you see any of our new September members be sure to welcome them: sspromise, Ami,  draftwoman, BelgianLover09 , susie  , revelation23 ,  Sue ,  horseandhound,  jerseysgirl626,  hunterjumperchick90, lkmw,  phantomsmom,  hannah0314 ,  pbpf0517,  Joan , and grace2ride.

On the 3^rd of October we had our Fifth Annual Dutch Knob at the Lancaster County Central Park.  A Huge shout out of Special thanks to our volunteer DK’09 Staff: Furlong47, Lifm, KellyO, Roxy, Rincewind and Kipling –without their help the Knob would not have been possible. It was a sunny Saturday and we had 88 riders come to this year’s Knob, our best turnout to date! The Lancaster City Mounted Patrol was present on course having a good time. Officer Lukacs even helped judge the costume contest.  Be sure to check out a picture of Duke standing on the pirate pedestal in the LH.com online photo gallery. Many riders enjoyed going out twice, and we counted well over 120 rides on course.  While many horses seemed befuddled, we got lots of comments on how much the riders enjoyed schooling at the pirate games. Results are posted at http://www.DutchKnob.com and all ribbons have been mailed, as well as raffle items whose winners left early.  New this year at the Knob was the DK perpetual trophy for the Classic/Optimum division, which was on display with the engraved winners from 2005-2008. As I type this, the trophy is back at the engraver’s getting the ’09 plate installed. …

Then on Weds, the 7^th , the SEC club had its monthly meeting at the beautiful Shallowbrook Farms, down in the buck of southern Lancaster County.  The club had the pleasure of watching a fiery paint named Desiree demonstrate pole bending and barrels with such gusto we were in awe.  Hosted by LH member Breezy, everyone followed the demo with a scrumptious Potluck indoors, where we sat down to chat and catch up.

Have you ever wondered if anyone would want to buy your house or farm? The answer may be “Yes!” I am working with clients, right now, who are seeking homes and farmettes in Lancaster, Strasburg, New Holland, and Manheim areas.  Please contact me if you are interested in discussing opportunities or, if you would just like an evaluation of your farm, I would be happy to provide a free comparable market analysis.

This month don’t forget to pick up your copy of Homes and Land for Lancaster County, featuring the Dutch Dream promotion of 1234 Mastersonville Road. You can view the entire magazine online here at Homes and Land Online.