Ike

[Juliegirl1]

Yaaay! I finally got my new roof finished - just in time for last night's rain. Now the contractors are going to start on the fence which I desperately need - my dog keeps escaping the yard. After the fence is done, sheet rock repair, fix broken boards and paint the house and finally end with new floors! We're on a roll!

I'm also taking this opportunity of moving junk back and forth to declutter and get rid of sooo much stuff I don't use. I got a huge deduction on my taxes for taking stuff to Goodwill. It's funny how that stuff adds up quick!

 

[4greatboys]

Congrats on finally getting your roof done. We have 2/3rd's of our fence back up but we still have some other stuff we need to get done.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Our fence is up. We went through two "fly by night" workers who stopped calling us back. Finally went with a big name company. It cost more, but we thought all would be "OK" since they did our neighbor's fence. Well, they put a new fence up in an afternoon - shoddily. DH called and complained and had them redo some of the work and now it's OK. We'll see how it handles the first big blow.

Finally we are not on slab in the bathroom. That tile looks awesome.

The other tiler screwed up the kitchen floor, though.

Why is it so hard to get people to do the work right???

 

[Gina]

So glad most people are finally able to get repairs done! Stupid insurance companies have taken their sweet time to get checks to people. I finally was able to get a crew out here last weekend. Yay to having a fence again!! They also fixed the roof and replaced the broken skylight. Now I just have to replace the window screens. It looks like Godzilla tried to come through the windows, I guess from tree branches and who-knows-what hitting them.

Still lots of blue roofs here in my neighborhood, and still some down fences. But progress being made is good!

Good luck to all of you still dealing with the aftermath. Let's pray that this hurricane season is blissfully and completely uneventful.

 

[drakethib]

Can anyone explain what and what not can be deducted on income taxes regarding Hurricane Ike?


I was blessed wereas our damages were no where as severe as many so we did not make a claim to keep our insurance from going up on rates.

Thanks

 

[4greatboys]

No I don't know. We have been trying to figure that out too.

 

[rickyratsmom]

Can anyone explain what and what not can be deducted on income taxes regarding Hurricane Ike?


I was blessed wereas our damages were no where as severe as many so we did not make a claim to keep our insurance from going up on rates.

Thanks

Casualty Losses

Affected taxpayers in a presidentially declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year. Claiming the loss on an original or amended return for last year will get the taxpayer an earlier refund, but waiting to claim the loss on this year’s return could result in a greater tax saving, depending on other income factors.

Individuals may deduct personal property losses that are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements but they must first subtract $100 for each casualty event and then subtract 10 percent of their adjusted gross income from their total casualty losses for the year. For details on figuring a casualty loss deduction, see IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters and Thefts.Affected taxpayers claiming the disaster loss on last year’s return should put the Disaster Designation “Texas/Hurricane Ike” at the top of the form so that the IRS can expedite the processing of the refund.

If you use a tax program even the online free Tax Act program it is in the program to help you figure your deduction. Hope this helps, I haven't started mine yet but had to do the same with Rita and as I can remember is was quite straight forward

 

[Loverly]

Hello Ike survivors!

DH and I visited Galveston a couple weeks ago and were gladened by the restaurants and hotels that are opened. There is still a lot of places not even cleared up and possibly never reopened.

What really, really shocked us is Downtown Historic Galveston.


It is a ghost town (Cleaned up , but NO shops or restaurants opened-except a couple right next to the cruise ship).....I can't imagine the Cruise Ship folks having anything to do while docked there.

 

[Juliegirl1]

Well last night I got home to find out the fence contractors had cut the power lines from my house to the transformer. When we turned on lights inside the home they were very dim, it smelled like an electrical fire and the tvs wouldn't come on. Outside, there was a blue flame on the ground wire from the electrical box. Centerpoint came out and said that the effect of cutting the lines was like a lightening strike and I probably lost some of my electronics. Thankfully the contractor has insurance so once he has repaired the wires I guess I'll find out what still works when I get home tonight. I am assuming that he would be responsible for replacing anything that might be damaged, right?

 

[4greatboys]

That sucks. I hope you are able to get it fixed quickly and without any problems from them.

 

[Juliegirl1]

The contractor did do the repairs on the electrical drop from the house to the transformer. I still don't know if he is going to cover the electronics that blew - luckily it was only a $55 wireless router. Seems like everything else is okay.

 

[4greatboys]

Is everyone ready for the start of Hurrican season, June 1?

 

[Camping Cat]

No way! I'm never ready.

 

[drakethib]

Is everyone ready for the start of Hurrican season, June 1?

Hurricanes have been banned for the Gulf Coast for 2009 - 2010 until further notice.

 

[Gina]

Hurricanes have been banned for the Gulf Coast for 2009 - 2010 until further notice.

I couldn't agree more!!

 

[Camping Cat]

Hurricanes have been banned for the Gulf Coast for 2009 - 2010 until further notice.

Oh, I LIKE this! From your mouth.....

 

[drakethib]

Has anyone bought one of those home backup generators?

We are thinking about one but wanting to hear some feedback

 

[4greatboys]

We have not but we had been thinking about it as well.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

Some friends in Mississippi bought a home that the previous owner had installed a generator. I believe it was a 25 kw, gas powered wired through an automatic transfer switch. The owner had said it costs about 10 grand installed. Before I moved away a year later, they had used it twice, and it worked fine, powered the refrigerator and A/C, and never bogged down once. The only drawback is that, after most hurricanes, gas is hard to come by. So, the best scenario for a generator is an outage of a day or less, unless you have a supply of gas.

If you get a transfer switch, have a licensed electrician install it.

 

[4greatboys]

It's our 1 year anniversay post Ike. I hope everyone was able to get back to normal.