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| In this issue: |
• Deduction Reduction?
• Overlooked Energy Tips
• Costs Rising for Buyers
• Become a BBB Agent
• Buyer Workshop
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| Interest Rate Watch |
Selected Rates as of
September 8, 2005:
• 30 yr fixed: 5.71%
• 15 yr. fixed: 5.3%
• 1 yr. adj: 4.45%
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| Free Buyer Workshop! |
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Every Thursday
Get a guided tour through the real estate buying process, learn about new and historic neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Daytona, and other Floriday cities, plus have financing questions answered by industry professionals.
Call:
904-358-3955 for Jacksonville information
877-693-4068 for
Daytona information
or use the links below: |
Register via e-mail
Learn more | |
| About the Weekly: |
The Real Estate Weekly is a free weekly bulletin published to keep clients and associates informed of happenings in the real estate market. If you would like to unsubscribe from the Weekly, please use the button at the bottom of the page.
The R.E.W. is published by:
Bo Bridgeport Brokers, Inc.
Located at:
1654 N Pearl Street
Jacksonville, FL 32206
Phone: 904.358.3955
and
127 Arlington Way
Ormond Beach, FL 32176
Phone: 877.693.4068 |
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| » Will Mortgage Deductions Be Reduced By Uncle Sam? |
The possibility of mortgage "reform" is live and living, with test balloons already being floated in Washington. The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform must present its findings at the end of the month and there are no conditions under which they will suggest more benefits for homeowners.
The idea of real estate tax "reform" is to reduce, shrink and curtail current mortgage and real estate write-offs. Assuming that the Commission recommends any home-related changes to the tax code, those changes will not be in your favor. The good news is that the Commission's real estate recommendations -- if any -- will be ignored.
To understand what's happening it's best to start with the reality that the federal budget is wildly out-of-whack.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, in fiscal 2000 the government hauled in an extra $236 billion followed by a surplus of $128 billion in fiscal 2001. Since then, it's been all downhill -- a loss of $158 billion in fiscal 2002, $378 billion in fiscal 2003 and $412 billion in fiscal 2004. ("Fiscal" years for the government start each October 1st and end each September 30th.)
This year there's "good" news. The original $427 billion budget deficit projected by the White House turned out to be too high. Now, says the CBO, it's expected to total a mere $331 billion.
Read the rest of this article HERE.
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» Overlooked Energy Conservation Tips |
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Along with disrupting tens of thousands of lives, Hurricane Katrina also disrupted the nation's energy production and supply lines.
Gasoline prices soaring by 50 cents a gallon in a single day at some stations portends an even harsher winter than expected when it comes to heating and energy related prices.
Days after Katrina left in it's wake what's likely to become the nation's largest ever natural disaster, President George Walker Bush called on the nation to conserve.
"If you don't need gasoline, don't buy it," he said at a press conference Sept. 1 flanked by former presidents William Jefferson Clinton and his father George Herbert Walker Bush.
The two have been tapped again to grow a relief fund much like they did following the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004.
As the nation taps oil reserves, drills salt canyons in Louisiana and Texas for oil, eases air pollution standards to allow the use of higher sulfur-content diesel fuel and seeks to waive restrictions on foreign ships moving gasoline and other refined petroleum products between U.S. ports, conservation can add as much or more to the supply of energy than any one of those federal moves.
First, take the "Home Report Card Quiz" to see if your home makes the grade for energy conversation.
Read the rest of this article HERE.
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» Homeowners, Buyers May Need Relief Fund |
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American home owners and buyers may soon need their own relief fund to help bail them out of higher costs associated with owning and buying a home.
Chances are, those who didn't have homes directly in the path of Hurricane Katrina nevertheless will feel added financial burden caused when the storm roared into the Gulf Coast.
For starters, insurance and building costs are likely to rise nationwide just as those costs have risen regionally in the past when less calamitous acts of Mother Nature unleased their fury.
Much of those costs will be passed onto consumers already whipped by a housing boom that changed the face of financing to help ease some of the existing increases in housing costs.
In some cases, those extra costs on the heels of Katrina are due to poor long term planning.
"Insurance as we know it is threatened by a perfect storm of rising weather losses, rising global temperatures and more Americans than ever living in harm's way," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, which commissioned a study on changing weather patterns and related insurance costs.
Ceres is a national coalition of institutional investors and environmental organizations addressing sustainability issues including climate change. It also manages the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), 50 institutional investors who collectively manage over $2.7 trillion of assets.
Read the rest of this article HERE. | |
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Want a Career in Real Estate? Then WE want YOU!
Bo Bridgeport Brokers is looking for motivated, ambitious people to join our growing team. Join our team and receive comprehensive training from successful agents while working in a positive workplace. Becoming a real estate professional is easier than you think!
Click Here for more information or call 904-358-3955. | | | |
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