I'm really excited about this new organic Co-op opening in Weatherford. It's amazing how much different the fruits and vegetables taste from the produce you buy at the typical grocery store.

Run out of Fort Worth, Your Health Source offers local, regional and national fruits and vegetables that are all organic — raised without harmful pesticides and with no genetically modified items. Co-op participants pay $25 a year for a membership fee, plus $50 every two weeks for the produce. There can be between 15 to 30 pounds of produce, according to the Your Health Source website, depending on the items — berries obviously cost less than apples. For those who want more, they can pay a bit extra to receive more vegetables or fruits. In Weatherford, two of the people who help run the distribution for the co-op also get raw milk and cheese from Bridgeport and offer those items to the participants in the co-op. A gallon of raw milk is about $7.

Simone Cobb and Joanna and Keith Saunders were originally part of a different Parker County organic food co-op about a year ago. But, that one disbanded and they decided to participate in and help distribute items for Your Health Source. This Weatherford co-op has been around for almost three weeks and has 23 members.

Every other week, a truck from Fort Worth comes to Cobb’s home to drop off the produce. She and the Saunders’ distribute it into bins for the co-op members, who then pick it up and pay in advance for the next food drop.

“There’s an average of eight to 10 kinds of vegetables and six varieties of fruits,” Cobb said about the what’s in the bins.

On Saturday, the three gave out bins with locally-grown shitake mushrooms, as well as organic asparagus, beets, peppers, apples, avocados, zucchini and more.

Co-op members get emails in advance about what will be in the coming bins so they can plan ahead on meals, said Cobb.

“It’s a huge difference,” Cobb said of the taste of the food. “It’s clean food. It doesn’t have the pesticides, the herbicides, the chemical fertilizers — all that stuff is toxic to your body.”

The woman who runs the co-op from Fort Worth also has some dry goods and even personal care products available, Joanna Saunders said.

“Not only is it good for us, it’s going for the environment,” Cobb added, noting that organic items come from responsible farms that take care not to erode the soil with overfarming, for example.

In Parker County, there aren’t a lot of options for finding local and organic products, Cobb said. Shopping at Whole Foods or other stores in Fort Worth can not only take a chunk of time and be expensive, but it doesn’t guarantee quality, Saunders added, noting how the apples from the co-op seem crisper and fresher than any she’s gotten at the store.

“The other great benefit that people find is that they really make an effort to use it,” Cobb said. “A lot of people who have joined have said they really want to get back into cooking.”

Happy Trails,

Donnie

First Time Home Buyers can receive up to a $2000 tax credit from the MCC program.

The dream of home ownership is becoming a reality for families across the state thanks to Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCCs). MCCs offer qualified home buyers an annual tax credit of up to $2,000 per year—just for owning their home.

How Does It Work?

An MCC reduces the amount of federal income tax you pay each year, making it easier to qualify for a mortgage loan and maintain a monthly mortgage payment. Unlike tax deductions, which reduce the portion of your income that is taxed, MCCs are tax credits. They reduce the final amount of taxes you owe each year.

How Much Can I Save?

MCCs provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your federal taxes worth 35% of the interest you pay on your mortgage each year, up to $2,000 per year. You can claim this tax reduction annually for the entire life of your mortgage loan. And, you can still claim the remaining 65% of the interest paid on your mortgage as a tax deduction. These savings can really add up.

For example, with a $90,000, 30-year fixed-rate loan at 6%, a homeowner will pay $5,400 in interest during the first year of the loan. The resulting MCC tax credit equals 35% of $5,400 for a total tax reduction of $1,890.

Am I Eligible?

You may be eligible for an MCC if:

1) You are purchasing your first home or have not owned a home in the past three years

2) You will occupy the home as your primary residence

3) The cost of your home does not exceed the maximum purchase price limit

4) You are purchasing a home within an eligible county in Texas

5) Your family income does not exceed the limits set by the program

Call Me Now To Apply for this new program. Texas is blessed in that all areas of Texas qualify.

Happy Trails,

Donnie

Fort Worth Texas is truly the center of the Texas Horse Industry. Texas is home to over 1 million horses which is 15% of all the horses in the USA. Texas also leads the Nation in the numbered of registered Quarter, Paint and Appaloosa Horses and is second to California in Arabians and Thoroughbred breeding stallions.

There are over 950,000 Texas horse owners each having an average of 3.7 horses. The industry employs over 43,000 people and horse people have invested over $13 billion in barns, trucks, trailers, and tack. They spend in excess of $2.1 billion annually to maintain their horses. The competitors will spend over $3 billion each year attending shows and events.

Texas horses are valued at more than $4.2 billion and sales each year are in excess of $354 million which is more than sales of hogs, sheep and lambs combined.

