If you’re looking to buy investment properties, look at what Tulsa, OK has to offer. Recently, Tulsa was named the best market in the country for real estate investors by Relocate America. And, while interest rates are very low, it is the best time to start looking. A home in Tulsa, OK can be one of the best investments a person could make.

Relocate America ranked Tulsa as the number one spot to live in the United States based on several reasons. Some top reasons include the cost of living is lower, the quality of life is better and sustainability in these difficult economic times has been good.

Tulsa, OK expects to exceed one million people over the next two years, compared to the 400,000 that currently live there. The city is also promising to continue to be a shining example of exactly what a thriving community should be. Tulsa is growing and creating new jobs in very strong industries such as energy, telecommunications, health care, and aerospace. Tulsa is even a sports mecca with five professional teams and a few minor league teams. Tulsa is also home to several collegiate level powerhouse universities.

Tulsa is located in the lush green country side of Oklahoma’s rather dry state. The areas beautiful trails system includes many recreational activities, rivers and parks for the whole family to enjoy. It’s an overall great place to take a break from the everyday life, so you won’t have a problem filling your investment properties.

If you would like to view some of Tulsa’s investment properties, call Realtors® Tom and Bev Herring. It’s the best way to be introduced to all the available real estate Tulsa has to offer.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2012/02/08/tulsa-named-the-best-market-in-the-country/

Now that you’ve taken the big step toward the American dream of becoming a homeowner, you need to know what tax deductions for homeowners are out there. The good news is there are plenty of home related expenses you can deduct, whether you live in a single-family, town house, condo or mobile home. The bad news is, if you want to take complete advantage of your homes deductions, it can get more completed and you may need the help of a professional.

However, many homeowners believe the effort that goes into itemizing is worth the time. So, if you believe that itemizing is right for your tax situation, we have some homeowner tips for what you can deduct, things you can’t and how to get the most from your taxes.

Mortgage Interest

Mortgage interest will be your largest tax break. For most homeowners, the bulk of your monthly mortgage payment goes toward interest. So, it’s all deductible, unless your loan is more than $1million. Loans over $1million are limited on tax deductions.

If you refinanced your home or got an equity line of credit for less than $100,000, it is fully deductible. And, if you own multiple properties, your mortgage interest is also fully deductible.

Mortgage Points

If you paid points to get a better rate on your home loan, you will qualify for a tax break. You can deduct the points you paid in the year you paid them if your loan was to maintain a home or build a home. Furthermore, if you paid points to refinance your home loan, you are eligible for a tax break. This will also apply to home equity lines of credit.

Other Big Deductions

Property taxes are another big deduction you can use. In many cases, your property taxes are paid to an escrow account and paid out annually. You should see this amount in your yearly tax statement from your mortgage company. So, as long as you own your home, you can use these taxes as an annual deduction.

If you are still thinking about becoming a homeowner and like the deductions you see here, contact Tom & Bev Herring. Your dream home is only a call away.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2012/02/01/tax-deductions-for-homeowners/

For a real estate professional, the journey of life is about the period between contract and closing, which leads them to a destination known as escrow. In this day and time escrow is a minefield of crazy mortgages, below market home values, and buyer/seller’s remorse and renegotiation. So, in times like these it’s the best Realtors® who can keep it all together for homebuyers.

Last June the National Association of Realtors® did poll that shows one is six agents said they have had a deal fall apart in escrow. And, a report on AOL Real Estate showed that 32% of buyers either canceled, or had to delay or negotiate a lower price because of the appraisal. The true test for a real estate professional is to keep the deal together to the end in escrow. Therefore, we will show some tactics that a Realtor® will use before and after the contract is signed so you will know you have the best Realtor® for the job.

Communication: A great real estate professional will keep in close contact with all parties to a transaction. This will help avoid any surprises and to keep little issues from turning in to big issues.

Contract management: Being a proactive and detail oriented contract manager is foremost in closing deals today. Tom and Bev Herring are a team of experienced Realtors® who will work with attorneys and title companies to keep transactions moving toward the finish line and make sure earnest money is collected.

