Shreveport, LA

This from a fellow bird lover in Ellerbe Road Estates neighborhood in Shreveport. He sent an email out to his neighbors generously alerting us to the migratory birds now passing through.

"I wanted to alert you that the beautiful Rubby-Throated Hummingbirds are now arriving in our neighborhood. I have a pair that started feeding 2 days ago.

I have had many Goldfinchs all year, but they are just now turning that beautiful golden yellow of their summer feathers.

The Housefinchs stay here year around. The males have red on their upper parts.

If you have a hummingbird feeder, it's time to put it out. You only need to put about 1/2 cup of sugar water in it now. Later as more Rubby-Throated arrive you will need more.

In about a month I will have 10-12 feeders out, each containing 2 cups of sugar water that will have to be refilled every day. I usually have about 200 hummers feeding on these feeders. As you walk down the south end of Sawgrass please feel free to stop and watch them feed and fight. The best time for watching is in the mornings and afternoons. They will be swarming like bees.

Other birds I see at my feeders and around the house are:
Mourning Doves
Red-bellied Woodpecker (they come for peanuts)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (in the trees)
Downy Woodpecker (in the trees)
Blue Jay (they come for peanuts)
Chickadee*
Tufted Titmouse*
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue Bird*
Robin** (on the ground)
Mockingbird** (on the roof)
Cedar Waxwing (saw one today with the Mockingbird chasing it)
Red Bird**
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (only saw him twice last year)
Indigo Bunting (only saw him once last year)
Dark-eyed Junco (sometimes called "snowbird")
Red-winged Blackbird (have not seen them for a few weeks)
Purple Martin (they visit my Purple Martin house but never have moved in)
English Sparrow (keeps trying to nest in my Purple Martin house)
Starling (keeps trying to nest in my Purple Martin house)

*=Nest in birdhouses in my back yard.
**=Nest in the trees around my house

He requested anonymity, which I'll respect, but I just want to thank him for taking the time to let us know what to look for. I'm off to find my field guide to North American birds!

I've posted about this part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act before, but I like the way this fact sheet from the National Association of Home Builders describes the $8000 tax credit. So here's a second look at it.

2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Fact Sheet

Who is Eligible?

• The $8,000 tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.
• The law defines "first-time home buyer" as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
• All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.

Payback Provisions

• The tax credit is a true credit. It does not have to be repaid.
• The only repayment requirement is if the home owner sold the home within three years after the purchase.

Income Limits

• Home buyers who file as single or head-of-household taxpayers can claim the full $8,000 credit if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $75,000.
• For married couples filing a joint return, the income limit doubles to $150,000.
• Single or head-of-household taxpayers who earn between $75,000 and $95,000 are eligible to receive a partial first-time home buyer tax credit.
• Married couples who earn between $150,000 and $170,000 are eligible to receive a partial first-time home buyer tax credit.
• The credit is not available for single taxpayers whose MAGI is greater than $95,000 and married couples with a MAGI that exceeds $170,000.

Effective Dates for the Tax Credit

• First-time home buyers would receive an $8,000 tax credit for the purchase of any home on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
• To qualify, you must actually close on the sale of the home during this period.

Tax Credit is Refundable

• A refundable credit means that if you pay less than $8,000 in federal income taxes, then the government will write you a check for the difference.
• For example, if you owe $5,000 in federal income taxes, you would pay nothing to the IRS and receive a $3,000 payment from the government.
• If you are due to receive a $1,000 tax refund from the government, your refund would grow to $9,000 ($1,000 plus $8,000 from the home buyer tax credit).
• Buyers can take the tax credit on their 2008 or 2009 income tax return.

Types of Homes that Qualify for the Tax Credit

• All homes, whether single-family, townhomes or condominium apartments will qualify, provided that the home will be used as a principal residence and the buyer has not owned a principal residence in the prior three years.
• This also includes newly-constructed homes.

For more details on the tax credit, visit the Federal Housing Tax Credit website.

There is good news on the home front for those of you who have been trying to decide if now is the time to buy a house. In plain language, interest rates are expected to drop .25 to .5 percentage points in the next few days and to stay low. This comes on the heels of the news that the Federal Reserve will buy $750 billion more in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in long-term government bonds.

Unfortunately, this won't help homeowners facing foreclosure or who have no equity in their homes in order to refinance. It also won't be any help to buyers who don't have stellar credit scores (740+ to get the best rates) and 20% of the purchase price for a down payment.

Those it will help are homeowners who aren't upside down on their mortgage who want to refinance and buyers who have great credit and the required down payment. And don't forget about the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. A savvy buyer can cash in on the low rates that will be here later this week, then file an amended federal tax return after their home purchase and pocket the net credit before the end of this year. Call me if you have questions about this.

