CD School House 9

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ CD School House 9 / CD School House 9.0 - Wayzata Technology (1994).iso / pc / dos / misc / hbrm15 / home.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1994-05-15 | 40.7 KB | 778 lines

************************************************************************** * HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER * * Release 1.5 March 1994 * ************************************************************************** Robert Gellman Gellman Software 431 Fifth Street, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003 (C) Copyright 1991-94 Robert Gellman ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ===> THIS PROGRAM IS SHAREWARE. DETAILS BELOW. <=== If you own a house, condominium, cooperative, house trailer, or any type of residence, you need HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER. This program will help you keep track of the basis (or cost) of your home. This information is vital when you sell your home. By using the HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER, you can be certain that you will have all the information necessary to minimize the taxes due on the profits from the sale of your home. The tax laws allow a homeowner who sells one home and buys another to rollover any taxes due. This means that taxes on profits from the sale of a home can be postponed for many years. This also means that you have to maintain information about a home for years or decades after you have sold it. HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER is perfectly designed for this purpose. Listen to the IRS: "You should save receipts and other records for all improvements, additions, and other items that affect the basis of your home. Ordinarily, you must keep records for 3 years after the due date for filing your return for the tax year in which you sold, or otherwise disposed of, your home. But if you use the basis of your old home in figuring the basis of your new one, such as when you sell your old home and postpone tax on any gain, YOU SHOULD KEEP THOSE RECORDS AS LONG AS THEY ARE NEEDED FOR TAX PURPOSES." Why do you need a computer program to accomplish this? You could maintain the information in a ledger. But you won't. This program will prompt you to maintain complete, up-to-date records. It has information about basis that you don't have. It provides printed reports. If you are like most computer users who have read this far, you know that you are more likely to keep complete records in a computer than on paper. HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER will help you to identify all costs associated with home ownership. The purchase price of your home is just the starting point. The program lists three dozen circumstances that can affect the basis of your home. Scanning the list provided by the program will help you to identify every cost element. The discipline of the program will save you money. Tax laws are complex, and there are many surprising events that change the basis for home ownership. HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER offers no tax advice. It just helps you in maintaining the records that are necessary so that you can minimize your taxes. You may need to consult with a tax advisor before actually paying tax on the sale of your home, but with complete records you can be assured of paying the minimum tax possible. ************************************************************************** * RUNNING THE PROGRAM * ************************************************************************** To start HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER, change to the directory or drive containing HOME.EXE and enter HOME at the DOS prompt. The program requires 256 K and should run under DOS 2.0 or better. Both color and monochrome monitors are supported. A graphics card is not required. HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER is menu-driven and simple to use. If you managed to buy a house, then you can operate the program. The best way to learn is to use the program for a while. Enter a new house and a few events. Then come back and read this file. This documentation explains the finer points. There are three command line switches. One switch (/HP) selects the HP Laserjet as the default printer. Another switch (/IBM) selects the IBM Proprinter (dot matrix) as the default printer. Printer use is explained more fully below. The third switch allows you to override the use of color on a color monitor. To suppress color, use the /BW switch. You may use both switches if you like. Start the program this way: HOME/BW/HP. ************************************************************************** * REGISTRATION * ************************************************************************** HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER is shareware. Shareware provides you with an opportunity to try a program before you are obliged to pay for it. You may use the program on a trial basis for 30 days. If you don't like it and don't use it, you own nothing. If you use the program thereafter, you are obliged to register with the author. The price is $25.00. If you can afford to buy a home, then you can afford to pay for this software. To register the program, send $25.00 with your name, address, the version number you are using, and where you acquired the program, to: Robert Gellman 431 Fifth Street, S.E. Washington, DC 20003 I hate documentation that goes on for pages explaining shareware and