REDNECK REAL ESTATE SHOW

The Cascade Team expande to my home State of South Carolina! Just check out all of our wonderful listings!

Welcome to The Cascade Team Sheri Hilton

I am very happy to welcome Sheri Hilton to The Cascade Team. Sheri has been in real estate for 7 years; two with Windermere and the past five with Shyline. Sheri will be working with Darin Robertson. Her Bio is attached below.

Welcome to the Team!

"When assisting my buyers and sellers, I educate and treat each with the care and concern I would offer my family members or best friend.
In addition, I conduct the business of real estate by combining the highest standards of ethics and professionalism with knowledge of the market.
I honor the opportunity to participate in this very important event."

What drives me…

• Welcoming you to my team of professionals, while working together to achieve the same goal, and the excitement of winning each time.
• Sharing the laughter and fun that accompany open communication.
• Giving you the pleasure of knowing that your personal and financial interests have been protected.
• The satisfaction from the happiness shown on your face as I hand you the keys to your new home.
• Giving you what you deserve in life.
• Staying by your side to help you understand the process of buying, selling, and financing real estate.
• Knowing that I have earned the trust and respect from each person, when I receive their referral to help someone that they love and care about.

The Danger of Google Maps

If you’ve ever used MapQuest you’ll understand just how good Google Maps is. I think the name ‘MapQuest’ is either (tragically) ironic or a secret joke – following their maps really is like a quest.

The last time I used their service it took me two hours to travel to somewhere an hour away. I saw some beautiful homes, picturesque towns and countless fields which was great but I was late for my appointment. As a result I switched to Google Maps and have never looked back (sorry, couldn’t resist that!)

But Google Maps has its own problems, specifically Street View. As you may or may not know Google has vehicles travelling every road photographing a world view from the street, hence the name. But things happen ‘down on the street’ and innocent passersby are sometimes caught at inopportune moments.

Beer Gut Man
Location: 56 Bond St W, Oshawa, ON, Canada


The Blowup Doll
Location: Square de Clignancourt Paris, France



Truck On Fire
Location: 44 Robinglade Dr, Toronto, ON, Canada



The Unfriendly Neighbor
Location: 115 Tuscany Springs Green NW, Calgary, AB, Canada

Open House Map for Western Washington

See all Open Houses in western Washington from every Brokerage! Just click below:

OPEN HOUSE MAP

NO E-File for First Time Buyers Tax Credit

First time home buyers waiting for the $8,000 tax credit and eligible buyers for the $6,500 tax credit will have to wait a little longer for their refunds.

Due to fraudulent claimers, the IRS has been forced to change the system. Eligible first time home buyers claiming the tax credit cannot e-file to receive the credit and must file a paper return with attached proof of purchase resulting in about a 4 month delay in processing.

Form 5405 and Supporting Documents

The IRS has recently released the new form 5404 that eligible first time homebuyers will need to file with their 2009 tax returns to claim the credit this tax season. Filers must also include one (1) of the following documents with their paper return (no e-file) to receive the credit:

A copy of the settlement statement showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase. Normally, this is Form HUD-1, Settlement Statement.

For mobile home purchasers who are unable to get a settlement statement, a copy of the executed retail sales contract showing all parties' names and signatures, property address, purchase price and date of purchase.

For a newly constructed home where a settlement statement is not available, a copy of the certificate of occupancy showing the owner’s name, property address and date of the certificate.

Now for the eligible long time residents who have purchased a new principal residence claiming their portion of the tax credit. The IRS has had to beef up its checks and balances on this also. You too must mail in a paper return (no e-file) to receive your credit. To avoid further refund delays home buyers are encouraged to attach the following documentation with regards to showing proof of the five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the purchase date of the new home.

*Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, or substitute mortgage interest statements,
*Property tax records or
*Homeowner’s insurance records.

How Long?

According to the IRS the processing of these tax returns will begin in mid-February after they have completed their system updates. Normally, it takes about four to eight weeks to get a refund claimed on a complete and accurate paper return with all required documents attached. Some early taxpayers claiming the homebuyer credit may see tax refunds take an additional two to three weeks. The IRS estimates that the first refunds based on the homebuyer credit will be issued toward the end of March. The IRS encourages taxpayers to use direct deposit to speed up their refund.

