News Flash
Homeowners win big with extension and expansion of federal tax credit
The U.S. House of Representatives today voted 403 to 12 to extend and expand the home buyer tax credit. The bill passed the U.S. Senate late yesterday and now will go to President Obama for his signature, where it is expected to be signed this week.
The tax credit will be extended through April 30, 2010, with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to the deadline. First-time home buyers will continue to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000, while existing homeowners will receive a credit of up to $6,500. Existing homeowners will be eligible for the $6,500 if they have lived in their current residences for at least five years. The bill also will increase the qualifying income limits from $75,000 for single tax filers and $150,000 for joint filers to $125,000 and $225,000, respectively. The purchase price of the home is capped at $800,000.
Under additional provisions in the bill, taxpayers can claim the credit on purchases completed in 2010 on their 2009 income tax returns. The bill maintains the provision that home buyers do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their primary residence for 36 months after purchase, and waives this requirement for active duty military personnel who move due to a military order.
For weeks, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R and its members have urged Congress and the U.S. Senate to extend and expand this crucial piece of legislation.
Nationwide, more than 1.4 million first-time home buyers were given the opportunity to become homeowners as a result of the Federal Tax Credit for First-time Home Buyers. According to C.A.R. research, nearly 40 percent of first-time home buyers surveyed said they would not have purchased a home without the federal tax credit, and approximately 70 percent said the tax credit was "the most important" or a "very important" factor in their decision to buy a home.
To read stories about the extension and expansion of this valuable home-buying incentive, please visit the following:
Aid for jobless, homebuyers clears Congress
To read the full story, please click here.
Congress Extends Jobless Benefits, Home-Buyer Credit
To read the full story, please click here.
Congress passes bill extending unemployment insurance, home buyer tax credit
To read the full story, please click here.
Articles above have been provided by the listed author immediately following the article. For additional resources and information to the authors, please visit the following sites.
Resource Links:
Bill Fields All Star Coaching Program: http://www.AllStarCoaching.net
GreatWest GMAC Search all MLS Listings: http://www.LocalHomeLink.com
GreatWest GMAC Consumer Buyer/Seller Blog: http://www.GreatWestBlog.com
T. Sami Siddiqui (Broker/ Owner) Buzz About Sacramento Blog: http://www.samisiddiquiblog.com
Brodie Stephens (Executive Vice President) One Stop Blog: http://www.brodiestephensblog.com
GreatWest Podcasts- Weekly Updates on new REO, Short Sale, Bank Owned Foreclosure Listings: http://www.HouseTalkOnline.com
GreatWest Videos: http://www.youtube.com/brodiestephens
Facebook Brodie Stephens Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/brodiestephens
Facebook GreatWest Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/searchmlshomesforsale
MySpace Brodie Stephens Blog: http://www.myspace.com/brodiestephens
MySpace GreatWest Blog: http://www.myspace.com/greatwest
Picasa Web Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/brodiestephens
GreatWest Real Estate Careers- GMAC is looking for Professional Realtors to Join Us: http://www.CareersWithUs.com
Global Employee Relocation: http://www.employeerelocation.blogspot.com
Apply for a Loan: http://www.choice1funding.com
You be the judge. Great article about a law suit in El Dorado Hills. Sounds like we might have another Davis on our hands. Tell me what you think?
Conflict with neighbors was the last thing Donna and Richard Ganguet expected to encounter when they moved into a gated community for people age 55 and older.
"In a senior community, you think we'll all be compatible and have the same values," said Richard Ganguet, a retired El Dorado County sheriff's deputy.
But three years after settling into their single-family home in El Dorado Hills' Four Seasons development, the Ganguets are suing their next-door neighbor over cigar and cigarette smoke they say wafts into their backyard and house.
Because of the smoke, the couple say, they no longer sit on their patio. They also try to sandwich in swims in the side-yard lap pool between their neighbors' smoking sessions.
Doug Smith, attorney for the neighboring homeowner, Florence Solone, said the issue is a trivial one that should be resolved by neighbors talking with each other, not with a lawsuit in El Dorado Superior Court.
But disputes between neighbors over secondhand smoke are increasingly making their way into courtrooms and city council chambers.
With smoking banned in workplaces, restaurants and bars, Californians are less willing to tolerate the smell of smoke in their houses or backyards, said Robin Salsburg, a staff attorney with the Oakland-based Public Health Institute's Public Health Law and Policy program.
Nearly 87 percent of California residents are nonsmokers, she said.
