Please Call and Preserve the $15,000 Tax Credit!

Photo by pogonophobia on Flickr.

I thought we were home free and clear when the Senate announced an amendment to the stimulus package for a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit last week. I just received news that there is a possibility that the credit could be scaled back before the Senate casts its final vote on Tuesday. It's extremely important we don't let this happen, so I am asking everyone to please take a second out of their day to call the number below and and tell them to preserve the entire $15,000 credit . With everyone's support we can make the $15,000 tax credit a reality! It's imperative you call before Tuesday!

PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

* Beginning the morning of Monday, February 9, please call your Senators at 1-866-924-NAHB (6242)and tell them to preserve the entire $15,000 credit in the Senate version of the economic stimulus bill.

After listening to a brief message about the tax credit, you will be asked to enter your zip code so that you can be connected to your House and Senate legislators. The tax credit message should only go to your Senators. So, after the prompt, please press "2" to skip your Representative and be connected to your first Senator. After you speak to your first Senator, simply stay on the line to automatically be connected to your second Senator.

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Radiohead's "Pay What You Like" Crosses Over to the Real Estate Community

Photo by BandMetrics on Flickr.

Radiohead's pay-what-you-like experiment for their critically acclaimed album, 'In Rainbows', has crossed over to the real estate community as well. MIDEM, one of the world's biggest music conferences, has partnered with Everything Canne, a real estate company in Cannes, France to offer 40 apartments in the city at whatever price a MIDEM visitor wants to pay. Although not such an original idea anymore, it is certainly a good attempt to encourage visitors to attend the music conference. It is a risky strategy to employ because if the donations do not cover the costs of housing these visitors, Everything Canne will be taking a loss on the deal. On a positive note, regardless if they lose on the deal, the wonderful accommodations provided to the guests will hopefully leave a lasting impression and entice the them to return in the future. Obviously a smart real estate company will not leave anything up to chance, so they hedged their bet by trying to tap into the human psyche. Before the visitors leave they are supposed to have a conversation with their local Guest Support Representative, apparently on the theory that having to look another human in the eye makes it that much harder for someone to cheap out and offer some absurdly low rate.

Radiohead's "pay what you like" crosses over to real estate [Ars Technica]

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$15,000 Tax Credit Beefs Up the Big Obama Bail Out Even More

Photo by Breslow on Flickr.

Breaking news has made the media and it's my duty to share it with you....the Senate voted to include a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit to the stimulus package a.k.a. the big Obama bailout. This is a huge step up from the original $7,500 tax credit because it is available to all homebuyers and it does not need to be repaid back. I'm a guy of faith and if history repeats itself, I'm confident we will see a recovery sooner rather than later. In the mid 1970's we faced a similar housing crises and the tax credit passed by congress then resulted in stabilized home values, decreased housing inventories and a recovered market. A mixture of history and faith goes a long way!

Read the full release from Isakson's office here [US News & World Report]
Analysis by the National Association of Home Builders [CNBC.com]

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Just Like Homebuyers, Skateboarders Find Opportunities in Forclosed Homes

Photo from Skate and Annoy

Not only are buyers looking for good deals benefiting from foreclosures, but so are skateboarders. In California foreclosed homes with large in ground pools have become skate park heaven for skateboarders from all over the world. What I thought was especially interesting when reading the NY Times article was that some skaters use realty tracking sites like realquest.com and realtor.com to find foreclosed houses with pools. Apparently real estate sites can benefit the suburban youth as well.

Staten Island has a similar suburban landscape and foreclosures are high, but as I mentioned in yesterday's post, foreclosures have declined in Q4 of 2008, making Staten Island a bright star on the map, highlighting the benefits of buying a home here....Sorry SI skaters, but I guess you’ll have to travel west if you want to wreak havoc and set up shop for your skating pleasure. But the real moral is that if skaters can use the internet to find foreclosures to skate in, it can’t be that hard for savvy homebuyers to do the same!

Skaters Jump In as Foreclosures Drain the Pool [NY Times]


Photo by Jim Wilson/The New York Times

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Good Food, Good Times, Goodfellas

Photo by thewanderingeater on Flickr.

Have you ever eaten something so good that every time you think about it, you start to salivate? Or every time you smell it, it brings a little tear to your eyes. Did you ever think that you would eat a pizza that’s so good, it makes you want to thank the heavens above for giving this Van Gogh of dough the tasticular fortitude to create such a masterpiece. I’m talking about Goodfellas Pizza on Hylan Blvd. and any one of their many specialty pies that they make in their brick ovens.

