Melinda Peterson Grants Pass Southern Oregon Real Estate Cafe

Breaking News: President Signs Tax Credit Extension & Expansion

President Obama signed into law legislation that extends and expands the first-time homebuyer tax credit this morning. This enacts the legislation into law making the extension and expansion effective immediately after today. To learn more about the jobless benefit extension and the extension of the homebuyer tax credit visit: Obama signs jobless benefit extension.

Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit?

• First-time homebuyers who purchase after today and before April 30, 2010, are eligible for the extended tax credit.
• Current homeowners purchasing a new principal residence after today and before April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.
• So long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.

Thank you for your efforts to make this success a reality! In Oregon, more than 2,500 REALTORS® joined the National Association of REALTORS® in this political endeavor.

National Association of REALTORS® Resources: The Basics: Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit 2009-10

Some days, I just wanna scream! Today, I learned another business owner closed his doors in Grants Pass, Oregon. The River's Edge Restaurant and Miranda Mae Cafe were two of my favorite restaurants in Grants Pass, both of which have closed their doors in the last thirty days.

It is difficult to watch how this economy has negatively impacted some of my dearest friends and colleagues. A bad economy is simply not a respecter of persons, it affects everyone. Unfortunately, it appears there will be more casualties along the way before we reach the road to recovery.

My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a business, a home, a job, and maybe even your dignity and self respect. May there be comfort in knowing this too shall pass. In the meantime, let's find meaning in the midst of loss, and a rainbow after the rain.

Today felt like a moment from the movie; Invasion of the Body Snatchers! As I was sitting in my office, buried in paperwork, I was mesmerized by the view outside my window. It was a beautiful sunny fall day in Southern Oregon, with blue skies and white patchy clouds floating effortlessly above. Clearly, my attention span to the project at hand was hijacked by an invader of another sort.

In the 80's, I worked for a large insurance firm, who had announced that with the advent of fax machines, we would soon be a paperless society. Not sure what paper they were smoking, but here we are 20+ years later, and still buried in paperwork. Perhaps it's a sign...

After moving to the beautiful State of Oregon, I became far more conscious of my recycling habits than ever before. I suppose when you see as many trees as we do in our area, it causes one to think about the cost of chopping them down. As I continue to wrap my mind around a tree, I am exploring ways to reduce our consumption of paper in the office. I am also hoping to eliminate storage space for office files. I have checked with our local Real Estate Agency and they are okay with storing listing and transaction files on a non-rewritable cd.

I am curious to know, has anyone mastered a paperless file system? If so, would you be so kind as to share how you are doing it (i.e. do you have a dedicated person who scans documents all day long?). Thanks for your thoughts and remember to Recycle & Re-use :)

Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking... into the future! Just a reminder... don't forget to set your clocks BACK one hour tonight (Sunday November 1st) at 2:00am local standard time. And, remember to check the batteries in your smoke alarms!

DID YOU KNOW...

• Benjamin Franklin first suggested Daylight Saving Time in 1784, but it was not until World War I, in 1916, when it was adopted by several counties in Europe that initially rejected the idea.
• Not all places in the U.S. observe daylight time. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not use it, and Indiana first began using it in 2006.
• Many other countries observe some form of "summer time," but they do not necessarily change their clocks on the same dates as the U.S.
• Daylight time and time zones in the U.S. are defined in the U.S. Code, Title 15, Chapter 6, Subchapter IX - Standard Time

Today was another fabulous day in Paradise! I was on my way to meet some clients for the first time from Long Beach, California. I wondered what they would think about our cold and cloudy weather today.

They asked if today's weather was a typical day in Southern Oregon. My answer was; "yes, on any given day in winter, the weather may start off cloudy and end up with sunny blue skies in the afternoon."

As we continued our tour of homes in the beautiful country side of Grants Pass, these folks were mesmerized by the beauty of the land and the friendliness of the people. And, after a few short hours had passed, the skies turned sunny and blue. At that moment, you would have thought that I was a prophet! I smiled. It was another fabulous day in Paradise!