Columbia, MO

When the husband of a friend from our local MOMS Club group was deployed she had two little ones at home and a third on the way. She didn't have family that lived locally but our group does what we can to support each other. We carpooled to school and helped with what we could.

One thing we struggled providing was help with yard care. She a two year old in the house and was far along in a pregnancy so trying to spend the afternoon on a riding mower was pretty much impossible. I called so many different organizations trying to locate help and I learned of a project today which would have been a blessing to my friend at the time and may be something she'll need look at in the future!

GreenCare for Troops is a nationwide outreach program coordinated by Project EverGreen. GreenCare for Troops connects local lawn and landscape firms with men and women serving our country in the armed forces away from home. Stuart Scott, with Cevet Tree Service here in Columbia, promoted the project on our local talk radio station, KFRU, last week.

GreenCare has helped over 1,400 volunteers provide free lawn and landscape services for over 6,500 military families nationwide. The cost to manage the GreenCare for Troops Program is underwritten by Cub Cadet Commercial.

Here in Columbia, you can contact Stuart Scott with Cevet Tree Service at 573-882-2466. You can find additional information regarding the program and additional volunteers on the GreenCare website at www.projectevergreen.com

Thank you for your support!

The Maplewood Barn Theater and Nifong Park will be location of the annual Heritage Festival during the 3rd week in September, 10am - 5pm. Free and open to the public! Parking is available.

The Heritage Festival showcases vendors and artists who demonstrate their skills and trades and sell their creations. In 2004, the event featured an 1859 town, cowboys and their chuck wagons, American Indian tepees and a Lewis & Clark Camp. Great music and entertainment on four stages, crafts, children's activities, storytelling, hay rides, kettle corn and more make this a fun family event.

My kids have a blast each year! It is very interactive and supports their imagination.

Just Between Friends

Friday, September 5-6, 2008
Boone County Fairgrounds
Off Route 63
Columbia, MO

I've signed up to consign at this sale for the second time. Each sale gets better as word of mouth grows so there are more shopping!!

Description: There is no need to shop overpriced mall and department stores, and no more running from garage sale-to-garage sale. Just Between Friends puts it all under one roof! The best in "gently-used" children's, juniors and maternity clothing, as well as baby equipment, nursery and maternity items, outside playground equipment, books, kids movies, shoes and toys, toys, toys!

See linke: http://columbia.jbfsale.com/

Mark your calendars because on September 27 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, the mid-Missouri community is invited to the South Farm Showcase sponsored by the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station.

"Families with young children have responded with compliments about how much they enjoy the educational activities," said John Poehlmann, AES assistant director. "We offer a glimpse of agriculture that is unique to our community and our faculty and staff do a fantastic job of bringing the complex issues to our visitors, both young and old."

Advertised activities include: a farm animal petting zoo, a corn maze, cockroach races and running the bases on the MU "Field of Dreams." Other attractions include live music and food vendors. There is no cost to attend.

The MU South Farm is located south of Columbia on New Haven Road, one-quarter mile east of the AC/Grindstone exit off Highway 63.

During the past few months, the Columbia real estate market made an impact on the federal level. The Columbia Board of REALTORS^® set out to change the definition of a "declining market" after Boone County found itself on the list.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) requires the two Government Sponsored Enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to require a higher percentage down for mortgages in declining market locations.

Carol Van Gorp, CEO of the Columbia Board of REALTORS^®, led the effort for the change in designation. She learned earlier this week that OFHEO eased the requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to require the maximum loan-to-value ratio for a loan by five percentage points in declining markets.

"This is wonderful for first time homebuyers, who no longer will have to come up with an additional down payment on their first home," Van Gorp said.

Under the Fannie Mae policy change, borrowers can get loans up to 95 percent loan-to-value, even in markets in which prices have been falling. Prior to the change, borrowers could only get loans up to 90 percent to give lenders a 5-percentage-point cushion to protect against possible price declines in the future.

Freddie Mac has announced that they are eliminating their "Declining Market" designation all together and will allow maximum financing up to 95 percent in all markets.

The Columbia Board of REALTORS^® questioned Boone County's designation of a declining market. With a 1% overall decline in the OFHEO index for the most recent two quarters of 2007, Boone County received the designation. However, for the last two
quarters of 2007, Columbia's rating was at 1.8%.

Van Gorp approached well-known economist Lawrence Yun to plead Columbia's case that it should not be on the declining market list. Yun was recently named among the top 10 economic forecasters by USA today, and is responsible for the National Association of REALTORS^® real estate statistics and economic forecasting.

National Association of REALTORS^® President-Elect Charles McMillan used Columbia as a "test" case to get the declining market designation removed. Local lenders and Appraisers gathered historical data which indicated that our market was not declining. McMillian hand carried statistical information to both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to review on April 30.

The National Association of REALTORS^® agreed with Van Gorp's assessment. In a letter to The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), CEO Dale Stinton stated, "...we are concerned about the impact of the GSEs' declining markets policies that require a five percentage point increase in the down payment if the home is located in a declining market. These policies run the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by stigmatizing markets, reducing demand, driving down home prices, and hurting communities."

The declining market designation change will be effective June 1.