ROBERT (BOB) GILBERT

Yesterday was the first day of early voting throughout the Houston area and it has been reported that there were record turnouts of early voters in Harris County by almost double factor versus the last Presidential Election held 4 years ago. As people from Chicago who are familar with the Daly group heard city politicians say to their people " Vote Early and vote often!!! Whether you vote early or vote on election please vote... The USA is all about csting your ballot on election day and having input into the government. Having the right to vote is a priviledge and pne we should all cherish.

Below is a list of places to vote Early in the Katy area:

FORT BEND COUNTY

1) Cinco Ranch Library, 2620 Commercial Center Blvd - October 24 - 24, ( M-F) 8 AM to 5 PM; Sat. Oct 25 7 AM - 7 PM; Sunday Oct 26 12 PM TO 5 PM; Oct 27- Oct 31 (M-F) 7 AM to 7 PM.

2) University Houston at Cinco Ranch, 4242 S. Mason - October 24 - 24, ( M-F) 10 AM to 7 PM; Sat. Oct 25 7 AM - 7 PM; Sunday Oct 26 Closed; Oct 27- Oct 31 (M-F) 7 AM to 7 PM.

If you live inFort Bend county outside these two areas there are approximately 19 other location to chose from Go to http://www.co.fort-bend.tx.us/PollingLocations.asp#23637 for a completre list.

HARRIS COUNTY

1) Franz Road Store Front, 19818 Franz Road, Katy - October 24 - 24, ( M-F) 8 AM to 4:30 PM; Sat. Oct 25 7 AM - 7 PM; Sunday Oct 26 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM; Oct 27- Oct 31 (M-F) 7 AM to 7 PM.

2) Courtyard by Marriott, 12401 Katy Freeway - October 24 - 24, ( M-F) 8 AM to 4:30 PM; Sat. Oct 25 7 AM - 7 PM; Sunday Oct 26 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM; Oct 27- Oct 31 (M-F) 7 AM to 7 PM. Go to www.harrisvotes.com/Docs/10.14.2008EVPR.doc for a complete list of voting locations. ( It is a word document)

WALLER COUNTY

1) Houston Oaks Country Club , 22602 Hegar Road, Hockley - Oct 23 - Oct 25 ( Thur-Sat) 7 AM to 7 PM

2) Brookshire Convention Center, 4027 5 th Street, Brookshire- Oct 23 - Oct 25 ( Thur-Sat) 7 AM to 7 PM - Other locations check http://www.co.waller.tx.us/ips/cms/modules/news/News_001.html?uri=/index.html

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

The Houston Chronicle last week had the times and locations of early voting only that data was totally incorrect....

The Katy Rice festival will be held this weekend on the historic streets of downtown Katy between 1 st. street and 4 street and Ave A to Ave D. If you are looking for good old fashion family fun at a reasonable price this is the place to be! The downtown Katy area is exit # 741 off of I-10 and downtown Katy is approximately 1 mile north of the freeway. There will be 300 plus booths of crafts and food, entertainment, and a carnival. The Festival dates back to 1981 and it is expected that 40,000 - 50,000 people will attend this year. Entertainment will be held on both Saturday and Sunday at the Katy Stage and the Rice stage and will include music, dancing, choirs, Tae Kwon Do, jump roping and many other acts. The Festival will be held on Saturday from 8 AM to Midnight and Sunday from 10 AM till 7 PM Parking is free of charge at Katy High School just off 1463 and Highway 90. Free shuttle service will carry visitors to downtown Katy for the events.

The Festival also has a Carnival. The Carnival actually starts on Friday evening at 6 PM and runs till 11 PM. The Carnival will operate from 10 AM till close on both Saturday and Sunday. Entertainment will start at 10:00 AM on Saturday at the Rice Stage and at noon on Sunday on the same stage.

Tickets are $6.00 per adult per day and children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. Senior Citizens age 65 plus are free and so are Military personnel with proper ID. Credit cards and checks are NOT accepted at the festival. Only Cash Money! Carnival armbands are one day all you can ride per person and cost $20 per person for Saturday and Sunday. The Carnival armband costs $15 for Friday evening.

Every ticket purchased at the Festival will generate a $ 1.00 donation to the Be An Angel Park which is handicapped accessible and located at Franz Road and Ave D.

Visitors can not bring ice chests or alcoholic beverages into the Festival.

Have a great time and relax while forgetting about the Stock Market, Politicians, Retirement and the fact that all of us are going to have to work our entire lives. See you there!!!

The Houston market "Hotness" statistic indicated that the South Katy area is once again number 1 during September 2008 with a ratio of 13.4 while the number 2 area was South Central with a ratio of 11.4. This specific "Hotness" rating refers to the number of pending sales ( buyer demand) that occurred during a given month in relation to its active inventory ( homes currently on the market for sale). The South Katy area has been the number one area several times this year and has not dropped lower all year than number three. These stats are based on data listed in the Houston Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service and while not 100% complete are very representative of each market. The South Katy did have some damage from Hurricane IKE but compared to most of the greater Houston area this damage was minimal being mostly fence and roof incidents.