Spring is in the air, the weather is getting warmer, and there are plenty of houses on the market. It's time to buy!

Its no secret that the customer base for many businesses has moved online. This is especially true of the real estate market. The number of buyers shopping online has steadily increased yearly for several years. Now, that number has reached 87% according to the 2008 National Association of Realtors(R) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, making an effective online marketing campaign essential if you want your business to continue to grow.

So, how do you get noticed on the world wide web?

One essential is SEO. Just what is SEO? Do I need one? Where do I get one? Is it easy to use? Does it come with instructions or , even better, a hotline? If you are one of the many who ask yourself questions like this, then read on…

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential if you want your website and online marketing to be found on the internet. It is based on a couple of things - one is what people search for on the web, the other is how relevant your information is to that search.

Here is how it works:

You are a real estate agent marketing your listings online. You are located in Shreveport, La. Your website should include information about real estate in your city, your listings, information on your local market and so on. When a homebuyer sits down at their computer to learn more about what is available they will search for something like “homes for sale with virtual tours in Shreveport”. The results they will receive will include websites that have virtual tours of homes for sale in Shreveport. Whether or not your marketing will appear in the results depends on how relevant your content is to this search.

Google Search Results

Viewers will look at those sites that appear on the first or maybe second page of the search results. Rarely do they view information found on page 10 of the results. Therefore, placing content on the web that is directly related to your business or product is essential to being found. But it is also essential to establish that information as being relevant to the topic. This is done many ways such as linking to other related information from your website, having other information linking back to you, visits to your website by interested people, etc.

SEO is a driving force in effective online marketing.

Creating a volume of relevant content on the web can be a time consuming effort; however, the effort is well worth it when you consider the market share available to be reached.

If your time is already spread thin, then you may want to consider hiring someone to help. Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours has optimized all of our online marketing on behalf of our clients in order to help drive them to the top of the search results and to create related relevant content on the web. Contact us today to learn more.

We have some great festivals in and around the Shreveport area. I've previously written about theRed River Revel. It rolls around every year at the beginning of October and in my mind is associated with cooler weather, food, and art.

In Shreveport when spring rolls around, you know it's time for the festivals to begin again.  The season starts of with Mardi Gras parades and parties. That has come and gone for this year, but that doesn't mean all the fun is over.  Here is a list of festivals coming up in Shreveport, Bossier City and other towns across northwest Louisiana.  I hope to see you at a few of them!

Mardi Gras in Shreveport - Mardi Gras is officially over, but this link will take you to pictures from the various parades in the area if you want to see how Shreveport does Mardi Gras.

MARCH 7th

The Jonquil Jubilee - Jonquils (aka daffodils) are one of my favorite flowers and to see a wide sweep of them across a pasture or in a woodland setting is a sight to behold. There are many vendors at this festival as well as tours of historic homes in addition to viewing the daffodils.

APRIL 10th-11th

American Rose Center - Each spring the Gardens of the American Rose Center on the western edge of Shreveport hosts a Full Bloom Spring Celebration. If you love roses, this is the place to be.

APRIL 17th-26th

Holiday in Dixie - This is one of the best family-oriented festivals we have. And it has something for everyone. There's a treasure hunt, doo-dah parade, carnival, photography contests, military ball - you're bound to find a way to have fun.

MAY 2nd - 3rd

Cinco de Mayo Festival - A celebration of Hispanic culture in the Ark-la-tex with good food, chihuahua dog races, and dance contests!

MAY 9th-10th

Barksdale Air Force Base Air Show 2009
Defenders of Liberty

Show Time is at 10:00 a.m.  With free admission and free parking, you can hardly go wrong spending the day at the air show.  Just be sure to bring sunscreen.  The show has something of interest to everyone.  Performers include the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, Canadian Forces Snowbirds, Chilean Halcones, Greg Poe, Shockwave Jet Truck, E Team Skydivers, Vintage Warbirds, and a Sunday Mother's Day Concert by country music star, Aaron Tippin!

MAY 16th

8th Annual David Rice Memorial Angel Run - A good excuse to get ourdoors and get some exercise. Proceeds from this fun 5k walk/run benefits Holy Angels Residence facility for developmentally and mentally challenged children and adults.

MAY 21st - 24th

Mudbug Madness - Another excuse to eat!! For those of you who may not know, mudbugs are crawfish. That's right - crawfish, not crayfish. If you saw a picture of their houses, you'd know why we call them mudbugs. But I digress.

This is always a fun festival with plenty to eat and plenty of Cajun music and dancing. There are even crawfish eating contests in several age categories (just to make it fair).

Shreveport and the rest of northwest Louisiana is an interesting mixture of Texas and Cajun influences, and our festivals and culture reflect this unique blend. Spring is a great time to get out and soak it all in before the dog days of summer are upon us.