Buyers Rush to Meet Tax Credit Deadline

With only seven days left for buyers and sellers to utilize the tax credits my mom is running around like a mad woman trying to match her clients with homes. There's still time to find a house. Just give my mom a call! She'd be happy to help.

I miss her though....'sniff, sniff'.

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Buyers Rush to Meet Tax Credit Deadline

It's National Open House weekend this weekend!

With only 21 days left to utilize the first time homebuyer credit, it will be a fantastic weekend to get out to as many open houses as you can. What a better weekend to do that this weekend...National Open House Weekend! My mom is doing open houses both Saturday and Sunday! Come visit her!

Check out the article below for more information!

'National Open House Weekend' pushes tax credits, home ownership

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Happy Easter!

I want to wish you all a very blessed Easter! Just remember that there are only 32 days to utilize the tax credit...call my mom, she'd be happy to help you!

I wonder what the Easter Bunny is going to bring me this year????

Housing Experts Say Real Estate is Recovering

Well I'm not sure if you knew but I've been pretty sick lately (the picture is of poor me at the doctor's office). I've been to the doctor three times in a period of weeks and am not real thrilled with where they put the thermometer. I'm really hoping that I don't have to go back. I think I'm on the road to recovery though....just like the housing market from what I'm hearing! My mom is thrilled, my dad is getting very thin from not having anything to eat for dinner because mommy's always gone at night (I think she does this on purpose so she doesn't have to cook) and I'm resting...strict orders from that mean ole' doctor. This is what I'm hearing...

Some of the nation's top economists believe the housing market has turned and better days are on the way for the housing industry.

Increase in jobs, credit, and affordable homes will overcome impediments such as rising interest rates, and the expiration of the Federal stimulus program to push the housing market towards recovery, says Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist for Barclays Capital.

"I would be even odds that we're at a bottom and that we're going to see improvement in the coming months," says Karl Case, co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index and a professor of economics at Wellesley College.

"The underlying trend is turning positive," says Bruce Kasman, a chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Source: Bloomberg, Kathleen M. Howley and Rich Miller (3/15/2010)

Buyers Who Wait May Lose a Lot

Okay, okay....if you look at my picture you can tell I've put off going to my stylist for a llllooonnnnggg while but I just wanted to go au naturale during these long cold months. I have a dreaded appointment with my stylist on Thursday. Oh great, here come the dumb bows in my hair...please put me out of my misery!

However, on the topic of waiting to long...I wanted to notify all you buyers and sellers out there NOT to wait until it's too late to utilize the credits that are out there!

Just f.y.i.....

Potential home buyers who delay have a lot to lose.

First-time home buyers and move-up tax credits worth $8,000 and $6,500, respectively, expire April 30th. Buyers who qualify get a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes or a cash payment if they don't pay enough enough taxes to cover the credit.

Other factors that should spur buyers:

Low Mortgage Rates. If the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgage-backed securities at the end of March, 30 year rates will most certainly rise to more than 6 percent.

Rising Prices. About 30 percent of markets are experiencing price increases. Prices are falling in 12 percent of markets, says Fiserv (but that only helps if you want to live there).

February is American Heart Month

With heart disease being so prevalent in my mom's family, she tries to bring awareness to the disease and prevention as much as she can.

My mom donates a portion of every commission check she gets to the American Heart Association.

Here are some things you can do to help your heart;

1) Limit your intake of fat

2) Limit your intake of sugars

3) Limit your intake of sodium

4) Choose lean meat and poultry

5) Include fish in your diet

6) Limit your intake of alcohol

7) Exercise for 30 to 60 minutes a day

For more information on healthy habits click here;

http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutritionaging/a/heart_attack.htm

Maggie's New Year's Resolutions

Well I suppose it's that time of year again where I need to look at improving my life. Personally, I think there isn't much, if any, room for improvement but I guess it would make a good blog post.

Before I begin, I must say that my letter to Santa was obviously lost in the mail because my mom went and bought me a Snuggie for dogs and made me wear it all day. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? I think she has lost her mind (and so does my dad). 2010 better be better because I'm really getting sick of this 'dressing up' crap!

Okay, here I go.

2010 New Year's Resolutions from Maggie;

1) To cut back on treats (ha! yeah right but it looks good in writing)

2) Try not to rip the stuffing out of all of my babies as soon as I get them.

3) To go on more car trips with my mom.

4) Try with all my might to be nicer to all the 'kitty cats' in my neighborhood I see (i.e. squirrels, dogs, humans, birds, etc.) It might be easier to do if they would all just stop irritating me at all hours of the day and night!

5) I guess I could try and clean up my language a bit. My mom hates it when I say 'crap'. She would get a lot less lip from me if she would just quit dressing me up like some idiot! See there I go again with the mouth! ugh....this will be a hard one for me

6) Ugh....um.....give me a minute to think here......hmmm....

Alright, that's good enough. Like I said before I'm pretty perfect.

Well I hope you all have a safe and happy start to the new year! It's just hard to believe that it's going to be 2010....wow....how time flies!

God bless you all.

Love,

Maggie