Mortgages rates currently under 5%. What a great opportunity to buy a home at some of the lowest interest rates we have seen in many years!

Current Mortgage Rates

Please contact me to find your North Idaho Dream Home. Be sure to ask me about your free customized MLS home search "Portal." Your North Idaho Real Estate Pro:

Pam Jank, Realtor, ABR, GRI, CRS, RSPS, PPS
Previews Property Specialist
Web: Coeur d'Alene Idaho Homes for Sale
email to:pamjank@hotmail.com
Phone: 208-661-2282
Fax: 208-772-628 Toll Free: 800-829-2555 EXT.1275
COLDWELL BANKER SCHNEIDMILLER REALTY
435 W. Hanley Avenue
Coeur d'Alene, ID 838315

Energy & Cost Saving HEATING TIPS:

• Set your thermostat as low as you can find comfortable.

• Make sure that warm air registers, baseboard heaters, or radiators are not blocked by furniture, carpeting or drapes.

• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.

• Turn off kitchen, bath, and ventilating fans as soon as they have done their job (so they don't remove any more heated or cooled air than is necessary).

• Keep draperies and shades open on south-facing windows during the heating season to allow sunlight in. Close them at night to reduce heat losses.

• Close off unoccupied rooms, and turn down the heating for these rooms.

• Add insulation to heating system ductwork that is in cold basements or attic spaces.

• Use duct tape to seal ductwork that leaks hot air at joints, etc. (use UL approved tape that will last longer).

• Add insulation above the ceiling, inside walls, and beneath floors.

• Add caulking and weather-stripping.

• Install storm windows, insulating shutters, or drapes.

• Install storm or insulating doors.

• If you use electricity for heating, consider installing a heat pump.

• Install an air-tight wood stove.

• Convert to an energy-efficient oil or gas furnace.

• Consider a solar heating system.

Please contact me to find your North Idaho Dream Home. Be sure to ask me about your free customized MLS home search "Portal." Your North Idaho Real Estate Pro:

Pam Jank, Realtor, ABR, GRI, CRS, RSPS, PPS
Previews Property Specialist
Web: Coeur d'Alene Idaho Homes for Sale
email to:pamjank@hotmail.com
Phone: 208-661-2282
Fax: 208-772-628 Toll Free: 800-829-2555 EXT.1275
COLDWELL BANKER SCHNEIDMILLER REALTY
435 W. Hanley Avenue
Coeur d'Alene, ID 838315

Notice!
An urban legendhas circulated since 2002 claiming that motorists can dial #77 or *77 to reach the police, or to determine if the unmarked police car behind them is a real "Officer of the Law" or .... etc. As you can see from the map at http://www.911dispatch.com/911/mobilenumbers.html , #77/*77 is NOT the universal number for the police. Law enforcement recommends you either dial 911 or determine your state's local highway emergency or special circumstance number.

So, if you encounter an unmarked vehicle with flahing lights trying to pull you over, call 911 or your local Highway Notification Number (see below) to determine if it is an officer of the law, before you pull over.

http://www.911dispatch.com/911/mobilenumbers.html Highway Notification Numbers Original source: Missouri Highway Patrol, Dispatch Magazine on-line Updated 9/12/2008

Although 911 has been designated as the "official" number for reporting emergencies in the United States, manyother numbers have been implemented for reporting highway situations: accidents, intoxicated drivers (DUIs), or disabled vehicles. In most cases, dialing these special numbers routes the call to the agency with jurisdiction over the state highways or Interstates, rather than to the local law enforcement agency.

This map does not depict which states allow 911 dialing from wireless phones to report an emergency. Instead, this map show other telephone numbers established by the states to reach a state-level law enforcement agency to report highway situations, some of which could be considered "urgent."

Confusingly, calls to these numbers may also be routed to the same agency that handles emergencies for the highway, resulting in their use by motorists for actual emergencies.

Take Kansas: they have 911 service that reaches local or county agencies, but the Kansas Highway Patrol advertises three numbers: 911, *HP (to reach the Highway Patrol directly) and *KTA (to reach the Highway Patrol for turnpike-related matters).