Tax filers can still use IRS Free File to prepare their returns, but the returns must be printed out and sent to the IRS, along with all required documentation. In addition, Where’s My Refund is still available on IRS.gov to track the status of refunds. More details on claiming the credit can be found in the instructions to Form 5405, as well as on the First-Time Homebuyer Credit page on IRS.gov. If still have additional questions please consult with your Accountant or Tax Preparer.

Largest Population: 1. China 2. India 3. USA 4. Facebook

The current estimated world population is about 6.8 billion people. Yesterday Facebook took another step toward connecting all of them with it’s announcement that it now has 250 million users.

If we look at the most populous countries and squeeze Facebook onto the list it fits between the U.S. (306 million) and Indonesia (230 million). Today there are more Facebook users than Brazilians, Russians, Japanese or Mexicans. We will soon see more people using Facebook than the combined populations of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Another stat: that’s 50 million more than three months ago.

The growth of Facebook is amazing and shows no sign of slowing. Common sense dictates it can’t carry on at this rate but when will it stop? Perhaps at 6.8 billion users. That certainly seems to be their goal. Facebook founder and public ‘face’ (sorry…) Mark Zuckerberg states:

“For us, growing to 250 million users isn’t just an impressive number; it is a mark of how many personal connections all of you have made, and how far we at Facebook have to go to extend the power of connection to the billions of people around the world.”

I’ve met more Facebook naysayers in the last month than during the last 12 months combined. “I don’t get it” is the normal complaint. This tells me one thing: Facebook has more growth potential.

Here’s something for the social pessimists. The following chart from The Business Insider shows that user engagement on Facebook surpasses everyone.

They add “Facebook members don’t visit the site; they live on it.”



Need more evidence? From allfacebook.com:

100 million people log onto Facebook every day
30 million people update their every day
8 million people become fans of public profiles each day
10% of the global internet population visit Facebook
1 billion photos are uploaded to Facebook each month
Facebook grows by 700,000 new users each day
There are 1 million new US based Facebook users each week

If you still think Facebook is a fad I’ll leave you with my thoughts on matter:

“ALL technology is a fad; it’s only the length of the fad that changes. The question is how to leverage those ‘fads’ that benefit your business. And there’s no better time than NOW!“

New FHA Guidelines

Securing an FHA mortgage is about to get more expensive.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Federal Housing Authority outlined policy changes to its mortgage assistance program. The shift is meant to both reduce the government group's portfolio risk while strengthening its overall financials.
For consumers, the changes mean higher costs.

As listed in the official announcement, there are 3 major guideline updates for the FHA:

1. Upfront mortgage insurance premiums are increasing to 2.25% from 1.75%
2. Minimum downpayments for applicants with sub-580 FICOs are rising to 10 percent
3. Seller concessions are being limited to 3%, down from today's allowable 6%
Furthermore, the FHA has appealed to Congress to raise an FHA borrowers' monthly mortgage insurance premiums.

To read the FHA's statement, it's clear what the group is trying to balance. On one side, the FHA wants to provide affordable financing to families that need it. That's its mission statement. On the other side, though, the FHA must manage the risk that comes with insuring lesser-quality loans.

To that end, the FHA is stepping up its enforcement of "bad lenders" in hopes of stopping problems where they start.

Also in its new policies, the FHA is introducing a "termination clause". If banks or loan officers that produce more than their fair share of bad loans, they lose their right to originate FHA mortgages.

As a result, homebuyers should expect tougher FHA underwriting in 2010. Not because the FHA says so, necessarily, but because banks don't want to do "bad loans". Lenders are incented to turn down at-risk applicants and, already, we're seeing examples of this. Despite FHA allowing 580 FICOs and lower, many banks have made 620 their minimum.

Some have other guideline overlays, too.

The FHA's new guidelines don't go into effect until spring. So, between now and then, the old guidelines will apply. Therefore, if you know you're going to need an FHA home loan in the next few months, consider moving up your time-frame.
If nothing else, you'll save some money at closing.