Greg Saunders

Hello again Peachtree City & AR! You probably didn't know this but I have been a proponent for gaining the support from our elected officials related to getting an extension of the 1st Time Home-Buyers program. My efforts went so far as to send personal letters to both Senators Saxby Chamblis and Johnny Isakson asking for their positions on pending issues and continued support on others.

Folks, I would be remiss if I first didn't state that I received responses from both Senators. I thought I'd share the response I receive from Sen. Johnny Isakson which acknowledged his efforts as co-sponsor of the Bill to extend the tax credit to 2010. What you may not have known is that he also fully supports a Bill that would also create a $15,000 tax credit for all home buyers.

I've contacted both Senators on other issues that I strongly supported such as the down-payment assistance program and getting federal assistance to help the thousands of recent flood victims. Folks, can I be blunt for just a minute? Regardless of whether you voted for the person that is currently in office or not, this is the person duly elected to represent you! Can we put partisan politics aside for a minute and just talk about the facts?

The housing and financing industries are still in crisis! Bank of America just reported recent losses of $2.24 billion for the 3rd quarter of 2009 as loan losses keep sky-rocketing! Recently Senator Vincent Fort was able to get Wells Fargo/Wachovia not to foreclose on about a thousand homes that were set to be sold on the court house steps in Atlanta. In fact he and other protesters were arrested on August 31st at the Camp Creek marketplace offices of Wells Fargo for participating in a protest related to exposing predatory lending practices by Wells Fargo and Wachovia and their role in Georgia home foreclosures. By the way, Wells Fargo/Wachovia received $25 billion in tax-payer bailout assistance!

We need more than ever for our elected officials to step up and help find solution to these pressing issues that are affecting us all!

However, don't relinquish your responsibilities by merely relying on our elected officials to come up with all the answers. Take the opportunity to express your concerns to our elected officials and do what you can to make things happen. The bottom line is that in the end we all will be impacted by the decisions made my our electorate and the solutions that will be passed down as laws. You have a voice, a choice and a vote!

Dear Mr. Saunders: Thank you for contacting me regarding the extension of the current $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. I appreciate your thoughts and the opportunity to respond. We are quickly approaching the November 30, 2009, sunset of the of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. The current credit that was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has enable to roughly 2 million individuals to tax credit. According to the National Association of Realtor's 350,000 additional home sales have taken place because of the current credit. In response to the November 30sunset, I have signed on as a co-sponsor of S.1678 a bill to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit until June 1, 2010. While home sale numbers on entry level homes have begun to increase, there continues to be gridlock in the "trade-in" and "move up" market. A family who has been transferred to Georgiafrom another state is still having a hard time selling their previous home. With so many pending purchases contingent on the sale of the previous home, markets in this category continue to be locked. That is why I continue to support a $15,000 tax credit available to all homebuyers toward the purchase of a primary residence within one year after the date of enactment. We should at least continue the existing tax credit until June 30, 2010. I know there are concerns regarding the costs of an expanded tax credit but, there are ways to pay for this tax credit without increasing the national debt. Some estimates say an expanded tax credit could spur 700,000 additional home sales and generate 600,000 jobs for our economy. The U.S. economy is strongest when we have a vibrant housing market. Rest assured I will continue to support commonsense legislation that spurs growth in our economy. Thank you again for contacting me. Please visit my webpage at http://isakson.senate.gov/ for more information on the issues important to you and to sign up for my e-newsletter. Sincerely, Johnny Isakson United States Senator

Hey Peachtree City...The House just passed the bill introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) to extend the $8,000 First-Time Home Buyers credit to Members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees until November 30, 2010. The Bill passed unanimously and will now go to the Senate where it is also expected to pass with ease.

The Bill also amends the Internal Revenue Code and exempts those service personnel from having to pay back the credit should they be deployed for extended duty service.

So what about the extension of the First-Time Home Buyers credit? Well so far there has been heavy duty lobbying for the extension of this credit into 2010. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has sited that this incentive has been an important stimulus and participation is expected to result in around 1.8 million new home-owners.

There are currently about 6 Bills in the House related to extending the tax credit. Georgia's own Senator Johnny Isakson has been a outspoken proponent of extending the credit and introduced his own Bill about a month ago. Sen. Isakson's proposal would not only extend the tax credit through 2010 but would increase the amount to as much as $15,000 and allow all home-buyers to claim the tax credit just as long as the home is used as the buyer's principle residence.

First-Time Home Buyers....the perverbial clock is ticking it's way toward the November 30th deadline. Already there has been $1.5 million folks to take advantage of the credit. however, there are some rumblings from a number of pundits of this proposal that are opposed to adding on the the $15 billion that has already been allocated to this program.

So if you are considering purchasing a home and you meet the First Time Home-Buyer criteria.....don't wait and assume that the extension will happen. Take this opportunity to start the process now!!! Oh, gotta go...my phone is ringing now!

