http://www.batonrougerealestatebuzz.com/ – Baton Rouge Area 2011 St. Jude Dream Home Photo Gallery And Video Are Online

Accurate Valuations Group is a proud sponsor of the St. Jude Dream Home, providing home appraisal services for the Dream Home since the year 2000. Buy your tickets at the links below.

Direct Link And Info From Sponsor WBRZ Information Page: http://www.wbrz.com/st-jude-dream-home-giveaway

TICKETS: $100 tickets will go on sale December 14, 2010. You may reserve your ticket at Citizen’s Bank & Trust branch locations, The UPS Store, open houses, www.stjudedreamhome.org or by phone at (800) 726-6409.

Grand Prize: Approximate value is: $350,000

The first place prize is the St. Jude Dream Home house located at 37393 Hwy. 621 in Prairieville in the Lakes at Ascension subdivision.
The St. Jude Dream Home house features:
Four bedrooms, 3 baths
3,052 square feet living, 3,755 square feet total area
Upstairs den/playroom
Granite Slabs
Stainless Steel Appliances
Bricked Courtyard
Wood FloorsCypress Cabinets
Bronze Light and plumbing fixtures

This year marks the thirteenth year of construction of the St. Jude Dream Home in the Greater Baton Rouge Area. The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway is the original and longest running home raffle conducted in our community. Proceeds generated from the sale of tickets to win this home directly benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the St. Jude Affiliate Clinic located in Baton Rouge and children locally, nationally and around the world.

Other Prizes
In addition to the St. Jude Dream Home house, other prizes will be given away. Each is valued at $1,000 or more. These prizes include:
$1,000 gift certificate at Kean’s Fine Dry Cleaning
Flowers each month for a year, courtesy of Billy Heroman’s Flowerland
$1,000 gift certificate at Memory Mania
$1,000 gift certificate at Shear Illusions Hair Salon
Two $500 gift certificate at Carriages
One year family membership, courtesy of Spectrum Fitness Club
Spa services and products, courtesy of St. Michel Day Spa
5-piece patio set, courtesy of Brian’s Furniture
$1,000 gift certificate at Kleinpeter Photography
$1,000 savings bond, value at maturity date, courtesy of Citizens Bank & Trust
Talo® SmartTouch® kitchen faucet & accessories, courtesy of Brizo®
Two painting parties, courtesy of Mud Pies and Masterpieces
Custom built furniture, courtesy of Kayu Furniture Imports
Desktop computer and printer, courtesy of Diamond Foods
Mural, courtesy of Tara Buttons
$500 gift certificate at The Melting Pot $1,200 gift certificate at Associated Grocers

Open Houses:

The St. Jude Dream Home house will be open to the public every Saturday and Sunday, February 5-March 20, (Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m.).

Call (800) 726-6409 for directions.

Tour of the St. Jude Dream Home with Whitney:

Drawing:

Winners will be announced during the live St. Jude television special on WBRZ Channel 2 on March 27, 2011. Only 11,500 tickets will be sold.

For more information, call the 24-hour toll-free hotline at 1-(800) 726-6409 or visit www.stjudedreamhome.org

http://www.ascensionrealestateappraisers.com/ – Will Half Of Ascension Parish Homebuyers Who Claimed 2009 Tax Credit Have To Repay The Government?

There’s a new report out by CNNMoney.com and eCreditDaily.com that says 950,000 Taxpayers Must Repay Homebuyer Tax Credit according to the U.S. Treasury. Read the entire articles at the links above. Buzz is providing a few snippets below.

CNNMoney.com states, “Nearly half of all Americans who claimed the first-time homebuyer tax credit on their 2009 tax returns will have to repay the government. According to a report from the Inspector General for Tax Administration, released to the public Thursday, about 950,000 of the nearly 1.8 million Americans who claimed the tax credit on their 2009 tax returns will have to return the money. The confusion comes because homebuyers were eligible for two different credits, depending on when their homes were purchased. Those who bought properties during 2008 were to deduct, dollar for dollar, up to 10% of the home’s purchase price or $7,500, whichever was less. The catch: The money was a no-interest loan that had to be repaid within 15 years. Had they waited to buy until 2009, they could have gotten a much sweeter deal. Congress extended the credit and made it a refund rather than a loan.”

