Chris & Jen's Real Estate blog

Senators agree to extend homebuyer tax credit | NewsOK.com

2009-10-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

Senators agree to extend homebuyer tax credit | NewsOK.com

Laptop Hard Drive / Solid State Drive - Component Guide

2009-09-22T01:47:00.001-07:00

Laptop Hard Drive / Solid State Drive - Component Guide

Posted using ShareThis

For Sale: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Oklahoma City, OK, $79,999

2009-09-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

For Sale: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Oklahoma City, OK, $79,999

Shared via AddThis

For Sale: 3BR/1BA Single Family House in Oklahoma City, OK, $82,500

2009-09-16T16:49:00.001-07:00

For Sale: 3BR/1BA Single Family House in Oklahoma City, OK, $82,500

Shared via AddThis

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in The Village, OK, $140,000

2009-09-16T16:48:00.001-07:00

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in The Village, OK, $140,000

Shared via AddThis

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Yukon, OK, $149,900

2009-09-16T16:46:00.001-07:00

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Yukon, OK, $149,900

Shared via AddThis

AT&T is rolling out MMS, Sept. 25

2009-09-04T01:22:00.002-07:00

AT&T has just announced that MMS -- a much-ballyhooed feature of iPhone OS 3.0 -- will finally be hitting AT&T on September 25. There's still no date for tethering, though the company is holding the line that it'll be offered "in the future." Expanding on the logic behind the tethering delay, they're saying that "by its nature, this function could exponentially increase traffic on the network, and we need to ensure that some of our current upgrades are in place before we can deliver the expanded functionality with the excellent performance that customers expect." We're no network engineers, but "exponentially increase traffic" and "AT&T" are two things we don't typically like to hear in the same sentence -- let's hope the 850MHz, 7.2Mbps, and backhaul upgrades they're cranking on right now go a long way toward sorting that out. As for MMS, they're acknowledging that the release "does indeed fall a few days past the official end of summer," arguing that their support of more iPhone customers than any other carrier in the world made a positive launch experience a bit of a challenge. Of course, virtually every other phone AT&T sells (and has sold for the past several years) supports the same tech, so this feels like a pretty active admission that iPhone users blaze through data-rich features at a pace that the carrier has been ill-equipped to handle.

Credit Card Help: What the new credit card law means for you

2009-08-18T02:08:00.001-07:00

Credit Card Help: What the new credit card law means for you

Shared via AddThis

2901 NW 18th, Oklahoma City, OK | Powered by Postlets

2009-08-08T06:02:00.001-07:00

2901 NW 18th, Oklahoma City, OK | Powered by Postlets

Shared via AddThis

For Sale: 3BR/1BA Single Family House in Oklahoma City, OK, $85,500

2009-08-08T05:50:00.001-07:00

For Sale: 3BR/1BA Single Family House in Oklahoma City, OK, $85,500

Shared via AddThis

Oklahoma Tax Free Weekend Start Aug. 7

2009-08-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

Beginning at 12:01 am on Friday, August 7, 2009, and ending at twelve midnight on Sunday, August 9, 2009, Oklahoma will hold a sales tax holiday giving shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain clothing and shoes free of sales tax. This includes state and any local sales taxes.

Retailers are required to participate and may not charge tax on items that are legally tax-exempt during the sales tax holiday. The sales tax holiday exempts the sale of clothing and shoes priced at less than $100 from sales taxes.

Oklahoma City metro area becoming frozen yogurt hot spot | NewsOK.com

2009-07-29T23:42:00.001-07:00

Oklahoma City metro area becoming frozen yogurt hot spot | NewsOK.com

Shared via AddThis

Apple Rejects Google Voice iPhone App

2009-07-29T22:57:00.001-07:00

Apple Rejects Google Voice iPhone App

Posted using ShareThis

Home Buyers Should Be Wary of Meth labs

2009-07-22T23:52:00.000-07:00

Methamphetamine residues, left behind by sellers who manufactured the toxic drug, is an increasing problem for home buyers.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says clandestine meth labs have been discovered in 46 states.

Home inspector Wes Kelley offers these signs that meth may have been manufactured in a property:

* Yellow discoloration on walls and other surfaces.
* Taped off fire detectors.
* Experiencing burning eyes, an itchy throat, or a metallic taste in the mouth while in the property.
* Strong odors similar to solvent, cat urine, or ammonia.
* Presence of security cameras or other surveillance equipment.

