Gloria Sans

As a resident of the Weston area, I Have been member of YMCA since day one. I have enjoyed all the classes offered and of course their fitness area. It’s inexpensive and very close by. I wanted to blog about this new information I encountered as I think this will be very interesting and informative for everybody.

I am a realtor, as you may well know by now, and my in-laws are visiting for one month. They always come during this time of the year and we really spend a spectacular Thanksgiving. Guess what! We all know that things don’t come up as planned. I am swamped with work and I have less and less time to entertain them, so, I went to YMCA and to my surprise I learned that you can enroll your relatives in the senior program (must be 55+) and for only $69 a month plus a $25 membership fee they can spend the whole day there if they want.

YMCA offers senior classes almost every day and also aquatic senior classes, so if you have your parents coming (specially this time of the year), go and enroll them. They will have a great time; it’s something different and believe me, you will be relieved.

What to do before you sell

Home Staging is more than just preparing to sell your home. It’s really the art of first impressions. If you are in the process of, or thinking about selling your home, you may want to consider hiring a professional home stager to assist you but if you’re more the do-it-yourself type, here are some tips on what you can do to improve your home “first impression”.

Curb appeal is the first step to selling your home. No one wants to buy a previous owner’s dirty house. Pressure clean the siding and wash windows until they shine. Trees, shrubs and flowers should be neat and tidy to welcome visitors. Once you’ve created a neat exterior, you need to focus in the interior. Remove everything that could distract the buyer’s attention remove anything personal such as CD’s, videos and family pictures.

Clear out closets, cupboards, and drawers. Eliminate clutter as you should give a sense of the flow of your home.
Strip the kitchen down to the necessities. Counters should be clear, except for a decoratively placed bowl of a bouquet of fresh flowers.

Check the bathrooms – Be sure that flooring and surfaces are clean and fresh.

Check that the wallpaper or paint is fresh and clean. Are the walls free from cracks and holes? Is the carpet clean and free from stains?

Finally, set the mood prior to showings.
Open the curtains to allow natural light to fill the room.
Remove any signs that this is a pet’s home.
Appeal to the buyer’s sense of smell.

Congratulations! Now you have staged your home!

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Did you know that the name for the search engine Google is derived from the word googol, which refers to the number 1 followed by one hundred zeros?

SO, NOW YOU KNOW!

In addition to other homeowner programs, 2009 brings a tax break for first-time home buyers. If you are first-time home buyer and thinking of getting an FHA loan on your first home, this is the time to buy thanks to the $8,000 tax credit offered to those who qualify.

FHA loans are guaranteed by the government with a low down payment (minimum 3.5%).

Not all first-time home buyers are instantly eligible for the tax break. There are requirements you must meet in order to get this credit on your first-time home buyer mortgage.

A first-time home buyer is defined as an individual who has not owned a primary home in the three years previous to the day of the 2009 purchase. So technically, It might not be your first home, you just have to have bought it over 3 years ago and not currently own it.

The temporary credit is available for home purchases made from January 1st, 2009 through November 30, 2009. Closing must occur before December 1, 2009 and the tax credit is equal to 10% of the cost of the home, up to a maximum of $8,000.

The new tax credit does not have to be repaid if the buyer stays in the home at least three years. If the property is sold before that, the entire amount of the credit must be repaid on the sale.

Purchasers can claim the credit on their 1040 tax form. The credit will be reflected on a new Form 5405 that will be attached to the 1040. Form 5405 can be found at www.irs.gov

For further information about requierements and limitations, please visit www.irs.gov

I was used to sit in front of a computer and always face a screen of a minimum size of 15”. The bigger screen the better, I felt.

That was then..

Yes, a larger screen helps if you spend lots of time in front of the computer on your desk, but if you are constantly on the run (like I am) then I will gladly trade the clunkiness and heft of a regular sized laptop for the portability of my Acer Aspire One.

It used to be, that by the time I got to the office I had no free hands to open the door. The Laptop, my bag, keys, my files and my yogourt.

I’ve had the Acer for only a week (my husband got it for me!), and I feel like my life changed. At first glance it looked like a toy, like Barbie’s laptop; but now that i’ve used it, I think it is amazing! It has a decent sized keyboard which makes it really easy to use. It also has a camera. My main worry, was the 10” screen, but it has a zoom (via the trackpad) so it makes it super friendly.

My favorite feature about my Acer is that it is small enough to fit in my bag, but large enough for me to find it right away (without looking!).

We will be adding new content very soon. We are still setting up the site’s structure.

Stay tuned