May 2009

Rug Cleaning

If you are thinking of selling your home and you have animals - cleaning your rugs & carpet can make a huge difference.  Often you don't notice that odors are trapped in your rugs & carpet but prospective buyers - especially if they are sensitive to smells - will tell you differently.   In some cases it may be worthwhile to hire a professional to do it for you.  They are often able to remove smells and stains more efficiently and effectively than you can do with some of the home equipment. I have found great success with taking my rugs to Sharian.  Sharian has a pick up/drop off service if you need it or you can deliver to the Decatur store.  And maybe your dog has chewed on the fringe of your rug?  Well they can repair that as well.   Visit Sharian Rugs.   Be warned - they also sell rugs.  Even if you are not selling your house - consider having your rugs cleaned from time to time.  On most rugs regular and professional cleanings will extend their life.   Right now Sharian has a nice discount - 10% off of pickup/delivery orders or 20% off if you drop rugs off with them!   For you folks with carpet - Sharian also rents Host® Dry Extraction Carpet Cleaner equipment.   picture - July 2008 - Gus 4 months

Federal Energy Tax Credits

Today's post comes from my friends at Eric & Adam at  KronbergWall .  They are architects and fellow eco enthusiasts.  They can help you with your home designs and renovations.  The recently signed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 makes federal energy efficiency tax credits available for your home renovations if you make them in 2009 and 2010. Specific types of high efficiency furnaces, air conditioners, and tankless gas water heaters qualify. Certain energy efficient doors, windows, roofing, and insulation also qualify. You are eligible to receive a credit for these upgrades if they are installed in existing homes that are primary residences. The tax credit has been raised to 30% of cost up to a total credit of $1500. There are even greater tax credit opportunities for solar water heaters, geothermal systems, and photovoltaic systems. You can receive a tax credit of up to 30% of the total cost of these systems, and it is not limited to the $1500 cap. In addition to existing primary residences, the credit is also available for vacation homes, rentals, and new construction. Eric Kronberg, AIA, LEED AP Adam Wall, AIA, LEED AP

Georgia Income Tax Credits – $1800 For Buying a House

Gov. Sonny Perdue signed on Monday Bill 261 into law.  The law offers a tax credit of 1.2 percent of the purchase price of a single-family home currently on the market.  The credit tops out at $1,800 and will be taken over three years.  Georgia taxpayers have six months starting now to qualify for up to $1,800 in income tax credits by buying a home. For first-time home buyers, the state credit would be in addition to a federal credit offered through the federal stimulus act.  That credit is worth up to $8,000.  The new state credit, however, applies to any home buyer, not just first-timers.  Read more about the $8,000 federal tax here.

Economy Improving

As is my custom - I was listening to Good Morning America as I let the dogs out, make the coffee and get started on waking up.    But this morning - I was delightfully jolted out of my early morning haze by Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwabb, who proclaimed that the recession had ended.   What is even better is that she was agreeing with Barry Knapp, of Barclay's Capital, who recently announced that the recession may have ended last month in April.  Knapp actually said the economy appears "to be in the sweet spot of a recovery".   One of the indicators pointing to a recovery is unemployment.  Unemployment is a lagging indicator of the economy - meaning unemployment may not improve for several months and you can expect that unemployment will peak by year end.   Historically employment figures don't seem recover until six months after the end of a recession.   However, Sonders indicated that layoffs are slowing down and the unemployment claims are starting to edge lower. Another indicator pointing to a economic recovery is the housing market.   One of the leading indicators of  how the housing marketing is faring is the inventory level -  the number of homes on the market.   According to Pat Lashinsky of Zip Realty, "Inventory levels are actually declining and median home prices of homes available for sale have actually gone up."   When the number of homes on the market goes down - prices rise and the market improves.   "The fact that inventory is declining is suggesting that soon we may see home prices begin to stabilize.   In some markets, it may begin to turn upward.   But the downturn in the housing that we've had for the last three years may be coming to an end," said Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.   "Buyers are a lot more engaged," Yun said.   "There's an excitement and a passion that hasn't been seen in the last 18 months right now." These statistics are for the national markets and it will be interesting to see what our metro Atlanta numbers will be. It will be a week or two before our April numbers our out but even our March numbers showed improvement.  NAR's numbers for the national market showed improvement in march as well - here they are.