Buyers shouldn’t rely on the seller’s assurances or an inspection by someone who isn’t knowledgeable because suing after the fact is unlikely to net results. The seller will be either long gone or in jail, experts say.

Congress Weighs Buyer Tax Credit Expansion

2009-06-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Legislation introduced in Congress Wednesday would expand the tax credit now limited to first-time homebuyers to any purchaser of a home and increase the maximum available to $15,000.

The tax credit passed earlier this year is limited to $8,000 and has income caps.

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, introduced the legislation, and Senate Banking Committee Chair Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, quickly stepped up to co-sponsor.

The National Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of Home Builders have said they would like to see the tax credit improved.

10 Tips for Getting Good Sleep

2009-06-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

There’s a lot of advice out there about getting good sleep -- and it's very important. We quickly adjust to being sleep-deprived, and don't notice that we aren't functioning at a normal level, but lack of sleep really affects us. If you're feeling blue or listless, try going to sleep thirty minutes earlier for a week. It can really help.

Here are tips that have helped me get good sleep:

Good habits for good sleep:

1. Exercise most days, even if it’s just to take a walk.

2. No caffeine after 6:00 p.m.

3. An hour before bedtime, avoid doing any kind of work that takes alert thinking. Addressing envelopes—okay. Analyzing an article—nope.

4. Adjust your bedroom temperature to be slightly chilly.

5. Keep your bedroom dark. Studies show that even the tiny light from a digital alarm clock can disrupt a sleep cycle. We have about six devices in our room that glow bright green; it’s like sleeping in a mad scientist’s lab. I have to put a pillow over the cable box.

6. Keep the bedroom as tidy as possible. It’s not restful to fight through chaos into bed.

If sleep won’t come:
7. Breathe deeply and slowly until you can’t stand it anymore.

8. If your mind is racing (you’re planning a trip, a move; you’re worried about a medical diagnosis), write down what’s on your mind. This technique really works for me.

9. Slather yourself with body lotion. This feels good and also, if you’re having trouble sleeping because you’re hot, it cools you down.

10. If your feet are cold, put on socks.

Home Accessories You Don't Need

2009-06-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever found yourself saying, "I just have to have that yogurt machine"? So did these designers, who confess they too bought home accessories that they've never used.

Steam Shower
"I just had to have a steam shower. My whole bathroom was torn up to install the pipes and the fittings, the glass door needed to be sealed in a certain way, the ceiling specially painted to resist mold. Unfortunately, I never have time for the spa day I fantasized about. I don't even take long showers. I've used it maybe two times. If you divide the amount I spent by two, I probably could have purchased a small interest in Bliss Spas." — Richard Mishaan

Commercial-Grade Stove
"When I moved into my home six years ago, I was sure I needed a commercial-grade stove in the kitchen. I had visions of dinner parties and guests gathering around for a home-cooked meal. I neglected to consider one important point — I don't cook. I have yet to turn the stove on." — Nate Berkus

Linen Cocktail Napkins
"Linen cocktail napkins. They're beautiful to look at and use, but I pass them up every time in lieu of paper because of the thought of having to iron them." —Victoria Neale

Cashmere and Mohair Throws
"As a shopaholic with a serious impulse-buying addiction, I buy things I don't need all the time. My ivory mohair throw and blanket were spectacular non-necessities. They looked great neatly folded, but shed more fur than a dog when I got them home. Still, I can't bring myself to part with them, and now they live under my bed. Sumptuous-looking antique wicker cat baskets never fail to seduce me — and have never once managed to entice a cat to go anywhere near them. Ditto the mini-cashmere blankets I thought would be adorable to line the baskets with." — Elaine Griffin

Lawn Games
"Lawn games: stainless-steel bocce balls, professional horseshoes, and a personalized croquet set. There they sit in the garden shed." — Dennis Wedlick

Soft-Serve Ice Cream Maker
"I was at Canyon Ranch and fell in love with their soft yogurt machine. I wanted to re-create it at home, so I went out and bought a professional-grade soft ice cream maker. It was just too much trouble. And it was so bloody expensive. I'm going to sell it on eBay." — Carolyne Roehm

Improve your Iphone connection

2009-06-02T23:23:00.001-07:00

Having problems with your connection on your Iphone? I just did this a few hours ago and I could tell a big difference in my signal strength, where I couldn't ever get full bars. I now have full signal bars.