begging for registrations, so this is it. IF YOU USE THE PROGRAM, PLEASE PAY FOR IT. There are more details on the license agreement, disclaimer of warranty, and other legal technicalities later in this documentation. Gellman Software also offers STOCK PORTFOLIO RECORD MANAGER, an easy-to-use program that maintains all of the records needed to manage investments in the stock market. Registered users of the STOCK PORTFOLIO RECORD MANAGER can register HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER for only $20.00. Registered users of HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER are also entitled to a $5.00 discount on the $25 price of the stock market program. Registered users of either program also may obtain copies of five freeware game programS from Gellman Software. See appendix 1 for more information. Thanks for your interest and cooperation. ************************************************************************** * DOCUMENTATION * ************************************************************************** This document explains the program's general approach and includes lots of explanatory information. This document file has margins at 5 and 75, and there are form feeds roughly every 60 lines. If you want to print the document, you can enter TYPE HOME.DOC > PRN from the DOS prompt. Or you can load it in your word processor with the proper margins and edit it to meet your needs. The program is not as valuable if you can't print reports. You must have an IBM Proprinter, HP Laserjet, or printer that is compatible with either. Most dot matrix printers work like the IBM, and most laser printers can emulate the HP. You must use continuous form paper in your dot matrix printer. Version 1.2 permits printing to a DOS file. The printer selection process is explained later. ************************************************************************** * ADVICE FOR NEW USERS * ************************************************************************** When you start HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER for the first time, you are told that the main data file (HOME.DAT) cannot be found. This is a warning in the event that any existing data files are not in the current directory. Ignore the warning the first time you see it. If you see it after you have entered data, chances are that you are in the wrong directory or a file is missing. Investigate before entering more data. When you get to the main menu on your first visit, you only have two live options. You can ENTER A NEW HOUSE from the ENTER menu. The other option is to QUIT the program. Once you have entered a new house, all other options are available. The program is easy to use once you get started. Define a new house, and then add events to it. Start with your settlement sheet and find every expense that affects your basis. In my case, I found 15 basis events connected with the purchase of my house. These included inspections, title searches, title insurance, and attorney. You may have more events or fewer. Everyone's experience is different. I have also recorded about 15 improvements that I have made in the ten years I have owned my house. Some were major -- like a new heating system or a new room. Others were minor -- like a door knocker. Refinancing my mortgage added ten more events. You can list separately all expenses related to a specific improvement or you can lump them together. This is entirely up to you. ************************************************************************** * WHAT IS BASIS? * ************************************************************************** NOTE: Most of the information in this section is taken from IRS publications. Tax laws are changeable, and there is NO guarantee that this information is either correct or current. Basis is a way of measuring your investment in property for tax purposes. The basis of property you buy is usually the cost or purchase price. While you own the property, you may make adjustments (increases or decreases) to the basis. If you change the original basis, you have adjusted the basis. This adjusted basis is used to figure gain or loss when you sell or otherwise dispose of the property. You also must know the adjusted basis at the time of a casualty to determine your deductible loss for the casualty. If you change your home to rental or business use, your depreciation is based on the fair market value of the home or its adjusted basis at the time of the change, whichever is less. PURCHASE - The original basis of a home you bought is the purchase price or cost of the property to you. This includes your down payment and notes you gave to the seller. Certain settlement or closing costs are added to or deducted from your basis. Some of these costs are discussed below. CONSTRUCTION - If you contracted to have your house built on land you own, your original basis is the cost of the land plus the amount it cost you to complete the house. This includes the cost of labor and materials, or the amounts paid to the contractor, and any architect's fees, building permit charges, utility meter and connection charges, and legal fees directly connected with building your home. If you built all or part of your house yourself, the original basis is the total amount it cost you to complete it. Do not include the value of your own labor or any other labor you did not pay for in the cost of the house. CONDOMINIUM - Your basis is its cost plus improvements. COOPERATIVE APARTMENT - Your basis in the apartment is usually the cost of your stock in the