This is a link to an interesting web site with all kinds of demographic
information, based on zip codes.   It is based on the 2000 census. 

http://zipskinny. com/

1.  Watch for and keep all statements for mortgage interest paid (both first and second).

2.  Keep all statements for property taxes paid, even if sold property this year.

3.  Keep all closing statements (HUD-1’s) from closings this year:  purchases, sales, and refinances.

4.  Remember to file for homestead exemption if owner-occupied and any special exemptions (elderly, disabled) if eligible.  Watch for deadlines!

5.  Watch for 1099 statements if you sold a property as a short sale or were foreclosed upon.

6.  W-4 withholding statements - may need to adjust if purchased, sold, or refinanced property this year.

7.  January 2008 mortgage payment – You may want to pay this payment a little early so you can deduct interest in 2007.   

If you’re considering buying a home, now is the time!  

Today, the Fed met and lowered interest rates for the third time since Labor Day.  The quarter-point cut was widely expected in the face of growing concern that widening mortgage and related housing woes have slowed the economy to the brink of recession.

To read the full article, click here. 

What the Mortgage Bailout Means for You? 

Business Week Online published a great article about the mortgage bailout which answers the following questions to name a few.  If you wish to visit the complete article for more information, click here. 

1.  Can you get your mortgage payments lowered because of the bailout?

2.  Which adjustable-rate mortgage holders are affected?

3.  Who qualifies within that range?

4.  Do you need to live in your home to qualify?

5.  Why is there going to be a bailout?

From Article entitled “How to play the real estate bounce back” by Paul Kaihla

Atlanta

Projected median sales prices for single-family homes:

Q1 2008: $177,750

Half a million dollars probably won’t buy you a home in one of Atlanta’s Martha Stewart-style neighborhoods. And that’s a good thing, argues Dan Forsman, CEO of Prudential Atlanta. Forsman says the smart money here will move upmarket, in exactly the opposite direction of where it will go in New Orleans. A contrarian by nature, he sees the biggest arbitrage in properties priced at $750,000 in high-end communities northeast of the city – suburbs like Druid Hills, Duluth, Johns Creek, and Suwanee. The construction cost of a home in those pockets is $260 a square foot; right now, you can pick one off for $180.

Boding well for the local economy, “Hotlanta” boasts one of the highest rates of job growth in so-called creative-class occupations in the country. Why? It’s the top destination in America for young professionals, a transportation hub (Atlanta’s airport is the busiest in the world), and a place where most Fortune 500 companies maintain a regional presence. Projections by researchers at the U.S. Census Bureau and Virginia Tech place Atlanta at the center of a “megapolitan” cluster of urban sprawl that will develop over the next quarter-century, encompassing 7 million people.

This points to another niche real estate play: As buildable land around the city disappears, downtown neighborhoods on the brink of transformation are ripe for investment.

Click here for entire article.

As history has proven, the holiday season tends to have a rise in crime.

I cut and pasted a few tips from the web – some I never heard of before.

Traveling?
1.  Ask a neighbor to watch the house while you’re away. Leave your vacation address and phone number with them.
2.  Stop all deliveries, or arrange for a neighbor to pick up your mail, newspapers and packages.
3. Do a mail stop, which can be done with less than 24 hours notice.  Click the following link for more information

https://holdmail. usps.com/ duns/HoldMail. jsp

4.  Consider forwarding your home phone to your cell phone. Professionals will call hoping you won’t answer.
5. Turn the bell or ringer on your telephone down low. If a burglar is around, he won’t be alerted to your absence by a ringing phone.
6. Plug in timers to turn lights, a radio or television on and off at appropriate times. This helps to disguise the fact that you are away.
7. Don’t announce your absence on answering machine messages.
8. Leave your blinds, shades, and curtains in a normal position. Don’t close them unless that is what you do when you are home.
9. Check garage doors and windows. Make sure they are locked.
10.  Gather valuables – jewelry-etc and hide in an inconspicuous place.
11.  Ask a neighbor to occasionally park in your driveway.   If you leave your car at home, park it as you normally would. 
12.  Tell your security company what dates you plan to be away. They can put a note on your account should you have an alarm.

My family had the most fun tonight making “elves” of ourselves!  You can check out our family elves at http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1144206487.  Or, you can make your very own!  Have fun! 

by Matt Woolsey at Forbes.com

Georgia Suburbs in the Top 100 are:

#31 – Newnan

#57 – Kennesaw

#64 – Douglasville

#73 – Union City

#80 – Sugar Hill

#85 – Acworth

To read the full article, click here.