Congress Enacts Bigger and Better Home Buyer Tax Credit -
Enhanced Tax Credit Provides Outstanding Opportunity for Home Buyers
In its efforts to stimulate the economy and revive the housing market, Congress has enacted legislation providing a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers.
But time is of the essence for buyers who want to take advantage of this opportunity. Only homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009 are eligible. Use the links below to find out more about the tax credit.
$8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance
The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.
The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com
For more information contact Joana Sweney @ 817-501-7309
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
PAUL B. FARRELL
New 6-part quiz: Is Obamanomics D.O.A.?
From Righteous Rush Rambaugh to Lefty Paul Krugman, a 'failing' grade
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
Last update: 1:40 p.m. EST Feb. 16, 2009Comments: 685ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- For 11 days the mood fit that wonderful song that the Youngbloods turned into a Top 5 hit in 1969: "Come on people now ... Smile on your brother ... Everybody get together ... Try to love one another right now." Oh yes, we could almost see Obama and the GOP dancing to the beat at their Super Bowl party.
Reality check: Warren Buffett says nobody really knows if the new Obamanomics will work at all, let alone beat Reaganomics. Others say Obamanomics is already dead on arrival.
But before you fall back on ideological clichés and jump to conclusions, please turn off today's breaking news for five minutes. If you want to understand how American democracy really works -- our politics, economics, the context behind the noise -- take this simple multiple choice quiz. Then, read on, asking yourself whether the new Obamanomics really is replacing Reaganomics:
Question: Which statement best describes American politics?
All politics is about "sound" economics and what's "best" for all Americans.
"All politics is local" said former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, who called Reagan "an amiable dunce" and his presidency "one big Christmas party for the rich."
All politics is about sticking to ideological principles that get your party elected and keep you in power with control over the taxpayer's money.
All politics is about increasing your personal wealth, whether you're one of our 537 elected officials, a wealthy donor, or one of Washington's 40,000 lobbyists.
All politics is about endless, intense, often brutal partisan battles over economic policies based on pragmatism, expediency and the "end justifies the means."
All politics fits Churchill's brilliant indictment: "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."
Good feeling's gone
Remember Obama's new "kum-ba-yah" politics? It lasted just 11 days after Inauguration Day.
First, Rush Rambaugh became the GOP's self-anointed chief policy-maker slamming Obama: "I hope he fails." Then the new Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele announced that "obstructionism" was now their party's main strategy. After that, the L.A. Times reported that "Texas Rep. Pete Sessions compared House Republicans to the Taliban, the fundamentalist Muslim terrorist group that has targeted U.S. troops in Afghanistan," adding that his "staff insists he wasn't lauding the Taliban's goals, only their tactics."
Well, it worked: First, not one House Republican voted for the economic stimulus bill. Then, instead of the predicted 80 votes, only three GOP senators voted for the compromise version. So much for the "love one another" Super Bowl feeling.
Oh, you thought the GOP lost the election? Obama won a mandate? Looks like Rambaugh, Big Mike and Texas Pete won this round on points. Sorry Mr. President, but "they're just not into you!"
No, I'm not making this up. If you haven't heard much about the GOP adopting Taliban insurgency tactical warfare, blame it on the wimpy liberal press, they're bought into "kum ba yah," are downplaying that incendiary rhetoric. Yes, incendiary ... can you imagine the backlash if Obama admitted he was using Taliban tactics last year. Or worse, if he accused McCain and Bush of Taliban tactics? Rambaugh would have gone ballistic.
'Good News?' GOP's attacking Obama with Taliban tactics!
But none of that matters. In fact, we should welcome it, demand it -- it's healthy. Three cheers for the GOP. Why? Because for over two centuries American politics seemed to work best with a highly vocal "loyal opposition" as we swung back and forth from liberal to conservative leaders. Yes, if you really want to understand economic reality, look into our political history. Nothing's new. As USA Today succinctly put it:
"Republicans voted en masse against President Clinton's deficit-reduction package in 1993 and used their criticism of its necessary but unpopular tax increases to help take control of Congress. Democrats killed President Bush's 2005 effort to reform Social Security by relying on private accounts, but they offered no alternative of their own."
The lesson here for Obama? You can pick a "Team of Rivals," as Lincoln did. But in the end, more rivals will create intense rivalries.
Still the media can't seem to stop asking: Will Obamanomics work? Or are we setting ourselves up for a big, bad "Great Depression 2?" People want results now, today.
The public's intense anxiety was captured by a Financial Times editor, Martin Wolf, ever the provocateur, in yet another rhetorical indictment: "Has Barack Obama's presidency already failed?"