Kirkwood Spring Fling & Tour of Homes – 2009!

The 7th Annual Kirkwood Spring Fling and Tour of Homes is weekend.   The open air artist market is located at Bessie Branham Park on Delano.  There will be bands, food and a children's area.    The festival is open Sat & Sunday from 10 am until 7pm.  The tour of homes will be both days - 12 pm to 6pm.  For details click here.

2009 Modern Atlanta Home Tour

2009 Modern Atlanta Home Tour has some great homes on the tour this year.  This event is perfect for fans of contemporary architecture and design.   The tour is only 2 days - May 16th & 17th.  Tickets are $35.  For more information on the tour -- click here.  Enjoy!

Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour – May 9 & 10th

This Saturday & Sunday is the Atlanta Botanical Gardens' Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour.  The Tour features great design and planting ideas from Atlanta's most talented gardeners and landscape architects, and these beautiful private gardens are open to the public only for this event.  Tour hours are 10 to 5pm each day.  Admission is $20 in advance and $30 day Sat & Sun.  You also receive admission to the rest of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  For details click here. There is also a Mother's Day Tea on Sunday the 1oth.  Choose one of three seatings: 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m - RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.   Catered by Sun in My Belly:  pots of tea are accompanied by scones, crumpets, tea sandwiches and all the flourishes of a hearty High Tea.   For pricing and details on reservations - click here.

Low Interest Rates = Great time to Buy

Interest rates remain low!   As of today - conforming loans (under $417k) remain at 4.375%.  FHA rates remain at 4.5%.  And jumbo rates for qualified buyers remain as low as 5.5% with equity and excellent credit. I ran some numbers to see what kind of savings you would have with these low rates.  WOW - over the life of the loan you can save tens of thousands of dollars.  On a loan amount of $200,000 - the monthly mortgage payments on a 30 year fixed (does not include taxes, insurance) are:

Interest Rate		Monthly Payment		Monthly Savings compared to $998.57
4.375%		$998.57		not applicable
5.375%		$1,119.84		$121.27
6.375%		$1,247.75		$249.18

Aside from the monthly savings - an interest rate of 4.375% vs. 5.375% could save you $43,693.91 over the life of the loan.  And an interest rate of 4.375% vs. 6.375% could save you $89,700.94.  WOW.

Pending Home Sales Index – March 2009

According to the latest report by National Association of Realtors®, pending homes sales rose based on contracts signed in March 2009.   NAR's  Pending Home Sales Index showed March 2009 contracts rose 3.2% from February's level of 82.   This index is a forward-looking index based on contracts signed not closed sales and is based on the national market.   Additionally March 2009's 84.6% was 1% increased from a year ago's March 2008 index of 83.7%. Lawrence Yun, NAR'S chief economist, stated "This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a down payment," he says. "We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around." Here is a breakdown of pending home sales by region:

• South: rose 8.5 percent to 93.2 in March and is 7.7 percent above a year ago.
• West: increased 3.9 percent to 93.1 and is 1.7 percent higher than March 2008.
• Northeast: fell 5.7 percent to 59.5 in March and is 24.1 percent below a year ago.
• Midwest: slipped 1 percent to 82.3 but is 8.2 percent higher than March 2008.

Recycled Glasses

I stumbled upon this site  - The Green Glass Company - months ago.  The company is in Wisconsin and recycles bottles into glassware.   There process is environmentally friendly.   I LOVE THESE! Since finding the site I have  been dreaming of owning a few of these bar ware collections.  The colors of the collections are fabulous ranging from the deep blue seen on this site to a pale blue/green color.  I am particularly fond of the deep green collection as well.   It would be difficult for me to make a decision!    Star Provisions on Howell Mill carries the line of glasses.  Of course you can order on line as well.  AND their shipping materials are also recycled materials.

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