Thanks Don!

I have had the 'if my parents co-sign the loan question' come up. Thankfully, we'll have a tax professional at the seminar but you know that there are always common questions that come up. I imagine the starker ex. wouldn't work but was unsure aboutthe co-sign situation. Efficiency upgrades comes up a lot, too.

The questions that tend to stump the tax experts are those dealing with narrow or niche areas or situations. A few possibilities: Starker exchanges, land trusts, certain asset protection strategies (multi-layer LLCs, or a combination of LLCs and land trusts), and the finer points of self-directed IRAs.

On the other hand, the questions that most consumers are concerned with are much simpler to address: Do I qualify for the $8,000 first time homebuyer credit? I added a porch onto my house; do I expense or depreciate it? If I sell my home as a short sale, and I liable for taxes on the difference between what I owed and what the bank received? My elderly parent wants to transfer ownership of his/her home to me; what do I need to worry about from a tax standpoint? If I co-sign for my child's loan and help pay it, am I entitled to any tax deductions?

Hope that helps.