CENTURY 21 is giving away Twenty One $8.000 Cash Prizes

And you could be a winner! The Connect 2 the 1 Campaign runs from April 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010, and it allows you to enter your name in a drawing to win one $8,000 prize. One winning name will be drawn each month for 3 months in each of the 7 zones of the country designated by CENTURY 21: Desert West, Pacific West, Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and South Central. (Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Rhode Island are not able to participate due to State Regulations). Drawings will be held on or about the 20th of May, June and July and winners will be notified by mail, e-mail or phone.

So, how do you enter? You can enter by 3 simple ways: 1) List your home for sale by your CENTURY 21 Professional during the campaign period. 2) Ask your CENTURY 21 Professional for an entry form, fill it out and give it back to them to send in for you. 3) Write your name, complete address including zip code, phone number, e-mail address and age (must be 21 to enter contest) on a 3x5 piece of paper and mail it to: "$8,000 List Your Home Sweepstakes", c/o ePrize, LLC, PO Box 5046, Kalamazoo, MI, 49003-5046. Only one entry per person during the campaign and non-winners for the month will be added to the drawing the next month.

No purchase is necessary to enter; complete rules and regulations can be obtained from your local CENTURY 21 Professional or on line at CENTURY21.com on the Connect 2 the 1 icon starting April 1st.

So double up those chances ... be sure to have your Purchase and Sale Offer written and accepted by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010, to receive your tax credit from Uncle Sam; then be sure to enter our CENTURY 21 Connect 2 the 1 Campaign for a chance at more money! Talk to your CENTURY 21 Professional today; and, as always, we're here to answer any questions for you, so give us a call!

Whew! 1st Time Home Buyer Credit Extended

It was almost like standing in line for the restroom at the packed stadium ... standing on one foot and then the other just praying that the line moves quickly ... so that our Buyers can close those short sales in time to get their $8,000 first time Buyer Credit. With banks and lenders moving glacially slow to approve short sales, and banks demanding more and more information and requirements from Buyers, it was looking very "iffy" for the deadline. However, on Friday the 6th, all that was averted when President Obama signed the bill extending the tax credits to contracts signed by April 30, 2010, and closing by June 30th. Thank you! Thank you!

Also included in the bill was a broadening of the requirements. Now the income limits have been increased to $125,000 per year for individuals and $225,000 for couples. It has still remained at a 10% of the purchase price, however, so it's only an $8,000 tax credit for anyone purchasing a home at a price of $80,000 or more. Some of the mobile homes in parks will only get a 10% credit, depending on their purchase price. The credit, however, also extends to Buyers who purchase an RV as their living quarters ... at 10% of the purchase price.

Additionally, written into the bill is now a $6,500 tax credit for Buyers who've owned their current home at least five of the last eight years. So, we can now include move-up or down-sizing Buyers, too. Now is a great time to buy a house, and with the government allowing us more time to get the transactions closed, it takes the pressure cooker lid off the process. Call anytime for further details.

All the Signs are Pointing up, Up, UP

If you're a Buyer / Investor waiting for the bottom to arrive, you may have missed it! If you're a Seller waiting for the market to improve, all the signs are pointing to a recovery in the Pacific Northwest. According to CNBC.com, a new report shows that five U.S. states are poised to lead the nation out of a recession ... and guess who's on that short list! Right! Washington along with Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Texas. The reason that Moody's Economy.com expects us to lead the way is because of the "high concentration of high-tech companies" in our area.

And, nationwide we're continuing to have encouraging housing news showing that Existing Home Sales were up 2.4% for May to a 4.77 million annual rate. Yea! Three months in a row that we've seen an increase and the median price for an existing home also rose to $173,000. (Which, of course, is much lower than our area.) New home sales trends showed an increase and inventories are slowly coming down.

The Feds continue to hold interest rates down a while longer to hold inflation in check; so the good news is, it's really, really time to buy. And, in order to take advantage of the First Time Home Buyer credit, you must close on a home before November 1st. Our advice? Get off the fence now and get into the game!