Appraisal supervision: Conservative appraisals are the norm these days. Therefore, a good agent will make sure the appraiser is using valid comparisons to support the contracted selling price.

Pre-listing Inspection: Inspections aren’t just for the buyer they also for the seller. Getting an inspection before putting a home on the market will allow a seller to identify and correct issues that could void the deal in the end.

Good salesmanship is a must in today’s real estate market. However, when it comes to dealing with obstacles and reaching your real estate destination, you need to be able to depend on the ability of a great Realtor®.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2012/01/25/the-best-realtors-keep-it-all-together/

If you’re looking for a city with easy navigation, Tulsa, OK should be on your mind. Between Tulsa’s Downtown Coordinating Council and the Vision 2025 initiative, there are new city goals to convert all the one-way streets into two-way streets. As it is now, Main Street from Sixth Street to 10th Street allows only one direction, which is north to south. The Vision package allocated $457,000 for the street project on Main from Sixth Street to Seventh Street to include that conversion. And, the Downtown Council set aside $115.000 to create the conversion between Seventh Street and Tenth Street.

This improvement will revitalize Downtown Tulsa and make it more accessible to suit everyone’s needs. The people that don’t work in the downtown area will soon want to visit the area because the two-way streets will make it easier for them. Between 2001 and 2008, a number of streets were converted to make the traffic more accessible. Boston Avenue from Third Street to Tenth Street are the most recent conversion projects completed.

When funding is available, the Downtown Tulsa project will be to complete Fifth Street from Denver to Boulder Avenues, Fourth Street from Denver to Detroit avenues, Boulder Avenue from First to Eleventh Streets and Cheyenne Avenue from First Street to the Broken Arrow Expressway.

According to the Director of the Metro Chamber Downtown Development, the conversions are in line with Tulsa’s Downtown master plan. The streets will be more pedestrian-friendly. There will also be more people on the streets, which will bring more business. It may even encourage new growth with retail stores, restaurants and even hotel operations.

This is exciting news and will keep Tulsa, OK on your mind.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2012/01/19/another-reason-to-keep-tulsa-ok-on-your-mind/

Recent news says the delicious Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant will be coming to Tulsa, OK very soon. Last week, company officials publicized the popular coffee shop and donut chain would be opening 10 restaurants in Tulsa and surrounding areas.

This is good news for Tulsa as the company doubles their number of locations across the country in years to come. The biggest cities in the expansion plans include Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Now, the company is in the process of finding franchisees in the communities they are expanding to. So far, Oklahoma City and Del City are the only communities in Oklahoma that already have a Dunkin’ Donuts established.

After a recent evaluation of Tulsa and surrounding areas, the company has determined that the communities can support ten new locations. They also say there should be no problems with new growth in these communities as they open ten stores over the next five to six years. And, if all goes well, they may add more locations as the need arises.

If you’re looking for a franchise opportunity, this may be the right option for you. The company is looking for one group or several groups of investors to open all ten locations. This is an excellent opportunity with a fairly low-cost entry. These locations will also have drive thru windows which will increase sales volume.

This may be a indication that the local real estate market is off to a great start in the right direction this new year.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2012/01/11/dunkin-donuts-coming-to-tulsa/

Searching for the best place to call home in Tulsa can be made easier with the right real estate professional. After you’ve been pre-qualified for a loan, you can begin searching the Tulsa area at full speed. The area in which you live will dictate your whole way of life, like walking to a nearby park with your children, knowing the other children your kids will attend school with and being close to restaurants and shopping for convenience. These are all pluses to knowing you will appreciate your new home and neighborhood at a healthy rate.

One way to help find the perfect neighborhood is to get in the car and explore it, especially if you’re not familiar with the area. A good Realtor® will be able to tell you about the strong points and the weaknesses of specific neighborhoods you may be looking at.

