|
FEATURED
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE:
First Time AND Repeat
Homebuyer Tax Credit Information.
Make Your Home Leave
A Great First Impression.
Why Does Time Fly
?
Just For
Fun...
Did
You Know ???
First Time AND Repeat
Homebuyer Tax Credit Information
The government recently
expanded the first-time homebuyer tax credit through April
30, 2010, and added a new homebuyer tax credit for existing
homeowners who are interested in purchasing a new home. With
mortgage rates still at historic lows, and plenty of affordable
homes still on the market, this may be a great time to buy.
Click
here to watch YouTube video
How Much Is
The Credit?
10% of the home price,
up to $8,000 for qualified first-time homebuyers, or people
who have not owned a home in the preceding 3 years, or up
to $6,500 for qualified existing homeowners who have lived
in their home for 5 of the last 8 years.
How Does It
Work?
It's for principal
single-family residences, including condos and townhouses.
It shows up as a credit on your income tax. The tax credit
does not have to be repaid if you live in the home for a minimum
of 3 years.
Who Qualifies?
Individuals with adjusted
gross income up to $125,000 (or $225,000 if filing jointly)
are eligible for the full tax credit. The credit is phased
down for those earning more.
Like any good thing,
there must be rules. You have to buy before April 30, 2010,
settle by June 30, 2010, and live in the home as your principal
residence for at least 3 years (Military families are exempt).
Transactions must close no more than 60 days after April 30,
2010. Plus there are income guidelines, and other checkpoints
to see if you qualify. Purchaser must attach documentation
of home purchase to tax return. Ask your tax advisor for details
on how the new law affects you or visit http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206291,00.html
for more information.
If now is the right
time for you to buy or sell a home, please contact me. Don't
let this opportunity pass you by!
Make Your Home Leave
A Great First Impression...
Once your home is listed
and the for-sale sign is firmly implanted in your front lawn,
all is ready for would-be buyers to tour your home. Or is
it?
As anyone in the real
estate industry will tell you, it's important to make your
home look its best when it comes time to show it. That first
impression is everything. Even if you're in a market where
homes are selling quickly and for full asking price, it's
still key to spruce up your home and prove that it's worth
every penny you're asking. And it doesn't have to cost you
a fortune.
In fact, a great first
impression, coupled with the decreasing amount of time the
typical home is on the market these days, is sometimes all
it takes to see a speedy offer come your way.
So, if you're in a
market with few available homes for sale, you're probably
less likely to spend a lot of money on major aesthetic improvements.
But there are a lot of simple, fairly inexpensive things you
can do to make a good first impression and attract offers
as quickly as possible.
Some things you can
do to ensure your home's exterior lands favorable first impressions
include:
· Stay on top
of your lawn mowing and maintenance and tidy up your front
landscaping.
· Plop a new,
colorful welcome mat in front of the door.
· Embellish
your door area with a nice, big potted plant to the side of
the front door.
· Slap a fresh
coat of paint on your door.
· Move all the
toys, bicycles, and scooters away from the front of the house.
· Clean all
your windows until they're sparkling.
· Invest in
a new doorknob and lock - this will jazz up your door and
provide greater security.
· Make sure
your street numerals are polished and in place. Or, invest
in a nice new set that stands out among your neighbors' standard
numerals.
· Place a seasonal
wreath or arrangement on your door.
· Repair any
loose shingles - the last thing a potential buyer wants to
worry about is the roof.
· Paint and
repair your gutters.
Once the exterior wows
your potential buyers, you'll need to continue to make an
impact on them when they make their way inside. You can almost
think of it as preparing for a formal dinner party. For starters,
you can:
· Remove all
the clutter - make sure kitchen and bathroom countertops are
as clear as possible, try to keep toys organized in closets
and shelves, temporarily remove any excess knickknacks or
family photos if you tend to have a lot.
· Hang fresh
clean towels in the bathrooms.
· Touch up your
paint if your walls have a few rough spots. You probably already
have the extra paint sitting in your garage.
· Vacuum your
floor each morning. You may also want to think about getting
your carpets clean before potential buyers view your house.
· Make sure
all your faucets are drip-free.
· Replace any
nonfunctioning bulbs in your light fixtures and vanities.
· Thoroughly
clean all your appliances, including the inside of your oven
and microwave.
· Place a beautiful
centerpiece in the center of your dining room table.
· Eliminate
odors as much as possible - place potpourri in the bathrooms,
use air freshener and deodorizer, especially if you have indoor
pets or there's a smoker in the house.
· Let the light
in - open all your blinds and curtains. If your house's natural
light leaves some rooms dark during certain portions of the
day, turn on the lights if you know your house may be shown
that day. If you have any decorative or track lighting, be
sure it is on.
