Fran Gatti - Realtor®, RDCPro®, Crescent City CA Real Estate

My Crescent City Fed Ex driver is the best there is and just one more reason I love living in a small town.

First off, I don't know his name, but I will find out and put it in this post. He is awesome. My husband and I had a delivery that needed a signature and it was impossible for either of us to be home from work, so he delivered the package to my husbands school (he's a teacher) during my husbands lunch break. How convenient is that?

Today, I was at work and noticed the Fed Ex truck in our parking lot. I had a fax cartridge ready to be sent back to the manufacturer and took it outside to hand to the driver and he said, "I saw your car in the parking lot and thought I would deliver this package to you at work, so I didn't miss you at home."

I defy anyone out there to tell me they get as good of service from their driver. Go ahead and try.

Yep, that's what I thought. Only in a small town folks.

For affordable real estate, check out my website at www.frangatti.com. Thank you.

Here is Information on the First Time Home Buyer and Move-Up Buyer Tax Credits -

$8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

• The $8,000 tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
• The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
• The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
• For homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

The $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

• To be eligible to claim the tax credit, buyers must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500.
• The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
• The credit is available for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase qualifies provided it is completed by June 30, 2010.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

It looks as though the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit will be extended.

Lawmakers, looking for ways to generate home sales, are talking about extending the First Time Home Buyer Tax CreditAND increasing the income requirements so more Americans can qualify for this incentive.

Experts agree that the extension is all but certain as lawmakers look for the vehicle to bring this before the senate. Per The Wall Street Journal last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to attach the legislation to a bill that will extend unemployment benefits.

More about the revamped extension:

1. The new version of the tax credit will have a contract deadline of April 30, 2010 (must have a fully executed contract), with the sale to be finalized on of before June 30, 2010.
   
   
2. Homebuyers who have lived in their home 5 or more consecutive years out of the last 8 years will be eligible for a $6500 tax credit if they "move-up" to a new home." This targets homeowners and not investors.
   
   
3. The income ceiling level will be raised from $75,000 for a single-person and $150,000 for a couple to $125,000 and $250,000 respectively, although neither can purchase a home for more than $800,000 and get the tax credit.
   
   
4. The current tax credit has cost the Federal Government more than 10 billion in lost revenue. The new version will certainly have a greater impact.

What is your opinion of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit?

Crescent City Tuna Fishing - A Mike Nolan Fishing Adventure

There is a story that goes along with this fishing trip. Here it is as told by John E Evans first and then Mike Nolan:

Well it all started when Mike asked if he could invite a fishing buddy to go with us on a Tuna Fishing trip. Mike said," his name is Doug Oxford, and he's a former fishing guide turned Sheriffs Deputy". I said OK, he's welcome to join us.

Our first trip with Doug was very good and so when we planned another trip Mike couldn't go, but Doug was available and another friend John Conderaque (not sure of spelling). John owned the Smith River Motel, and I met him through Mike. It was around early Sept of 1997, and we headed out very early around 5 am one morning.

As we left the Harbor I noticed what seemed a carpet of small, round Jelly Fish all around us and as deep as I could see. John promptly took out his brand new camera and proceeded to snap shots above and then holding the camera under the water taking shot after shot. I finally asked him to save some film for the fish, at which time we continued on with our mission to catch Tuna. By now we were out about 15 miles and hadn't caught a thing. Conditions were very good and water temp was right, but no Tuna. We had been trolling for some time when I heard radio chatter about Tuna at 9 miles from C.C. I could see a couple of boats inside us, so we picked up the Lures and headed toward them. After we started trolling again, it wasn't long before we had jig strikes and caught a couple of Tuna, so we put the lines back in, and started trolling again. This time when we hooked up, a big seal grabbed the fish. I made a quick move to get away from the seal and started trolling again. We trolled some distance, but had no strikes. I turned back towards the area we had hooked the Tuna, hoping that the seal would be elsewhere by now. I retraced the the path shown on my Chart Plotter back to the area of the catches we'd had, noticing another vessel was also fishing the same area.

