Golden Realty Blog

It’s not only the beginning of a new year, but also the beginning of a new decade and a Golden opportunity for a fresh start. Many have already broke their new year’s resolutions and before month end, many more will inevitably be broken. But don’t let a failed attempt at your new years resolution wait until 2011 to try again, after all a new decade only happens, well, every 10 years. So if you break it – reassess it - and decide how you are going to accomplish your New Decade Resolution. Set a goal that will be realistic for you to achieve and then take baby steps to get there. Resolutions are not just a ‘hope’ it happens statement, rather, one must take some sort of action and be an active participant, just take action and make it happen.

But before you decide your resolution will be another cliché, health related resolution…you know — work out more, eat right, stop smoking etc. - why not give your home the same kind of resolve? Work to keep your home healthier this year. Below is a checklist to guide you or inspire you.

Spring

• Clean your gutters. Backed-up gutters can wreak havoc on siding and cause flooding. Scoop out leaves and debris with a trowel or hire professionals to do it.
• Check your roof. Wintry weather may have damaged the surface, and the first big rainstorm, left unchecked, could cause significant problems. Replace shingles as needed.
• If your fireplace got a workout during the winter months, give it a clean sweep. Call in the experts to inspect and clean it.

Summer

• Walk around your house to check for unsealed spots where squirrels or mice could sneak in. Look carefully for termites or ants, too. Inside, check your attic and make sure egress points are sealed tightly.
• Get ready for the warm season by giving any outdoor equipment (pools, swing sets, etc.) a thorough, top-to-bottom cleaning.

Fall

• Ensure your furnace is in prime shape for the cold months ahead, and change all the air filters in your home.
• Make sure your house is adequately sealed. Apply weather stripping (such as tape, felt, foam or vinyl tubing) around doors or windows.
• Trim branches near your home or roof to prevent damage when wintry weather hits.

Winter

• Drain and insulate outdoor pipes to prevent freezing.
• Check for damaged sidewalk, driveway or stairs, and repair them before the first snow to avoid dangerous mishaps.

 It will be a new decade before we know it, so start today!

Here are some tips and suggestions to spark the imagination this Holiday Season.

The Best Gift

The best gift affirms the recipient. It doesn’t have to be expensive or unusual. On The Waltons, Pa brought tears to the eyes of John Boy, an aspiring writer, with the gift of a Big Chief scribbler.

People’s conversations, emails and behavior are full of clues to what affirms them and makes an inspired gift. Almost anything conceivable can be purchased online.

The Unusual

The internet is a great place to get suggestions for unusual presents. For example, try Googling a friend’s hobby plus the word gift, for example, golf gift. Dig into the results until you find something different, like a golf drink caddy that dispenses cold and hot drinks and looks like a driver. Also consider:

• Something handmade, by you, a craftsperson or an artist
• A service rather than a thing, e.g., massage, pet sitting/grooming, catering
• Something from a vacation to an exotic locale

Gag Gifts

Starting a gag or funny gift tradition is a good way to make the holidays fun. For example:

• A caricature or personalized cartoon
• A Bug in the Ice Cube or the Sock Monkey Wine Holder

It is at this time of year that we look back on the year and give thanks for the many blessings that fill our lives.

I would like to thank all of our clients who have given us their confidence in hiring us to either sell their homes or buy a home. We do not take your trust lightly and we are all honored to have helped you out in the past year.

I would like to thank an incredible team of professionals, Lynell, Zach and Tami, whom I get to work with on a daily basis and help to make our company “Golden.” Their professionalism is second to none and it is truly an honor to work with each and every one of them.

Then there are the four legger’s Crawford, Goldie and Harlie who are truly “Golden” and who always help remind us of what is truly important in life…smiling, wagging their tails, eating, getting their bellies rubbed, chasing balls, sleeping and most of all the wonderful trait of unconditional love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Kim Heddinger

This year has been full of challenges in the real estate market and the economy, but through it all I am grateful for the wonderful team that we have here at Golden Realty. Every person on this team always keeps a positive upbeat attitude and always strives to provide the best customer service to our clients and customers. Thank You Golden Gang…you are the best!

We do what we do because of our wonderful clients, customers, and service providers, and are grateful for your loyalty, trust and friendship. May everyone have a peaceful and joy filled Thanksgiving with Family, Friends and Loved Ones and “Give Thanks” for the gifts that life brings.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

~ Lynell Stokes

Thankful, yes I am.

I’m thankful for all of the people I have in my life. My Family, Friends, Clients and Colleagues, whom all have helped shape me in some way. I’m thankful for all of the challenges, the grieving, and the pain. Without that, I don’t think I would know the true meaning of being thankful.