Hey Peachtree City & AR...City Council recently voted by a margin of 3 to 2 not to increase property taxes for fiscal year 2010! However, Council did agree to increase the millage rate to 5.711 mils. The increase in the millage rate would prevent the usage of cash reserves for the FY 2010 budget. Just in case you are wondering were the money is going....approximately 16.5% is headed to Peachtree City, 67.2% goes to Fayette County School Board, 15.5% goes to Fayette County and 0.7% goes to the State. Three public hearing were scheduled (as required by law) to advertise the increases.

Peachtree City's Finance Director, Paul Salvatore and City Manager Bernie McMullen recommended the increase which would have raised the average resident's taxes an additional $27.00 and brought a total of $474,000 in revenues to the City's coffers. According to City officials, without the raise in millage the City would have been forced to use almost a half million dollars out of the current $9 million in surplus monies.

There is much speculation surrounding the decision as concerns for a continuing downturn in the economy may pose a risk to current budget reserves. Some officials believe that uncertain and unstable economic conditions could lead to a more substantial tax increase down the road. Pundits have indicated that realistically not raising property taxes could result in property tax increases of $300 next year.

Peachtree City mayor Harold Logsdon has been outspoken on his objection to a tax increase based on the 35% excess in cash reserves. Logsdon feels that the City can use a portion of their cash reserves to eliviate a tax increase and still keep a 33% reserve. The City's policy is to keep 20% to 25% in reserves.

Should taxes have been increase? Well...Salvatore further stated that the survey results from residents and businesses who responded indicated a 70% and 74% support of the increase.

Okay Peachtree City, of course the looming question in your mind is.....what is the percent of responses received from the survey sent to businesses and residents? Great question! May I suggest a call to your local councilperson or to Mr. Salvatore's office to get an appropriate response.

Okay Peachtree City before things become as hostile as a town hall meeting on health care, let me explain the topic. Recently, I read this article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "(Marxism) The New American Dream: Renting." The article stated that Americans might as well get used to the fact that home ownership is no longer a realistic goal for folks and further suggested that we curtail the enormous government subsidies that are fueling this endeavor. The Marxism connotation as identified in the article's caption views Capitalism as a society in which a small minority of the population dominates and exploits the vast majority considered the working class.

At first glance it looked to be just another article by another self-proclaimed expert on their soapbox pontificating about the economy and forecasting more gloom and doom on the horizon. Later, I realized that the author, Thomas J. Sugrue a noted historian and professor at the University of Pennsylvania had profoundly chronicled the history of home ownership in modern America. What was even more intriguing was that his perspective was not only poignant but he seemed to have personalized it for me by using Atlanta as the microcosm for his analysis.

If you watched the news on or about August 12, 2009, there was several days of coverage from the Georgia World Congress Center. The images the television cameras broadcasted was tens of thousands of emotional homeowners packed into the World Congress Center like they were attending Michael Jackson's memorial service. Thousands were standing in line braving the mid-summer temperatures desperately seeking assistance in the face of losing their homes. The organization known as "The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America" (NACA)has been successfully touring across the South. Their goal is to paring struggling homeowners with the likes of mortgage giants such as Bank of America and CitiCorp. Evoking tears of joy and relief, some of the lucky ones were able to hold onto their ‘Dream" (at least for now) as they received loan modifications right on the spot.

So what may have brought us to this point you say? The article eluded to the real possibility that the lights could be going dim on the American Dream? You gotta be kidding me? The death of the American Dream? That had to be just a bunch or rhetoric! But other revelations was still to come. As I continued to read the article it was becoming more and more apparent that the sheer existence of the Home-Ownership Dream had everything to do with free markets, financial regulation, government intervention, and taxation.

Think about it folks....The birth of the American Dream didn't occur until Uncle Sam intervened way back during the Great Depression. In 1913 Uncle Sam added a little known provision to the federal tax code that allowed for the deduction of home mortgage interest payments. Just so you know, it was Herbert Hoover that signed the Federal Home Loan Bank Act in 1932, which laid the groundwork for federal intervention. In 1933, Frankin Roosevelt created the Home Owners' Loan Corporation to provide low interest loans for foreclosed home owners. In 1934, FDR created the Federal Housing Administration which cut rates and created the 25 and 30 year mortgages. Before that time mortgages were typically 10 year loans with 50% down payments.

Then in 1938, FDR created the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and thus was the birth of the secondary mortgage market. Later in 1944, the federal government extended mortgage assistance to returning veterans, most of whom could not have otherwise afforded a house. For me, this allowed my dad an army veteran as well as 90% of other families of veterans in the neighborhood I grew up in Chicago to purchase homes.

The data in the article is pretty darn accurate. Credit was easy to get as the Feds started underwritting housing programs. By 1950, 55% of Americans had attained their piece of the American Dream. By 1970, that figure reached 63%. Yes, It was now cheaper to buy than to rent! Subsequently renting carried a new stigma. Federal intervention unleashed enormous sums of capital that turned new home construction and real estate into economic sectors. In 1959 the census bureau began collecting data on new housing starts. This became a leading indicator of American economic vitality.

