The tax deductions you’re eligible to take for mortgage interest and property taxes greatly increase the financial benefits of homeownership. Here’s how it works.

Assume:

$9,877 = Mortgage interest paid (a loan of $150,000 for 30 years, at 7 percent, using year-five interest)
$2,700 = Property taxes (at 1.5 percent on $180,000 assessed value)
______

$12,577 = Total deduction

Then, multiply your total deduction by your tax rate.

For example, at a 28 percent tax rate: 12,577 x 0.28 = $3,521.56

$3,521.56 = Amount you have lowered your federal income tax (at 28 percent tax rate)

It’s never been a better time to purchase a home.  Low home prices and low interest rates.  At Realty World-Davis Homes & Properties we specialize in making the dream of owning a home become a reality.  If you’ve got any questions, we’ll have the answers.

With only weeks left to get your new purchase under contract before the deadline of the $8,000 and $6,500 tax credits end, time is of the essence.

If you’re thinking of something different to do this coming Saturday the 20th, then think no more.

Heritage Oak Winery Tasting Room Bar

Join other birding enthusiasts for the March edition of the Weekend Bird Walks. The tour will be led by David Yee who will guide the group across the vineyards of the Heritage Oak Winery in Lodi, CA.  You’ll be taken along the Mokelumne River and through our riperian woodland.  David is among the leading experts at native bird identification in San Joaquin County.

The walk will start at the winery at 9:30am. Sturdy walking shoes are highly recommended.  Binoculars and field guides are also helpful.  And of course bring your cameras.  Dress appropriately for the weather.  An optional lunch will be served at 11:30am with wine and must be ordered in advance.

The cost is $20 per person for the bird walk.  If lunch is desired afterward, there is an additional $10 charge.  Contact David at (209) 329-5490 to make your reservation, or email to the winery at info@heritageoakwinery.com and include your telephone number.  A credit card will reserve your place and meal.

The weather forecast for this Saturday is a low of 49 and a high of 75 and partly cloudy.  So enjoy!

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We all know that the Lodi, CA and Stockton, CA area property values have been affected by the current real estate market due to all the foreclosures and short sales.  How the upcoming wave of foreclosures and short sales will impact home prices in our area is something that is being reported on daily basis now.

The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.

For the rest of this interesting article… CLICK HERE

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• Shadow Housing Inventory Still Looming (seekingalpha.com)

Image via Wikipedia

How would you like to take a step back in time to see Simon & Garfunkel in concert singing their top hits?  Me too!

Well, how about the next best thing.  Tribute artists Mark W. Curran and Tom Haney are a musical duo that transports audiences on a journey through the history of Simon & Garfunkel with songs from their 50-year career, and even some sing-alongs to popular favorites.

Who doesn’t remember and love “Mrs. Robinson“, “Sounds of Silence“, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water“?

The concert will take place on Sunday, March 28th at 3:00pm in the Charlene Powers Lange Performing Arts Theatre located at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi, CA.  You can even see the office of Realty World-Davis Homes & Properties from there.   For tickets and/or more information call (209) 333-5550.

For directions: http://bit.ly/bBtbq0

Sales activity for the Lodi and Stockton CA area have been down the last couple of months.  Was it due to the bad weather?  No, it wasn’t that bad.  Was it due to no incentives to purchase?  No, we still have the extended $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.

So, what’s the real reason for the lack of sales going on right now in the San Joaquin Valley?  Are people still afraid of falling home prices?  Could it be the inventory of homes that the banks are holding on to after foreclosure?

I’d like to hear from you out there…the public.  What are YOUR thoughts on this and what do you think it will look like in th upcoming months?

Here are the stats for the San Joaquin County, CA…

Les Misérables

School Edition

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of taking my family to the Saint Mary’s High School Theatre Dept’s rendition of the play, Les Misérables.  It was performed at the San Joaquin Delta College’s Tilly Lewis Theatre in Stockton, CA.

I must say that I haven’t attended very many plays other than the ones that my own children were in while in grade school.  I got a glimpse on Saturday of what I’ve been missing out on.  I really, I mean REALLY enjoyed the performance very much.  And I look forward to enjoying other performances that will be played out at Delta College.  It was a perfect venue, as I sat down in the 5th row and felt as if I was catching a glimpse of some of our future television and even movie stars.

This was the first time that Les Misérable School Edition was presented in Stockton, and it was the first time St. Mary’s Theatre group performed at Tillie Lewis Theatre, according to its director, Kevin Costello.

I highly recommend that anyone and everyone attend your local theatre productions.  You don’t know what you’re missing out on.

Make it a great day!

Randy

I read a very interesting article about the Bankers wanting to change Florida to a Non-judicial Foreclosure state. When bankers want to make a change they are looking out for their own paycheck – not for the homeowner.

Click Here for the article. It will give you some insight to the way bankers think and the protections that we do not have here in California.

Steve Davis, Broker