©2009 Anne Rains Photography, All Rights Reserved.
Archive for March, 2009
Wordless Wednesday: A Ride in the Pinzgauer
On March - 25 - 2009
Sean’s American Bistro: Excellent Restaurant in Buford, GA
On March - 20 - 2009
Last night I had the privilege to eat at a great restaurant in Buford, Georgia for the RETechSouth dinner; it was Sean’s American Bistro in the live, work, play community called Buford Village. The atmosphere was terrific, I met a bunch of neat people and the food and drinks were amazing!
In case you’re unfamiliar with the Buford Village development, it is conveniently located on Buford Highway at the Hamilton Mill intersection. This multi-function community sits on ten acres and 30,000 square feet of office space, 23 luxury town homes and 55,000 square feet of retail shops. These stores and restaurants include: Sean’s American Bistro, Carter Elite Photography, Cone 7 Wines, Brand Bank and Smith’s Bath and Home.
So, dinner was great; we started out the evening with an hour of cocktails, networking and listening to the live band. Next we ate a delicious dinner…appetizers included bread, spinach and artichoke dip and BBQ shrimp. We had our choice between four various entrees, which I chose the Lobster Tortellini. Oh wow! This was excellent–it was pasta with a cream sauce and huge pieces of lobster with spinach, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes (which by the way, I don’t eat mushrooms or tomatoes and this dish still tasted great without those ingredients)! We followed up dinner with cheesecake for dessert.
If you have a chance, I would highly recommend checking out Sean’s American Bistro and the shops at Buford Village. Very cool atmosphere and a neat experience. A big thanks goes out to Matt Fagioli and Brad Nix making this possible!
Thank You For Reading!
Harbins Park Grand Opening Ceremony!
On March - 19 - 2009
Well, I’m very excited to share that Harbins Park is having their Grand Opening this Saturday, March 21st! I have enjoyed watching the progress of the park as it was being created and let me tell you, it’s going to be a really great place to exercise and hang out!
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will officially open the park at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the celebration will last until around 2:00 p.m. Some of the free activities include: hay rides, crafts, pony rides, face painting and bike safety demonstrations. Also, people from local mountain biking and equestrian will be there to answer questions. A concession stand will be available for you to purchase food as well.
I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of this park, especially since it’s so close to my home. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the Grand Opening because I’ll be on a plane to Colorado to go skiing…but it’s definitely something I’m going to check out first thing when I get back!
This would be an excellent family event to take the kids to and I believe the weather is supposed to be nice and warm on Saturday! Get out there and enjoy the beautiful outdoors!
Thank You For Reading!
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!
Understanding the New $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
On March - 18 - 2009
Did you know that if you’re a first-time home buyer purchasing a house between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 that you can receive a tax credit up to $8,000?
Photo By: Jack Duval
Previously this government incentive to purchase a home was limited to $7,500 and had to be paid back over the course of 15 years. However, some changes have been made, which I will outline here that will hopefully answer all of your questions.
Photo By: Simon Doggett
- Who can receive the credit? Only first-time home buyers are eligible and they must close between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. Investors or people purchasing a second home can not receive this credit.
- What is a first-time home buyer? A buyer who has not owned a principal residence in the 3 previous years before buying a home. If you are married taxpayers, NEITHER you nor your spouse can own a primary residence; in other words if one of you owns a home (a primary residence) you can’t obtain the tax credit if the other spouse purchases a home.
- How is the amount of the tax credit determined? It is limited to 10% of the sales price of the home, but a maximum of $8,000.
- What are the income limits on people claiming the tax credit? For single taxpayers the income limit is $75,000 and for married taxpayers filing a joint return it’s $150,000. If you want more specific details on this, please visit http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com or ask your CPA or a tax professional.
How do I claim the tax credit? Simply claim it on your federal income tax return; just fill out IRS Form 5405 to help you know how much to claim and write it on Line 69 of your 1040 income tax return. No other forms are required.