· Clean your
fireplace.
· If you have
too much furniture, place some of it in storage.
· Add some final
touches, a couple of fresh bouquets of flowers and some nice
potted plants in decorative containers can do wonders.
Basically, just use
common sense. Remember that everyone has his or her own style.
You're not trying to impress with your particular brand of
décor. Rather, you're trying to present a simple, clean,
attractive home that exudes potential - an empty, yet enticing,
palette for your home's next owners.
Why Does Time Fly
?
According to a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology,
there's a reason why days seem so much longer when you're
a child.
The reason is that new experiences have an effect on how we
perceive time. When we encounter new experiences in life,
time seems to pass more slowly. Routine behavior then makes
time seem like it goes much faster. Routine time can be thought
of as a straight line; new experiences can be thought of as
jagged lines - and they include new perceptions. That's why
as we age, time seems to go faster and we click over to autopilot,
which also affects memory.
Sometimes it's hard to remember where you parked your car,
for example. It's probably because you were operating on autopilot
and the brain does not register much of what you're doing.
That's why new and unusual experiences also seem to embed
in our memories much more strongly. Routine is a form of inaction,
explains Dinah Avni-Babad, a psychologist at the Hebrew University
in Jerusalem. So as we get older, time flies and we remember
less of what we do because we do fewer and fewer new things.
Just For Fun...
A caller recently dialed a wrong number and got the following
recording: "...I am not available right now, but I thank you
for caring enough to call. I am making some changes in my
life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return
your call, you are one of the changes."
Question: What do you call a chicken that takes every word
people say seriously?
Answer: A technical fowl.
A man walked past a house with a sign in the yard that read
"Talking dog for sale." He asked the owner where the dog was,
and was directed to the backyard. There sat a Black Lab. The
man asked him "Do you talk"? The dog said "yep." The man said,
"Tell me your story." The dog said, "Well, I discovered this
gift pretty young, and I wanted to help the government. So
I went to work for the CIA. They sent me around the world,
sitting in on important meetings, because no one ever thought
a dog would eavesdrop. I acquired lots of information, and
was their best spy for eight years running. Then I got tired,
and went to work for airport security, mostly hanging around
shady characters. I caught a lot of drug dealers and criminals,
and was awarded a batch of medals. Finally, I got a wife,
had a litter of puppies, and now I'm retired." The man was
amazed. He ran back to the owner and asked, "How much do you
want for the dog"? The guy said "Ten dollars." "Ten Dollars?
That dog is incredible! Why are you selling him so cheap?"
"He's a liar" the man replied. "He didn't do any of that stuff."
A man left Chicago for a vacation in Key West . His wife was
on a business trip and was flying down to meet him the following
day. When the man arrived in Florida , he e-mailed her to
let her know he had gotten there, but mis-typed the address.
So instead, his message went to the inbox of a woman whose
husband had recently passed away. When the widow opened her
e-mail, she read the message, screamed and passed out cold.
The woman's daughter rushed into the room and found this note
on the screen: My darling wife. Just checked in. Everything
is prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to
being with you again. Your loving husband. P.S. Sure is hot
down here!
A College student walked into his ornithology class and found
five birds with bags over their heads so only their feet were
visible. "What's this?" he asked. "It's an exam," the professor
replied. "Your job is to identify each bird by looking at
its feet." "What a stupid test," the student retorted. "What's
your name? The professor demanded. The student pulled up his
pant legs and answered. "You tell me!"
Did You Know ???
In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed
to beat his wife with a stick thicker than his thumb. Hence,
we have "the rule of thumb."
Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was
ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden" ... and
thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear
better.
Coca-Cola was originally green.
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to
work: Alaska
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get
this...
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%)
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven:
$6,400
The average number of people airborne over the US any given
hour: 61,000
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile National
Monuments.
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king
from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs - Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front
legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has
one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds
received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the
ground, the person died of natural causes.
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on
July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest
signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until
5 years later.
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace.
Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular
boat name requested?
A. Obsession.
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have
to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand.
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers,
and laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey.
Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day
of the year?
A. Father's Day.
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames
by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened,
making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence, the phrase..."goodnight,
sleep tight."
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that
for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply
his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a
honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this
period was called the honey month. which we know today as
the honeymoon.
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in
old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would
yell at them, "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle
down."
It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."
Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked
into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they
needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service.
"Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this
practice.
~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their
elbow.
Hope you've enjoyed
the newsletter. Please call or send an e-mail if you have
any questions about buying, selling, or investing in real
estate.
|