co-op housing corporation, which may include your share of a mortgage on the apartment building. GIFT - If your home was a gift, its original basis to you is the same as the donor's adjusted basis when the gift was made. However, if the donor's adjusted basis was more than the fair market value of the home when it was given to you, you must use that fair market value as your basis for measuring any possible loss if you later sell the home. You still use the donor's adjusted basis to measure any gain. Please be aware that gifts raise complicated tax questions. Consult the IRS or your tax advisor. INHERITANCE - If you inherited your home, the original basis of the home is its fair market value on the date of the decedent's death or the later alternate valuation date if that date was used for federal estate tax purposes. If you are a surviving spouse, and you owned your home jointly, your basis for the half interest owned by your spouse will be one-half of the fair market value on the date of death (or alternate valuation date). The basis in your half will remain one-half of the adjusted basis determined previously. Your new basis is the total of these two amounts. ADJUSTED BASIS - This is your original basis increased or decreased by certain amounts. Increases to basis include: 1) Improvements; 2) Additions; 3) Other capital expenses; 4) Special assessments for local improvements; 5) Amounts spent to restore damaged property; 6) Legal recording fees; 7) Abstract fees; 8) Surveys; 9) Transfer taxes; 10) Title insurance; 11) Architect's fees. This is not a complete list. Decreases to basis include: 1) Insurance reimbursement for casualty losses; 2) Deductible casualty loss not covered by insurance; 3) Payment received for easement or right-of-way granted; 4) Depreciation deduction if you used your home for business or rental purposes; 5) Gain from sale of old home on which tax was postponed. This is not a complete list. Certain settlement fees do not affect basis at all: 1) Points; 2) Fire insurance premiums; 3) Mortgage insurance premiums; 4) Charges for services concerning occupancy of the house. An improvement adds to the value of your home, prolongs its useful life, or adapts it to new uses. Improvements are added to the basis of your property. Improvements can be anything from a new room to a new furnace to built-in furnishing to new appliances to new locks. Repairs maintain your home in good condition. They do not add to the value or prolong its life and are not added to the basis of your property. For example, putting a recreation room in your unfinished basement, adding a bathroom, putting up a fence, putting on a new roof, and paving your driveway are IMPROVEMENTS. These are added to basis. Repainting your house, fixing gutters, repairing leaks, and replacing broken windows are REPAIRS. These expenses do not affect your basis. But if items that are considered repairs are done as part of extensive remodeling or restoration, the entire job is considered an improvement. If you claimed any residential energy credit and added the cost of energy items considered improvements to the basis of your home, you also must decrease the basis by the amount you claimed as a credit. ************************************************************************** * BASIS CATEGORIES * ************************************************************************** HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER recognizes over 40 basis categories. Most of these categories represent events that increase basis. Some represent events that decrease basis. A few represent events that do not affect basis at all. The categories are used to keep similar events together. One report lists all events for a house according to the basis categories. Thus, all improvements will be listed together. You are not required to use the categories provided by the program. While the list of categories is long, it may not include every category of basis that affects real estate. You may supply your own categories if you like. Follow the prompt (i.e., just hit ESCAPE) from the basis category screen. The list of categories will prompt you to identify and include all events that affect basis. Scan through the list when it appears on the screen to look for basis events you might have missed. The list of categories shows whether events in that category normally increase or decrease basis. This is just a guide. An unusual transaction may result in a different effect. If so, don't feel bound by the guidance. Do the right thing. You can enter events that have no effect on basis. This is a helpful facility for several reasons. First, you can track other events related to your house that are not basis events. For example, you might want to know how much you have spent on repairs that do not affect basis. Second, you may not be sure if or how some events affect basis. For example, points paid by the buyer are normally not basis events, but they may be in some circumstances. If you are not sure, record the points as an event that does not affect basis. You will have all of the relevant information, and you can decide on the tax consequences later. For more information about basis, I recommend IRS publications 523 (Tax Information on Selling Your Home) and 551 (Basis of Assets). These are available at no cost from the IRS. For each event, the program allows for both a description and a basis category. The purpose of the description is to identify the specific event. For example, all new rooms added to your house will be