10. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

I think we’ve all heard about two different numbers when it comes to housing credits. Many home buyers are confused as to how this works.

The condensed version? The first housing credit is $7,500, and it has to be repaid; the second one is $8,000 and doesn’t have to be repaid. BIG SAVINGS OPPORTUNITY FOR HOME BUYERS! 

In order to clear up this confusion, I logged on to the website for the IRS at IRS.gov. Here’s the story, in very simple terms:

Both tax credits are for first time home buyers and only for primary residences:

If you purchased a home after April 8, 2008, you may be entitled to a credit worth up to $7,500 which must be repaid over a period of 15 years.

According to the IRS website, the second, and newer plan is for those first-time home buyers who purchase a home during the first eleven months of 2009. These buyers will be entitled to a maximum credit of $8,000 which can be claimed on a buyer’s 2008 federal tax return. Yes, I said 2008!

So, during 2009, you have but to close on your first home prior to December 1, 2009 to be able to take advantage of this credit. Any questions? Be sure to check out the IRS link provided above.  It provides great detail on how this credit works best for you.

Call me at: 480.216-3334 or email me at: Teri@HomesAzRE.com for any help I can offer.

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9. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

We all use them. Those little cards that attach to our key chains? Well, now, the Phoenix Public Library customers can carry their library cards on their key chains and/or in their wallets.

The colorful new library card comes in both credit card-size and a new key tag size.

New customers will receive the new-look card in both types for free when they join the library.  Existing card holders may switch to the new card and receive both sizes for a $2 fee.

For more information, call 602.262-4636 or visit phoenixpubliclibrary.org.

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7. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

I am a country western woman. Yep, it’s true. Love country dancing and the music. Though I love almost all types of music except for rap and hard rock, country SPEAKS to me. I always watch the CMA awards, have my favorite voices - including Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and Carrie Underwood ’cause I watched her win American Idol (a program I don’t miss).

Good news for all of us living in the Phoenix, Arizona area! Country Thunder will be hosted this year in Historic Florence, Arizona and begins on Wednesday, April 1 through Saturday, April 4, 2009. It’s a HUGE party, including camping out - and many do, to participate and enjoy this event. Go for just a day or for four days!

Technorati Tags: Country Thunder,Florence,Arizona

For those of you who are SRP customers, there are savings to be made. Just logon to SRP website and get your promo code….or enter SRP2009 to receive two adult 4-day passes for a $60 savings.

This looks like a great event, and I recommend you get tickets early to get a good camping spot….a very popular festival.

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5. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

AARP has a Tax-Aide program for residents with a low to moderate income. They are able to receive help preparing their federal and state tax returns FREE.

What to bring: just bring last year’s return, the amount of stimulus payment received (did you know you had to pay taxes on that payment?), and documentation of the real estate taxes paid in 2008.

Where to go: Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 North Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale – 480.312-1700; Via Linda Senior Center, 10440 East Via Linda – Scottsdale, 480.312-5810; Paiute Neighborhood Center, 6535 East Osborn Road – Scottsdale, 480.312-2529.

In addition, the City of Phoenix has partnered with the  Internal Revenue Service to help low-income individuals and families file their 2008 federal taxes so they can claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Nineteen sites are available where eligible residents can receive free tax preparation services and financial education information. Individuals who earned less than $12,880 and couples who earned less than $41,646 may be entitled to receive from $438 to $4,824 under the tax credit program.

For the locations and other information, call: 602.263-8856.

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4. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Whenever we relocate to a new area, one of the first things (after the closet mall and our favorite restaurant) is where the hospitals are located. There are quite a few renown hospitals in the Phoenix Valley, and I’ve provided a list below – along with the link to the hospital’s website:

Banner Health: Banner Health is the largest system in the valley including a heart hospital and a children’s hospital. I’ve included a few of Banner’s specialized hospitals and medical clinics in the Phoenix Valley:

Banner Health Medical Clinics

Banner Alzheimer’s Institute

Banner Children’s Hospital

Banner Baywood Medical Center

Banner Boswell

Banner Del E. Webb

Banner Desert

Banner Estrella

Banner Gateway

Banner Good Samaritan

Banner Heart Hospital

Banner Hospice

Banner Ironwood

Banner Medical Group

Banner Mesa

Banner Occupational Health

Banner Poison Center

Banner Residences & Senior Center

Banner Sun City Medical Group

Banner Surgery Centers

Banner Thunderbird

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3. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Enjoy less stress when you are prepared! As we can look back and see, the economy can change and life can change. People lose jobs, become ill, and any group of problems can and will occur.

How stress-free we would all be with the knowledge that we had plenty of food, water and a financial reserve. Ideally, each family would stock up a three-month supply of food that is part of your normal daily diet.

