In an election year, voting for a presidential candidate can be a lot like buying a home.

Both require a fair amount of analysis but — in the end — the decision is still highly emotional.

Using Bankrate.com’s side-by-side candidate comparisons, some of that emotion could be replaced by fact.

In a gridded format, candidates are pitted head-to-head the following topics:

• Education
• Jobs
• Health Care
• Social Security
• Taxes

The charts can help Americans get a better feel for where the candidates stand with respect to “pocketbook issues” that impact them personally in their businesses, their lives, and in their homes.

Opinions on the issues are current as of January 29, 2008. As with everything in politics, though, the candidate positions are subject to change.

Many homeowners are entitled to two major tax deductions — one for annual interest paid on a home loan, and another for real estate tax bills paid to government.

Calculating your approximate tax credit is basic:

1. Add mortgage interest paid and real estate taxes paid together
2. Find your marginal tax rate
3. Multiple your tax bracket by the sum of Step 1

So, for a homeowner that paid a combined $13,000 in mortgage interest and real estate taxes last year, and who is in the 28% marginal tax bracket, a tax credit of $3,640 may be due from the IRS.

This credit is one reason why some people sometimes refer to “after-tax mortgage rates”. An after-tax mortgage rate is the adjusted interest rate after the IRS doles out credits and is calculated as follows:

(After-Tax Mortgage Rate) = (Mortgage Rate) * (1 – Marginal Tax Rate)

The same homeowner with a 6.000% mortgage rate, therefore, has an after-tax mortgage rate of 4.32%.

Because not every homeowner is eligible for mortgage interest and/or real estate tax deductions, and because not every homeowner should claim them, you should consult with your accountant to see how tax credits fit into your tax liability schedules.

Federal income taxes are highly personal and require the attention of an experienced professional.

The end of the Super Bowl kicks off the Real Estate Spring Buying Season.

As home sellers should prepare for the season’s upcoming homebuyers, they could do worse than to watch this four-minute home staging video from Barbara Corcoran.

Barbara offer simple steps that “won’t cost you a lot of money but could make a 10-20 percent difference in the selling price of your home”.

Then, to watch home staging in action, tune in to well-known Home Staging professional Barb Schwarz as she takes the 20/20 news crew into Bothell, WA for a before-and-after.

With so much housing supply relative to recent years, home staging could be the difference-maker to home sellers. And it’s usually less expensive than a price reduction.

According to ENERGY STAR, properly sealing and insulation a home can save up to 10% on heating and cooling costs.

The government-group Web site focuses on major sources of home air leaks such as basements, attics and near chimneys. These three categories represent close to 80% of a home’s energy loss.

It pays little attention to more obvious air leaks near doors and windows because — while easy to identify — these energy loss sources are not nearly as costly to homeowners.

Using the Do-It-Yourself Repair Book, a handy homeowner can self-install ENERGY STAR’s efficiency recommendations, step-by-step. Or, he can opt to call a contractor instead.

The average American family spends $1,900 annually on energy bills.

(Image courtesy: ENERGY STAR)

When buying a home, you pay for more than just physical property at the closing table. You also pay a series of charges. Commonly, homebuyers lump all of these charges under the heading of “closing costs”.

That’s a miscategorization.

Many changes on a HUD-1 Settlement Statement are specifically not closing costs. They are more appropriately designated as “reserves” or monies “paid in advance”.

These “prepaid items” include:

• Advance mortgage interest paid from the closing date to month-end
• Real estate taxes paid into an escrow account
• Homeowners insurance paid into an escrow account

Prepaid items are payments related to the home itself, and not payable to any third-parties faciliating the transaction.

This is different from “closing costs” which are charges stemming from the transaction itself. Closing costs can include lender fees, title fees, and government fees.

One way to gauge the difference between prepaid items and closing costs is to ask the question:

“Would these dollars be due even if I didn’t buy this home today?”

If the answer is “yes”, the charge in question is likely a prepaid item.