Try this simple step and see if this doesn't help
1. Go to Settings
2. Click General
3. Scroll down to Reset
4. Click, Reset Network settings

What Not to Do When You Buy a Home

2009-05-26T19:57:00.001-07:00

1. Price your passions. Andrews divorced his first wife after 21 years of marriage and was responsible for $4,000 a month in alimony and child-support payments. This left him with $2,777 a month in take-home pay to support his new wife and her children.

A researcher at Ohio State University found that people who stayed married accumulated 93 percent more wealth than single or divorced people. Economist Jay Zagorsky of OSU’s Center for Human Resource Research tracked the financial and marital status of more than 9,000 people from 1985 to 2000. Those who divorced saw their wealth reduced by 77 percent on average.

In the book 'Spend ‘Til the End', authors Lawrence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns urge readers to “price their passions” -- or consider the financial consequences before they have multiple children, move to a big city, or get divorced. Unromantic? Maybe. On the other hand, Andrews writes that financial stress nearly blew apart his second marriage.

2. Budget for the worst-case scenario. After the $2,500 mortgage payment, Andrews had $277 a month left for necessities, and hoped that Patty’s salary would make up the difference: “I was banking on Patty to earn enough money to keep us afloat.” Five months after moving into their home, Andrews was shocked to find just $196 left in his checking account. He writes, “How could I have glossed over the fact that we were spending about $3,000 more than we were earning, month after month?”

Actually, it’s pretty easy to gloss over those kinds of details if you don’t base your budget on your real income and expenses but instead dwell in a parallel universe where your fairy godmother balances your books with a wave of her wand (a big raise! the winning lottery numbers! an email from a Nigerian who will pay you a hefty fee to help him transfer money out of his country!).

For example, I have one budget based on our current household income, and a shadow plan that would apply if our income were cut in half. It eliminates college and retirement savings, an extra principal payment we make on our 30-year mortgage, vacations, and the kids’ extracurricular activities, among other expenses.

Theoretically, we could also sell my husband’s season tickets to the New York Giants games. But I don’t include that in my budget because I would have to chloroform him to get my hands on them, and Accounting 101 says you don’t count your tickets before they hatch. How could Andrews count an entire income before it hatched?

3. Avoid the two-income trap. Counting on a second salary to make ends meet in the first place was an enormous gamble. Andrews writes, “Patty had spent much of the previous two decades as a stay-at-home mother in Los Angeles. Her last full-time job as an editor at a political research company was back in the early 1980s.”

A 2004 study found women who drop out of the workforce for three years or more lose 37 percent of their earning power. Not surprisingly, Patty landed a commission sales job at a department store averaging just $2,400 a month in take-home pay. She subsequently found an editorial position earning $60,000 -- but by that time they were knee-deep in credit card debt. (And while Andrews portrays his family as average Americans, overwhelmed by rising expenses, it turns out his wife Patricia has filed for bankruptcy twice.)

Seven months into their two-income lifestyle, they refinanced into a bigger mortgage to pay off their credit cards. Four months later, after their credit scores rebounded, they refinanced again into a lower-interest loan. The original mortgage payment of $2,500 a month ballooned to $3,200. That same month Patty lost her job.

Married couples with children are 75 percent more likely to declare bankruptcy than childless couples, according to Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, authors of 'The Two-Income Trap'. Their research shows outsized housing costs, especially in high-quality school districts such as the one Andrews and his wife chose, are a big factor, along with car payments and health insurance costs. If one earner gets sick or laid off, there’s virtually no safety net.

4. Know what you can afford. A mortgage, property taxes, and insurance should total no more than 29 percent of gross income -- and those expenses, plus other long-term debts, should be no more than 36 percent of gross income. That’s according to the Federal Housing Administration. Andrews’ ownership costs, plus alimony and child support, totaled about two-thirds of his gross income.

Meanwhile, annual maintenance costs average 1 to 2 percent of a home’s value. In a $460,000 home, Andrews should have budgeted at least $4,600 a year for fix-ups. He didn’t. He writes, “Our stately little house looked increasingly trashy: peeling paint and broken screens on the front windows, crumbling concrete on the front stoop, a lawn that was mostly crabgrass.”

