The Brainerd Lakes Real Estate Blog

Helping make real estate dreams come true Current REBAC News ECONOMISTS ENCOURAGE TAX CREDIT EXTENSION (New York Times Online, Sept 15, 2009) When Congress passed an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers last winter, it was intended as a dose of shock therapy during a crisis. Now the question is becoming whether the housing market can function without it. As many as 40 percent of all home buyers this year will qualify for the credit. It is on track to cost the government $15 billion, more than twice the amount that was projected when Congress passed the stimulus bill in February. In the view of the real estate industry and some economists, all that money is well spent. They contend the credit is doing what it was meant to do, encouraging a recovery in the housing market that is gathering steam. Analysts say the credit is directly responsible for several hundred thousand home sales. Skeptics argue that most of the money is going to people who would have bought a home anyway. And...

http://socialnomics.net/2009/08/11/statistics-show-social-media-is-bigger-than-you-think/ Shared via AddThis

Famous as the backdrop for the 1996 film Fargo, Brainerd is most noted for its association with Paul Bunyan and his blue oxen, Babe. via homegain.com WE are famous - come and see why! Posted via web from Kathleen's posterous

Helping make Brainerd Lakes real estate dreams come true Saw this advice posted and thought it would be good advice to share, A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor , and in the back seat B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side... If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

The deadline to qualify for the $800 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is fast approaching. There are about 4 weeks left to beat the clock by finding and closing on a property before the Nov. 30 deadline. The key is that the property needs to be closed by November 30 th . The $8,000 tax credit has proven to be extremely popular. Indeed, a total of 10.8 percent of buyer’s today say that this and relevant state incentives is the most important reason motivating them to buy, according to REALTOR.com®’s July Homeownership Survey . Already, about 1.14 million buyers have filed for the $8,000 first-time tax credit. A host of additional buyers will likely file paperwork to qualify for the credit come tax time in 2010 as well. A key driver for first-time home buyers today is the high affordability of properties throughout the country. In July, the National Association of REALTOR®’s (NAR’s) affordability index was 36 percent higher than in July 2008. The typical median-income family ca...