Atlanta Inspection News! Consumer information: February 2010

Green Building and LEED Certification have become the standard in new construction instead of some afterthought it once was. Take some time to visit the green building counsel web sites in your town and learn about all the exciting things happening right in your own back yard. You can find links to many
cities.

Green construction is just the tip of the iceberg for many cities, for whom three hundred and fifty top city officials have already pulled together to sign a "green treaties" document, which stets commitments to many green issues. Some of the simple highlights of this document are actions concerning the replacement of LED's in stop lights or CFL's in all government buildings.

These are simple steps, but when you add up the effect this will have when multiplied by 350 you begin to see real change.

If you are in the construction trade and hope to do work for a local, state or federal government agency, you might want to quickly get up to speed on green building standards and certifications. I can assure you that any work proposed in the coming years is going to be tied to some level of LEED. The government is not the only group that is expanding rapidly into the green building trend, we are beginning to see a big shift in the corporate mindset as well.

The final piece of the green building puzzle will be that of the general public and although there is a great misconception about green building with relation to cost and reward, this to is begining to change. The fact remains that if you are wanting to retrofit an exsiting building with new green technologies there will be higher cost to payoff ratios. What the public is only now starting to learn is that new construction with integrated green technologies is comparable in standard costs giving it a much quicker payback.

Lets face the true facts about the whole "green" trend, nobody really cares about helping the environment, well maybe we think about it from time to time, perhaps we even say we are, but the truth is this, if it does not save us money its not something that were interested in period. With the current level of education about the benefits of green building, even the general public is starting to come around to the true "green" benefits of building green, its the "green" as in money.

Taxpayers filing for the homebuyer tax credit had better have all their verifying docs in a row if they expect to collect the windfall of up to $8,000.

Even with the correct documents, home buyers seeking the extended and expanded tax credit can't file electronically. So they can expect to wait to get their credit or any refund several weeks longer than taxpayers who aren't filing for the credit.

To weed out fraud, the Internal Revenue Service recently released a new form, IRS Form 5405 "First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit," along with instructions, IRS Form i5405, which explain new documentation requirements.

In November, President Barack Obama signed legislation that extended the first-time homebuyer tax credit until April 30, 2010 (until April 30, 2011, for military personnel), and expanded the credit to include other eligible buyers.

The credit is worth up to $8,000 for eligible first-time home buyers (taxpayers who have not owned a principal residence during three years prior to buying a home). Qualifying existing home buyers can get up to a $6,500 credit if they buy a new primary residence or have one built at a cost of no more than $800,000. Second homes don't qualify.

A tax credit reduces the amount of taxes owed. The homebuyer tax credit is a refundable credit. Taxpayers who owe little or no taxes get the credit as a partial or full refund.

The new law also raised the qualifying income limits to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers. The previous limits were $75,000 and $150,000, respectively.

Home buyers have to repay the credit if they live in their primary residence less than 36 months and are not members of the military.

The new tax filing rules for the homebuyer tax credit seek to avoid a repeat of the 90,000 taxpayers -- including nearly 600 children -- investigated as fraudulently filing for the credit, and hoodwinking the government out of more than $600 million, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

The extra documentation required means taxpayers claiming the home buyer credit must file a paper tax return.

In addition to filling out a Form 5405, all eligible home buyers must include with their 2009 tax returns at least one of the following documents in order to receive the credit:

A copy of the HUD-1, Settlement Statement (Effective Jan. 1, 2010: HUD-1, Settlement Statement), showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, sales price and date of purchase.
For mobile-home buyers, unable to obtain a settlement statement, a copy of the executed retail sales contract showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, purchase price and date of purchase.
For new home buyers who don't get a settlement statement, a copy of the certificate of occupancy showing the owner's name, property address and date of the certificate.

Existing home owners applying for the $6,500 maximum tax credit for buying another home must show they lived in their old home for five consecutive years during the eight years prior to the purchase date of the next home.

When filing for the tax credit, existing home owners must include IRS Form 1098, "Mortgage Interest Statement" (IRS Form i1098 offers instructions), or substitute mortgage interest statements, or property tax records or homeowner's insurance records. A smart taxpayer will consider sending all those documents to avoid any confusion.

Taxpayers can use personal computer tax software or IRS Free File to prepare their returns, but the returns must be printed out and sent to the IRS, along with all required documentation.

The IRS won't begin processing returns claiming the homebuyer tax credit until mid-February because it's testing the system to ward off fraud.

Taxpayers seeking the homebuyer tax credit and due a refund will have to wait four to eight weeks if they file with all the required documents. The earliest tax return filers can expect homebuyer tax credit refunds by the end of March, the IRS says.

Using direct deposit will speed the refund, and taxpayers can use the IRS' "Where's My Refund?" online service to track the status of their refund.

What are the benefits of using H-clips?H-clips increase panel stiffness by allowing distribution of weight between adjacent panels. A panel is less likely to deflect when subjected to a heavy load near its edges if it is made stiffer. This stiffening is particularly helpful for very thin panels (such as 3/8" inch) that are especially prone to bowing under heavy weight near their edges.The use of H-clips reduces the amount of required materials and lowers the cost of construction. A builder who uses H-clips may need fewer rafters to complete a project because the distance between them can be increased. H-clips may also allow builders to use thinner sheathing than they otherwise would be permitted to use. In either case, the cost of the job is reduced.

H-clips do not prevent wooden panels from buckling or warping. To the contrary, panels are more likely to buckle or warp when their room for expansion is limited, as is the case where H-clips are installed and panels are effectively connected to each other.

 Where are H-clips required?

The 2006 edition of the International Residential Code (IRC) requires the use of H-clips in construction, but not all jurisdictions comply with IRC regulations. For instance, Jackson, Miss., complies with the IRC while Harrison, Miss., does not. Some homes in jurisdictions that currently require H-clips were built before the IRC required them and are not in violation of code. Other homes were built before their jurisdictions adhered to IRC requirements. However, since InterNACHI standards of practice are limited to safety and system defects, it is not necessary for inspectors to determine whether a lack of H-clips constitutes a code violation.

 A lack of H-clips should not be noted as a defect unless:

construction plans reveal that their use is required. Keep in mind that inspectors will probably never see these plans.the inspector knows for a fact that they were required in a building's jurisdiction at the time of construction.