Cumming, GA

The air is (??) getting a little chillier and it's time for the Cumming Country Fair at the fairgrounds on Castleberry Road! Great old time fun with rides, below is the schedule:

Cumming Country Fair & Festival

Fair hours:
Today, Oct. 3, 4 p.m.-midnight
Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-midnight
Sunday, Oct. 5, 12:30-7 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 6, through Wednesday, Oct. 8, 4-10 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 9, 4-10 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 10, 4 p.m.-midnight
Saturday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m.-midnight
Sunday, Oct. 12, 12:30 p.m.-7 p.m.

Ticket info:
Adults: $7 at the gate
Students ages 5-18: $3 at the gate
Children under age 4: free
Parking is $3.

Directions:
To get to the Fairgrounds, take Ga. 400 to Exit 15 (Bald Ridge Marina Road) and turn left.
Continue straight through four traffic lights.
Turn left at fifth light on Hwy. 20 East.
At the first light, turn right onto Castleberry Road.
The Fairgrounds will be on the right.

Contact: (770) 781-3491 or www.cummingfair.net

I was showing a first time home buyer a home on Monday and told her about the $7,500 tax credit available to First time home buyers if they purchase a home beteen 4/9/08 and 6/30/09. She was very excited to learn of this benefit. I thought I would write a little about this to provide people with a little information on the subject.

Basically, the qualifications are:

• The Buyer could not have own a home, as a primary residence, in the past 3 years to be considered a "First Time Home Buyer"

•Purchase date on the contract between 4/9/08 and 6/30/09

•Tax credit up to $7,500 for federal taxes. The Credit is taken when your file your taxes so it does not help you as you sit at the closing table, but definitely helps at tax time.

•Income restriction to receive the full $7,500 are an AGI of $75,000 if you file as single, and $150,000 for married couples

•Repayment is spread over 15 years at $500 a year interest free (almost like the second mortgage)

•Tax credit is repaid beginning 2 years after the credit is claimed. If you purchase a home in 2008, you would begin repaying the loan on your 2010 tax return.

•If home is sold before repayment is completed the remainder comes from the sale proceeds. If proceeds are insufficient to repay the tax credit, repayment is forgiven.

For more information please consult your tax advisor and see www.Federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The impact on the market will be interesting to watch. This seems similar to me to the second mortgages that are now much harder to get, the issue is it does not help at the closing table unless the Buyer adjusts their withholding and saves the money before closing. As a realtor, I am grateful because I do think this will help demand.

If you are thinking of buying a home, call the John Foster team at 770 722-7010. Johns sells homes in Cumming, Alpharetta, Suwannee, Johns Creek, and Duluth.

From the Forsyth County News Website 9/11/08:

"Seven Forsyth County schools were among 20 Georgia school chief Kathy Cox honored Wednesday for student test performance.

The local recipients of the inaugural Superintendent's Distinguished Achievement Awards included: Big Creek, Johns Creek and Sharon elementary schools; Riverwatch, South Forsyth and Vickery Creek middle schools; and South Forsyth High.

The awards are based on student performance on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, the Georgia High School Graduation Tests and the End of Course Tests.

The honors went to schools with the highest achievement and greatest improvement on the tests."

So that's 7 of 20 schools in the STATE of GA my friends and I think that is awesome! Here is my take on this: My daughter was in a private school from the 4th grade to the 6th grade and in her transition to Riverwatch Middle School I have been so pleased with the curriculum she is in. I have asked her if she is ahead or behind in any of her subjects and I have come to find out that she feels she is behind in Spanish (Riverwatch teaches high school Spanish 1 to 7th graders). Surprising because she was in a private school that had the International Baccalaureate Curriculum and you would think that language there would be ahead of the public school curve. She also feels that she is even and on grade level in her other subjects.

Congratulations to the hard work of our school system in Forsyth County!

After all, it IS August, a month that traditionally is not high on the sales month for real estate as most folks are settled in and in Forsyth County the early school start gets people more apt to settle in in July.

After reviewing the solds in the Brokermetrics (tm) program (which, by the way ONLY pulls from MLS transactions so anything outside of the MLS doesn't count) it is showing our average sales price or homes in Forsyth County at $256,870 down from an average of $280,000 last month. With the foreclosure rate as high as it is becoming, I expect this to be the trend for the next couple of months. Luckily, Forsyth county is not as high on the foreclosure list as Fulton and Gwinnett are (there is a reason we live in this county!!!!).

Currently there are 4277 homes for sale in the county with 233 under contract and 186 closed in August 08. That doesnt thrill me a whole lot, that also is a number that agents need to show their sellers. That you have a 4.3% chance of finding a buyer for your property right now.......OK ,so that's an overall number but it is reflective of what is going on right now.

With the government's support of Freddie and Fannie, rates have plummeted, and the election is right around the corner, there has never been a better opportunity to buy in our area. Check out the article written by Seth Wiseman, a respected real estate attorney on why it is time to buy now at the following link:

http://atlantalifemag.epubxpress.com

Football season is HERE---GO GATORS (I'm gonna get flack from that one......)

This weekend I had a buyer in from out of town and we looked at over 60 homes in 3 days. In looking at the 60 homes I am amazed at the number of homes that are in very poor condition. Homes that are vacant, that need to be painted, need carpet to be removed and need the A/C to run in order to sell the home. It was the exception when a home was pleasant to view.

When you want to sell your home price is a key, but the ability to have it in showing condition is how the buyer makes decision - remember when a buyer comes to a home to view it - they know they price and have said it is within their acceptable range. The next step are the features and benefits of that home compared to the - in this case 60+ homes we viewed.

Yes there are a lot of homes on the market right now, but if you have your home in tip top shape and it is priced right I belive it will sell.