These are the highlights to the new Government Housing Aid Plan to Stimulate the Slumping Housing Market:
1. How Does the Tax Credit Work?
Tax credits are special provisions that reduce income tax liability on a dollar for dollar basis. Credits are claimed on an individual's income tax return. In this case, Congress has created a tax credit for first time homebuyers. The maximum credit amount is $7,500. Thus, if a person had a tax liability of $8000, (these are the federal deductions withheld on your pay check) a $7500 credit would wipe out all but $500 of the tax due. THIS IS AN INCENTIVE AND PART OF THE HOUSING BILL SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT TO HELP WITH THE HOUSING SLUMP.
2. Who can use the new tax credit?
Only first time homebuyers are eligible to use the credit.A first time homebuyer is definedas an individual who has not had an ownership interest in a principal residence in the previous three years.
3. Is there an income restriction?
Yes. Single or head of household are eligible if their income is no more than $75,000. Individuals who file a joint return may have income of no more than $150,000.
4. Is the amount of the credit ties to the price of the home?
Yes. The credit is for 10% of the cost of the home, up to a maximum credit of $7,500. If a home cost $65,000, the allowable credit would be $6500. If a home cost $120,000, the allowable credit would be $7500. The amount of the credit is the same for all taxpayers, married or single.
5. How do I apply for the credit?
There is no prepurchase authorization, application or similar approval process. Eligible purchasers will simply claim the credit on the appropriate IRS form1040 tax return.
6. What are the terms for repayment?
The credit amount is repaid in increments of 6.67% of the credit amount over 15 years. For individuals who take the full $7500 credit, the repayment will be about $41.88 per month or just $502.50 per year. Individuals who claim a credit of less than $7500 will also have a 15 year repayment period and will pay 6.67% of their credit each year. For example, an individual who claims a credit of $6000 will repay $400.20 a year ($6000 x .0667). There is no interest charge applied to outstanding balances.
This Program ends July 1, 2009. Take advantage of this great program. Call us for additional information.
Read more at: http://www.cathyhiggins.com/ look under the heading of Tax Credit.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
18 Vanishing Things from the USA
1. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
3. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.
4. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
5. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
6. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?
7. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
8. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.
9. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No. 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
10. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, irridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.
11. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found.
12. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
13. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
14. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
15. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.
16. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.
17. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. farms are small family farms.
18. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds.The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Overfishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.
Taken from Walletpop.com
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
3. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.
4. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
5. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
6. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?
7. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
8. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.
9. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No. 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
10. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, irridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.
11. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found.
12. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
13. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
14. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
15. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.
16. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.
17. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. farms are small family farms.
18. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds.The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Overfishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.
Taken from Walletpop.com
Saturday, June 21, 2008
More from the Good News Channel!
Buyers Getting off the Sidelines
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America reports that in its national survey last week, applications for new, conventional loans to buy houses jumped by 11 percent -- and applications for FHA insured mortgages were up by 17 percent. With home prices sharply discounted in many of the former high-flying boom markets, and down slightly in many other areas, smart buyers are recognizing that it's time to make their move.
-- “Real Estate Outlook: Buyers Off the Sidelines,” by Kenneth R. Harney, Realty Times,June 19, 2008.
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America reports that in its national survey last week, applications for new, conventional loans to buy houses jumped by 11 percent -- and applications for FHA insured mortgages were up by 17 percent. With home prices sharply discounted in many of the former high-flying boom markets, and down slightly in many other areas, smart buyers are recognizing that it's time to make their move.
-- “Real Estate Outlook: Buyers Off the Sidelines,” by Kenneth R. Harney, Realty Times,June 19, 2008.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Lansing Funnel Cloud June 7, 2008
Luckily no major damage or injuries from this scary storm.
Photo taken by a Lansing resident.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Tips for Increasing the Return on Your Home
Whether the market is slow or not, there are a few ways to increase your return in the sale of your home. The first is to "update" your home. Consider replacing old fixtures, old counter tops in Kitchen & baths. Remove out-of-date wallpaper & add a fresh coat of paint. Reface or replace the cabinets. With some updates you will make it stand out among the competition, and believe us, you have lots of competition!
