Have a great Labor Day holiday weekend!

My mom, dad and I want to wish you a happy, healthy and safe Labor Day holiday weekend! See you next week!

Great news for first time homebuyers!!!

New tax credit for 'first-time' home buyers

The new housing-relief bill will give some people an opportunity to hit a tax trifecta.

Homeowners already enjoyed the ability to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes. They also have an opportunity to exclude capital-gains tax on most if not all profits on a primary residence.

Now there's a new credit or dollar-for-dollar tax reduction for "first-time" homebuyers - a valuable break that will help a lot of people get in the door.

The homebuyer tax credit is a big part of the housing-relief legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. At an estimated cost of $4.8 billion over 10 years, it amounts to nearly one-third of the $15.1 billion in total incentives.

Already, real estate groups are praising the legislation, which also strives to help imperiled borrowers refinance into government-backed mortgages, shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and more.

"This is the most important housing bill in a generation, " said Keiran Quinn, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. "The tax incentives will encourage potential buyers to get off the sidelines and help stabilize home prices." Gannett News Service

****For more detailed information on this credit contact Tifani at (920) 279-1213 or Tifani@TifaniAndCompany.com.

Treading Water

My mom and dad thought it would be real cute to put me in the water with them the other day. First off, I'm not a swimmer. I like to stay looking cute at all times. Secondly, swimming means a bath....ugh! They know I love boating but keep me at least 10 feet away from the water! Oh the stress.......

I'm sure the stress of me treading water is similar to those people facing foreclosure on their home. Okay, treading water may not be anywhere near as stressful but you have to remember I'm a DOG!!!

I thought I'd offer up some advice for those people who are nearing the big 'F' word.

Some homeowners who are three months to a year behind on their mortgages have chosen to leave their homes altogether. Anyone can walk away from a house — even a retired baseball great, Jose Canseco, who abandoned his Encino (Calif.) property earlier this year.

But attractive as "just walking away" may seem to a homeowner at the end of his or her financial tether, leaving a property to the mortgage-holder or other interested parties carries a serious credit risk and significant legal responsibility.

It's a good idea to call the person you may least want to talk to: The lender. Cash-strapped homeowners can get forbearance from their lender if they act early. This agreement reduces or suspends the mortgage payment for a limited time, giving homeowners a temporary reprieve.

A forbearance is not the same as loan forgiveness. Ultimately the mortgage payments have to be reinstated, and anywhere from three to six months of missed payments have to be accounted for. The very lucky — and reasonably well-off — can pay off the amount accumulated during forbearance in one lump sum. But for those who still find themselves in short-term financial trouble, most lenders offer specialized payment plans in which the borrower agrees to add a portion of the missed payments to the mortgage until the account is current.

Speaking directly to a lender seems logical enough. But surprisingly, homeowners who struggle and fail to meet their mortgage payments month after month rarely contact their lenders. And the further they fall behind, the less likely they are to reach out for help.

Walking away from a mortgage severely damages your credit and is not a good solution. If you're in trouble, TALK TO YOUR LENDER!

There are other ways to solve things and prevent ruining your financial future as opposed to walking away from your mortgage. Talk to my mom. She'll help you in any way she can with ideas and suggestions you can try.

It's my birthday!!!

Well it's my 8th birthday today! I have no intention of working today or answering any real estate questions for my mom! It's party time!!!

I have two things I want for my birthday this year...........TREATS and BABIES!!! I like to rip the heads off my 'babies' (stuffed animals) and eat the whole box of treats. Oh, how I LOVE birthdays! I know daddy will hook me up later with something off his plate...yay!

I'll talk real estate tomorrow.....today I'm busy ; )! See ya!

I'm Bored!

As the weather has been getting nicer I've been getting a case of cabin fever. I'm ready to get out and do something!! I've been listening to my mom and dad talk and they said that gas prices are really high and it's hurting a lot of families financially. This got me to thinking about things we can all do that are close by and not that expensive. Here's what I came up with...

