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The Senate reached a compromise on the extension and expansion of the 1st time buyer tax credit. According to an article on RISMedia’s web page today, if approved the agreement could extend the existing credit to June 30, 2010. The current credit is scheduled to expire November 30 of this year. A new credit of up to $6,500. could be available to ALL homebuyers who have owned and resided in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years. The agreements additionally raised the income limits to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $250,000 for joint taxpayers. The limits are currently $75,000 and $150,000. Under the Senate compromise ratified contracts must be approved by no later than April 30, 2010.
For more details about the Possible Tax Credit Extension click HERE.
According to Active Rain the House of Representatives has voted unanimously to extend the the 1st time buyer tax credit to active military personnel, foreign service and intelligence officers. The bill (HR3950) would extend the existing tax credit to this group only until November 30th, 2010. The bill must still be passed by the Senate
You read it right, you may now step out of line at the Johnson County DMV’s (Department of Motor Vehicles) by reserving your place in line on the Internet. The Johnson County system, according to Qless, is the only motor vehicle office in country with an online reservation system. The only system close according to the KC Star article is one in New Hampshire but it does not text messages to users.
Here is how it works: Go to the DMV site – look for GET in LINE at DMW then click on the city link you plan to visit (782 N. Ridgeview Road in Olathe or Mission at 6000 Lamar), click on YES to agree to the terms of use, choose your language and you will be told how long the estimated wait is then enter your cell number, click Next and your place in line is secure. You may then click continue and you will be sent to a printable confirmation page.I tested the system and my wait time was initially 9 minutes at 7:30 when the Mission office opened this morning. I received my first text message almost immediately after entering my cell number then another three minutes later, then another three minutes later which suggested I should think about returning to the DMV office. The next text said, “Sorry, we still haven’t heard back from you, so we had to give your spot to someone else. You have nine hours to rejoin the front of the line – reply with “J”.The system is available during business hours which are 7:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday excluding holidays. According to the Star article, officials from the DMV say the system will ease the pain of waits up to 2 hours when renewals are due at the end of each month.
Kudos to Johnson County!!
In their book, Connecting to the Net.Generation, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa found in a survey of 7,705 college students in the US:
• 97% own a computer
• 94% own a cell phone
• 76% use Instant Messaging and social networking sites.
• 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week
• 34% use websites as their primary source of news
• 28% author a blog and 44% read blogs
• 97% have downloaded music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
• 49% regularly download music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
• 75% of college students have a Facebook account
• 60% own some type of portable music and/or video device such as an iPod.
The complete title of the book is Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today’s Students and was written in 2007. All the percentages are undoubtedly higher today.
Still think Facebook and Twitter and all those other ‘darn social whatever you call them things’ are just a waste of time? The X and Y generations (born 1965 – 1985) combined make up a demographic (over 100 million) larger than the baby boomer generation (born 1946 – 1964 – approx 75 million) .
There is just something majestic about deer. Perhaps it’s memories of our youth and dreams of Donner and Bliztzen carrying their ever so important cargo. BTW what is the difference between a reindeer and a regular deer? Put away your thoughts of Comet and Rudolf for a moment if you read the rest of this post.
Beginning as early as this Friday and continuing until November 30th the killing of deer in Shawnee Mission park will commence. I had heard that the shooters/killers were to use bow and arrow but according to a Kansas City Star article, the shooters will use ’sound’ suppressed rifles. Does that mean Cupid and Vixen will not hear when Dancer and Prancer are shot?
I don’t know about you but I really enjoyed setting out for the park a little before dusk and enjoying the the docile creatures getting ready to bed down for the night. Back to reality…apparently …all shots will be taken at short range and the deer will be baited to a secluded area of the park where all shots fired will be directed toward the interior of the park.According to the Star article, the park district wants the deer population (try not to think to think Cupid and Dasher here) to be reduced to 50 deer per square mile. Wildlife experts estimate there are currently about 200 deer per square mile in the park. The park is 3.5 square miles. Yikes do the math, that is 525 deer, right? 525 times say an average of 50 pounds per Donner, I mean reindeer, I mean deer is 26,250 pounds or over 13 tons of meat.
What is done with all the meat? Can’t we at least feed the meat to the needy or have a huge barbeque or a free venison give away? I’ve had venison before and I do not remember it as remarkable but it is supposed to be lean (or is that Bison) and I think it tastes like chicken (or is that rattlesnake).
Owners of nearby real estate received letters from the park district this week and were assured that the work by the reindeer killers/shooters would be done safely. I am not a dog owner but if you live nearby you’d be well advised to keep your dogs inside beginning this Friday and thru November 30th.
According to the 2008 census many are moving to the suburbs and away from Kansas City’s downtown areas. The population of Kansas City, MO. gained approximately 2% since 2000 whereas Spring Hill, KS. was up 92%, Gardner, KS. was up 86%, Olathe, KS. was up 29%, Desoto, KS. was up 19%, Lenexa, KS. was up 16% and Overland Park, KS. was up 15%.
What does all of this mean? My guess is the prospect of a light rail system in the near term is comatose if not dead. As much as the Sprint Center and the Power and Light district have created a reason to go downtown, apparently it is not enough to motivate people to m0ve there.