"The social norm is changing faster than I can blink," said Serena Chen, regional director of policy and tobacco control for the American Lung Association in Emeryville. In 2006, she helped persuade the East Bay city of Dublin to define secondhand smoke as a nuisance in its city code.
The majority of litigation related to secondhand smoke involves apartments and condominiums with shared walls. But Chen said the Dublin City Council's action was prompted by a woman living in a single-family home whose health was compromised by smoke drifting from her neighbor's yard.
When the Ganguets moved into their home in 2006, they were the first on the block. The pool was in place before there were neighbors.
They say residents and visitors at Solone's home smoke in the backyard at all hours of the day and night. Several people puffing away at once has resulted in smoke settling in their backyard like a low fog, Richard Ganguet said.
When he or his wife open windows or operate the whole-house fan, he said, smoke is drawn into the house.
They've tried dispersing the smoke, first with a small fan set near the fence. When that didn't work, they rented an industrial fan to blow the smoke up and out of the yard. But the fan is noisy and potentially disturbing to other neighbors.
The Ganguets said they rarely see Solone and tried to talk with her by phone, but they believe their calls were screened. They followed up with letters, but said they received no response, orally or in writing.
"Nothing changed," Richard Ganguet said, until they filed the lawsuit.
A man who answered the door at the Solone home last week identified himself as Steve Solone, Florence Solone's son. Steve Solone said he, his sister and brother-in-law live with his mother, and he and his brother-in-law smoke outside.
"My mother doesn't allow smoking in the house," he said.
Steve Solone said he smokes about a pack and a half of cigarettes a day, but he wasn't aware the smoke was an issue for the Ganguets until his mother was notified of the lawsuit. Steve Solone said he didn't think the smoke would travel outside the yard.
Florence Solone did not respond to requests for comment. Smith, her attorney, said he advised her not to discuss the lawsuit.
The smoking, Smith said, occurs in a three-walled patio area with fans.
"Florence Solone is like everybody's grandmother," said Smith, who said he has known the Solones for years. "She's genuinely nice."
The Solones want to live peacefully with their neighbors, Smith said. He characterized the Ganguets' letters as intimidating because they threatened a lawsuit.
Smith said he sought a meeting with the Ganguets' through their attorney, David Trapani, before the lawsuit was filed Oct. 1 but was rebuffed.
Trapani said his goal is to resolve the issue before the case goes to trial, but because the Ganguets filed a lawsuit, any settlement would be enforceable by the court.
"They have a right to smoke," he said, "but that right ends when it impacts someone else's property."
Donna Ganguet said she and her husband considered selling their house and moving rather than resorting to a lawsuit, but they believe the smoke problem would hinder a sale.
"We don't want to be controversial or confrontational," she said, "but sometimes you have to take a stand."
Source: http://www.sacbee.com/eldorado/story/2297196.html
Articles above have been provided by the listed author immediately following the article. For additional resources and information to the authors, please visit the following sites.
Resource Links:
Bill Fields All Star Coaching Program: http://www.AllStarCoaching.net
GreatWest GMAC Search all MLS Listings: http://www.LocalHomeLink.com
GreatWest GMAC Consumer Buyer/Seller Blog: http://www.GreatWestBlog.com
T. Sami Siddiqui (Broker/ Owner) Buzz About Sacramento Blog: http://www.samisiddiquiblog.com
Brodie Stephens (Executive Vice President) One Stop Blog: http://www.brodiestephensblog.com
GreatWest Podcasts- Weekly Updates on new REO, Short Sale, Bank Owned Foreclosure Listings: http://www.HouseTalkOnline.com
GreatWest Videos: http://www.youtube.com/brodiestephens
Facebook Brodie Stephens Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/brodiestephens
Facebook GreatWest Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/searchmlshomesforsale
MySpace Brodie Stephens Blog: http://www.myspace.com/brodiestephens
MySpace GreatWest Blog: http://www.myspace.com/greatwest
Picasa Web Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/brodiestephens
GreatWest Real Estate Careers- GMAC is looking for Professional Realtors to Join Us: http://www.CareersWithUs.com
Global Employee Relocation: http://www.employeerelocation.blogspot.com
Remember Bill Fields is Free for all GreatWest Realtors. Call or email for more details.
How often do you miss your coaching session?
I am always disappointed and frustrated by agents who miss their sessions. This week I decided to compile a profile of agents in the program and this is what I discovered about session attendance.