Go to Menominee Park. It's filled with fun things to do like the zoo, bumper & paddle boats, playground, beach, a train ride and lots of picnic areas.

The Gallery Walk which is the 1st Saturday of every month. You get to see what downtown has to offer while looking at art.

Live at Lunch which is on Wednesday's downtown near the sundial. You can eat lunch while listening to area bands.

The Farmer's Market. This is every Saturday once summer begins. Dad likes to buy mom flowers here because they're cheap but very pretty!

Area softball games. You can find a softball game most nights of the week at many of our area parks. There's nothing like America's past time!

WaterFest on Thursday's! Listen to live music and people watch!

The Speedzone. They have auto racing every Friday night. Mom thinks it's loud but dad likes the cars.

Ripon Good Cookies. Take a trip to Ripon for a taste of cookie heaven!

Tour a cheese factory. Get to know why Wisconsin is the dairy state. You can take a short trip to Freemont and tour Union Star Cheese Factory.

Go fishing. The Fox Valley area is surrounded by beautiful bodies of water. Take advantage of it!

Here are a few websites filled with many more ideas for what to do this summer. Here ya go!

http://www.travelwisconsin.com/

http://www.oshkoshevents.com/

http://www.wiparks.net/

http://www.savorwisconsin.com/

Time to spiff up the curb appeal...

My mom and dad are in the process of updating the exterior of our house. They've been doing quite a bit of stuff but the thing mom likes the most are the flowers they planted. She said it adds curb appeal. I wasn't sure what that meant so I did some research and found out what a great thing curb appeal is....especially for mom's sellers.

Flowers are one of the easiest and least expensive ways to make the front of your house look inviting and instantly increase the curb appeal of your home. Without any real landscaping at all, flowers can transform a rather drab and dreary looking front yard into one that looks colorful and lush. Especially during spring and summer, you should take advantage of the season by planting pots and flower boxes.

You should choose colorful flowers that will be in bloom during the time you're selling your home. Planting the flowers in planter boxes and pots is easier than planting them in the ground and lets you more easily place them where they can have the most visual impact. You don't need to have a green thumb, or spend a lot of money to get great results either. Visit your local home improvement center or nursery and they will be happy to advise you of the best flowers and plants for your purpose. You can put together several very nice planter boxes and pots of flowers for well under $100. And it's easy!

One of the nice things about using flowers in this way is that you'll see the results immediately. And so will buyers visiting your home!

I think my car trips with mom are over....

I'm a little depressed. My mom and dad usually take me with them to run errands throughout town and I LOVE it! I get to bark at everyone in their cars and see tons of fun stuff...it's a blast. My mom said that since gas prices are so high that she wouldn't be going on as many errands in the car. Instead, my mom bought a brand new bike. She said she's going to be biking to places that are close and only driving to places that she absolutely has to. Bummer....and her bike doesn't even have a basket for me!

As I sat pondering all of this I decided to do some research and find out who else is getting a little tired of paying more and more money every single time you have to stop at the gas pump to fill up? Although not directly related to the real estate or mortgage industries, continually rising gas prices are hurting us all.

Gas prices are up 19.9% from what they were last year. A month ago, the nationwide average was $3.246 a gallon.

Gasoline prices normally rise during the spring as people travel more. However, the record pump prices have also been supported by high crude prices as shrinking profit margins cause refiners to pull back on production.

Higher gas prices are affecting (although not directly) our children as well. The cost to fuel the buses that carry children back and forth to school has jumped 35% over the same time a year ago, and that's 35% less money schools have for teachers, computers, and whatever else our children need to become well educated.

It seems higher gas prices have affected more and more industries including the airline and mid-to large sized automobile industries.

I wonder if mom and dad will take the boat out as much this year? I love going on the boat with them.

Where will it all end? I just want to get back to the good ole' days with car rides with my mom and dad.