According to a Kansas City Star article ”…employment in Johnson County exploded 70.7% from 1990 to 2008 compared to Jackson Counties’ scant growth of 2.3% job growth. In the Star article Doug Davidson, president of CERI, said “Johnson County is a desirable place to live and raise a family.” “It has great school systems. Its adult population is one of the most highly educated in the nation. Employers that want highly educated workers are attracted to Johnson County.”
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The only thing worse than an abandoned, overgrown and vacant property with foot tall grass and old newspapers littering its driveway is two abandoned, overgrown and vacant properties or three or more. The Kansas City metro area recently topped Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Abandoned Cities.
Take heart fellow Kansas Citians – according to Forbes, San Francisco is the second most most abandoned city and Tucson, Arizona is number three. If you have ever had an unkempt house in your neighborhood, you know you would do almost anything to improve its state. Abandoned and foreclosed real estate attracts vandalism, vermin and worse – they lower the value of every nearby property.
Although I am not sure how the program would work within Missouri’s statutory right of redemption – according to the Kansas City Star editorial – the proposed Kansas City ordinance would allow the city to appoint a receiver for an abandoned property. The receiver could do what they want with the property. They could tear it down, repair it or sell it if the owner refused to act.
The rub is apparently some neighborhood advocates want only non-profit CDC’s (Community Development Corporations) to be eligible for receiverships. Seems to me it only makes sense to encourage the use of private capital to fight the blight in Kansas City. Any group qualified, whether non-profit or for profit should be allowed to aggressively pursue receiverships and the sooner the better. Have an opinion on this subject?
Whether you’re thinking about buying or selling or seeking information, rely on RE/MAX Best Associates 800-391-BEST(2378) X106 or 913-339-0615 to provide accurate up to date information about the marketplace email to: tfarrell@remax.net or visit http://www.kansascityerealestate.com/
 It's Not Always About Winning Benton High School (St. Joseph, Missouri) freshman football player Matt Ziesel was all smiles at the attention on his touchdown run on Monday evening in St. Joseph. Ziesel, who has Down’s Syndrome, ran for a score and a video on YouTube is turning Matt into a celebrity. The complete story in the Kansas City Star may be found by CLICKING HERE.
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See All Kansas City Properties
If you are thinking about replacing your old air conditioning unit you may want to check out the Cool Homes program offered bt KCP&L. The Cool Homes program offered by Kansas City Power and Light is a rebate program that helps KCP&L customers in both Kansas and Missouri maintain the operating efficiency of central A/C systems and offsets the cost of upgrading to a new high-efficiency system. KCP&L customers can save energy and reduce cooling costs.
KCP&L offers instant rebates up to $850 through participating HVAC dealers toward the purchase of a new energy-efficient A/C or heat pump.
KCP&L customers may have their existing central air-cooling system tested by Check-Me!-trained HVAC contractors to see if it can be brought back to manufacturers’ specifications – or receive a rebate if it needs to be replaced with a high-efficiency A/C or heat pump.
View a list of participating HVAC dealers/contractors (updated regularly)
To learn more about Cool Homes rebates and how to get your home’s A/C or heat pump system evaluated for efficiency, call (866) 276-9303 or Click Here Also Click Here for information on available Governement Tax Credits.
Whether you’re thinking about buying or selling or seeking information, rely on RE/MAX Best Associates 800-391-BEST(2378) X106 or 913-339-0615 to provide accurate up to date information about the marketplace email to: tfarrell@remax.net or visit http://www.kansascityerealestate.com/
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Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…. Time is running out. If you count the days left until the federal government’s tax credit is scheduled to expire on November 30th, if not extended, there are 91 days left counting today. Those qualified real estate buyers who plan to close by the aforementioned date (which is a requirement of the program) might want to take a long look at the calendar.
There may not be a worse day to close on a house in greater Kansas City or anywhere else in these United States. Consider this: Everybody and their dog so to speak will aim to close on November 30th. November 30th is the Monday after Thanksgiving; November 28th and 29th are weekend days (probably no closings); November 27th is the Friday after Thanksgiving an unofficial holiday for many.
Monday, November 23rd or Tuesday, November 24th are more practical dates, however if something goes wrong which often happens, one might have a heck of a time rescheduling by November 30th. Its my opinion the best time to schedule closing if it is not already scheduled is the week of November 16th.
It is not unusual for loans to require 45-60 days of processing time. A 30 day closing is considered quick. So worse case let us say your loan process will take 60 days. If you want to close by November 16th, you need to have an approved, fully ratified contract by no later than September 16th or a little over two weeks from today.
Whether you’re thinking about buying or selling or seeking information, rely on RE/MAX Best Associates 800-391-BEST(2378) X106 or 913-339-0615 to provide accurate up to date information about the marketplace email to: tfarrell@remax.net or visit http://www.kansascityerealestate.com/
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RE/MAX Best Associates – Serving Kansas City since 1994 Located in the heart of Overland Park in Corporate Woods, RE/MAX Best Associates is a full-service residential and commercial enterprise serving the Kansas City metropolitan area on both sides of the Kansas and Missouri lines.
The goal of this site is to deepen and widen the Kansas City community's knowledge of the market. The updates here will include property data, local news, events and other useful property information. For investors, buyers and sellers, this blog will provide local information to help you make prudent decisions based on real data.
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