Failed already? Wolf's expressing the angst of millions across America and around the world as Obama finishes his fourth week in office. Yes, just four weeks and Obamanomics is not just headed for failure, it's already D.O.A.
Is Obamanomics really better than Reaganomics?
America's been operating at the opposite end of the political spectrum for 28 years going back to Reagan, a reign that's left Obama with a massive handicap: a huge unresolved banking system mess, an abortive $350 billion bailout that BusinessWeek labeled a "bust" and massive debt that one Nobel economist calls a "$10 trillion hangover."
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Is-Obamanomics-DOA-Take-six/story.aspx?guid=%7B2A17C73C%2DB450%2D4164%2DA412%2D4A935E738643%7D
New 6-part quiz: Is Obamanomics D.O.A.?
From Righteous Rush Rambaugh to Lefty Paul Krugman, a 'failing' grade
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
Last update: 1:40 p.m. EST Feb. 16, 2009Comments: 685ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- For 11 days the mood fit that wonderful song that the Youngbloods turned into a Top 5 hit in 1969: "Come on people now ... Smile on your brother ... Everybody get together ... Try to love one another right now." Oh yes, we could almost see Obama and the GOP dancing to the beat at their Super Bowl party.
Reality check: Warren Buffett says nobody really knows if the new Obamanomics will work at all, let alone beat Reaganomics. Others say Obamanomics is already dead on arrival.
But before you fall back on ideological clichés and jump to conclusions, please turn off today's breaking news for five minutes. If you want to understand how American democracy really works -- our politics, economics, the context behind the noise -- take this simple multiple choice quiz. Then, read on, asking yourself whether the new Obamanomics really is replacing Reaganomics:
Question: Which statement best describes American politics?
All politics is about "sound" economics and what's "best" for all Americans.
"All politics is local" said former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, who called Reagan "an amiable dunce" and his presidency "one big Christmas party for the rich."
All politics is about sticking to ideological principles that get your party elected and keep you in power with control over the taxpayer's money.
All politics is about increasing your personal wealth, whether you're one of our 537 elected officials, a wealthy donor, or one of Washington's 40,000 lobbyists.
All politics is about endless, intense, often brutal partisan battles over economic policies based on pragmatism, expediency and the "end justifies the means."
All politics fits Churchill's brilliant indictment: "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."
Good feeling's gone
Remember Obama's new "kum-ba-yah" politics? It lasted just 11 days after Inauguration Day.
First, Rush Rambaugh became the GOP's self-anointed chief policy-maker slamming Obama: "I hope he fails." Then the new Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele announced that "obstructionism" was now their party's main strategy. After that, the L.A. Times reported that "Texas Rep. Pete Sessions compared House Republicans to the Taliban, the fundamentalist Muslim terrorist group that has targeted U.S. troops in Afghanistan," adding that his "staff insists he wasn't lauding the Taliban's goals, only their tactics."
Well, it worked: First, not one House Republican voted for the economic stimulus bill. Then, instead of the predicted 80 votes, only three GOP senators voted for the compromise version. So much for the "love one another" Super Bowl feeling.
Oh, you thought the GOP lost the election? Obama won a mandate? Looks like Rambaugh, Big Mike and Texas Pete won this round on points. Sorry Mr. President, but "they're just not into you!"
No, I'm not making this up. If you haven't heard much about the GOP adopting Taliban insurgency tactical warfare, blame it on the wimpy liberal press, they're bought into "kum ba yah," are downplaying that incendiary rhetoric. Yes, incendiary ... can you imagine the backlash if Obama admitted he was using Taliban tactics last year. Or worse, if he accused McCain and Bush of Taliban tactics? Rambaugh would have gone ballistic.
'Good News?' GOP's attacking Obama with Taliban tactics!
But none of that matters. In fact, we should welcome it, demand it -- it's healthy. Three cheers for the GOP. Why? Because for over two centuries American politics seemed to work best with a highly vocal "loyal opposition" as we swung back and forth from liberal to conservative leaders. Yes, if you really want to understand economic reality, look into our political history. Nothing's new. As USA Today succinctly put it:
"Republicans voted en masse against President Clinton's deficit-reduction package in 1993 and used their criticism of its necessary but unpopular tax increases to help take control of Congress. Democrats killed President Bush's 2005 effort to reform Social Security by relying on private accounts, but they offered no alternative of their own."
The lesson here for Obama? You can pick a "Team of Rivals," as Lincoln did. But in the end, more rivals will create intense rivalries.
Still the media can't seem to stop asking: Will Obamanomics work? Or are we setting ourselves up for a big, bad "Great Depression 2?" People want results now, today.
The public's intense anxiety was captured by a Financial Times editor, Martin Wolf, ever the provocateur, in yet another rhetorical indictment: "Has Barack Obama's presidency already failed?"
