Four Columns Realty Blog

Congress Enlarges Homebuyers' Window of Opportunity

 

This week, the extended and expanded Homebuyer Tax Credit streaked through both houses of Congress like a greased pig. The President is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday. Update 11/6/09: The President signed the bill as expected.

The bill enlarges the window of opportunity for first time homebuyers to take advantage of the $8,000 income tax credit when they buy a home. The November 30th closing deadline is history. To claim the tax credit, eligible homebuyers will now have until April 30, 2010 to enter into a binding contract and until July 1, 2010 to close on their transaction.

In another big change, the bill broadens the tax credit beyond first time homebuyers. Certain existing homeowners who buy a home to move to will now be eligible for a $6.500 income tax credit. The same time limits apply.

Here's a chart (pdf) showing the key changes in the law. For more information on how homebuyers in Orange, Athol and the North Quabbin Region can take advantage of this program, contact your Four Columns Realty agent.

Orange Farmers Market: Still Great

Farmers Market, Orange, Massachusetts

In September of 2007, I blogged about the Orange Farmers Market:

Should you buy a home in a town because the town has a great farmers market? Perhaps not, but it helps.

Orange has a great farmers market.

Two years later, the Orange Farmers Market is still great.

Every Thursday through October, from 3 PM until 6 PM, at Butterfield Park in Orange, Massachusetts (map), local vendors sell fresh fruit and vegetables - blueberries, raspberries, apples, corn, carrots, tomatoes, etc. Fresh flowers, jams and pastries, too. And more.

It's a fine place to get healthy food, meet friendly people and buy locally. See you there.

News from Four Columns Realty

Time to get blogging again. Much has happened.

You may be interested to know that Four Columns Realty ranked #1 in Orange for the first half of 2009, just as we did in calendar year 2008.

Thanks to our loyal friends and clients, Four Columns Realty sold more Orange MA real estate than any other real estate office, based on information provided to and compiled by the MLS Property Information Network, Inc., covering the period from January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009.

Here's something else that might interest you. Four Columns Realty has launched a mobile real estate search app.

Our new app lets you to search for property from an iPhone, Blackberry or just about any other smartphone. If you want instant info about a home you're standing in front of, just bring up our app. Install it today!

We're working on new ways to meet your needs. The new Four Columns Realty Twitter feed on our home page gives you our latest updates, plus another way to communicate with us. Follow us on Twitter now.

Finally, we have some interesting market research on how real estate prices in Orange and the North Quabbin Region compare with prices in nearby areas. I'll be blogging and twittering about that soon.

Office Open House Saturday

Four Columns Realty Open House

Saturday, May 2, 2009

11 AM - 2 PM

Stop in... Say Hello... Join the Discussions

11 AM
 For Sale by Owner? Learn Insider Tips

12 PM
 Ins and Outs of Buying Bank-owned Property

1 PM
 First Time Homebuyer Credit: How You Can Qualify

Find out more...

Own This View

Nestled between two ponds (just look at the map), this contemporary Orange MA home offers a view of Tully Pond and Tully Mountain. Plus you get deeded access to both Tully Pond and Packard Pond.

Open concept home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a comfy Vermont Castings propane stove, a secluded one-acre lot and a really nice view. $239,000. Find out more.

Update July 2, 2009: This property sold for $224,500.

Life as a Walmartian

Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers and employers in Orange MA. What's it like to work there? Is it like this?

Charles Platt writes about his life "as a Walmartian":

Everyone at every level was friendly and decent toward me. No one had the slightest clue that I might write about my experiences; no one even knew that I had a former career as a journalist. Still, they behaved like poster children for enlightened capitalism.

His conclusion:

Based on my experience (admittedly, only at one location) I reached a conclusion which is utterly opposed to almost everything ever written about Wal-Mart. I came to regard it as one of the all-time enlightened American employers, right up there with IBM in the 1960s. Wal-Mart is not the enemy. It's the best friend we could ask for.

Then why does Wal-Mart get such bad press? Charles Platt has a theory. Read the article to find out.