I know it may sound cliché, but we should all have at least one New Year’s Resolution. By the time you’re done reading this post, you may even have two. Here’s why. A New Year’s Resolutions is a great opportunity to do something positive. Like, giving back to your community or helping those in need. We all possess the gift of charity so why not use 2009 as the year to give back to others.
Need help getting started? The Corporation for National and Community Service was created to bring together Americans from all across the country and provide them with a way to give back to their individual communities and nation. It is an independent federal agency that accepts volunteers of all ages and backgrounds and encourages citizenship, service and responsibility among those who serve. It includes programs, such as: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America and is America’s largest grant maker supporting local, national service and volunteer programs. In addition to the national and international organizations and programs available, local communities have nonprofit organizations that are always in need of volunteers. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce or newspaper; part-time and full-time opportunities exist for finding ways to give back and assist local people in need. The ability to help those in need is a wonderful experience; many personal rewards occur when one decides to make a positive contribution in the lives of others.
A New Year’s Resolution is also a great way to get motivated and grow your business. Ever think about having a resolution for your business in 2009? It’s your big chance to start something new and to stick with it. If you resolve to try something different, you’ll get different results! Start a blog, get a website, join FaceBook or LinkedIn, attend a networking event…the possibilities are endless.
Are you convinced yet, or do you think New Year’s Resolutions are just hype?
If you do have any, please share with us your New Year’s Resolutions, whatever they may be. Hopefully they will be a source of inspiration for us all. And on that note, let us leave you with a thought from one of Long Island’s most beloved poets, “Charity and personal force are the only investments worth anything” – Walt Whitman.
The two presidential candidates, the upcoming election, and the housing market are all key variables that will affect the state of the economy over the next few months.
With, November 2008 right around the corner, many homeowners are thinking about the current real estate market and what solutions each candidate poses. Today, real estate is a key driver in our national, state, and local economy. So, we can assume both presendial candidates will be proposing new ways to support the real estate industry.
Becuase real estate is such an imporant factor in our economy, it will be a major topic of discussion in the campaign. Both Obama and McCain have recognized the existing housing problems in the country. Both have acknowledged a need for some type of reform. They also disagree on how much government should be involved and in which aspects. How the market will unfold after the election remains unknown.
How do you think the 2008 Presidential election will affect the real estate market?
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published new FHA and conforming loan limits, based on median home prices as mandated by the Economic Stimulus Act signed by President Bush in February. New loan limits for FHA and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now calculated at 125 percent of the HUD published median prices, with a floor of $271,050 and $417,000, respectively, not to exceed $729,750. NAR expects the impact on the housing market to be significant because of the infusion of capital into the mortgage market, which should result in lower interest rates across the board. In addition, there will be a direct impact on high-cost areas that previously required borrowers to take out costlier jumbo mortgages.
HUD has created a new web page that provides the new conforming loan limits and limits for FHA-backed loans by state, county or metropolitan statistical area. The Web page is capable of generating tables for one or several areas.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, in a press release stated that the conforming loan limit will be increased in 71 MSAs that encompass 266 counties and cities, and an additional 21 counties that are not part of an MSA. They published their own list of counties and MSAs where the conforming loan limit will be increased.
The temporary limit in Nassau, Suffolk & Queens is now $729,750. As a REALTOR® do you feel this will help homebuyers in purchasing a home, is this to their advantage?
The well informed Brookhaven residents spoke loudly as they overwhelmingly defeated the proposed 2% real estate transfer tax by a 61% to a 39% margin on Election Day. This issue, which was being sold to the Brookhaven citizens as a “Community Preservation Fund” was nothing more than a tax on current and future Brookhaven homeowners.
LIBOR, in conjunction with many concerned Brookhaven residents and an independent builder, formed the Brookhaven Citizens Against Unfair Taxes, Inc. This grassroots coalition took a position of strong opposition towards the onerous 2% real estate transfer tax proposal. The coalition was not against open space preservation – but rather the mechanism by which it was being funded. It would have been wiser to offset the cost of this open space preservation program in a more equitable means such as a bond act. As advocates of private property rights, the REALTORS® were proud to participate in this campaign to protect the fiscal well being of the residents of Brookhaven.
The coalition created an informative website at: www.stopthebrookhaventax.com to widely educate the public that this would have negatively affected the value of their homes! The coalition, which garnered monetary assistance from many sources including both the NAR and NYSAR Issues Mobilization Funds, effectively utilized print and electronic advertising, direct mailings, yard signs, mobile truck advertising, rallies, phone banks and literature distribution on Election Day to accurately inform the citizens of the truth about this tax.
Never before has the REALTOR® family come together for a cause like they did on this issue. REALTORS® from Nassau, Suffolk and Queens came out on Election Day to distribute literature at polling places and shopping centers. LIBOR would like to thank all of our wonderful members who took an interest on this issue and helped us to get the word out to all of their family members and friends to vote against this unfair tax!