And continuing the confusion, if you're traveling adjacent to a state boundary such as Virginia, Maryland and DC, dialing one of these special numbers could connect you with... well, who knows which state or agency you'd hear on the phone? That's the disadvantage of non-standard numbers, and of wireless phones whose signal can go in all directions.

This map was originally developed by the Missouri Highway Patrol, and has been periodically updated by DISPATCH Magazine On-Line. Let us know of any errors or changes.

Some of the alternate uses for the above numbers include:

• The Iowa State Patrol Web site for a list of mobile emergency numbers.
• Nextel has a list of # and * associated numbers for highway assistance.
• We have a report that Colorado also has the number *CSP for reaching the State Patrol from wireless phones.
• In Kansas, motorists can dial *KTA while on the turnpike.
• In Illinois, the number *999 number is operated jointly by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and the state's DOT, and is intended for "emergencies," which the Authority defines generally as being "stranded" on the tollway.
• On the Indiana toll-road, *11 reaches the state police
• In Louisiana, *24 reaches the Coast Guard
• Dialing *555 in Prince George's and Montgomery County (Md.) reaches the Park Police
• Dialing *11 reaches Emergency Operations for the Pennsylvania Turnpike
• Dialing *ISP in Idaho is intended to report DUI drivers.

I would love to help you find your North Idaho Dream! Please contact me to find your next home. Use my free MLS home search "Portal." Your North Idaho Real Estate Pro:

Pam Jank, Realtor, ABR, GRI, CRS, RSPS, PPS
Previews Property Specialist
Web: Coeur d'Alene Idaho Homes for Sale
email to:pamjank@hotmail.com
Phone: 208-661-2282
Fax: 208-772-628 Toll Free: 800-829-2555 EXT.1275
COLDWELL BANKER SCHNEIDMILLER REALTY
435 W. Hanley Avenue
Coeur d'Alene, ID 838315

You may be able to benefit from additional housing related provisions, including the following:

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Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs

This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.

Landmark Energy Savings

This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing

This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs. Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section 8) to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance

This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.

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I would love to help you find your North Idaho Dream! Please contact me to find your next home. Use my free MLS home search "Portal." Your North Idaho Real Estate Pro:

Pam Jank, Realtor, ABR, GRI, CRS, RSPS, PPS
Previews Property Specialist
Web: Coeur d'Alene Idaho Homes for Sale
email to:pamjank@hotmail.com
Phone: 208-661-2282
Fax: 208-772-628 Toll Free: 800-829-2555 EXT.1275
COLDWELL BANKER SCHNEIDMILLER REALTY
435 W. Hanley Avenue
Coeur d'Alene, ID 838315

Homebuyer Tax Credit Update!

On November 6, 2009, President Obama signed a bill to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) through June 30, 2010. The bill also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time.

Tax Credit for Homebuyers

First-Time Homebuyers (FTHBs): First-time homebuyers (that is, people who have not owned a home within the last three years) may be eligible for the tax credit. The credit for FTHBs is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8,000.

Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

Current Owners: The tax credit program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years.

Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

What are the New Deadlines?

In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010.

Tax Credit Versus Tax Deduction

It's important to remember that the tax credit is just that... a tax credit. The benefit of a tax credit is that it's a dollar-for-dollar tax reduction, rather than a reduction in a tax liability that would only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a first-time homebuyer were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for a tax credit of $8,000, she would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little income tax liability. For example, if a first-time homebuyer is eligible for a tax credit of $8,000 but is liable for $4,000 in income tax, she can still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Higher Income Caps

The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased.

Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible

Joint filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers who earn $245,000 and above are ineligible.

Maximum Purchase Price

Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sale price of $800,000.

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I would love to help you find your North Idaho Dream! Please contact me to find your next home. Use my free MLS home search "Portal." Your North Idaho Real Estate Pro:

Pam Jank, Realtor, ABR, GRI, CRS, RSPS, PPS
Previews Property Specialist
Web: Coeur d'Alene Idaho Homes for Sale
email to:pamjank@hotmail.com
Phone: 208-661-2282
Fax: 208-772-628 Toll Free: 800-829-2555 EXT.1275
COLDWELL BANKER SCHNEIDMILLER REALTY
435 W. Hanley Avenue
Coeur d'Alene, ID 838315