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Garry McDonald

REALTOR®

“ Your one stop Real Estate Resource ”

in South Orange County, CA

My Blog

Best Places to Live In

Friday, 27 November 2009 00:00

The human admiration for superlatives is a natural and fundamental impulse. The Guinness World Records fascinate millions the world over for this very reason. The urge to possess better and bigger things is also nearly universal, be it a better job, a larger house, a sleeker car or that big screen TV. Homebuyers, who seek to buy a new home and relocate to a new city, can be helped by the various lists of “Best Places to Live In” that proliferate on the internet.

Such “best places” lists make interesting reading, regardless of whether they have been framed on the basis of sound parameters or reliable statistics. The average reader is wont to trust the power of the printed word and be influenced by such lists. However, common sense dictates that one subject such recommendations to a more insightful scrutiny before taking important decisions in one’s life on their basis. However, let’s see which cities a few such lists would rank above others on different scores.

Sperling’s Best Places to Live had ranked the top 5 as: 1. Gainesville, Fla. 2. Bellingham, Wash. 3. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore. 4. Colorado Springs. 5. Ann Arbor, Mich.

Forbes had listed the following as the top 5 Places to set up a Business In: Indianapolis, IN, Fayetteville, AR, Durham, NC, Nashville, TN, and Phoenix, AZ. Forbes may be a reliable guide but has a penchant for releasing newer lists almost every other day, or so it seems to me anyway. So, Forbes lists call for a close monitoring. It is quite like there being too much of a good thing.

Then there’s a list of Best Cities for Jobs in 2008 released by Matthew Kirdahy. The top 5 in this list are: 1. Salt Lake City, UT, 2. Wichita, KS, 3. Austin, TX, 4. Atlanta, GA, and 5. Fort Worth, TX.

The top 5 US cities ranked by Money Magazine for 2009 are: 1. Louisville, CO, 2. Chanhassen, MN, 3. Papillion, NE, 4. Middleton, WI, and 5. Milton, MA.

US News has graded the top 5 for the current year as follows: 1. Albuquerque, N.M., 2. Auburn, Ala., 3. Austin, Texas, 4. Boise, Idaho, and 5. Durham, N.C.

You ought to surf the net for the latest updates to these and similar lists. Finally, bear in mind the old adage that “East or west, home is best” and that it is up to only you to make your home and hearth cozy and happy just where you please.

Benefiting from Buyer Tax Credit

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 00:00

Home buying in the US is expected to get a discernible nudge in the immediate future, with the Extended Home Buyer Credit made available by the federal authorities. Let’s discuss who can – and more pertinently, whether or not you can – benefit from its financial provisions.

The Two Categories of Beneficiaries

There are two categories of persons who qualify for credit under the new law. The first is the first-time homebuyers who buy a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010. A person is deemed a “first-time homebuyer” only if she or her spouse had not owned a house three years prior to the purchase. The maximum credit allowable to first-time buyers is $8,000.

Single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 become eligible to receive the maximum credit. The amount of credit that you can get decreases for single buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000, as well as for couples who make between $225,000 and $245,000. The tax credit that you can get is reduced as you near the higher brackets of the margins mentioned above. Beyond these limits, no credit is given. Finally, credit can only be obtained on homes purchased for $800,000 or less.

The second category of persons who stand to gain from this credit provision is that of current homeowners who buy a house between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010. However, they must have lived in the home being sold or vacated as their prime residence for at least five consecutive years during the last eight years. The maximum credit that they can get is $6,500.

Certain Related Clauses of Credit

Additionally, if you enter into a written binding contract to purchase before April 30, 2010, you have time to close the transaction until July 1, 2010, to still obtain the credit under this program.

Furthermore, the buyer will not have to repay the credit if they occupy the property for a period of three years or more. In the event that the buyer sells the property within this three-year frame, the entire amount of the credit will be returned from the proceeds of the sale.

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