New carpeting in neutral colors will greatly improve the look of your home. The old saying: “The buyers are just going to change the carpet to their own colors,” is not the way you should be thinking. You have to make the home look “updated” in order to get the buyer to even consider buying it!
Remodeling your kitchen or bath is in the big "plus" category. Don’t forget curb appeal. This will get the prospective buyer in the door and many buyers check out the area and exterior before deciding if they should go inside. Give your home that new paint job. Cut, trim & edge the lawn. Add some flowers, clean up the clutter. A little remodeling will not only bring it up to date, but make it stand out in the minds of potential buyers.
Give us a call. We know what is selling and we would be happy to make suggestions to get your home in salable condition!
Monday, May 12, 2008
How to Price Your Home to Sell
As a seller, you must strike a delicate balance between setting a price high enough to reflect the full value of your home and setting a price too high for the market to bear.
The following steps can help you determine a list price that finds that balance.
Here’s how we can help you:
We will perform a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to help you accurately determine the selling price of similar homes
We will analyze sales data and calculate market trends.
Make an impartial assessment of how homes for sale in your neighborhood compare to yours in terms of size, location, amenities and condition.
Give you an honest assessment of your home’s saleable condition and what you may need to do to get it sold.
Comparative Market Analysis and Market Research
We can accurately measure the value of your home through a comparative market analysis (CMA). A CMA provides information about recent selling prices of similar properties in your market. They also include information about area homes that failed to sell in recent months along with their corresponding list prices. We can help you obtain and analyze this critical information.
The following steps can help you determine a list price that finds that balance.
Here’s how we can help you:
We will perform a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to help you accurately determine the selling price of similar homes
We will analyze sales data and calculate market trends.
Make an impartial assessment of how homes for sale in your neighborhood compare to yours in terms of size, location, amenities and condition.
Give you an honest assessment of your home’s saleable condition and what you may need to do to get it sold.
Comparative Market Analysis and Market Research
We can accurately measure the value of your home through a comparative market analysis (CMA). A CMA provides information about recent selling prices of similar properties in your market. They also include information about area homes that failed to sell in recent months along with their corresponding list prices. We can help you obtain and analyze this critical information.
Friday, May 2, 2008
What Can I Do to get my Home Sold?
Q. My home isn’t selling. What can we do to get it Sold!!
A. Well, if we knew the complete solution, we could end the housing slump and turn the U.S economy around. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why homes do not sell quickly.
A year or two ago, homes in any condition were selling as long as they were priced at market value..... Dirty homes, homes that were not updated, along with beautiful & updated homes. There were plenty of buyers for homes in all conditions. We had investors. We had buyers with marginal credit scores. We had everyone wanting to cash in on the housing boom.
That’s not happening now. The homes that are selling are the homes that are clean, sharp & updated. That’s what today’s buyers want. If you have less than that, you will have to price your home less then those who have kept their Home updated. Those who kept their investment up…spent the money to keep it looking great, are the ones rewarded in this kind of market. Reality hasn’t set in on those who did not update & think their home is worth much more than it is. It doesn’t matter what you think your home is worth. It’s what the market says it is worth.
If you are thinking of selling. Give us a call. We’d be happy to come by and tell you what you need to do to get your home sold. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to get top dollar for your home. We are here to help you.
A. Well, if we knew the complete solution, we could end the housing slump and turn the U.S economy around. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why homes do not sell quickly.
A year or two ago, homes in any condition were selling as long as they were priced at market value..... Dirty homes, homes that were not updated, along with beautiful & updated homes. There were plenty of buyers for homes in all conditions. We had investors. We had buyers with marginal credit scores. We had everyone wanting to cash in on the housing boom.
That’s not happening now. The homes that are selling are the homes that are clean, sharp & updated. That’s what today’s buyers want. If you have less than that, you will have to price your home less then those who have kept their Home updated. Those who kept their investment up…spent the money to keep it looking great, are the ones rewarded in this kind of market. Reality hasn’t set in on those who did not update & think their home is worth much more than it is. It doesn’t matter what you think your home is worth. It’s what the market says it is worth.
If you are thinking of selling. Give us a call. We’d be happy to come by and tell you what you need to do to get your home sold. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to get top dollar for your home. We are here to help you.
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