Food: This can be done by purchasing a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage.

This could include peanut butter, tuna, chicken, and other foods that your family will eat.

Water: Store drinking water for circumstances in which the water supply may be polluted or disrupted.

Store water in sturdy, leak-proof, breakage-resistant containers. Consider using those plastic bottles commonly used for juices and soda. If the water comes directly from a good, pretreated source, then no additional purification is needed; otherwise pretreat water before use. Keep the containers away from heat sources and direct sunlight.

Financial Reserves: Establish a financial reserve by saving a little money each week and gradually increasing it to a reasonable amount.

Bottom line: Be and STAY prepared! For more, detailed information, visit: Provident Living!

Technorati Tags: Food storage,preparation,prepare for the future,financial reserve,teri ellis

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3. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

I’m already starting to see that the information for the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant is needed. Though I prepared much of this post last year, I’m updating it here. The Easter Pageant information is as follows: English: April 1-2 and 7-11 at 8:00 p.m. Spanish: April 2-4 at 8:00 p.m. The Pageant lasts about an hour. Be sure to allow time to tour the Visitor’s Center as well - very special!  For more information about the Temple, about the Pageant, or about Mesa and what it offers to the homeowner, just give me a call at: 480.216-3334.

 The Mesa Arizona Temple (formerly the Arizona Temple) was the seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of two LDS temples built in the state.

The LDS temple in Mesa was one of the first to be constructed by the church. Announced in 1919, only a few short years after Arizona had achieved statehood, it was one of 3 temples announced and constructed to serve outlying Mormon settlements in the early part of the century, the others being constructed in Laie, Hawaii and Cardston, Alberta. While neither of the three settlements were particularly large in their own right, they were considered thriving centers of largely Mormon populations. The long and arduous trip to existing temples located in the state of Utah would prove costly and even dangerous for the faithful of the era, and temple attendance was (and is) an important part of the faith, and as such it was seen as necessary to construct temples in their communities.

Numerous colonies had been set up in Arizona by the Mormons during the last half of the nineteenth century, and plans had been discussed for a temple in the area as early as 1908, but the start of World War I stopped these for a while. Plans to build a temple in Mesa, Arizona were finally announced on October 3, 1919 and a 20-acre site was selected and bought in 1921. The site was dedicated shortly after on November 28, 1921 and on April 25, 1922 the groundbreaking ceremony took place. President Heber J. Grant conducted the ceremony.

Following the earlier traditions set forth in the building of temples such as the Salt Lake Temple, the new structure in Mesa was a centerpiece of an organized and planned community for the faithful that lived nearby. Upon its completion in 1927 it was the third largest temple in use by the church and the largest outside of Utah, and remains among the largest temples constructed to this day.

In a departure from the style of temples constructed prior, the Mesa temple (along with the temples in Laie and Cardston) was built in a style suggestive of the Temple in Jerusalem, lacking the spires that have become a mainstay of temples built since then, and was in fact the last LDS temple constructed without a spire. On the outside walls are depictions of the gathering of God’s people in the Old and New world and on the Pacific Islands. The temple design is similar to ancient buildings found in the Southern U.S. and South America.

When construction was finished on the temple, the public was able to take tours through the temple. Two hundred thousand people were able to take a tour through the Mesa Temple. The temple was dedicated on October 23, 1927 by Heber J. Grant. By that afternoon, the temple was being put to use.

The Mesa Arizona Temple was renovated and rededicated on April 16, 1975 by Spencer W. Kimball. In 1945, the temple was distinguished by becoming the first to offer temple ordinances in Spanish, the first time in a language other than English

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2. March 2009 by Teri Ellis.

I suspect most of us have heard about the opportunity to obtain a “free” credit report from the three major reporting agencies each year allowing each of us to challenge any negative reporting, and then access our report for seven days after. You will be given a special report number - be sure and write it down - and you will need that in order to access any updates. I had one item on mine that was clearly bogus, and I challenged it as being untrue. I received an updated report that indicated it was removed.

In addition to checking your payment records, etc., it allows you to check the spelling of your name, any addresses that belong to you, and to correct any incorrect information! I cleaned mine up.

I recommend that anyone thinking of purchasing a home take advantage of this annual opportunity. Just recently, I suggested that my daughter check out her credit. It was great! - She wants to purchase a home - hopefully here, so I wanted to get her on board. NO ONE wants to be turned down for any kind of loan. This is just one way to be prepared.

Be sure and sign in and get your free annual credit report here at: Annual Credit Report. Pay attention to the options of paying for any extras. You do not have to - unless, of course you choose to - pay for your FICO score, etc.

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