Golden Realty has given me the opportunity to be thankful for many things. I’m thankful for Kim Heddinger, who’s positive and direct leadership continues to make me want to be the best at anything I do. I am thankful for Lynell Stokes and all that she does. Her knowledge and expertise is such a rarity, especially when you match it with her undying desire to brighten the day, everyday. Tami Chesnut, I cannot think of someone else I would be more thankful to work with. Tami’s positive attitude and motivation are contagious and I enjoy working with her everyday.

If I could give everyone a special gift this year, it would be the gift of love. Love has blessed me and shown me what the true meaning of what my life really is. Everything else that has yet to come, the good times and the bad, despite what I will encounter, the one thing I will never have to face, is facing it alone. The gift of Love is what I am most thankful for…

~ Zach Benedict

There are so many things I am grateful for all year long, however this time of year is a perfect time to reflect and really express gratitude.  Thank you to my family, friends and clients, you bring great joy to my life.  Thank you Golden Realty for the best work environment and team a person could ever ask for.  Thank you to our soldiers serving our country, you are in my thoughts and prayers daily.  I would also like to thank Melody Beattie for her view on Gratitude, these are words I read often. 

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

Make it a grateful day!

~ Tami Chesnut

It’s OFFICIAL! This morning, President Obama signed into law legislation that extends and expands the first-time homebuyer tax credit. This enacts the legislation into law making the extension and expansion effective immediately after today, November 6, 2009.

Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit? 

·      First-time homebuyers who purchase after today and before April 30, 2010, are eligible for the extended tax credit.

·      Current homeowners purchasing a new principal residence after today and before April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.

·      So long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.

Click here for more details

Or call us to discus your particular situation today…541.343.8269! We have knowledgeable and experienced Buyer’s Specialists standing by to answer any and all of your questions.

Great News! Yesterday, the Senate unanimously voted to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit through April 30, 2010 that provides an $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and creates a new $6,500 credit for homebuyers who have been in their current residence for the last five years or more. Just today, the House has passed the bill and tomorrow November 6, President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law.

The implications for the economy and its recovery are huge. The tax credit will not only help the buyers who are frantically searching to secure a home before the original deadline, but it will also help the many sellers who have decided to wait out the market as there will be a surge of new buyers, which ultimately will increase demand, thus helping to also stabilize prices. With the creation of a new $6500 for current homeowners, who would like to purchase a new home, it is our prediction that we will see significant activity in the housing market through the Winter months, which is traditionally the slowest time of the year, and continuing into the Spring.

Click for more information about the latest provisions regarding the tax credit.

It must also be noted that the Feds have also talked about an increase in the interest rate, as much as an entire point, which most likely will take effect by March 2010. This will greatly affect the housing market because it will dramatically decrease the purchase power of a large pool of buyers.

So Good News today, but make sure to take advantage of this opportunity now.

Call us to discus your particular situation today…541.343.8269! We have knowledgeable and experienced Buyer’s Specialists standing by to answer any and all of your questions.

If you have read or heard the news today, you know that reports are circulating that the Senate has agreed to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers and to offer a reduced credit to qualifying repeat buyers.

The proposal according to the Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus, is to extend the current first time homebuyer credit to purchases under contract by April 30, 2010, and must close within 60 days. In addition, the new plan will offer a $6500 credit for homebuyers who have lived in their prior residence for at least five years.

Although this is encouraging news for home buyers and sellers, according to the National Association of REALTORS, (NAR) there is no definitive agreement on how to attach this tax credit to the pending Unemployment Insurance bill, or whether to offer the tax credit agreement on another bill, or whether to bring the agreement to the Senate floor and vote upon it as a separate, stand alone bill. And after Senate action, the tax credit must go to the House of Representatives for action.

Check back for updates regarding this and other real estate news!

There is so much information swirling around the real estate world, some is good information based on fact and historical patterns, some is bad information based on hope, hearsay and rumor.

Here are the 3 most common rumors that are currently circulating:

• The 1^st Time Home buyer tax credit will be extended after the first of the year.
• The 1^st Time Home Buyer tax credit will be open to ALL buyers.
• The 1^st Time Home Buyer tax credit will increase from $8000 to $15,000. 

Let us dispel some inaccurate information and give you some additional food for thought.

The tax credit is available NOW until November 30^th. (Click here for more information) There are no guarantees this will continue or extend beyond that.

It is true that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is urging to Congress, to extend the tax credit. However, because this is considered a “revenue measure”, it must originate in Congress. To date there is only one Congressman, who has submitted legislation to extend the credit, but it involves limited eligibility to only individuals who have served in the military, Foreign Service or in the US intelligence community outside the US for 90 days or more during 2009, and they must be first time home buyers.

As REALTORS, we would like to see this tax credit extended, unfortunately we have no indications that this will indeed happen. Therefore, first time home buyers have a limited window of opportunity. The tax credit combined with record low interest rates won’t last forever.