categorized as "improvements". You use the description so that you can distinguish between the new bedroom and the new porch. You also may use the note fields that are part of each event to include additional details of each transaction. There are two notes fields. Use them or leave them blank as you please. ************************************************************************** * HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS * ************************************************************************** You will find it helpful to understand how the program stores information. There are two types of files created and maintained by the program. Summary information about all houses is maintained in a file called HOME.DAT. This file grows in size with each house entered. For each house, you must provide a DOS file name (up to eight characters) for that house. Information about the events entered for each house is maintained in a file using that name with a .LOG extension. There is one .LOG file for each house. The program checks to make sure that a house file name does not create a DOS file with a reserved file name. Thus, names like CON, NUL, LPT1, LPT2, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, LST, and AUX will be rejected. These are reserved names in some versions of DOS. If your file name is rejected, just pick another one. The .LOG file contains information about each basis event entered. The file grows in size with each event entered. If you enter two houses, there will be three data files on your disk (HOME.DAT plus two .LOG files). You may NOT change the name of these files. If you delete any of these files through DOS rather than through the menu, all of your data will be irretrievably ruined. The program cannot deal with missing files or renamed files. You may, however, rename the HOME.EXE file. ************************************************************************** * PRINTERS * ************************************************************************** While all information can be viewed on the screen, some useful reports can only be printed. The reports are the most powerful feature of the program. You no longer need a printer to see reports. Beginning with version 1.2, you can print reports to a DOS file, and printing to a DOS file is the default. See the PRINT TO FILE discussion below. The program supports two physical printers: the IBM Proprinter and the HP Laserjet. There are two ways to select a physical printer. First, pick SELECT PRINTERS (option 4) from the PRINT menu. Follow the prompts to make a selection. You can switch printers during a session as often as you like. The SELECT PRINTERS menu line shows which printer type is the current selection. There is a command line switch to specify a physical printer. This switch allows you to specify a printer in a batch file without having to remember to select it each time you run the program. To select the HP Laserjet, enter HOME/HP from the DOS prompt. Enter HOME/IBM to select the IBM Proprinter. If you don't have a Proprinter or Laserjet, you still may be able to print. Most laser printers emulate the HP codes. If your printer can use HP codes, then you can print reports. Many dot matrix printers use the same codes as the IBM Proprinter. If you have any dot matrix printer, try the IBM selection. When using any dot matrix printer, you must use continuous form paper. You cannot feed single sheets. If nothing else works, you can always print reports to a file and then load that file into a word processor. You can then control printing through your word processor. There are only three printer codes used by the program so there is a good chance that your printer is compatible. The IBM Proprinter codes used are CHR$(12) [Form Feed]; CHR$(15) [Condensed Printing - approximately 17 characters per inch]; and CHR$(18) [Regular Printing - 10 characters per inch]. You cannot control the printer using printer switches because most reports use both regular and condensed printing. All physical printing is done through LPT1. If your printer is connected to another parallel port or to a serial port, you must handle printer redirection at the DOS level. If you don't understand this paragraph, don't worry about it unless you can't print. Then you should consult your DOS manual about use of the MODE command. When you order a printed report, the program tests to see if printer 1 (LPT1) is on-line. If it isn't, you are warned. This test is not reliable for every type of equipment and configuration so an override is provided. If you try to print and there is no printer, the program will crash. VERY IMPORTANT: Before you do this for the first time, exit back to DOS. This writes any data you entered to the disk. Then if the program crashes, you won't lose any data entered during the current session. ************************************************************************** * REPORTS * ************************************************************************** HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER provides several printed and visual reports. The reports are the most powerful feature of the program. All information maintained by the program can be printed. The report menu offers three types of printed reports. The first is a list of all events associated with a house organized by basis categories. This is likely to be the most useful report. The second report is a list of all events for a house organized by basis effect. All increases are listed together; all decreases are listed next; events with