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April 22 marks the 38th Annual Earth Day. It was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin. He was also a conservationist and began to push the concept of environmental responsibility in the early 1960s with the enthusiastic support of President John F. Kennedy.
Facts and statistics to help keep you up to date on the market.
• Homeownership is strongly related to age and socioeconomic status. The average age of first-time home buyers is 32, according to the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH). Thirty percent of homeowners are under 31 years of age. Ownership peaks at 76.7 percent among those age 61 to 70, and then declines slightly to 68.5 percent for that age 71 and older.
• Owners say they are happier and have higher self-esteem than renters, according to the NSFH.
• 86 percent of a national sample of Americans believe that people are better off owning than renting, according to the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey.
As the Real Estate market continues to erode into 2008. The Fed is expected to cut rate again at their upcoming March meeting. This cut may raise hope to boost buyers to jump in for great mortgage rate. If you have to sell your property, this could be a good opportunity. Watch CNN’s Gerri Willis offers tips on how to make your home more attractive to potential buyers in this market condition.
What’s in the economic stimulus package being signed by President Bush.
Families with children would receive an additional $300 per child. The full rebate would be limited to individuals earning $75,000 or less and couples with incomes of $150,000 or less, but a partial rebate would go to individuals earning up to $87,000 and couples earning up to $174,000. The caps are higher for people with children. Illegal immigrants are disqualified.
From the California Association of Realtors.
February 13, 2008
PRESIDENT SIGNS $168 BILLION ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL
President Bush today signed off on the $168 billion stimulus package approved by Congress last week, which, in addition to tax rebates for millions of working Americans and business owners, includes a vital, but temporary increase in the conforming loan limit. The economic stimulus package will allow the Federal Housing Administration, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer mortgages above the current conforming loan limit of $417,000 to as much as $729,750 in high-cost areas for loans originated between July 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2008.
“The actions of Congress and our president represent a significant victory for homeowners across the state and nationwide,” said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. “C.A.R. has long fought for increases to the conforming loan limit in order to close the gap for would-be home buyers in high-cost areas, such as California, and, with the spotlight now fully shining on this important issue, will continue those efforts and push for permanent changes beyond Dec. 31.”
Wealth without risk
Here are some tips to help you manage your finances. Find out the benefits of Roth IRAs and why they can help you reduce the length of your mortgage and save for retirement.
For most of homeowners, the principal portion of a mortgage payment is quite small. For example, our February mortgage bill was $1681.79. Of this, $1119.16 was designated for interest, $295.19 for escrow (taxes and insurance), but only $267.44 for principal.
Read more HERE!
From the Oprah show Going Green 101: What Your Family Can Do Today!
Make saving our planet a part of your daily life with easy changes. Start today with help from these resources.
Activism
American Forests
The average person is responsible for emitting 94 pounds of carbon dioxide every day. It takes four trees, which act as natural air filters, to offset the carbon dioxide each person generates in a month. For each dollar donated, American Forests plants a tree. For more information and to plant trees, visit www.americanforests.org.
Earth 911
Find information about environmental services and events in your community, visit www.earth911.org.
You ask yourself, how many time you print something from the Web browser or MS Word just for few pieces of information you need. Instead, you get several pages printed with unnecessary graphics, ads, blank page with few words, etc.
GreenPrint is a simple utility that enables you to select what prints , what doesn’t. It helps you to eliminate the waste, save money on ink, paper and make you feel good about environment. Watch the video from CNBC/Mossberg covering the product.
There is a free version (GreenPrint World) that is surprisingly very capable, including the 1-button PDF creation feature that I strongly encourage you to use whenever applicable. There is also a screencast produced by GreenPrint to go into more details. [Via SolSie]
Technorati Tags: GreenPrint,Printer,inkl,saver,tree,environment
When the Federal Reserve meets and changes rates we all have questions: What does it mean to me? Will my mortgage rate go up or down? Is this a good time to refinance? Bankrate is here to help. We’ve looked at five categories — mortgages, home equity loans, auto loans, credit cards and certificates of deposit — to determine if the Fed’s moves made you a winner or a loser. Here’s a look at mortgages: Read more after the jump!
Select the neighborhood by clicking on the picture!
