New Treats for Buyers
By voting to extend the temporarily raised Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA loan limits of $729,950 through 2010, Congress gave Buyers (and the U.S. economy which relies heavily on the housing industry) a great big treat. The present loan limits were set to expire at the end of 2009 and revert to previous lower limits of $417,000.
Now buyers are waiting expectantly for one more piece of good news-for the federal $8,000 tax credit to be extended in some form past the current expiration date of Nov. 30, 2009.
Due to extremely high costs of housing throughout Silicon Valley, especially West San Jose, Cupertino and Saratoga, as compared to the rest of the U.S. the good news is especially welcome.
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® thanked Congress for its speedy action.
"NAR commends both houses of Congress for their quick action in continuing these higher limits during a time for recovery in the housing market and national economy. The higher limits, along with the home buyer tax credit extension, are necessary to keep the markets moving at this critical time," said NAR President Charles McMillan.
"Home sales have shown significant movement upwards in the past six months and reduced inventory in some segments of the housing market, but not in all. Home purchases in the middle-income and higher brackets have not moved much, and those markets must improve before we can experience a fully sustained housing recovery. These higher loan limits will help motivate qualified home buyers to purchase in those markets," McMillan said.
The resolution would extend the present conventional loan limits for Fannie and Freddie through the 2010 calendar year at 125 percent of local median home sales prices, up to a maximum of $729,750 in high-cost areas. The floor for FHA is $271,050; the floor for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits is $417,000.
The resolution now goes to President Obama, and he is expected to sign it today or Saturday to avoid a government shutdown.
The Best $2 Show I've Ever Seen-Cupertino's Debut Choir Concert
By Michelle C. Carr-Crowe
When I was younger and low on cash and seeking inexpensive entertainment, I remember people suggested seeing high school games, musicals or performances as a reasonable option to higher-priced professional events. Current economic times are causing me and others to get back to basics and re-visit this money-saving habit. So when my daughter invited me to see Cupertino High School's Debut Choir Concert tonight, I said yes. I was even more thrilled once I heard the price!
Tonight I enjoyed a fabulous show featuring talent, poise and professionalism produced by the students at Cupertino High School-and it only cost $2! I have to compliment the students' director Andrew Aron for his good-natured but firm and no-nonsense direction-to the audience to actually shut OFF their cell phones, behave appropriately (no "shout-outs") and remove loud talkers from the auditorium.
Each of the four groups (Cantabile, Chorale, Cantos and Capella) performed a selection of classical, touching and at least one crowd-pleasing number. Cupertino High also boasts the only male choir in all of the Fremont High School District. Especially notable were Justin Li's cello and guitar features and Cody Scott's solo.
Starting in Latin ("Music Spread Thy Voice Around" by Handel), bouncing through "Lydia, The Tattoed Lady," hypnotizing with "The Seal Lullaby" and culminating with the Grand Chorus' uplifting rendition of Moses Hogan's, "I'll Make a Difference," the students demonstrated skill in technique, affection for their director and "the world's greatest accompanist" Dr. Valerie Stark, and love of music. It was a celebration of joy in music.
Next time you're looking for reasonably-priced yet real entertainment, I recommend you look at your local middle and high school sports, band and music programs. You may be pleasantly surprised. As advertised, "see your students and friends in a new light."
I am still waiting for my Google Wave invitation. I applied to Google. I waited. I sent a few nice email requests to different departments at Google. All came back "failed".
Living in Silicon Valley, whether San Jose, Saratoga, Cupertino or Palo Alto, there is a huge pressure to be on top of technology. I invest a lot of time learning new tools and technology. How can I learn it if I can't even get it? As I began feeling anxious while waiting, I blogged about my desire to obtain a Google Wave invitation on ActiveRain. While I received some messages of support, no invitations came through. Darn.
So I figured I'd at least tell anyone else interested in obtaining a Google Wave invitaion the steps.
For anyone else seeking an invitation to Google Wave, here is the link to the main request page
http://wave.google.com/help/wave/closed.html.
At the bottom of the page, you must click the link at the line below
Google Wave is currently in a limited preview. Request an invitation.
This leads you to a page where you can apply, telling them whether you'll give feedback and who you plan to communicate with as far as groups (family, classmates, co-workers, etc.)
Once complete, you can entertain yourself by watching the looong video.
Then I realized what I really wanted was to get Google Voice. Here is that link:
http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?answer=142423. Here is the link to request the service:
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/
So I'm back to waiting. In the meantime, I hope this helps someone else. Once they finally invite me, I'll update you on my learning progress. In the meantime, feel free to pass on any tips and advice.
I would really love to get all of my phone numbers integrated. I'm really curious about how well Google Voice and Google Voice Light work. Is anyone here on AR using it? Liking it? Hating it? How is it compared to other services, both voicemail and voice recognition software?
I'm constantly forwarding (or unforwarding) phone numbers and an integrated system sounds like a fantasy come true to me.
In honesty, I'm praying someone will kindly give me an invitation to try Google Voice. Maybe it will be you!
Look forward to hearing your input...you can contact me offline as well at info@michellejudycarr.com.
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