Some questions to ask your Realtor® when looking for the perfect neighborhood are:

√What are the crime statistics? No one wants to live in a neighborhood when homes are broken into often. There are websites that provide you with information on such problems. Or, you can visit the local police department, which is the best way to get the most information.

√What is the school district like? Even if you don’t have school age children this will be important in the future when you want to sell your home.

√Are the schools in walking distance?

√Do you want to be close to shopping areas?

√Do you want to be in an area with public transportation?

√Do you want to be in close range of restaurants and parks?

Remember a home is not just an investment when you have a family. You’ll have to consider how many bedrooms you’ll need, if an attached garage is needed and you’ll want to consider the community first.

All of these are important things to consider when you have a family and you’re looking for the perfect neighborhood.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2012/01/04/finding-the-perfect-neighborhood-for-you-in-tulsa-ok/

Tulsa’s City Counselors and Mayor Dewey Bartlett are helping to bring City Hall to Tulsa neighborhoods. In January, city council members and the Mayor will host “City Hall in Your Neighborhood” from January 10, 2012 through May 14, 2012. Events will be held in each of the nine council districts in Tulsa, OK. This will be a great opportunity for residents of Tulsa to get up-close and personal with their City government representatives to help work on problem solving for their neighborhoods.

Each event will also address the many comments from the citizen survey that was given earlier in the year. The events will be a good way for local Tulsa residents to have their feedback and ideas hear loud and clear. At each meeting, Tulsan’s can talk personally with their district council representative, the mayor, city department heads of staff and other top government officials.

City Hall in Your Neighborhood event dates & locations:

District 1 – January 10 at Rudisill Regional Library, 1520 N. Hartford Ave.

District 5 – January 24 at Hale Junior High School, 2177 S. 67th Ave.

District 4 – February 6 at Central Library, 400 Civic Center.

District 2 – February 20 at ORU Mabee Center, 7777 S. Lewis Ave.

District 3 – March 5 at McClure Park Recreation Center, 7449 E. 7th St.

District 7 – March 26 at Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.

District 8 – April 24 at Peggy V. Helmerich Library, 5131 E. 91st St.

District 9 – April 30 at Whiteside Park Community Center, 4009 S. Pittsburg Ave.

District 6 – May 14 at Martin Regional Library, 2601 S. Garnett Rd.

Each meeting will begin promptly at 5:30pm.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2011/12/28/city-hall-coming-to-tulsas-neighborhoods/

Tulsa’s Central Library set trends for library’s across the nation with its innovative architecture design. And now it’s up for another renovation. The library opened in downtown Tulsa as a symbol of education and literacy with a vision that would pave the way for how we use public libraries today. Charles Ward, the man who designed the Central Library in 1965 was not happy with the functionality of libraries back then. You’d have to go through a card catalog to find your book and then the librarian would have to retrieve it from a stack of books that ran from floor to ceiling. Therefore, he designed the Central Library so everyone could retrieve their own books and for use as a gathering space to inspire ideas or public discussions. Back in the 60’s it was a unique design. People were not used to walking through and taking books for themselves. However, the low stacks allowed people to browse for on their own.

Mr. Ward visited the library to retell how he conceived the idea for the unique design. Now, on the second floor you will find a two story quote wall, and a plaque with the names of the people responsible for constructing the original library can be seen next to it in bronze words. The plaque hides a time capsule that includes newspapers and photo’s that will be opened in the future.

Tulsan’s are now face with the job of how to improve the half century old building. They rejected a bond proposal to build a new building in a different location in 2004 and decided to stay downtown. Local Tulsa resident’s have voted to use $12 million from the reserve for a major renovation. Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle out of Minneapolis was hired to lead the renovation and construction will begin next fall with the reopening in the fall of 2013.

The future back then - The original design for the library in the mid 60s included open floor plans, low book stacks, kiosks for displays and carpeting to cut down on noise. They added a fountain in the atrium to fill a large space, which was a unique design for a library. The basement has a working space and storage room and the foundation was constructed to support two extra floors. Who knew they were actually thinking that far ahead.