Doug said he thought the other fisherman was a retired DFG warden, and we waved and continued on. Now the entire time we trolled I operated the Helm, so i relied on Doug and John to spot any activity behind, and i would do the same ahead. Suddenly, I saw Doug's eyes go wide open and wondered out loud what's that! About that time one of the reels started to scream from a jig strike, and as I looked back to see, a Marlin jumped behind the boat with my lure, (a Mexican Flag pattern) and proceeded to take the line off the reel. I turned the boat around in order to chase the fish so that Doug could tighten the drag and get back some line on the reel, which by this time was almost empty. I put the engine in neutral and watched as Doug proceeded to pull on the Marlin. The fish put on a great show for us and attracted the other boater we had passed.

I was waiting for Doug to hand off the fish so we could all have a turn, since it was my boat and fishing equipment. I didn't think it was to much to ask, but Doug would not hand off. John was taking picture after picture with his brand new Camera of an amazing event. As the Marlin, a Striped Marlin, came to the boat, I put on my gloves and was able to grab it's bill and hold on. It was worn out by that time and put up little resistance. Now, while this was going on John was making a visual recording with his "brand new Minolta." I suggested that rather than kill such a fish, that we release it to live on. Having no voiced objections and the fact that we would have pictorial proof of our wondrous catch, I ordered the engine put in gear and proceeded to revive the Marlin by holding it in a swimming position. It wasn't long before i felt the fish starting to revive, and as I released it, the fish put on a visual glow turning different colors as it left our view. I felt extremely pleased that it was still alive and we were anxious to get back to the dock and brag about our Marlin. I asked John to get the film developed asap, so we could prove the catch.

I heard awhile later that Doug Oxford went to the Triplicate (our local newspaper) and told them how he caught a Marlin and omitted to mention me or my boat and fishing equipment. In the issue of Sept. 6 1997, an article appeared with Doug's version of how he caught a Marlin off C.C. To top it off, John seemed to have had a malfunction with his "Brand New Camera", and only the Jelly fish pics developed. I imagine that the camera ran out of film, but John has never said and I know how bad he felt, so it was best not to ask him. So Fran, by this time you probably wished you'd never asked about the Marlin, but I can tell you it was a thrill for me regardless of the lack of proof. Oh, and by the way, Doug was never invited again.

Here's what Mike had to say about that day:

Howdy Fran,

This pic was taken on a commercial boat, with my son Matt on left, and Ronnie Caron on right. It was the day I changed to drag boat with skipper Joe Caron to sport fish on drag boat instead of Johns boat when marlin was landed.

They never had a albacore on board the 80 year old boat and no gaff, just a hand pick to bend over the rail and pick up tuna. I brought a dozen feather lures and five rods and we lost most of the lures and most of the line as we fought tuna all evening and next morning as we trolled from Brookings to CC the next am. Barbecued shrimp that night, they had caught in their net the day we departed at 5pm from Brookings. All night was the sound of jumping fish attracted to the lights and fish underneath the boat at false dawn when we awoke.

We landed close to 100 albacore by the time we docked in Crescent City at noon the next day. The best pic and most fish I have ever helped catch in less than 24 hours.

That's my side of the marlin story.

Kind Regards,

Mike Nolan

Follow all of Mike Nolan's fishing adventures on my blog.

Crescent City makes America's Prettiest Towns list at Forbes Traveler.com

There are so many reasons that Crescent City would make the Prettiest Towns in America list. To name a few:

• Pristine parks: Tolowa Dunes State Park, Beachfront Park, Lake Earl Wildlife Refuge, Jedediah Smith State Park
  
  
• Miles of rivers for rafting, fishing and more: Gasquet, home of the forks of the Smith River, the Klamath River
  
  
• Beautiful and quiet places to swim: Second Bridge a swimmer's delight
  
  
• Miles of beaches: South Beach, Enderts Beach
  
  
• Fresh seafood: Fresh Crab, Fresh Tuna, Tuna fishing w/Mike Nolan, Fishing the Pacific North Coast w/Mike Nolan
  
  
• World Class Fishing: Crescent City Harbor, Fishing the Rogue River

Not to mention Pt. Saint George Reef Lighthouse, Battery Point Lighthouse, Batter Point Pier, Redwoods State and National Parks, Point St. George Recreation Area, surfing...need I say more?

Here is a link to a cottage by the beach that I just listed. Let me know if you want more information.