The typical U.S. taxpayer will receive roughly $3,000 in federal income tax refunds this year — an average of $250 per month. So, what would you do with an extra $250 monthly?  This segment from NBC’s The Today Show offers some advice.  Whether you’ve already filed your annual taxes for 2011, filed an extension, or will squeak by on the deadline, you could probably be doing more with your taxes. The above video shares some tips.  It’s four minutes of solid insight on tax refunds, tax withholdings, and reducing your household’s overall “bad debt”.  There’s something for everyone.

Among the points covered in the tax refund piece :

• Consider changing your personal payroll exemptions so your 2012 refund is $0
• Remember that refunds are not “free money” — it’s your money. Spend wisely.
• Use your tax refund to fund retirement accounts

The new construction housing market appears primed for growth this season.

According to the Census Bureau, the number of single-family building permits issued in February rose to 472,000 on a seasonally-adjusted, annual basis, marking this the highest building permit tally since April 2010 — the last month of that year’s federal home buyer tax credit program.

Building permits are a pre-cursor to new home construction.   In 2011, from the date of permit-issuance to the date of “ground-breaking”, an average of 27 calendar days passed. February’s data, therefore, is a signal that the market for newly-built homes should be strong this year, an idea supported by the most recent homebuilder confidence survey.

As buyer foot traffic soars, homebuilders expect to make more sales in the next 6 months than at any time since the housing market’s collapse. Builder confidence is at a 5-year high.

Planning to use an FHA-backed mortgage for your next home loan? You might want to get your application in gear today.

Beginning next week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is changing the way it charges mortgage insurance to U.S. homeowners. For the fourth time since 2010, FHA mortgage insurance premiums are rising for all FHA-backed homeowners.

For FHA Case Numbers assigned on, or after, Monday, April 9, 2012, there are two planned changes.

First, FHA Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premiums (UFMIP) will increase by 75 basis points to 1.75%, or $1,750 per $100,000 borrowed. Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium is paid at closing, and typically added to an FHA borrower’s loan size.

The current UFMIP rate is 1.000 percent.

Second, annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums are rising. All new FHA-backed loans will be subject to a 10 basis point increase in annual mortgage insurance premiums, costing homeowners an extra $100 per $100,000 borrowed per year.

The Federal Reserve has released the minutes from its last FOMC meeting, a 1-day affair held March 13, 2012. Mortgage rates in Colorado are rising on the news.   For the un-indoctrinated, 3 weeks after it meets, the Federal Open Market Committee, the sub-group within the Federal Reserve that votes on U.S. monetary policy, publishes its meeting minutes.

Similar to the minutes from a corporate event, or condominium association meeting, the Fed Minutes recounts the conversations and debates that transpired throughout the meeting.  The Fed Minutes is a lengthy publication, often filling 10 pages or more.  By contrast, the more well-known publication from the FOMC — its post-meeting press release — tends to span 6 paragraphs or less.

The extra detail contained within the Fed Minutes is Wall Street fodder, especially given the current economic uncertainty.  Investors look to the Federal Reserve for clues about what’s next for the U.S. economy.  Lately, the minutes has made an out-sized impact on mortgage rates.  The Fed’s words continue to swing the mortgage-backed bond market.  Today is no different.

After a series of months during which foreclosure volume was low, total filings have started to rise again, says RealtyTrac.   In February of 2012, 21 states posted a year-over-year increase in monthly foreclosure filings, according to the national foreclosure-tracking firm.  This is nearly twice as many states as compared to December 2011, marking the highest monthly reading since November 2010.

A “foreclosure filing” is defined to include any one of the following foreclosure-related events : (1) The serving of a default notice, (2) A scheduled home auction, or (3) A bank repossession.  Nationally, the number of foreclosure filings fell 2 percent from January.  However, it’s a trend that may reverse. Foreclosure volume is expected to rise over the next few months.

This is because the $25 billion mortgage servicer settlement provides a framework for servicers to execute necessary foreclosures, from notice-to-auction. Some analysts believe that foreclosure filings were artificially depressed in 2011 because of the absence of such guidance.

It’s April in Evergreen and warmer weather is coming.  It’s Spring Cleaning season. Do you have a checklist?

In some households, spring cleaning is an annual ritual, taking anywhere from a full day to an entire week to complete.  Room-by-room, foot-by-foot, dust, dirt and grime are replaced with cleanliness and shine.

No matter in which way to you choose to tackle your chores, though, the people at Real Simple have you covered.  The magazine’s website provides a thorough, detailed walk-through of the most common spring cleaning tasks.  It also offers a “shortcut” series.

For example, the section of cleaning area rugs and rooms with wall-to-wall carpeting is a chore Real Simple lists as lasting “a morning”.   The shortcut version, however, is noted to take just 10 minutes.

Some of the other areas covered in the Real Simple spring cleaning guide include :

• Windows (4-6 hours long version; 15 minutes each “shortcut” version)

After a brief run-up two weeks ago, mortgage rates are back below 4 percent. It’s good news for home buyers and mortgage rate shoppers because, with lower mortgage rates, we can lower the amount of mortgage payments.   According to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the national average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 3.99 percent this week from last week’s 4.08 percent.

Last week had marked the first time since December 2011 that the benchmark rate crossed north of 4 percent — a span of 16 weeks.  And, it wasn’t just rates that got cheaper this week — closing costs dropped too.  Freddie Mac’s survey showed that the average number of discount points to accompany a 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell one-tenth of a percent this week to 0.7, where one discount point is equal to one percent of your loan size.

With their sleek, modern look, over the past 10 years, stainless steel appliances have move from “hot trend” to commonplace.  However, as any homeowner with stainless steel appliances will tell you, to keep a stainless steel surface free from marks, drips and fingerprints can be a futile exercise.  Streaks and smudges will happen — they can’t be avoiding.

There are tricks, however, for keeping your stainless “shining”.  You’ll need a microfiber cloth and a small bowl, plus some dish detergent, and some WD-40 or furniture polish.

Traditionally, federal income taxes must be filed with the IRS on, or before, April 15 each year.  The date has become such a part of U.S. culture that many people simply call it “Tax Day”.  This year, however, for the 3rd time in 7 years, your federal income taxes will not be due April 15.  Instead, because of a combination of the calendar, a holiday, and tax law, Tax Day 2012 is delayed until Tuesday, April 17.

You will have two extra days to prepare and file your federal income taxes this year.  Here’s why.

First, April 15 is a Sunday and all federal offices are closed on Sundays.  This means that that taxes can’t be filed on April 15, as regularly scheduled.  Rather, the tax due date should roll over to the first available business day — Monday.  However, Monday, April 16 is Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District of Columbia since 2005.

Credit scores play a huge role in today’s mortgage market — larger than at any time in recent history.  Blame it on the high default rates of the last half-decade.  Lenders are reserving their lowest rates for the customers most likely to make on-time repayments.  Mortgage rates are at an all-time low in Colorado.  However, the low rates you see advertised on TV and online are only available to the home buyers and would-be refinancers whose credit scores are pristine.  Having a high credit score is often the difference between getting “the best rates” from your lender, and getting something worse.

The first part of improving your credit score is understanding how it works.  In this 5-minute piece from NBC’s The Today Show, you’ll learn the basics :

• Why you shouldn’t close a credit card after you pay off a large debt
• What is the maximize balance to leave on your credit cards, relative to your credit limit

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