no effect are last. The third report is a summary of all houses. There is one line listing for each house contains a description of the house, the date of the first and last event for that house, and the current basis of the house. In addition to the formal reports, you can print a complete list of each house and its events. You may print the entire file or, the main house files alone. The screen prompt explains the available options. ************************************************************************** * ASSORTED DETAILS * ************************************************************************** 1) CURRENT DIRECTORY: The program looks for and creates its data files in the current directory. Any marginally adept PC user should already understand directories. If you don't, read the DOS manual. HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER can be run from a floppy or hard disk. The data files MUST be in the current directory when the program is started. The program can be kept elsewhere if you understand how to do it. 2) DATA ENTRY: You can enter and correct new data for a house or event before formally adding it to the program. Enter data in the highlighted field and move to the next field by hitting ENTER or by using the UP or DOWN cursor keys. If you try to move in an impermissible direction, nothing happens. When the input is correct, highlight the "ALL DONE" box and hit ENTER. The ESCAPE key aborts the current data entry. While entering or editing data in a highlighted field, the standard editing keys work. This includes the cursor keys, HOME, END, BACKSPACE, DELETE. The INSERT key toggles the standard insert mode. If you enter more characters in a data field than the program can accept, the program beeps at you. Some data fields are optional. These fields can be used to hold any information that you like. If data is mandatory and you fail to provide it, you will not be able to continue. There are separate note fields for each house and each event. 3) DELETE RECORDS: You can delete an individual event or an entire house file through the delete menu. If you delete a house file, all associated events are also deleted. You are warned several times before files are actually deleted. The only safe way to delete files is through the program. If you delete an event (.LOG) file through DOS, the house file will still be in HOME.DAT. Serious problems will arise because there are no underlying events. The program cannot recover from a missing .LOG file. The only hope is to delete the house entry and start again. 4) CHANGE RECORDS: Any data that can be entered by the user can be changed through the change menu. House and event data can be modified. 5) DOLLAR LIMITS: HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER can handle transactions in the millions of dollars. 6) BACKUPS - I STRONGLY recommend that you back up all data in several ways. I keep multiple copies of my data files in case of disaster. I keep printed copies of data as well. Finally, I keep all original documents so that I can recreate the data files if necessary. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you rely exclusively on the program as the only source of data. There is a possibility that an undiscovered error will ruin all data. Always be able to recreate essential records. The legal gobbledygook below disclaims all responsibility for program failures. 7) PRINT TO FILE - Version 1.2 added the ability to print reports to a DOS file. This saves paper, allows those with nonconforming printers to use the program, and permits users to import reports into other programs. Printing to a DOS file is the default. To print on paper, use the SELECT PRINTERS option on the PRINT menu or the command line switches. Version 1.4 added an internal file viewer that allows you to read the DOS report files. Use the DISPLAY REPORTS ON SCREEN selection in the DISPLAY menu. You will find this to be a great convenience. You can also read the documentation from within the program as well. The program will examine the path and file name that you enter, and blatantly illegal choices will be rejected. All target file names MUST have a .RPT extension, and the default file name is HOUSE.RPT. Remember that the path and file name are only checked for validity and not for availability. If the drive you select is full or not available (e.g., the drive door is open), the program will crash. If the program does crash, any data entered during the current session may be lost and data files can be ruined. To be extra careful before printing to a disk file, exit the program first to write all new data to disk. Then restart the program and print to your disk file. Data written to a disk file will be appended to a file. This permits you to write multiple reports from the one or more sessions to the same disk file. You can change the name of the target DOS file as often as you like during a session. ************************************************************************** * PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS * ************************************************************************** I have made only limited attempts to make HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER idiot-proof. If you want to screw up the data, you can do it. Things will go well if you follow instructions and enter good data. Your data should be safe unless you take steps to erase it. Data is vulnerable right after it is entered. The program does not always write new data to disk immediately. The best precaution