An important difference between this tax credit and the $7,500 credit put into effect July 2008, is that this $8,000 DOES NOT have to be paid back! The only stipulation is that you must live in the home as your principle residence for at least three years, if you don’t you will have to pay back the credit.
Also, because this tax credit is refundable, you could potentially receive a check from the government for part or all of the $8,000. To help you understand this a little better, here’s an example from the Federal Housing Tax Credit’s website:
“For example, if a qualified home buyer expected, notwithstanding the tax credit, federal income tax liability of $5,000 and had tax withholding of $4,000 for the year, then without the tax credit the taxpayer would owe the IRS $1,000 on April 15th. Suppose now that the taxpayer qualified for the $8,000 home buyer tax credit. As a result, the taxpayer would receive a check for $7,000 ($8,000 minus the $1,000 owed).”
Photo By: Visit Hillsborough
So, first-time home buyers, with this excellent tax incentive, coupled with the low interest rates and the extensive amount of homes on the market, why wouldn’t you buy a home this year?
If you still have further questions, please watch the video below provided by the National Association of Home Builders.
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!
(Please note, the content from this post was obtained from the Federal Housing Tax Credit’s website.)
Wordless Wednesday: Circle of Gold
On March - 18 - 2009
©2009 Anne Rains Photography, All Rights Reserved.
Just Celebrated My 1st Wedding Anniversary!
On March - 16 - 2009
Yesterday, March 15th, was my first wedding anniversary! As I look back at the previous year I’m suprised it flew by so fast! Seems like Matt and I have only been married for a few months!! Although we dated for 4 and 1/2 years before marrying, this year of married life has certainly taught us a lot about each other. I think that we’ve certainly learned to communicate better and we’re realizing that marriage is hard work…it’s easy to let work and blogging and other things become your focus. But in order for your marriage to thrive and become great you need to make each other your priority. I think that we still have things to learn–it’s an ongoing process, but I’m proud of our first year of marriage and I’m looking forward to many many more anniversaries!
One more thing: although the wedding cake topper looks pretty, it doesn’t taste all that great after a YEAR IN THE FREEZER!! I would like to know who came up with that idea!! But we enjoyed getting it out and looking at it…in fact, I’m such an emotional person (I’ll cry at anything) that when I opened the box all the memories of our wedding day came flooding back to me and the tears started streaming. Matt just laughed and helped me cut it!
And the tears didn’t stop because I made us listen to the audio recording of our ceremony…my Uncle Paul is a preacher and he did a beautiful ceremony. It was neat to listen to us saying our vows and exchange the rings all over again. We looked at our wedding album and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was a neat day.
As we move into our 2nd year of marriage, I would love your advice for how to have a great marriage!
Thanks For Reading!
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!
Are You Going to RETechSouth?
On March - 16 - 2009
Well, I’m getting so excited about RETechSouth!! It will be here in just a few days and if you haven’t registered yet, you still have time! Register today for this great technology and networking event–it will be so worth your time and money, especially with great speakers such as Jeff Turner, Matt Fagioli, Brad Nix, Missy Caulk, Teresa Boardman, Kelly Koehler, Ginger Wilcox and many, many others! With so many great speakers flying in from across the country to talk about a wide range of topics from Social Media, Marketing, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Google, Blogging to just about anything related to technology and real estate this is sure to be a day full of great ideas and intense learning.
Also, the key note speaker, Dave Jenks, co-authored both The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times.
If you live in the South you should definitely attend RETechSouth. It’s this Friday, March 20th at the Gwinnett Arena in Duluth, Georgia.
You’ll want to come early, stay late and bring your laptop…as free WIFI will be provided.
For more information and to register, please click the link: REGISTER HERE!
Watch the video below for an interview between Matt Rains and Matt Fagioli discussing this awesome technology event!
Hope to see you there!