Voted the best pizza in the world at the International Pizza Contest in Las Vegas and for good reason, Goodfellas’ combines a thick and flavorful crust with their homemade sauces and fresh mozzarella for a taste that’s absolutely out of this world. For the Vodka sauce lover, the Vodka pie is an absolute necessity with their home made tomato cream vodka sauce, seasoned mushrooms, prosciutto and peas mixed with fresh mozzarella. Maybe you prefer a little smoked mozzarella with sausage and wood roasted peppers, mixed with Goodfellas’ roasted pepper cream sauce, then you might want to consider ordering a Smokin Goodfella. Even if you want to stay clear from the meats, Goodfellas’ has got your pizza right here. The Mushroom Madness, with porcini cream mushroom sauce topped with fresh seasoned mushrooms, is sure to drive your taste buds crazy. There are 12 specialty pizzas in all, each one with its own flavor and personality. And if you’re having a little trouble choosing just 1 or 2 pies for your table, might I suggest a smorgasbord of individual pies for your pizza loving palates. Of course, if you want to keep things simple, feel free to order a plain pie, or one with any of your favorite toppings, or you could even select a delicious Italian entrée from the dinner menu.

Goodfellas Yelp Review!

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Bring Order to Your Life By Organizing Your Home

Photo by Sam Scholes on Flickr.

During these trying times, having your life in order definitely brings more comfort and certainty to your life. Certainty in an uncertain market is definitely a good thing. When I need to get my life in order the first thing I do is clean and organize my home. Space planning and organizational skills is an art and there are professionals that are dedicated to the field of organizing. Time To Go Organizers, a Staten Island based professional organizing company has created a system to provide ideas, information, structure, and solutions to reduce stress, increase productivity, and lead to more control over time, space, and activities. Those of you that have the funds to hire a professional organizer may find it invigorating and can bring you peace of mind.

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Foreclosures on Staten Island Decline

Photo of painting @ Jimmy Max in Staten Island

As we all know foreclosures have been a big issue in the markets liquidity, but according to a Q4 2008 foreclosure report sent to me by Property Shark, foreclosures decreased in Staten Island in comparison to Q4 2007. When I was looking at the other boroughs in NYC, I saw that foreclosures in Queens went up 84%, which shows me that Staten Island is still a good place to invest.

People always ask the question "how do we know when the market will start to recover?" What people don't realize is that it's a gradual process and it won't happen over night, but there are certain indications you can look for to see if the market is starting to recover. For instance, compared to Q3 2008, the number of foreclosures decreased by 24% on Staten Island, which means we are "recovering" faster. These are golden nuggets of opportunities that I'm sure most of my fellow Staten Islanders have been waiting for. As the cliche goes, "Buy when there is blood in the streets".

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Positive Signs of Market Recovery

Photo by woodleywonderworks on Flickr.

I know some of you must be jaded by the market, but don't miss the boat because it was reported that sales in December rose by 6.5% according to a KnowledgePlex article. It's common sense that when prices plunge, the people in the market that have been dormant for the past few years are seizing the opportunities, which is what I see happening here. Typically inventories of unsold homes decline about 8% to 10% in December, but in December of 2008 inventories dropped 11.7% to 3.68 million. This shows me that we are starting to recover and that opportunities are out there. The signs are there, but you can't be indecisive when making a decision because veterans in the the industry will hone in on good opportunities and act on it right away, leaving you in the dust.

Existing-Home Sales Rise 6.5% as Prices Plunge [KnowledgePlex]

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A Family Blessed by a Blog Miracle

Photo by~wibo~ on Flickr.

It's never too late to talk about Christmas spirit and the miracles that arise from this most joyous holiday. It's tough when a family faces foreclosure, but to receive a foreclosure notice during the holiday season is even more heart wrenching. I read this unique story about a family that almost lost their entire livelihood and home, but they were able to overcome surmountable odds with the help of a friend's blog and the donations from kind hearted people from around the country. Daniel and Ebony Sampson, and their three children were the victims of foreclosure, having to come up with $10,000 within two weeks in order to save their home. Jack Grier, a friend of the family published Ebony and Daniel's story, along with a link where people could make a donation. Astonishingly, within just five days of the blog post the family raised over $10,000 and were fortunate enough to spend Christmas in their wonderful home. What miracles have you seen this year? In light of the current market, I would love to hear some more stories of triumph, so don't hesitate to share them with me and I will in return share them with my loyal SIREN community.

Blog 'miracle' saves Christmas for hard-luck family [CNN]
Blog 'miracle' saves Christmas for hard-luck family [CNN Video]

Photo by CNN

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Staten Island Gay Life Expo

Photo by siprideevents

I'm finally coming around to transcribing my post on the first ever Gay Life Expo on Staten Island that took place at the Hilton Garden Inn on January 25th. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout of the event and it was stated that they had to turn away vendors who wanted to participate in the event because they were unable to accommodate everyone. There were a wide variety of businesses that showcased their products and services ranging from real estate companies such as The Club at Clove Lakes Park and Safari Realty to Camp Bow Wow, Next Magazine, The Walt Disney Company and Passages to name a few. Unfortunately my brother stole my camera for his trip to Utah that had all my pictures from that evening, so I will have to re-post those at a later date.

Staten Island Pride Events [Myspace]


Photo by siprideevents

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