financial aid and rants and raves

The tax benefits are as follows: if the combined potential itemized deductions are greater than the standard deduction. E.g. if all your potential itemized deductions were 4800, then there is no added benefit to your owning a home. I base this on the standard deduction of 5150 for '06. Both mortgage interest and property taxes are itemizable, so most people (certainly most here in Westchester) would benefit. However, as the home I'd be buying is relatively cheap, the taxes and interest may not meet the standard deduction. E.g.: let's say my rate for a 64K loan is 7.4; this is a little high, but not impossible. In the first year, I'd pay $450 a month, with nearly $400 per month in interest. Couple that with the property taxes at approximately $185 per month, and the option to take the income and sales tax for NYS, and I'll have substantial tax savings. To properly use this benefit I'd need to increase the deductions on my paycheck after 2008 begins. I could increase the deductions right away (and I may do that anyway), but I would probably not get any tax benefit by doing so.

None of the above or in the previous post means this will occur, just that it could and that I could handle it. We'll see. When I here from my mortgage broker and visit the apartment, I'll know more.