5. Call your bank and ask them to cut you off in the event you attempt a debit or ATM transaction and the account has insufficient funds. As Andrews’ finances spiraled out of control, he repeatedly overshot his checking account. “Every time I overdrew my checking account by even a few dollars, the bank would tap my Mastercard for $100, helpfully deposit the cash in my account, and charge me $10 for the privilege,” Andrew writes. He recounts a $5 overdraft for school supplies. Assuming he deposited money two weeks later to repay the overdraft, his annual APR on the $10 overdraft “loan” would be 5,200 percent. (Here’s the calculator.)

6. Have a serious conversation about money with your intended before you tie the knot. Even after Patty got the $60,000 job and they had an opportunity to catch up, Andrews reports spending $2,845 in one month on their credit cards, including $700 for clothing at J. Crew. “Patty spent little on herself, but refused to scrimp on top-quality produce, Starbucks coffee, bottled juices, fresh cheese, and clothing for the children and me,” Andrews writes. “She thought it wasn’t worth agonizing over nickels and dimes.”

Ah, the agony of nickels and dimes. A funny thing happened to me over the past 20 years: I kept saving my nickels and dimes and investing them, and lo and behold, they snowballed into hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of dollars. This happened in part because my husband and I agreed not to offset the nickels and dimes we were saving by financing stuff we couldn’t afford on a credit card. Brie and lattes at 27 percent interest are really pricey.

Talk to your partner about money, and agree to use a budgeting tool to facilitate the conversation. Researcher Zagorsky found that couples argue about money more than any other topic -- in part because they don’t agree on how much they have.

The typical husband says the couple earns 5 percent more income and has 10 percent more total wealth than his wife reports, the study found. Meanwhile, the wife says the family's debts are $500 more than her husband reports. Among older couples surveyed, half differed in their wealth estimates by more than $14,700; among younger couples, half differed by $7,000. (Husbands paid the bills about 40 percent of the time.)

Perhaps the most critical discovery: Couples who didn’t divorce in the 15-year study were more in agreement on their estimates than couples who divorced. In other words, they knew how to communicate about money. If you want to avoid your own personal credit crisis, that's a good place to start.

Food Network Coming to Eischen's

2009-05-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Food Network's popular show Diners,Drive-ins and Dives will be at Eischen's in Okarche on Monday, May 18th starting at 12:30PM. Eischen's was recommended to the show as part of a viewer's choice episode.

Slingbox coming to Iphone

2009-05-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

It’s now official the sling box app will be coming to the app store for $30. Unknown when it will be out but its coming. It’s said that it’s already in the app store but I can’t find it anywhere. You can only use it over Wi-Fi and it will work with any sling box.

Apple discounts replacements for waterlogged iPhones

2009-05-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Now Apple retail stores have adopted a new policy allowing them to charge less to replace water-damaged iPhones. We contacted the Apple store located at The Grove in Los Angeles, Calif. to verify the news. Representatives at the store confirmed that Apple now offers replacement iPhones for $199 (without a contract extension) if the phone has stopped working because of moisture damage.

Customers are issued a refurbished iPhone replacement of the same generation iPhone model that they turn in. If you decide to upgrade from a 2G to 3G iPhone in the process, however, you will need to upgrade your contract to the higher cost 3G data plan. In some cases, customers may receive a new iPhone if there are no refurbished iPhones available.

Is the new policy good news for consumers who enjoy a vigorous sweaty workout? Does it adequately compensate Apple for replacing a product accidentally dropped into a puddle or porcelain throne? Or is $199 still too much to charge for a replacement? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Bond money available for first time home buyer in OKlahoma

2009-04-23T23:45:00.000-07:00

State bond money will be available for first time home buyers here in Oklahoma on April 28,2009. Qualified buyers will receive an interest rate of 5.83% for FHA/VA loans and 3.5% down payment assistance which is required by FHA.

Please contact us if you have any more questions at 405-823-7330 or 405-474-8081.

Chris and Jenita Sonaggera

Coldwell Banker Select

Yukon,Ok 73099

7 Tips to Avoid the Vacant Home Look

2009-04-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Selling a home that is vacant can be harder than selling a lived-in home, experts say. Here are some ideas from Pam and Dave Pettigrew, certified residential specialists with Prudential Rocky Mountain in Fort Collins, Colo., on what practitioners and sellers should consider to protect an empty property and get it sold.