Failed already? Wolf's expressing the angst of millions across America and around the world as Obama finishes his fourth week in office. Yes, just four weeks and Obamanomics is not just headed for failure, it's already D.O.A.
Is Obamanomics really better than Reaganomics?
America's been operating at the opposite end of the political spectrum for 28 years going back to Reagan, a reign that's left Obama with a massive handicap: a huge unresolved banking system mess, an abortive $350 billion bailout that BusinessWeek labeled a "bust" and massive debt that one Nobel economist calls a "$10 trillion hangover."
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Is-Obamanomics-DOA-Take-six/story.aspx?guid=%7B2A17C73C%2DB450%2D4164%2DA412%2D4A935E738643%7D
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Downpayment Assistance Program
DPAGroundSwell2 was launched today to coincide with the introduction of H.R. 600, FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform Act of 2009, by Representative Al Green (D-TX). H.R. 600 is the 2009 version of last year's bill (H.R. 6694) that would restore seller-funded downpayment assistance (DPA).
Reformed DPA will help stimulate the housing market by providing working-class Americans with a path to homeownership and generate $150 billion in home sales this year. Purchasing a home now puts homebuyers in a position to build equity as markets recover.
CONGRESS INTRODUCES BILL THAT WOULD REINSTATE DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE: NEHEMIAH RESPONDS
- Bill Would Broaden Opportunities for Sustainable Homeownership Without Government or Taxpayer Dollars -
Sacramento, CA, January 16, 2009 -- The following statement was issued today by Scott Syphax, president and CEO of the Nehemiah Corporation of America in response to H.R. 600, a bill introduced in Congress that would reinstate seller-funded downpayment assistance (DPA). Prior to the October 1, 2008 ban on DPA, Nehemiah was the oldest and largest provider of downpayment assistance.
"There is an overlooked solution to today's housing crisis and fortunately several members of Congress recognize the role DPA plays in getting us there. We commend Congressman Al Green [and additional members of Congress] for working tirelessly to support a bill (H.R. 600) that creates opportunities for sustainable homeownership, which serves as the cornerstone to strengthening a crumbling housing market and breathing life back into the economy. With foreclosures on the rise and banks maintaining their stranglehold on credit, DPA offers a simple solution without spending a single government or taxpayer dime according to the Congressional Budget Office. Further, it enables worthy families to take advantage of depressed home prices, therefore reducing the glut of homes on the market. We urge Congress to reach across the aisle and prioritize broadening opportunities for responsible homeownership in America by reinstating DPA."
http://www.nehemiahcorp.org/
Copyright © 2008 Nehemiah Corporation of America. All Rights Reserved
Broker of Texas Sold Team Realty, Cindy Stewart, talks about DPS:
This program alone will really kick off the market!
By losing the DPA it is likely to be one of the biggest reason that people are not buying. They don't have enough cash to make the down payment.
I would say that 99.9 percent of our clients that used this help are still in their homes.
1- Because they had a good job and credit, just not cash. If we lend smart we will keep our people in homes and buying homes.
2- This will help investors the most.
3- This will bring back the under 200K buyers by the droves.
Reformed DPA will help stimulate the housing market by providing working-class Americans with a path to homeownership and generate $150 billion in home sales this year. Purchasing a home now puts homebuyers in a position to build equity as markets recover.
CONGRESS INTRODUCES BILL THAT WOULD REINSTATE DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE: NEHEMIAH RESPONDS
- Bill Would Broaden Opportunities for Sustainable Homeownership Without Government or Taxpayer Dollars -
Sacramento, CA, January 16, 2009 -- The following statement was issued today by Scott Syphax, president and CEO of the Nehemiah Corporation of America in response to H.R. 600, a bill introduced in Congress that would reinstate seller-funded downpayment assistance (DPA). Prior to the October 1, 2008 ban on DPA, Nehemiah was the oldest and largest provider of downpayment assistance.
"There is an overlooked solution to today's housing crisis and fortunately several members of Congress recognize the role DPA plays in getting us there. We commend Congressman Al Green [and additional members of Congress] for working tirelessly to support a bill (H.R. 600) that creates opportunities for sustainable homeownership, which serves as the cornerstone to strengthening a crumbling housing market and breathing life back into the economy. With foreclosures on the rise and banks maintaining their stranglehold on credit, DPA offers a simple solution without spending a single government or taxpayer dime according to the Congressional Budget Office. Further, it enables worthy families to take advantage of depressed home prices, therefore reducing the glut of homes on the market. We urge Congress to reach across the aisle and prioritize broadening opportunities for responsible homeownership in America by reinstating DPA."
http://www.nehemiahcorp.org/
Copyright © 2008 Nehemiah Corporation of America. All Rights Reserved
Broker of Texas Sold Team Realty, Cindy Stewart, talks about DPS:
This program alone will really kick off the market!