If you are a top producer looking back with satisfaction over your accomplishments for the month of October, I know the answer. You almost never miss a session. That's right. There is a reason that top producers are top producers. Top producers attend the sessions, interact with others, share good ideas and inquire as to how to implement other ideas. Top producers are the ones who make the commitment and follow it through with Action. (One of our top producers, Craig Duran was making a cross country trip with his new fiance', something many agents would use as an excuse not to attend a session. Not Craig, he had his girlfriend drive, he bought a cellular card for his computer, bought a headset for it, linked up and participated in his session with his other top producers. Craig's group is going to AVERAGE 5 closings this month. Ask Craig why he never misses a session!)
Who are the agents who miss the most sessions? They appear to be the agents who are not focused on a clear plan of action. They have a hard time prioritizing their life. Their business day is all based on reaction instead of pro-action. They are not yet fully committed to a career in the real estate business (And their income proves it!). Failing to reach their incredible potential, not because they don't know what to do. But because they refuse to do it. Frequently looking for someone or something to blame for their lack of true, long term success.
So, how often do you miss a session?
Are you off and running on your plan for a productive November?
Want a good idea to help you get motivated and stay on track? Start each day inputting your productivity points from the day before into the new electronic productivity tracking form. This will help you gage where you are spending your time and keep you focused on the highest priority activities that will help you reach your primary goals and objectives. (This will also keep you up to date and in the running for the monthly prizes and recognition for the most productivity points.)
Get registered for the program on effectively handling objections this Friday. You don't want to miss this one.
Thought for today: You cannot manage productivity...You can only manage the activity that results in your productivity.
Have a productive day.
PS. If you missed sessions because of a family tradegy, we appreciate the commitment to family obligation and don't consider this a lack of effort in your business.
BF
President
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.billfields.com
727-341-1962 727-341-1962
Articles above have been provided by the listed author immediately following the article. For additional resources and information to the authors, please visit the following sites.
Resource Links:
Bill Fields All Star Coaching Program: http://www.AllStarCoaching.net
GreatWest GMAC Search all MLS Listings: http://www.LocalHomeLink.com
GreatWest GMAC Consumer Buyer/Seller Blog: http://www.GreatWestBlog.com
T. Sami Siddiqui (Broker/ Owner) Buzz About Sacramento Blog: http://www.samisiddiquiblog.com
Brodie Stephens (Executive Vice President) One Stop Blog: http://www.brodiestephensblog.com
GreatWest Podcasts- Weekly Updates on new REO, Short Sale, Bank Owned Foreclosure Listings: http://www.HouseTalkOnline.com
GreatWest Videos: http://www.youtube.com/brodiestephens
Facebook Brodie Stephens Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/brodiestephens
Facebook GreatWest Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/searchmlshomesforsale
MySpace Brodie Stephens Blog: http://www.myspace.com/brodiestephens
MySpace GreatWest Blog: http://www.myspace.com/greatwest
Picasa Web Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/brodiestephens
GreatWest Real Estate Careers- GMAC is looking for Professional Realtors to Join Us: http://www.CareersWithUs.com
Global Employee Relocation: http://www.employeerelocation.blogspot.com
Apply for a Loan: http://www.choice1funding.com
It is likely that the unemployment benefits will be extended for up to an additional 14 weeks. Please see the YouTube Video where Sen. Jeff Bingaman outlines the proposed extension.
Articles above have been provided by the listed author immediately following the article. For additional resources and information to the authors, please visit the following sites.
Corporate Offices: GreatWest GMAC 3604 Fair Oaks Blvd., #120 Sacramento, California 95864 Offices in 5 Locations of Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yuba Counties. Sacramento, Placerville, Elk
GreatWest GMAC Real Estate is here to assist you with all your real estate needs. Whether you are looking for property in the counties of Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yuba, Sutter, or Yolo, we will be able to help you find the perfect home for you and your family.
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Suite 120
Sacramento, CA 95864
Phone: (916) 481-3400
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Elk Grove
9401 E. Stockton Blvd. #120
Elk Grove, CA 95624
Phone: (916) 481-3400
Fax: (916) 481-0816
Placerville
87 Fair Lane
Placerville, CA 95667
Phone: (530) 622-2000
Fax: (530) 622-1310
Roseville
2235 Douglas Blvd.
Suite 520
Roseville, CA 95661
Phone: (916) 789-0900
Fax: (916) 789-9395
Yuba City
1110 Civic Center Dr., Ste.304
Yuba City, CA 95993
Phone: (530) 673-2400
ChoiceOne Funding
3604 Fair Oaks Blvd. #120
Sacramento, CA 95864
Phone: 916-481-5700(Sac)
Fax: 916-481-0652
Our Real Estate Professionals specialize in the marketing and sales of Residential, Investment Income, Commercial, and Land.
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