after entering new data is to exit the program. This flushes the buffers and writes data to disk. If you find that data in a house file becomes irretrievably incorrect, you may have to delete the file for that house and start over. Any abnormal end to the program can result in the loss of newly entered data. ALWAYS exit through the menu. An abnormal termination may also result in the retention of temporary working files. If you find files in the default directory with a .XXX extension, these files can (and should) be deleted. If HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER can't find the HOME.DAT data file when it starts, you are warned. When you run the program for the first time, this warning should be ignored. If you see this warning at any other time, check it out before you enter any new data. Note that a missing .LOG file produces no warning. You are responsible for maintaining the existence and integrity of the data files except when the program is running. The program has not been known to trash its own files. The program has been tested in a reasonably thorough manner. Of course, it is likely that there are still a few bugs somewhere, and new features may create new difficulties. Please write to me if you encounter a problem or any difficulty of any type. Be specific about the problem and what you did that resulted in the error. ************************************************************************** * PROGRAMMING NOTES AND HISTORY * ************************************************************************** The current version is written and compiled in Microsoft's QuickBASIC 4.5 under DOS 3.1. The source code is not public. Version 1.5 was released in March 1994. It changed the order of operations as the program finished so that files would be erased or written to disk as the next to last (rather than the last) act. It also now remembers dates, basis category, and documentation for events and will offer a prompt to repeat the previous entry. The program shows the report files available to be viewed. Finally, the topline display in the file viewer has been adjusted slightly. Version 1.4 was released in May 1993. It added a DOS file viewer for reports and for the documentation. Also, an internal problem was fixed. The program could accept unlimited events, but it was unable to display more than 400 using the one-line, scrollable display. In addition, the display of events could result in an improper background color if there were a large number of transactions. All of this has been fixed by a complete revision of the display routines. The display screen is now constructed on the disk rather than in memory. The downside is that it takes longer to create the screen. A progress counter has been added to the "Task in Process" screen. Version 1.3 was released in June 1992. It corrected a small but vital error that prevented basis figures from appearing on the screen. Version 1.2 was released in April 1992. Significant changes and improvements include the addition of the capability of printing to a DOS file. Printing to DOS is the default, and a new command line switch has been added to select the IBM Proprinter. The program now recognizes February 29 as a legal date, but it does not check to see if it is a leap year. The report by basis category has been modified so that a category subheading will not print alone at the bottom of a page. Version 1.1, the first public version, was released in July 1991. *************************************************************************** * LICENSE AGREEMENT AND OTHER LEGAL STUFF * *************************************************************************** THIS PROGRAM AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS ASSUMED BY THE USER. The entire liability of Gellman Software and Robert Gellman shall be limited to a return of the registration price or replacement of the program at the option of Gellman Software and Robert Gellman. GELLMAN SOFTWARE AND ROBERT GELLMAN DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE PROGRAM AND WRITTEN MATERIALS. IN NO EVENT SHALL GELLMAN SOFTWARE OR ROBERT GELLMAN BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES) DUE TO LOSS OF DATA OR ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PROGRAM EVEN IF GELLMAN SOFTWARE OR ROBERT GELLMAN HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Anyone may use the program for a thirty day trial period. At the conclusion of the trial period, you must stop using the program or pay a $25.00 registration fee. To register, send $25.00 with your name, address, and version number you are using to: Robert Gellman 431 Fifth Street, S.E. Washington, DC 20003 I will respond to all who register to let you know if you are using the latest version. Copies of later versions will only be provided in accordance with the update policies set out below. There is no restriction on personal use of the program by a registered user. Registered users may not license others to use the program or transfer their license to others. Anyone may give a copy of the program with all accompanying documentation to any other person. The program with its documentation may be distributed by computer bulletin boards, software clubs, shareware libraries, and similar organizations at a standard charge for media and distribution. The maximum charge permitted without specific written permission from Gellman Software is $6.00. No other forms of distribution for money are authorized. The program and its documentation are copyrighted. No one is authorized to make changes to either the program or the documentation. *************************************************************************** * UPDATE POLICIES * *************************************************************************** I plan to fix errors, make changes and improvements, and add new features from time to time. I WELCOME SUGGESTIONS FROM USERS. I am not, however, making any binding commitments to issue updates or corrections. While I expect to issue occasional updates, I am not anxious to get into the disk distribution business. HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER is available from the Public (Software) Library, P.O. Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235. I provide updates to PSL as soon as they are released. At this time, disks are available from PSL for $5.00 plus a $4.00 shipping charge. A 3.5 inch disk costs an extra dollar. I encourage everyone to use PSL. It offers good service, and its monthly shareware catalog is excellent. A Washington D.C. computer bulletin board has agreed to serve as "home base" for Gellman Software shareware programs. Sysop Rob Richmond of the CPA's BBS has graciously agreed to make the programs available to all. The phone number of the BBS is 202-882-9067. The file names will be SPRMxx.ZIP and HBRMxx.ZIP. The xx stands for the current version number. Interested users may find it worth their while to visit the CPA's BBS and to read the bulletin about these programs. I can be reached through the CPA's BBS under the name Bob Gellman. Information about the phone number and availability of the BBS is current as of the file date. It is, of course, subject to change at any time. I try to put new versions on Compuserve and America Online, although I am not on either system as a user. Finally, I will make updates directly available to registered users in two ways. Any registered user who sends me a self-addressed, stamped disk mailer and a disk can receive a copy of the latest version at no cost. If a user wants me to provide the disk and mailer, the cost is $5.00. I reserve the right to revoke this offer at any time. I want to discourage people from asking me to provide disks and mailers. I don't have the time or the facilities. But I want to accommodate my users, and I will provide updates at no cost if you provide the disk, the mailer, and the postage. If you like, I can include my other programs along with any update. If you like the home basis program and you own stocks, please consider my STOCK PORTFOLIO RECORD MANAGER. My other programs are freeware games and are described in Appendix I. Let me know if there are any that especially appeal to you. Tell me if you can handle ZIP archives and I will send everything squeezed on one disk. All of my programs will not fit on a single 360K floppy. It takes two regular floppies or one 1.2 Meg floppy. HBRM and the stock market program will fit on one disk, however. I have always responded to any correspondence from registered users so let me know if you need help, find problems, or have complaints. Alas, I cannot promise to notify registered users of new versions. The Public (Software) Library monthly catalog will contain update notices. *************************************************************************** * APPENDIX I: OTHER GELLMAN SOFTWARE PROGRAMS * *************************************************************************** SPRM39 STOCK PORTFOLIO RECORD MANAGER (shareware) This program stores, manipulates, and prints records needed to manage a portfolio of stocks. STOCK PORTFOLIO RECORD MANAGER totally replaces or supplements paper records. It provides powerful reports about your portfolio, transactions, and dividends. Both laser and dot matrix printers are supported. Anyone who has investments in the stock or bond markets should consider using this program. HBRM15 HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER (shareware) If you own a house, condominium, cooperative, house trailer, or any type of residence, you need HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER. This program will help you keep track of the basis (or cost) of your home. This information is vital when you sell your home. By using the HOME BASIS RECORD MANAGER, you can be certain that you will have all the information necessary to minimize the taxes due on the profits from the sale of your home. Gellman Software has also published these freeware games: POKER571 Head to Head Draw Poker (freeware) 1POKER14 Poker Solitaire (freeware) CALC15 Calculation Solitaire (freeware) LABELLE4 La Belle Lucie Solitaire (public domain) SIXLTR42 Six Letter Word Game (freeware) The last two programs were coauthored by other programmers. These programs are available from the Public Software Library, P.O. Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235. The latest versions are normally sent to PSL as soon as they are released. I recommend PSL to anyone interested in shareware or freeware. Gellman Software programs are also available on finer computer bulletin boards in the Washington, DC area and elsewhere. Copies of all programs are available directly from Gellman Software. Send a self-addressed, stamped mailer and disk to the address on the first page. State which programs you want. IMPORTANT: Please indicate if you know how to handle ZIP archives. If you want all programs, send one 1.2 Meg disk, two 360K disks if you can unZIP, or three 360K disks if you do not understand ZIP archives. There is no charge if you supply the disk, the mailer, and the postage. ****End of HOME.DOC****