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Top 10 Tax Breaks,
On The House
 The New Year always turns thoughts to the new tax season and when it comes to taxes there's no place like home to find shelter. Your home offers a score of tax deductions and credits designed to help offset the cost of housing and to keep the housing market fueled with new buyers.
Here's a look at the Top 10 Tax Breaks, On The House.
 Mortgage Loan Interest: The Mother Of All Tax Breaks, because interest payments comprises a large portion of your mortgage payment in the early years of the loan's term, mortgage interest on a maximum of $1 million in
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Mortgage Rates
U.S. averages as of December 27, 2007:
30 yr. fixed: 6.17%
15 yr. fixed: 5.79%
1 yr. adj: 5.53%
View current rates
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mortgage debt secured by a first and second home is deductible. Deductions reduce your taxable income against which your taxes due are calculated. The $1 million level applies to married tax filers who file jointly and single taxpayers.
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Battle of the Warring
Housing Price Indexes
 We saw another "battle of the warring housing price indexes" last month, with the federal government reporting positive price appreciation in more than two-thirds of U.S. metropolitan markets -- at the same time a widely-publicized Wall Street index said home values were down by a record 4 percent for the year, and down by 5 percent in the top 20 markets.
How could there be such big differences? And which index is right?
Here are the facts:
The federal government's house price index is produced quarterly by an agency called the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). It measures valuation movements in a massive database of millions of homes whose loans were financed or refinanced by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The data covers nearly 300 major metropolitan markets and dozens of smaller non-metropolitan areas.
In its latest index, released November 29, OFHEO reported prices in
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Smoothing The Rough
Road To Refinancing
 Lower interest rates could offer some financial buoyancy for those looking to refinance before they get in over their heads.
Home mortgage interest rates have been flat or falling since early October. The falling average rate probably won't help those who purchased a home, a year or two ago, especially if they had a small equity stake in their home. "The problem is a lot of people in those products is they don't have any equity in the house and lenders want equity to refinance," said Glenda Queensbury, a mortgage adviser in San Jose, CA.
However, there could be a safe harbor available for others facing a resetting adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) with the potential for higher rates and unmanageable mortgage payments.
The key, say the experts, is to examine your options early.
"Absolutely. When people start feeling the pinch don't wait until you are delinquent. The more delinquent you become the more options that will start going off the table" says William Higgins, chief lending officer of online bank Ing Direct.
Higgins says it's a good idea to visit your existing lender first. That's especially true if your lender doesn't sell loans and has a vested financial interest
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Stone is a Growing Trend
For Home Décor
 It's as old as time, but as popular as ever. Stone is rapidly making its way into homes as perhaps one of the fastest growing decorating trends. The European Old World look brings with it not only a luxurious style but also an ease and comfort that gives a home personality.
Homeowners are leaving behind the once-preferred 70's looks of wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the house, linoleum kitchen floors and vinyl tiles in the bathroom, and instead choosing natural stone, Versailles patterns, travertine, and limestone, with honed-matte finished surfaces. For countertops, homeowners are using two tones, finishing their kitchen island in maybe limestone and the surrounding kitchen countertops in granite materials for a unique style.
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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