The average price during on a year to date (YTD) basis has increased by $10,752 or 4.36 % versus YTD September 2007 data. Median home price has also increased by $10,680 or 5.08 %. The sales price per square foot has increased by $2.00 per square foot to $89.00 sq. ft. The final sales price as a % to list price has dropped from 97% during 2007 to 96% during 2008. New home listing in the area has increased by 165 to 3,652 at September 30, 2008. Pending sales in South Katy, like most areas in Houston, has decreased by 154 to 1,479 and days on the market have also increased to 64 from 54 last year. South Katy has a 4.4 month supply of inventory of homes available which is still excellent.

Contrary to all the negative press, homes are still selling in the South Katy area and people are going about their normal lives. The news media in Houston and across the US would have all of us believe that sky is falling in and we are living out our last days. South Katy has a good supply of available homes ready for buyers to move into and it's a great place to live with its award winning school district and tons of amenities. Give me a call as I would love to show anyone just how great this area is to live and/or work in!!!

TAX FILING

On Satuday September 13, 2008 the Federal Government declared several Texas counties ( all counties surrounding the Houston area plus several others are included) to be a presidential disaster area qualifying for individual relief. Affected Taxpayers residing in or have a business in the applicable counties now have specific tax deadlines postponed until Jan. 5, 2009. This postponement applies to filing returns, tax payments and other time related and sensitive issues tax issues due on or after September 7, 2008 and before January 5, 2009. This includes individual estimated tax returns with payments and corporate returns that were due September 15, 2008 and extended individual tax returns due October 15,2008. Affected taxpayers also included taxpayers who live outside of the indentified counties but whose books, records, or tax professionals offices are located in the disaster area.

PENALTIES

In addition, the IRS has stated it will waive penalties that are due for failing to deposit employment taxes and excise taxes due on or after September 7, and before September 22, 2008 as along as the deposits were made by September 22, 2008. The problem with the September 22, date is that numerous taxpayers in the affected areas did not have electricity until after that date. I guess the IRS never thought it would take as long as it did to turn the electricity back on in the Houston area.

CASAULTY LOSS

When you suffer a Casualty Loss from a disaster in area declared by the President as warranting federal assistance you may deduct the casualty loss either on the tax return for the year of the actual loss ( tax year 2008) or on the return for the prior year (tax year 2007). Since IKE occurred September 13, 2008, an individual generally has until April 15, 2009 to amend your tax year 2007 tax return ( Form 1040 X and signed statement regarding the disaster) to claim the IKE loss incurred during 2008 on your 2007 taxes. What is the advantage of amending 2007 tax year return you may ask? Well if a taxpayer incurred a significant loss from IKE then the taxpayer might obtain a tax refund quicker (assuming the amended return is filed fairly quickly) by amending 2007 instead of waiting to file year 2008 taxes. The IRS advises that taxpayers who file amended returns for tax year 2007 should write across the top of the return "Texas/ Hurricane IKE" to expedite handling.

All Casualty Losses are reported on Form 4684 and are reduced by 10 % of a taxpayers AGI ( Form 1040 line 37 tax year 2007) and by $100 for each casualty or theft incurred (Individual only). The amount of loss flows from Form 4684 to Schedule A Itemized Deductions but the normal itemized deduction haircut ( reduction based on income) is not applied on the loss from personal use property when a Presidential declared disaster occurs. An individual can deduct personal property losses not covered by insurance or any other type of reimbursement.

The amount of a Casualty Loss is the lesser of :

1) The difference between fair market value ( FMV) immediately before the casualty and its FMV immediately after;

2) The adjusted basis of the property immediately before the casualty( Busines Casualty Loss)

REDUCED BY : All casualty losses are reduced by the amount of insurance proceeds or other compensation received and the amount (if any) for salvage received if the affected item can be sold.

An individual can deduct the loss of items such as their home, auto's, clothing, furniture, appliances, cameras, all other household items, trees, shrubbery, tools, etc. Ideally pictures from a digital camera of affected loss items will make a significant difference in proving an individuals claim to the insurance company and to the IRS.

An individual is not taxed on disaster relief payments from any source that reimburses or pays the taxpayer for unreimbursed costs of repairing or rehabilitiating taxpayers personal residence or replacing its contents. In addition, a taxpayer is not taxed on payments that cover reasonable and necessary lersonal, family, living or funeral expenses as long as these items are not paid by insurance or other reimbursement. Payments made by federal, state and local government to individuals affected by a Presidential declared disaster are always excluded from taxation.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief act signed last December provides of up $500,000 in profits tax-free for widowed spouses concerning the sale of a primary residence owned jointly by them as long as the sale occurs within 2 years after the death of one of the spouses. Previously, a home had to be sold the same year as a spouse's death to qualify for the $500,000 profits exclusion, otherwise the exclusion dropped to $250,000. This was an another example of just totally stupid tax laws which were finally corrected. There are thousands of additional stupid tax provisions in the law right now and we can only hope for tax reform some day but don't hold your breath. Before this change, if a spouse died late in the year the other spouse had no real opportunity to even think and plan.