Howard County Association of REALTORS^® Awarded
2009 MAR Community Action and REALTOR^® Excellence
2^nd Honorable Mention

2009 President Mary Calder accepted the CARE 2^nd Honorable Mention Award at the Maryland Association of REALTORS^® Annual Conference, honoring the work that the HCAR Association and members do on behalf of the community. With the CARE award comes $1,000. HCAR is donating the $1,000 to the Willis McGahee Foundation. Thank you to everyone who contributes their time and money, and who submitted photographs and details of their volunteer work for the CARE award!

Kudos to HCAR leadership and the HCAR YPN Chapter
for a very successful RPAC event.

Highlights included CE by MAR's Colette Massengale, Esq., a trade show, and a presentation by Kathy Connelly - Executive Director for the Maryland Real Estate Commission. Other presenters included Ilene Kessler, Mark Feinroth (MAR), Bill Castelli (MAR), Jamie Gregory (NAR) and Gloria Farrar, networking opportunities, a live auction, and a reception.

The well attended day raised over $10,000.

Congratulations! What a great job.

Gloria M. Farrar
MAR RPAC Fundraising Chair

Click here to view the event photos >>

On November 5, Congress answered our call to extend and expand the homebuyer tax credit. Both the House and the Senate passed an unemployment insurance bill, which included an amendment to expand and extend the tax credit. The bill was then signed by President Obama.

Some new benefits under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, which took effect Saturday, November 7:

• Single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 may receive the maximum tax credit (income limits are increased from the 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit limits).
• Current home owners who buy homes can now also apply, for a maximum credit of $6,500.
• NAR Issue Brief Homebuyer Tax Credit Comparison Chart >>

If you or your client purchased a home between January 1, 2009 and November 6, 2009, please visit 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit at Realtor.org for new homebuyer tax credit details. For those purchasing between November 7, 2009 and April 10, 2010, please visit The Basics: Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit 2009/2010 at Realtor.org. These helpful resources and the comparison chart can be used when working with buyers to take advantage of the credit in the months ahead.

Thank you for responding to the Tax Credit Calls for Action.
Once again, a victory for homeownership was achieved
because so many took action.

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ! REALTOR® of the Year Kenny Smallwood Rookie of the Year Shannon Miller Community Service Creig Northrop Thank you for being role models in service and your commitment to excellence, Kenny, Shannon and Creig!

October 1, 2009 - Pending home sales have increased for seven straight months, the longest streak since the index began in 2001. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said "The rise in pending home sales shows buyers are returning to the market and signing contracts. No doubt many first-time buyers are rushing to beat the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit, which expires at the end of next month." Yun said the forecast for home sales and prices depends very much on whether a tax credit is extended. "Extending and expanding the tax credit is the best tool in our arsenal to encourage financially qualified buyers to stimulate the economy and help reduce the budget deficit."

NAR President Charles McMillan, also noted "Each home sale pumps an additional $63,000 into the economy through related goods and services, so the benefits of extending and expanding the tax credit far outweigh the costs."

Full article . . .

All surrounding Associations have now completed the conversion from the Supra lockbox system to the SentriLock system.

Those who wish to subscribe to the SentriLock system should call the HCAR office at (410) 715-1437 as soon as possible to schedule an appointment to obtain a SentriLock Smart Card.

Thank you for your participation!

 

How to Reduce Your Risk of an IRS Audit

As a self-employed person, you are three times more likely than an employee who receives a
W-2 form to be audited by the Internal Revenue Service.

Full Article >>