Federal Housing Tax Credit Information

In a continuing effort to stimulate the economy, Congress has enacted legislation for First Time Home Buyers. They will receive up to a $8,000 tax credit for purchasing a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.

First Time Home Buyers are defined in this legislation as people who have not owned a home for the past 3 years.

For detailed information about this great First Time Home Buyer program, click here.


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Existing Home Sales Up 5.1% in February!!

Hi,

Sales of existing homes rose 5.1% in February, according to the National Association of Realtors.

This jump was much better than waht economists had been predicting. This news combined with the Toxic Asset purchase plan announced today has pushed the Dow Jones stocks up over 400 points so far today.

It sure does feel like we have finally turned the corner on this recession!! This combined with Citibank's profit announced a couple weeks ago along with the big news that Housing Starts had their biggest jump since 1990.

You can read more about the Housing story at the FoxBusiness.com web-site.

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Reuters News Video About Housing News

March 17, 2009
Reported By Conway Gittens of Reuters

The Economic Recovery Has Begun!

Hey Everybody,

Today, the Commerce Department announced that U.S. housing starts jumped a staggering 22.2 percent to an annual rate of 583,000 units last month. That is the biggest percentage rise since 1990.

Housing (banking) led us into this economic mess and it will be housing that leads us out of this mess...

Last week, CitiBank shocked everyone by turning a profit.

This week, home builders shocked everyone by actually building homes again. This announcement comes as the first gain in housing starts since April of last year.

Wall street understood the meaning of this announcement and posted a 178.73 point (2.48%) gain for the Dow, NASDAQ posted a 58.09 point (4.14%) gain, and the S&P 500 gained 24.23 points (3.13%) on the Commerce Department's great announcement.

All last week, I was reading stories by the various so called experts saying that this month's housing news from the Commerce Department will be more bad news... In reality, this day or this week may well mark the turning point in the market. 5 out of the last 6 Wall Street sessions ended the day in the green... The economic recovery has begun!

Here are some of today's stories.....
- Wall Street Journal - Home Building Rebounds While Wholesale Prices Rise
- CNN - Housing Starts Unexpectedly Surge
- Fox Business - Pleasant Surprise: Housing Starts Surge 22%
- Reuters - U.S. Housing Offers Hope For Economy
- Yahoo - Surprise Jump In Housing Starts Ignites Wall St. Rally

What Have I Learned Since Becoming a Dad?

Before having a baby, I heard "A baby changes everything!" I heard that or something similar from several people.

What I've learned since becoming a Dad is that what I heard was an understatement.



How one little 9 pound baby can wreck your sleep, frustrate you like nothing else, and smile at you making all of it worthwhile I'm having trouble understanding.....

What I've learned since becoming a Dad is that I'm completely hooked.



What have you learned recently?

My Son Steven Michael Sauneuf was born February 10th

Hey Everybody!

My Son, Steven Michael Sauneuf, was born at 8:24pm on February 10th, 2009.

He weighed 8 Pounds, 15.1 Ounces and Measured 22 Inches Long.

Maggie and the Baby are both doing great!

Here are a few pictures:

I'm Baaaacccck!

Hey Everybody!

I've been away from BLOGging for a while... Make that a long while...

My Wife Maggie and I had a baby on February 10th. With all the lead-up of her being pregnant and childbirth classes to take, and simply having to do more of the chores around the house there simply wasn't time for BLOGging.... Certainly at least there was not time to do it right.

Steve, our new baby is starting to get used to being in the world and Maggie and I are getting used to having him in our lives. Finally, a somewhat regular routine has developed and life is getting back to our version of normal - or something like that... ;-)

In short, I think I've got the time to BLOG again. I'm even getting enough sleep to be able to write something coherantly. So, like I said in the title.... "I'm Baaaacccck!"

If you're curious about Steve, look for my next BLOG, where the new and proud Dad will brag on his Son....

Peace,
-Bill