Give the house a lived-in look. Get a neighbor or family member to make the house look occupied by parking a car in the driveway, opening and closing the drapes and taking in any mail.
Groom the yard. Use a lawn service during the summer to keep the grass cut and a snow removal service in the winter to scrape the walks and driveway.
No outstanding nicks. Hide the effects of missing furniture. Paint and replace rugs so there are no faded spots or blemishes on the walls. Cover accent paint that alone looks odd.
Leave some furniture. A few chairs, tables, lamps and beds (or empty mattress boxes with spreads) give buyers a sense of space.
Keep the utilities on. Set the thermostat at a comfortable level during the winter and summer.
Hire a maid. Make sure the home remains spotless.
Check the homeowner’s policy. Understand the coverage when the home is vacant.

SlingPlayer for iPhone rejected at AT&T’s request?

2009-04-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

The application conformed to every single Apple guideline for applications and user interfaces, etc. The reason it was denied was because of an executive decision on Apple's end. AT&T had asked that the app be rejected due to worries about bandwidth consumption. We will see this plays out. I love my sling box and I was really looking forward to getting this app when it came out.

4 Tips to Make a Home More Inviting

2009-04-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

* A stylish kitchen appeals to many buyers. If a sellers has upgraded cabinets and granite countertops, that’s good. If they don’t, it may help to display some stylish touches like an espresso machine, a retro toaster or just some luscious fruit.

* Lots of light makes spaces feel larger. Turn on all the lights even during the day and add a few extra lights if necessary.

* The master bedroom should seduce a buyer. Play soft jazz, pile the bed high with a cushy comforter and pillows. Stack plush towels in the bathroom.

* Add drama to a bottleneck or a dead end space. Prop an oversize mirror against the wall. It visually ops a space and adds drama.

Top 10 Most Heavily Taxed States

2009-04-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

Here are the 10 states with the highest taxes, including property, individual income, sales, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, motor vehicles, hunting and fishing, motor fuels, death and gift taxes, as well as insurance premiums. The per capita tax was derived by adding up all the taxes and dividing the total by the number of citizens.

1. Vermont, $3,861
2. Hawaii, $3,856
3. Connecticut, $3,596
4. Minnesota, $3,203
5. New Jersey, $3,024
6. New York, $3,019
7. Massachusetts, $2,953
8. Washington, $2,553
9. Wyoming, $2,357
10. Pennsylvania, $2,223

6 Reasons Why It's Still a Good Time to Buy

2009-04-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

1. Uncle Sam is willing to help. First-time buyers (defined as anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years) are entitled to a maximum $8,000 tax credit; interest rates are at record lows; and the Federal Reserve is doing its best to make mortgage loans available.

2. People have to live somewhere. About 800,000 new households are formed each year in this country, ensuring that the housing market will tighten, even if the economy doesn’t soar.

3. Borrowers leverage their investment. If you put $10,000 into the stock market and it earns 10 percent, you’ve earned $1,000. If you put $10,000 down on a home and its values increases 10 percent, you’ve made $10,000.

4. When prices come back up, you’ll have instant equity. In parts of the country where foreclosures have driven down prices, better times will mean the price of the home you buy will rise rapidly.

5. Mortgage costs stay the same. If you get a fixed-rate mortgage, the monthly payment stays the same – while everything else, including rent, goes upward.

6. You own it. There is something comforting in the notion that your home is your own. You can paint it any color you want, let the dog run in the back yard and hang a swing for the kids in the front.

2009-04-07T19:07:00.001-07:00

Great starter home in YUKON, This home offers a 3 bed 1 bath in Mustang Schools with a spacious backyard with an above ground pool and storage shed. Seller will pay $1,000 toward buyers closing cost and a $500 carpet allowance. Sellers also offering an OLD REPUBLIC HOME WARRANTY.

Oklahoma named in the Top 12 best places for Business and Careers by Forbes

2009-03-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

Top 12 Business and Careers

1. Raleigh, NC

2. Fort Collins, Co

3. Durham, NC

4. Fayetteville, AK

5. Lincoln, NE

6.Asheville, NC

7. Des Monies, IA

8. Austin, TX

9. Boise, ID

10. Colorado Springs, Co

11. Albuquerque, NM

12. Oklahoma City, Ok

$8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

2009-03-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.

For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.

The tax credit does not have to be repaid.

The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Apple's 3.0 UPDATE with Screen Shots of new features

2009-03-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you who saw the 3.0 video have already seen all the new features for the Iphone 3g is going to have. I have some screen shots that my friend sent me for you guys who haven't seen it. Apple said there is going to about 100 new features for the Iphone, Iphone 3g and Itouch. Itouch users will have to pay for the new update when it comes out. It's only going to be about $10.00.