Total impact of the horse industry to Texas economy exceeds $11 billion annually. Now That's Big Business!

Now with all that information it's no wonder Texas is the most desirable State for horse owners to relocate to. With that being said, as a horse person and a Texas Realtor, I'd like to list a few things horse owners should consider when looking for horse properties here in and around Fort Worth and Weatherford Texas.

Texas Horse Barns: It gets hot in Texas, really hot. So look for or build a barn with a high pitched roof to let the heat out and away from the horses in the stalls. Make sure there are roof vents or better if there are windows like in a raised center aisle barn. Don't go cheap by not insulating the barn. This is one of the most important things to keep your horses comfortable. A good insulated barn will be about 20degrees cooler than one that's not. Stalls should be no smaller than 12X12 but if you have big warm bloods 14X16 is better.

Water: This is very important not only quantity but quality of the water. Make sure when buying a place that you have the well checked by a well service not only for quality but the gallons per minute and the static water level. Find out what Aquifer the well is in. The Trinity Aquifer has the best water but is deeper than The shallow Pauluxy. Here is another area lots of people try to save money by not drilling big enough or deep enough. The worst thing to happen is to run out of water.

Soil Types: The countryside around Fort Worth is varied but mostly with 2 types of soils heavy black and sandy soils. If you are in the horse business the best is to be in the sandy soil areas. Without going into lots of detail just remember black dirt bad, sandy dirt good. You'll figure it out after the first rain.

Horse Trainers: I think there are more horse trainers in the Fort Worth Dallas area than any area of the nation. They are kind of in areas of their own too. The Hunter Jumpers and Eventers over North of Dallas. The Reiners, Western Pleasure people are around Aubrey, Pilot Point and Whitesboro. The Cutting Horse people mostly around Weatherford. The Rodeo, Team Ropers and Barrel racers around Decatur and Stephenville.

Will Rogers Coliseum: Since the opening in 1988, the Will Rogers Equestrian Center has become known and recognized as a world-class center with over 100,000 horses having participated in equestrian events. The complex includes a 215,000 sq. ft. building containing the 1,946 seat John Justin Arena and the 640 seat James L. and Eunice West Sale Arena. In addition there are 843 permanent horse stalls. The $11 million, Moncrief Building opened in 1996 and includes the 1,100 seat W.R. Watt Arena and space for up to 650 cattle or 260 horses. The total number of available stalls can be increased to 2,200 during major events such as the annual Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, National Cutting Horse Association competitions, American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Show, American Paint Horse World Championship Show, and the Appaloosa Horse Club World Championship Show.

Equine Veterinary Clinics: The Fort Worth and Dallas Area have some of the best Equine Hospital facilities in the World.

Feed Supply: Generally North Texas has a good supply of quality hay grown locally. Most of the local hay is what is commonly known as Coastal Bermuda, which is a fine stem grass and if properly fertilized and baled should yield about 11% protein.

I hope this has been helpful to you when considering Fort Worth Texas horse properties.

Happy Trails,

Donnie

Stay Informed on The Fort Worth Real Estate Market

The New Loan Settlement Program

Underwater home owners will have to wait months to know whether they qualify for part of the $26 billion mortgage settlement from the Federal Government.
With many government agencies involved including the Justice Dept.there will be lots of red tape. Here is a website that should answer basic questions nationalmortgagesettlement.com

Anyone looking for a quick fix will be very disappointed. It may as long as 3 years to even find out if you qualify.

Who is potentially eligible? The first requirement is your current loan must be with one of the following banks; Ally, B Of A, Citibank, Chase or Wells Fargo. It will take 6 to 9 months to determine which borrowers will potentially find relief. Which in my opinion after dealing with many of these banks over the last 2 years in short sales and foreclosures the time frame will be more like 12 to 18 months.

Homeowners who will be helped by the settlement are generally those whose homes are underwater and those who are in imminent risk of default. Now I'm no math wiz but the time frame doesn't seem to workout for people who are already behind and facing foreclosure. To me this mostly a political move and it will create new problems and will benefit very few if any at all. This is another failed policy to reward those who don't make their home payments.

I not a fan of government intervention into the housing market mostly all their meddling is prolonging the pain and suffering of people. What do you all think?

Happy Trails,

Donnie

Weatherford Tx Horse Property

Overview Maps Photos Features Description Market Stats

$2,690,000 Single Family Home Main Features 3 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 Partial Bathrooms Interior: 5,563 sqft Lot: 119.00 acre(s) Location 4100 Old Dennis Rd Weatherford, TX 76087 USA To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the "Like" button below:

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DONNIE KELLER Reata Realty (817) 945-3848 donniekeller@reatarealty.net http://www.ReataRealty.net         Listed by: Allen Crumley Williams Trew

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