So it seemed too that these same federal policies carried another storied face....racism! Of all new housing built today, the article stated that 80% was reported to be reserved for suburbia a direct reflection of federal policies favoring the outlying areas instead of rebuilding deteriorating inner cities. This trend continued until civil rights legislation was passed back in 1968. The author questions seemed to indicate that the government sanctioned programs favored segregation although it was cloaked to look like the work of the free markets - the result of countless folks choice of where to live.

By the 1960's & 70's the Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) took hold and expanded the opportunity for housing which previously excluded minorities. Later in 1976, the Community Reinvestment Act forced banks to make loans to certain areas that had been previously "red lined"by banks. Soon Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac were even pushed to underwrite loan for minorities and others who were previously considered to be an "adverse risk."

As the turn of the 21st century approached, the euphoric Dream of home-ownership suddenly went delusional! The financing industry aided and supported by the Clinton and Bush administrations found new ways and implemented new tools to make it possible for more folks to obtain a piece of the Dream. We witnessed the birth of sub-prime lending, the securitizing of mortgages, and a cast of Financiers emerged that made it possible to gamble with other folks money. Of course, this opportunity to "get rich quick"enabled and lured investors to come out of the wood-works. Cha-Ching!

So here we are folks...waiting for devine intervention or someone to lead us out of this mess as the article referenced back to the scene at the Georgia World Congress Center. Here are the stats: Housing values across the United States have fallen by one third; Over a million homes were foreclosed on nationally in 2008; Foreclosures were up 7% in July 09; and our beautiful peach state ranks #7 of all states with the highest rate of foreclosures. The collapse in confidence in securitized, high-risk mortgages has also devastated some of the nation's largest banks and lenders. Look at Georgia's banking problems! Fannie Mae alone held an estimated $230 billion in toxic assets. By the way, banks have only extended 400,000 offers to an estimated 2.7 million folks who are more than 2 payments behind! So who's really benefiting from the stimulus?

Economists like Wharton School's Joseph Gyourko, are beginning to make the case that public policies should encourage renting, or at least put it on a level playing field with home ownership. The article reports that a June 2009 survey commissioned by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, found a deep-seated pessimism about home ownership, further suggesting that even if renting doesn't yet have that mark of distinction, it is the only choice available for folks who have been victimized by the housing market. Further, One third of respondents did not believe that they would ever be able to own a home. A whopping 42% of those who once purchased a home and lost it, now believe that they'll never own one again.

So there it is folks....everyone has their own story, struggles and opinions. Even me. Should we encourage folks to try and save their homes or is there a point to be made by this whole analysis. Further can it be deduced that government may have played a major role in the development of this crisis and now plans to portray the hero? Who can you trust? Additionally, with the currently rise in foreclosures....can we even consider renting an option without worrying about the owners possibly facing foreclosure and renters being put out in the streets. What do you think?

Hey Peachtree City & AR! Just in case you didn't hear the news....The Thomas Charles Hannon Memorial Field better know as "The Chuck" had its Grand Opening Ceremony on Saturday, August 8, 2009.

Throwing out the first pitch together was Atlanta Braves pitching ace Tim Hudson and former CY Young award winner Steve Bedrosian. Wow!!! What's so exciting and makes the Chuck a stand out in the State of Georgia is that its the first all-synthetic baseball field!

Deluxe Athletics, a leader in synthetic turf, was selected by Tournament Play Field Partners, LLC to completed the first 100% synthetic turf all rubber infilled baseball field in the state of Georgia. Kudos goes out to Deluxe Athletics who managed the turf application process on all levels of planning, design and oversight of the construction for "The Chuck." "We are proud to have installed the first 100% synthetic rubber infilled turf baseball field in the state, at "The Chuck" for Home Plate Baseball Academy in Peachtree City," says, Chris Daniluk, founder and president of Deluxe Athletics.

So how big is the Chuck? This $1.5 million dollar multi-use facility covers approximately 120,000 square feet of 100% rubber infilled material, utilizing a special clay-colored turf for the disignated field area.

Peachtree City joins the City of Sugar Hill, Georgia as the latest clients of Deluxe Athletics. Sugar Hill currently has the largest continuous synthetic turf in the whole southeast as the City decided to replace the natural grass concept and install a 255,000 square foot area at the newly built Gary Pirkle Park.

Beginning in August, The Chuck will offer baseball, softball, kickball, flag football, wiffle ball, ultimate frisbee, lacrosse, soccer and other related sports for youth, teenagers, and adults in the community! Of course, look for some exciting tournament play to have the Chuck rockin!!!

The chuck is located at 611 Highway 74 South in Peachtree City, Georgia. For more information please contact their office at 404-316-3557 or drop them an email @ plateh@bellsouth.net.