Wordless Wednesday: Juliet’s Balcony
On March - 11 - 2009
I’m part of a group called Wordless Wednesday on one of the other social networking sites that I am a member of and each Wednesday we make a blog post with just a photograph in it. So I thought I would start implementing that here on this blog as well. Here’s the first Wordless Wednesday…
©2009 Anne Rains Photography, All Rights Reserved.
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!
Take Down the Bird Feeder
On March - 10 - 2009
**Please note: I did not write this; I received it in an e-mail and thought the analogy behind the poem was a good one. Not sure who the author is, except that the beginning says “Maxine” tells it like it is.**
Photo By: *clairity* Take Down the Bird Feeder
The analogy is absolutely right on . . .
Maxine tells it like it is!!!!
I bought a bird feeder. I hung
It on my back porch and filled
It with seed. What a beauty of
A bird feeder it is, as I filled it
Lovingly with seed. Within a
Week we had hundreds of birds
Taking advantage of the
Continuous flow of free and
Easily accessible food.
But then the birds started
Building nests in the boards
Of the patio, above the table,
And next to the barbecue.
Then came the poop. It was
Everywhere: on the patio tile,
The chairs, the table ..
Everywhere!
Then some of the birds
Turned mean. They would
Dive bomb me and try to
Peck me even though I had
Fed them out of my own
Pocket.
And others birds were
Boisterous and loud. They
Sat on the feeder and
Squawked and screamed at
All hours of the day and night
And demanded that I fill it
When it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn’t even
Sit on my own back porch
Anymore. So I took down the
Bird feeder and in three days
The birds were gone. I cleaned
Up their mess and took down
The many nests they had built
All over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like
It used to be…. Quiet, serene
And no one demanding their
Rights to a free meal.
Now let’s see.
Our government gives out
Free food, subsidized housing,
Free medical care, and free
Education and allows anyone
Born here to be an automatic
Citizen.
Then the illegal came by the
Tens of thousands. Suddenly
Our taxes went up to pay for
Free services; small apartments
Are housing 5 families; you
Have to wait 6 hours to be seen
By an emergency room doctor;
Your child’s 2nd grade class is
Behind other schools because
Over half the class doesn’t speak
English.
Corn Flakes now come in a
Bilingual box; I have to
‘press one’ to hear my bank
Talk to me in English, and
People waving flags other
Than ‘Old Glory’ are
Squawking and screaming
In the streets, demanding
More rights and free liberties.
Just my opinion, but maybe it’s time for the government
To take down the bird
Feeder.
If you agree, great; if not,
Continue cleaning up the poop!
Photo By: aussiegall
So, how do you feel about the poem’s message?
Thank You for Reading!
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!
Want to Learn More About Blogging?
On March - 9 - 2009
Calling all real estate professionals. Do you want to learn more about blogging? Maybe you would like to create a free blog or perhaps you are a seasoned blogger but would enjoy knowing more about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), how to embed videos and maps into your blog and adding widgets to enhance your blog. Well, I have the solution for you: Matt Rains from Real Estate Technology Online is teaching Blogging 101 and 102 courses over the next couple of weeks.
The next course is tomorrow at Virtual Properties Realty in Duluth, Georgia. Blogging 101 will be from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and Blogging 102 will start at 1 p.m. and run until 4:15 p.m.
These courses will also be taught on Wednesday, March 18 at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center in Augusta, Georgia. The same times as tomorrow’s courses apply.
Each course is three hour state-certified CE and only $30 per course!
You should take Blogging 101 if you want to learn:
- How to start and create a free blog
- How to begin with a firm foundation that will enhance your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Blogging unsuccessfully? Come to this course to learn how to do it correctly
- How to attract potential clients to your blog
You should take Blogging 102 if you want to learn:
- In-depth Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques
- How to embed videos and maps in your blog
- How to Video Blog (Vlog)
- How to add widgets, such as mortgage calculators and text messaging tools, to enhance your blog
- How to build a blog that stands out and attracts potential clients
Click the link below if you would like to register for any of these courses! We hope to see you there!
For more information, watch the video below!