People liked the children’s section with its small furniture and reading room. There was also an electronic media room created to hold collections since electronic media was just beginning to be part of the normal everyday life. Once upon a time, Tulsa’s Central Library even boasted about their 16mm films, long playing records, projectors and microfilm that was available to its visitors.

We’ve come a long way in such a short amount of time. So, we’ll see how much talk the new renovations will get.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2011/12/21/tulsas-central-library-made-a-trendsetter-by-its-architecture/

There was once a time when you would find a trap-line at every farm house across the nation in rural areas. They were setup for catching raccoon and other small animals that cause big damage to homes and livestock. However, times have changed and you won’t find that a common practice now. But, with the growth of the raccoon population, they are becoming troublesome once again. Therefore, the Oklahoma Furbearers Alliance Trapper’s are going to hold a camp in Tulsa, OK to teach youth how to set up trap-lines themselves.

Fur trapping started in the US many years ago to support making beaver pelt top hats. Eventually, the European market no longer had a need so it slowly dwindled down to nothing over the years. Then from the 1960’s to 1980’s fur trapping came back because furbearing animals were plentiful once again. However, bad things came out of this period when people acted unethically and began stealing or shooting fur-bearing animals. There is a wrong way and a right way to control an animal population and that’s where the youth camp steps in.

The Oklahoma Furbearers Alliance trapper’s camp will be scheduled for December 28th – 31st near Chickasha. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The camp will cover all aspects of trapping in Oklahoma with instruction from experienced trappers. The cost is $25, which covers meals and a one year membership to the OFA with a subscription to Trapper and Predator Caller magazine. Adults can attend for $20 to cover their meals.

Anyone interested should contact Alliance secretary John Weygandt at 918-645-5667. For more information on the Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance you can visit their website at: www.oktrapper.com/youth.

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2011/12/15/trappers-camp-in-tulsa-offering-youth-training/

When it comes to enjoying the Theatre, there's not much Tulsans love more than a good play. And, this holiday season, there are several holiday performances in Tulsa for the whole family to enjoy. Therefore, we have found a list of some performances that might interest you.

Holiday performances in Tulsa:

Art Deco Christmas - Now - 31, 2011

Location : Performing Art Center Gallery, Tulsa Performing Art Center

Web : tulsapac.com

Show Times: Dec. 1-31, M-F 10am to 5:30pm and during Chapman Music Hall events

Venue: PAC Gallery

The Eight Reindeer Monologues - December 8 - 18, 2011

Time : Dec. 8-10, 15-17 at 8pm & Dec. 11 and 18 at 2pm

Location : Performing Arts Center

Web : www.tulsapac.com

This dark Christmas comedy written by Jeff Goode is a scandal that erupts at the North Pole when one of Santa’s reindeer accuses him of sexual harassment.

As the media descends upon the North Pole the other members of the sleigh team demand to share their take on the horrific tale as corruption and perversion emerges, and everyone from the littlest elf to the tainted Santa himself is implicated. As each deer’s confesses, the truth becomes clearer and clearer and murkier and murkier.

6th Annual Red Dirt Christmas - December 17, 2011

Time : 7:00pm, Show begins: 8:00pm

Location : Cains Ballroom

423 North Main Street

Web : cainsballroom.com

The Red Dirt Rangers have hosted the Red Dirt Christmas concert for the past 16 years. This years show will showcase the Red Dirt Rangers, Mike McClure Band and No Justice along with a few special guests. There will also be lots of interaction between the bands. They’ve known each other for years and all three bands will perform all night long. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Red Dirt Relief Fund that helps people who are in financial need. The Red Dirt Christmas concert has become a holiday tradition.

Details: On Sale Now! All Ages! Order by phone - 866-977-6849!

Tickets: Adv : $23 - Day of : $27

Originally posted at: http://tomandbev.info/2011/12/07/holiday-performances-in-tulsa/