• About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in the US each year. That’s the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.
• Women purchase 85 percent of all valentines.
• Parents receive 1 out of every 5 valentines.
• About 3 percent of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.
• Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given for Valentine’s Day each year.
• Approximately 110 million roses, the majority red, will be sold and delivered within a three-day time period.
• 73 percent of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men.
Happy Valentines Day!
The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act makes early tax planning increasingly important. The number and complexity of the changes has prompted the IRS to release educational e-mails, videos, podcasts and other tools on a regular basis since the ARRA became law in February 2009.
“With so many credits requiring you to act before a certain date, do your tax planning now to determine where your money will be best spent over the coming months,” says Jessi Dolmage, spokeswoman for 2nd Story Software, Inc., makers of TaxACT. She also recommends the following steps:
1. Preview your tax situation using TaxACT 2009 Free Federal Edition. It will walk you through the ARRA credits and deductions, giving a more complete preview of your return. TaxACT releases preview versions of its software every October for use until final versions are released in January (any data entered into preview will transfer to final). Start your free federal return at http://www.taxact.com/
2. Review your federal withholding. TaxACT offers a Making Work Pay Calculator that will estimate how much the credit is worth to you.
3. Compile receipts and documentation for purchases that will result in credits.
4. Visit www.IRS.gov to review all of the ARRA provisions. TaxACT also has an ARRA site at http://www.taxact.com/recovery.
Its been just over a week since I last updated on the short sale saga. As of my last post, January 28th was the target date for the ‘valuations’ phase to be completed. Well that date has come and gone with no movement at all. The only good news is that an appraiser contacted me at the end of last week to schedule an appointment for the appraisal. We scheduled for today at 10am. This morning at 8:15 the appraiser called and the appointment was rescheduled for tomorrow. According to the appraiser, the bank has a deadline of 7am on Thursday to receive the appraisal, so I am hoping it gets completed tomorrow. This is needed to complete the ‘valuations’ phase of the process (you know, the process that was supposed to be completed by the 28th!?)
In the meantime, my sellers have been getting bombarded with letters from other agents advertising their services to list the home. Along with the letter comes a printout from ForeclosureRadar.com showing the Projected Sale Date on the property of less than a week away. Of course my clients freaked out a little; the bank has never notified of a sale date. I contacted Foreclosure Radar and was advised they pick up the information based on the Notice of Default (NOD) date. Their system automatically enters the Projected Sale Date based on the time allowed by California Law which is approximately 120 days from the NOD date. Other real estate companies cruise these sites looking for potential foreclosures in the hopes of swooping in a picking up a short sale before the foreclosure process is complete.
I verified with the bank that we indeed had no sale date issued. The negotiator assured me that the valuation phase will only take 7-10 business days then will be moved on to the negotiator (again, what happened to January 28th??). Once this file goes to the negotiator the process moves relatively quick. So they say……………
When you have a big gathering at your house, no matter where you try to set up the food and beverages, the crowd inevitably ends up gathering in your kitchen. The problem is you may not be proud of the kitchen you have. So what do you do?
There are many different ways for you to take your existing kitchen and turn it into a place that you are proud to show off to your friends.
1. Appliances: Adding new appliances is one of the easiest things you can do to change the look of your kitchen.
2. Cabinetry: You can rip apart your entire kitchen and replace all of your cabinets, or just sand and paint existing cabinetry or change the hinges and handles for a new look.
3. Countertops and floors: If you want a completely new look or shape to your countertop, concrete has become a surface that is extremely popular. When it comes to flooring, concrete is as viable an option as wood, linoleum or tile. Concrete can be stained in many patterns and colors with a matte or shiny finish. Concrete floors and counters not only look great but are also very durable and easy to maintain. Check out ConcreteNetwork.com to find a contractor in your area that can help in redesigning your kitchen.
When selling Pleasanton Real Estate, upgrades like these make your home more marketable to a potential buyer.
Where: Bishop Ranch – 2600 Camino Ramon, San Ramon 94583 – (Parking Lot)
When: Thursday, January 28, 2010 – 10:00am – 2:00pm
The following items are FREE to recycle with Universal Waste Management, Inc:
- Televisions
- Monitors
- Computer Systems
- Copy Machines
- Fax Machines
- Printers
- Cell Phones
- Data Tapes/Disks
- Computer Components
- Keyboards, Mice, Etc.
- Stereo Equipment
- Toner Cartridges
- CD’s/DVD’s
- Miscellaneous wiring
*Please NO Microwaves, appliances, alkaline batteries, fluorescent (or any) lights
WWW.UNWASTE.COM
QUESTIONS? (888)832-9839
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