If you are planning to take advantage of the Homebuyer tax credit….take notice. Buyers are snatching up everything listed! If you are waiting until the last minute to start your search, think again. The inventory may not be there as we close in on the end of April.

And, if you are thinking about selling your home, now is the time! I have sold more listings with multiple offers so far this year than all of last year combined. Buyers are out there and they are eager to lock in their piece of the stimulus pie!

Whether you are a buyer or a seller, call me today to get started!

In case you missed it, the DFW area received about a foot of snow on Thursday! Due to a power outage at the RE/MAX office, I decided to stay home and just enjoy my family for the day. That is a pleasant change from the usual running 90 miles per hour! Movies, candy, lots of food, games and a ton of laughter filled our home today and I truly hope you can say the same! Tomorrow will bring work back to center stage but I am so glad for days like today. I hope you enjoyed your snow day!

Everyone is asking about the newly extended homebuyer tax credit so I wanted to take a moment to run through the basics…

First Time Homebuyer

• 10% of home value or $8,000, whichever is less
• Income Limits – $125,000 (Single), $225,000 (Married, filing jointly)
• If you earn $125,001-$145,000 (Single) or $225,001-$245,000 (Married), you are still eligible for some of the credit but I would advise you to talk with your tax professional to determine the exact amount of your credit.

Repeat Homebuyers

• 10% of home value or $6,500, whichever is lesser
• Income Limits – $125,000 (Single), $225,000 (Married, filing jointly)
• If you earn $125,001-$145,000 (Single) or $225,001-$245,000 (Married), you are still eligible for some of the credit but I would advise you to talk with your tax professional to determine the exact amount of your credit.
• Must live in your current home for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years.

To find out more about the tax credit, go to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. 

If you are ready to take the plunge into homeownership for the first time or the tenth time, give me a call at 972-965-8673.  I am glad to help!

Forget the stock market, invest in light bulbs!  One evening last spring, I decided I’d had enough of the can light over my kitchen sink burning out.  I went to Home Depot and started investigating all the different types of light bulbs and reading all the labels.  I was amazed at my discovery!  There are light bulbs on the market that last for 7 years.  Who knew?  Even though they cost several times more than the regular light bulbs, I found myself in a trance.  I started with the kitchen lights…then the living room…then it took on a life of its own!  Next thing I knew I was loading shopping bags in my truck and staring down at a receipt…$256.12!  I thought, wow, I am crazy!  I just spent $256.12 on light bulbs.  I decided to throw buyer’s remorse to the wind and I went straight home and starting installing light bulbs immediately.  As always, I was calculating my savings in my head, studying each package as I tore them open and installed the bulbs.

While it may seem crazy to spend that kind of money on light bulbs (and trust me, my wife thought I was crazy), I can truthfully say I have NOTICED the savings on my electric bill.  By my calculation, I saved an average of $100 per month this summer.   Multiply that by five to seven years and the savings can really add up.

So, the tip of the week:  Change your bulbs.  You can do it my way or you can do it the normal way!  I recommend you change a couple rooms a month until you are completely up to date on your bulbs.  You will be glad you did!