Proposed Tax Credit 2009 Stimulus Package

November 20, 2008

Stimulus News: Currently the Stimulus package is considering a proposed $15,000 tax credit, which applies to all home purchases -- not just new homes and not just first time buyers. It is sponsored by Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, a former real estate broker. He said it was modeled after a similar, $2,000 homebuyer incentive that helped lead the country out of recession in 1975. The tax credit would give buyers 10 percent of the price of a primary residence bought within one year, up to $15,000, and is intended to stabilize plummeting home prices. The amendment would allow taxpayers to claim the credit on their 2008 income tax return and to spread the tax credit over two years. It also seeks to prevent misuse by only allowing purchases of a principle residence and by recapturing the credit if the home is sold within two years of purchase.

The U.S. Senate on Friday also approved an amendment to an economic stimulus bill that would direct $50 billion in funds from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program to foreclosure mitigation efforts. This program is estimated to prevent approximately 2 million foreclosures. The amendment also forces changes in the federal government's $300 billion Hope for Homeowners program to increase participation. Under the amendment, homeowners would have to share 25% of future equity in their home, rather than the current 50% requirement.

In other news:
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its index of pending home sales, which measures contracts signed but not closed, rose 6.3% to 87.7 in December from a month earlier.

Moody's Economy.com cites signs that home sales are stabilizing as people snap up bargains on foreclosures, a decline in the supply of unsold homes in many areas and expectations of moves by the Obama Administration "that will help place a floor under the housing downturn." Those measures could include lowering mortgage rates further, preventing more foreclosures and generating jobs through higher federal spending.

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Local Information for Fort Scott, KS

Latitude: 37.83518 -- Longitude: -94.702015

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Established and garrisoned by the U.S. Army from 1842-1853, soldiers at Fort Scott assisted with the protection of the Permanent Indian Frontier. After the army abandoned the fort in 1853, the buildings were purchased by local settlers at a government auction in 1855. The former military post became the center of one of the largest towns in Kansas Territory. Between 1855 and 1861, the citizens of Fort Scott experienced the violent unrest that preceded the American Civil War on the Kansas and Missouri border. Eastern newspapers described this violence as "Bleeding Kansas", a result of the national controversy concerning the extension of slavery into the new territories. Murder, mayhem, robbery, and arson were committed by bold free-state and pro-slavery advocates in the name of their cause. On January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the union as a free state, but the turmoil of "Bleeding Kansas" continued throughout the Civil War. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Kansas 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Fort Scott	Kansas	United States
Population	8,297	2,688,418	281,421,906
Median age	37.2	35.2	35.3
Median age for Male	32.6	33.7	34
Median age for Female	40.9	36.5	36.5
Households	3,481	1,037,891	105,480,101
Household population	7,997	2,606,468	273,643,273
Average household size	2.3	2.51	2.59
Families	2,083	701,547	71,787,347
Average family size	2.97	3.07	3.14
Housing units	3,914	1,131,200	115,904,641
Occupied units	3,481	1,037,891	105,480,101
Vacant units	433	93,309	10,424,540

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