This will be the last post on this blog. I have integrated a new blog into my new website located at PcolaRE.com. I hope you will visit there and find the new layout to be more user friendly and easier to navigate. Thank you for stopping by.
The bill passed today provides for an $8,000 tax credit available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. The credit does not require repayment. The credit will be claimed on a tax return to reduce the purchaser’s income tax liability. If any credit amount remains unused, then the unused amount will be refunded as a check to the purchaser.
Be sure and discuss this option with your lender.
Rational Realty, LLC listed this home and found a buyer in exactly 30 days during a time when the average time to sell in the Choctaw area is 329 days on the market; we then closed the deal in 3 weeks! If you’re interested in getting your home SOLD, consider hiring any one of Rational Realty, LLC’s agents who have the knowledge to get your property sold.
Sailing on Pensacola Bay.
Family Fun
4995 Choctaw Ave, Pensacola, FL
Perdido Bay Country Club Estates
4BR/2BA Single Family House
offered at $245,000
Year Built 2004
Sq Footage 2,335
Bedrooms 4
Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial
Floors 1
Parking 2 Car garage
Lot Size .25 acres
HOA/Maint $0 per month
DESCRIPTION
Beautiful, spacious home in Southwest Pensacola! Formal dining room, office or 4th bedroom, breakfast nook and bar, plant ledges and high ceilings are just a few things that make this home inviting. Fenced backyard with an open deck, inground pool, hot tub and a cabana. Perfect for entertaining family and friends. This is a golf community which also provides a pavilion/gazebo, picnic and playground area. For your convenience, you are just minutes away from the beach, Grand Lagoon State Park, wonderful restaurants and shopping. Owner had a tankless water heater installed so you will never run out of hot water….great for those who love taking long showers!
For more info, visit:
http://pcolare.com/listings/4995ChoctawAve.html
or
http://www.rationalrealty.com/online/listing-4995-choctaw-ave-3.html
Recession and Expansion
There are times when the economy is brisk and everyone feels confident about his or her prospects for the future. As a result, they spend money. People eat out more, buy new cars, and….
…they buy new homes.
Then, for one reason or another, the economy slows down. Companies lay off employees and consumers are more careful about where they spend money, perhaps saving more than usual. As a result, the economy decelerates even further. If it slows enough, we have a recession.
During such a time, fewer people are buying homes. Even so, some homeowners find themselves in a situation where they must sell. Families grow beyond the capacity of the home, employees get relocated, and some may even find themselves unable to make their mortgage payment - perhaps because of a layoff in the family.
Supply and Demand
When the supply of available houses is greater than the supply of buyers, appreciation may slow and prices may even fall, as happened in the early eighties and the early to mid-nineties.
If you are lucky enough to purchase a home during a slow period, you can be reasonably certain the economy will begin to show strength again. At times, real estate values may even surge drastically. In
many regions of the country, this is precisely what occurred in the late eighties and nineties.
Should You Try to “Time the Market”?
One problem with attempting to time your purchase to the business cycle is that no one can accurately predict the future. Another challenge is that interest rates are generally higher during a depressed market and income may not be keeping up. For that reason, fewer people can qualify for a home purchase than in more prosperous times.
Why You Should Not Wait
Plus, this strategy generally works best for first-time buyers. People who already have a home usually need to sell it in order to buy their next one. If a “move-up” buyer wants to buy a home during a depressed market, that means they usually have to sell one during the slow market, too. If a seller wants to sell his home to take advantage of a “hot” market when prices are fairly high, they generally have to buy their next home during that same hot market.
It tends to equal out.
Finally, the business cycle can change over time. Since 1983, we have had two fairly long expansions with only a slight recession in between each. You would not want to wait nine years to buy a home, would you? You could miss out on a substantial amount of appreciation by waiting, and end up paying much higher prices.
Beginning on November 1, ECUA began their annual “sewer averaging”. ECUA uses this two-month sewer averaging period to evaluate your water consumption and uses that information for billing of your sewage for the entire coming year.
Since your water consumption during this period will determine your sewage bill for the next year, it is advisable to reduce water consumption to a minimum.
Tips for reducing water consumption are:
1) Take showers instead of baths.
2) Wash your vehicle at a car wash facility rather than at your residence.
3) Check all faucets and toilets for leaks. You can determine if your toilet is leaking by placing a few drops of food coloring in the water tank, then check back in 10 minutes to see if the color has leaked into the toilet bowl. If the toilet bowl water changes colors, then it is time to repair the water tank.
We should all be aware of our water consumption at all time and be as conservative as possible, but this is the one time of the year where it pays to pay extra attention to your water consumption, so you don’t end up paying extra out of your pocketbook all year long.
Please note that People’s Water customer’s averaging begins November 10.
What: H.R. 3221 - Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
Amount of Credit: Ten percent (10%) of cost of home; not to exceed $7,500 for total credit
Eligible Property: Any single-family residence (including condos, coops) that will be used as a principal residence.
Refundable: Yes. Reduces income tax liability for the year of purchase. Claimed on tax return for that tax year.
Income Limit: Yes. Full amount of credit available for individuals with adjusted gross income of no more than $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). Phases out above those caps ($95,000 and $170,000, respectively).
First-time Homebuyer Only: Yes. Purchaser (and purchaser’s spouse) may not have owned a principal residence in 3 years previous to purchase.
Recapture: Yes. Portion (6.67% of credit) to be repaid each year for 15 years. If home sold before 15 years, then remainder of credit recaptured on sale.
Effective Date: Purchases on or after April 9, 2008.
Termination: July 1, 2009
Interaction with Alternative Minimum Tax: Can be used against AMT, so credit will not throw individual into AMT.
Fri Sep 26 – Sun Sep 28
The Fiesta of Five Flags presents the Pensacola Seafood Festival on the fourth weekend of September in historic Seville Square area in downtown Pensacola. You and your family can enjoy delicious fruits of the sea at this outstanding event which has been consistently recognized as one of the Top 20 festivals in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society.
http://www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/SeafoodFestival/index.html
Free Admission and Parking
Saturday, October 11, 2008 from 10am-4pm
Corner of 9th Ave & Chase ST
Law Enforcement - Fire Service - EMS
Live Demonstrations, Food, Fun Activities, and Static Displays