By losing the DPA it is likely to be one of the biggest reason that people are not buying. They don't have enough cash to make the down payment.
I would say that 99.9 percent of our clients that used this help are still in their homes.
1- Because they had a good job and credit, just not cash. If we lend smart we will keep our people in homes and buying homes.
2- This will help investors the most.
3- This will bring back the under 200K buyers by the droves.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Keller News
The Keller City Council on Tuesday:
Issued a notice of intent to issue $8.45 million in certificates of obligation, bonds that do not require a vote, to pay for previously committed projects including a fire station, drainage improvements, park land acquisition, and parking lot improvements for Johnson Park.
Updated an interlocal agreement with Tarrant County to begin the third phase of Rufe Snow Drive improvements, which are scheduled to begin construction this summer. The council approved a resolution expressing intent to reimburse cost for this project with future bond proceeds.
Approved a bid for traffic signals to be installed at the Keller-Smithfield Road intersection with Bear Creek Parkway East and emergency signals on Bear Creek Parkway at Fire Station No. 4.
from http://www.kellercitizen.com/
The Keller City Council on Tuesday:
Issued a notice of intent to issue $8.45 million in certificates of obligation, bonds that do not require a vote, to pay for previously committed projects including a fire station, drainage improvements, park land acquisition, and parking lot improvements for Johnson Park.
Updated an interlocal agreement with Tarrant County to begin the third phase of Rufe Snow Drive improvements, which are scheduled to begin construction this summer. The council approved a resolution expressing intent to reimburse cost for this project with future bond proceeds.
Approved a bid for traffic signals to be installed at the Keller-Smithfield Road intersection with Bear Creek Parkway East and emergency signals on Bear Creek Parkway at Fire Station No. 4.
from http://www.kellercitizen.com/
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Homebuyers
Now, no matter where you live in the United States, owning your own home may be more affordable than you think!
If you are currently renting or wanting to move up, HomeSteps would like to help you on your way to homeownership.
We will pay up to 3.5%* of your purchase price in closing costs for all offers presented on HomeSteps homes between October 23, 2008 – January 31, 2009.
To qualify for this great money-saving offer, just ask your real estate agent to show you the available HomeSteps homes in your area and to include this closing cost offer at the time of your initial offer on a HomeSteps home.
If you want more information please give me a call at 817-501-7309 oe email Joana@soldteam.net
.
This was provided by HomeSteps, a Freddie Mac Unit.HomeSteps® 2008 Ask An Agent Sales Promotion
Now, no matter where you live in the United States, owning your own home may be more affordable than you think!
If you are currently renting or wanting to move up, HomeSteps would like to help you on your way to homeownership.
We will pay up to 3.5%* of your purchase price in closing costs for all offers presented on HomeSteps homes between October 23, 2008 – January 31, 2009.
To qualify for this great money-saving offer, just ask your real estate agent to show you the available HomeSteps homes in your area and to include this closing cost offer at the time of your initial offer on a HomeSteps home.
If you want more information please give me a call at 817-501-7309 oe email Joana@soldteam.net
.
This was provided by HomeSteps, a Freddie Mac Unit.HomeSteps® 2008 Ask An Agent Sales Promotion
Homebuyers
Now, no matter where you live in the United States, owning your own home may be more affordable than you think!
If you are currently renting or wanting to move up, HomeSteps would like to help you on your way to homeownership.
We will pay up to 3.5%* of your purchase price in closing costs for all offers presented on HomeSteps homes between October 23, 2008 – January 31, 2009.
To qualify for this great money-saving offer, just ask your real estate agent to show you the available HomeSteps homes in your area and to include this closing cost offer at the time of your initial offer on a HomeSteps home.
If you want more information please give me a call at 817-501-7309.
This was provided by HomeSteps, a Freddie Mac Unit.HomeSteps® 2008 Ask An Agent Sales Promotion
Now, no matter where you live in the United States, owning your own home may be more affordable than you think!
If you are currently renting or wanting to move up, HomeSteps would like to help you on your way to homeownership.
We will pay up to 3.5%* of your purchase price in closing costs for all offers presented on HomeSteps homes between October 23, 2008 – January 31, 2009.
To qualify for this great money-saving offer, just ask your real estate agent to show you the available HomeSteps homes in your area and to include this closing cost offer at the time of your initial offer on a HomeSteps home.
If you want more information please give me a call at 817-501-7309.
This was provided by HomeSteps, a Freddie Mac Unit.HomeSteps® 2008 Ask An Agent Sales Promotion
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