eCreditDaily.com states, “Nearly 1.8 million taxpayers claimed a total of almost $12.5 billion under the popular first-time homebuyer tax credit program, but more than 950,000 taxpayers will be required to repay the credits because their homes were purchased in 2008, according to a U.S. Treasury report released today. And many more may have to repay the credits “if the homes cease to be the primary residences of the taxpayers within 36 months,” according to the report released by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). TIGTA said the Internal Revenue Service is improving its methodology to more precisely determine how many have to repay the tax credits. Nonetheless, the announcement will come as a shock to taxpayers who purchased homes to take advantage of a program meant to revitalize the depressed housing market.
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created a new “First-Time Homebuyer Credit” equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, limited to a maximum amount of $7,500. But that original credit served as an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a 15-year period. The following year, the homebuyer tax credit program was expanded and converted into a full credit that does not have to be repaid.”

To view the Treaury report, go to: http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2010reports/201041086fr.pdf.

Image Source: http://ecreditdaily.com/

Tags: Homebuyer Tax Credit, Mortgages

http://www.ascensionrealestateappraisers.com/ – Bankrate.com: Summary Of Real Estate Appraisal Rule Changes In Dodd-Frank Act 2010. These are the new rules that apply to Northern Ascension Parish (Prairieville, Gonzales, Geismar, Saint Amant) Home Appraisals!

I have provided a few snippet paragraphs from this two page article below. Read the full article here: Real Estate Appraisal Rules Changing

“According to Lucien Salvant, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, in Washington, D.C., the law is intended to:

*Strengthen appraiser independence.
*Sunset a problematic industry agreement known as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, or HVCC.
*Regulate appraisal management companies.”

“Buyers, sellers can inform appraisers

That said, the end of the HVCC should help to clear up widespread confusion over who can present information — including data about recent sales — to an appraiser.

“The intent of the HVCC was to put a firewall between the lender and appraiser, but it put up such a big wall that everybody was afraid to talk to appraisers,” Salvant says. “The (new law) does say that Realtors and sellers and buyers can talk to (appraisers).”"

“Appraisal management companies

The new law also regulates appraisal management companies, or AMCs. AMCs aren’t new, but they have gained more control over real estate appraisers and appraisals in the 15 months since the HVCC was implemented.

The financial reform law requires federal oversight of AMCs controlled by federally regulated financial institutions. It also requires state registration of all other AMCs, according to the Appraisal Institute.”

“Questions to ask (editor’s note: should be rephrased “Questions AMC’s should be asking those appraisers they intend on hiring for the appraisal order”)

If there is an upside to the confusion over appraisals, it’s that homebuyers, sellers and homeowners are now more aware of these issues, says Richard Koestner, a partner at Koestner, McGivern & Associates, an appraisal firm in Davenport, Iowa. He says they are more likely to ask questions about the appraiser’s experience and expertise and calls the development “encouraging.” He also offers a few examples of questions buyers and sellers might want to ask:

How long have you been an appraiser?
How many appraisals have you completed?
How often do you appraise homes in this area?
How familiar are you with the local market?
Where do you get the data that you use in your appraisal reports?”

Read the full article here: Real Estate Appraisal Rules Changing

http://www.ascensionrealestateappraisers.com/ – Northern Ascension Parish Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers – Accurate Valuations Group 225-293-1500. Prairieville, Gonzales, Geismar, Sorrento, Dutchtown, Saint Amant Louisiana.

http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisal.com/ - Are Baton Rouge Realtors Performing BPOs For Lenders Illegally?: No More BPOs For You! (How You Could be Violating RELRA)

On February 16, 2010, Renee Porsia posted an interesting article on AgentGenius entitled, “No More BPOs For You! (How You Could be Violating RELRA)“

It’s an interesting read and I recommend appraisers take time to read this one! Here’s a snippet:

“Perform a BPO and you may be violating the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (RELRA) and the Real Estate Appraisers Certification Act, and could be prosecuted by the Real Estate Commission or the State Board of Certified Appraisers or both.”

“For those Brokers/Realtors who are currently performing BPOs or those who have been performing BPOs to get extra income, those days are over and they should be grateful they have not yet been caught thus far.”

Mary Thompson also wrote on Active Rain about this very topic, “Just say no to BPO’s… in place of a bona fide appraisal“

Tags: bpos, broker price opinions

http://www.ascensionrealestateappraisers.com/  - Saint Jude Dream Home Baton Rouge August 2009 Updated Construction