I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. Here is a glispe of my evening spent at the Tamarac Sports Complex, which had a wonderful turn out since we didn't get rained out! It happens every year and this year it didn't. Cars were lined up on every street, dancing, face painting.

Here are 2 videos of our evening......

Jeannette Neerpat
9000 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Fl 33024
www.Neerpat.com

Would you like a Free Market Analysis? Visit www.Neerpat.com or call 954-993-4104.

Do you remember last summer the M2T contest? Where there were a bunch of teams of Appertence and Mentor? Well Midori and I were part of that contest and made it to the top 3. Brian and Desiree came in first and Missy and Kim came in second.

Well a year has gone by and a lot came from that contest. Friendship, business and of course we put in place business plans, pre listing packages, listing contracts and so on.

Till this day I still get comments on the pre - listing package Midori and I came up with and she is still ask for a copy of it. Well she called me the other day saying she got an email from someone who was looking to write about our Listing Checklist. So she called me and asked if I was ok with someone writing about it. I was more than ok I was flattered actually.

Someone from outside of AR took noticed of our work we put into this check list. I wasn't sure when the blog post was going to come out when I got a tweet today from @candylynn about getting organized with my name in it. Huh? organized what is she talking about. Well when I click on the link sure and behold there was the post. It blew me away, it was already up....

Can you believe a year has gone by? Wow times have changed!! I owe a lot to ActiveRain. I have gone so far in this business because of the site and I am so happy I found you by chance 2 years ago.

So a BIG THANK YOU!!!

Jeannette Neerpat
9000 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Fl 33024
www.Neerpat.com

Would you like a Free Market Analysis? Visit www.Neerpat.com or call 954-993-4104.

Florida is Set to help with Down Payments!

The state is looking to help with the Down Payments assistance. Which helps you with the purchase of your First Home. How much better can this get. So now instead of having to wait for the tax credit, you can use it as a Down Payment.

So with an FHA loan on a $250,000 you need 3.5%, that means you need $8750. So if you get the $8,000 then you are looking at bringing $750.00, plus your closing cost.

So what the government is trying to do, is lend you the $8,000. You still file it on your tax return for next year. Then when you get the return you payback the state. So you are not using your out of pocket money. Makes sense to me.

This article is out of the Sun-Sentinel.

“Here in Florida, rather than qualified buyers waiting to get the tax credit on the tail end of the process, in the form of a credit after they have filed the tax returns, it will allow them to get it upfront and let them use it for down-payment assistance and fees,” said David Hart, vice president of legislative and government affairs for the Florida Home Builders Association. He estimated that about five states are taking a similar approach.

The state’s program takes effect Wednesday, though the money isn’t expected to be available until later in July or August. The funds are being distributed through local government and nonprofit agencies that already provide down-payment help through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, known as SHIP. Qualified homebuyers are entitled to $8,000 or 10percent of the property’s purchase price, whichever is less.

18 months to repay

Buyers who receive a down payment must file for the tax credit on their federal tax return next year and then repay the agency that lent them the assistance, according to the program, which was proposed by state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. The program gives buyers who qualify and get funds 18 months in which to repay the state, which allows them plenty of time to realize the benefits of the tax credit, part of the federal government’s massive stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

To receive the state’s down-payment assistance, the buyer must close on a property by the end of November. Housing agencies are still working out the details of how to distribute the funds, and state officials caution that four or five months is a relatively short time in which to qualify, find a home, obtain a mortgage, close on the property — and use the money. Qualified buyers who do not take advantage of the state program may still take the federal tax credit, which is currently set to expire in December.

Jeannette Neerpat
9000 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Fl 33024
www.Neerpat.com

Would you like a Free Market Analysis? Visit www.Neerpat.com or call 954-993-4104.

I want to take this time to Thank everyone here. All your emails and your tweets and a few voice mail messages. I am blessed to have such great realtionships.

Thank you Midori for your special post and everyone who commented. The surgery went well. I am in pain, but recovering well. I just got back home and the Dr said I must stay in bed for the next week.

So since I will be in bed, I will catch up on some blogging that I have missed from being busy. Funny thing, while drugged up at the hospital in pain I was talking with one of the staff in my room about Real Estate and managed to get a buyer client. Now talk about PASSION for REAL ESTATE.

From the bottom of my heart!!

Jeannette Neerpat
9000 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Fl 33024
www.Neerpat.com

Would you like a Free Market Analysis? Visit www.Neerpat.com or call 954-993-4104.

So I was reading the paper today and came across an article that Broward County Property Appraisers are going to business that owe in back taxes. The county is looking to collect around $8 million in back taxes.

FORT LAUDERDALE - Tax collectors hit the streets Wednesday in a sweep of hundreds of business -- demanding they pay delinquent bills or have their equipment and furnishings sold at auction.

Customers were exercising at a downtown Fort Lauderdale gym when collection agents posted a lien for $9,900 in back taxes on its doors in the morning. Workers at a Quizno's sandwich shop on nearby Las Olas Boulevard were preparing for the midday rush when the agents arrived there moments later to tape a lien for $3,400 to its front door.

Broward County hopes to collect up to $8 million in past-due personal property taxes in the three-day push. Auctioneers are on standby to begin selling the property of any businesses that don't pay up within 30 days.

So now my question is, If the businesses pay up, and now the county has that money, will they still be layiing off the 400 plus teachers they plan to let go?

I mean come on $8 million dollars is alot of money!!!

FORT LAUDERDALE - The Broward School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to lay off almost 400 teachers, despite pleas from more than 150 parents, teachers and students -- mostly from West Broward High School -- to keep them in their jobs.

Board members said they had little choice but to lay off the teachers, citing three years of state budget cuts and declining student enrollment. And they were angry, urging the audience to call and write state leaders to protest.

This is the first time in more than two decades that the Broward School District has laid off teachers, though officials said they hoped all the teachers would be back at work with the district by Aug. 24, the first day of school.

Both of these articles are in todays paper. We have 2 different things going on. I hope that the county looks to see if they can hold on to these teachers. I really don't want to see my kids in bigger class rooms and not get the proper teachings they need. To many students in each class takes away from individual times with the teacher.

I am not trying to be selfish in anyway, but I am looking for the best option for my kids!

Am I wrong? I don't think so, but you chime in and tell me if you have a better idea. Not like the government will listen to us. But you never know!

Jeannette Neerpat
9000 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Fl 33024
www.Neerpat.com

Would you like a Free Market Analysis? Visit www.Neerpat.com or call 954-993-4104.