(no subject)
as we all know, reading the news does bad things to my brain. it's not the information, it's the way it's presented, with death and misery on display to generate more click-thrus and the many many good deeds in the world left unreported. sometimes, though, i do miss things of interest -- in this case, the details of the economic stimulus package. danny was kind enough to summarize the more pertinent bits.
for one, police agencies are getting funding back, and more funding on top of that. they're getting funding back for community programs (cut under the 8 yr. bush admin.) and getting a larger federal influx (all departments get money from federal, state and local sources) to hire more officers. this bodes well for danny.
another point of interest: all first-time home buyers, who buy a house before dec. 31, 2009, will get an $8,000 tax credit if their house costs $80,000 or more (if the house costs less than $80,000 the buyer gets a 10% credit). if you don't pay that much in taxes, it works out as a refund. and, if you spend $5,000 on energy efficient upgrades to your new house (double pane windows, energy star appliances, solar panels, etc.) you get $1,500 back.
there's lots more to it, but a lot of it applies to people who make under a certain amount of money, and thankfully a lot of it does NOT apply to people who make over a certain amount of money. i have nothing against people who do well for themselves -- they just don't have as much trouble feeding themselves. supposedly tax payers will also get a refund similar to the $600 bush sent out, but we won't see that until next fiscal year at least.
the news re: housing, coupled with danny's uncle being a realtor, mixed in with danny's obsessiveness with house searching, pretty much concludes with the anticipation of danny applying for a housing loan sometime before july. there are a lot of houses in the greater bay area for $300,000 or less, most of which are around the $200,000 mark, and prices are still dropping. a mortgage on a house that price would run us equal/less than what we pay in rent now, and with the FHA loan, we'd only need 6% - 10% for a down payment.
in my head, at least, it's gone from being a pipe dream, to somewhat feasible, to a really logical move. if we'd pay the same or less than renting, there's no reason not to make it work. the down payment would be the hardest part.
today i'm working from 1 pm to 4 pm, then i have my chiropractic appointment just after 5 pm, so it's a pretty relaxing day. tuesday and friday are the normal deal, and i work with a new client on wednesday, so it'll be a busy week.
love kittie
for one, police agencies are getting funding back, and more funding on top of that. they're getting funding back for community programs (cut under the 8 yr. bush admin.) and getting a larger federal influx (all departments get money from federal, state and local sources) to hire more officers. this bodes well for danny.
another point of interest: all first-time home buyers, who buy a house before dec. 31, 2009, will get an $8,000 tax credit if their house costs $80,000 or more (if the house costs less than $80,000 the buyer gets a 10% credit). if you don't pay that much in taxes, it works out as a refund. and, if you spend $5,000 on energy efficient upgrades to your new house (double pane windows, energy star appliances, solar panels, etc.) you get $1,500 back.
there's lots more to it, but a lot of it applies to people who make under a certain amount of money, and thankfully a lot of it does NOT apply to people who make over a certain amount of money. i have nothing against people who do well for themselves -- they just don't have as much trouble feeding themselves. supposedly tax payers will also get a refund similar to the $600 bush sent out, but we won't see that until next fiscal year at least.
the news re: housing, coupled with danny's uncle being a realtor, mixed in with danny's obsessiveness with house searching, pretty much concludes with the anticipation of danny applying for a housing loan sometime before july. there are a lot of houses in the greater bay area for $300,000 or less, most of which are around the $200,000 mark, and prices are still dropping. a mortgage on a house that price would run us equal/less than what we pay in rent now, and with the FHA loan, we'd only need 6% - 10% for a down payment.
in my head, at least, it's gone from being a pipe dream, to somewhat feasible, to a really logical move. if we'd pay the same or less than renting, there's no reason not to make it work. the down payment would be the hardest part.
today i'm working from 1 pm to 4 pm, then i have my chiropractic appointment just after 5 pm, so it's a pretty relaxing day. tuesday and friday are the normal deal, and i work with a new client on wednesday, so it'll be a busy week.
love kittie