Lilburn, GA

We are thinking about migrating to the Clear Internet plan. they are running a special for two devices at $50/month. We could have home and mobile internet...

The Home package is supposed to run between 6 - 12 Mbps. The local computer store that we use is running on clear and even though there are officially on the edge of the service area they are running around 6 Mbps.

The Mobile device will run up to 4 Mbps. That is easily in the 4G realm...

The biggest downfall we see is coverage outside of the Atlanta Metro. We would love to be able to take the home modem with us in order to fire up the network when we are on vacation.

So, what I am wondering is if any of you are currently using Clear, and what your experience has been...

Do you know what those initials (FTHBTC) stand for?

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit...

If you aren't already familiar with it, it might be gone before you get a chance to get more familiar... It is currently slated to expire at the end of November. And the clock is ticking.

In a nutshell, the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is the governments way to push a few first time home buyers (people that haven't owned a home for 36+ months) off of the fence and get them buying sooner rather than later. It is $8000, in form of a refundable tax credit, for those targeted buyers if they buy a qualifying home.. and don't earn over the income caps.

There are a LOT of posts written about the tax credit... this post is about the clock. Or calendar, rather.

While talking with one of my "Go To" Mortgage Gurus, the subject of mortgage application turn times came up. He is up to his eyeballs in applications, as are other Mortgage Originators. They are currently turning from application to close in about 21 days...

The credit is slated to expire on November 30th... about 33 days from now. Given that most homes take a few days to negotiate, time is short...

Scratch all of that...

Alright, literally as I wrote the last line I got word that the credit is likely to be extended until April of 2010. The details haven't been hammered out yet, but it looks like the credit will survive for a few more months...

Nevermind.

But, don't wait until the last minute. Over the last few weeks we have seen homes in multiple offer situations. We have seen a little inflating of entry level home prices. Acting sooner, rather than later, might be a good idea... things usually slow during the winter here.

While I don't generally serve the Lilburn area, I do have a lot of friends there. I just thought I would post this chart of average homes sales prices for the area. The info is captured straight from Georgia MLS. It's hard to come up with an intepretation of the data. It's all over the place so take it for what it is: just raw data.

Have you heard about Fusion 41? Ford is grabbing a handful of social media and leveraging it to promote the 2010 Ford Fusion.

I'll give you the link to check out the contest. It is pretty cool. Go buy a 2010 Fusion, grab a few friends and have some fun. BTW, I'll be happy to be on a team if you have the car...

;^ )

The Fusion 41

from LaneBailey.com

My son's Kindergarten teacher and some of his classmates families gathers this morning at the Movie Tavern at Northlake Festival in Tucker. It is right by Northlake Mall... look for the giant tower in the parking lot.

The reason for the gathering was Flapjacks and Flicks (pdf) and Where the Wild Things Are...

On the menu is a drink and unlimited pancakes... The price is reasonable... considering the breakfast involved. We each had a couple of plates of pancakes (3 pancakes a plate), and a fairly big soft drink. The pancakes were pretty good.

Now, I am a "popcorn and barrel of Coke" kind of guy when it comes to a movie... but I also haven't been doing a lot of 9:00am movies. It was a great experience... and the 5 year old was pretty calm... I'll take that as a testament to his full belly.

My suggestions, get there a little early. This will allow you to get an extra serving or two of pancakes, if so desired. We ordered just before the movie started and got our flapjacks about 20 minutes into the flick.

Check the movie schedule... grab some breakfast during a movie.