finance: 2009 Outlook . . .Mortgage Market Guide is pleased to present our annual forecast
- 01/05/09 02:42 PM
By Barry Habib Last year's forecast had anticipated some very odd happenings...but nothing to the extent of how the actual story unfolded, in what became a year of making history. How did we do on our forecast last year? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was confident that we were not heading into a recession and a down market . . . and we correctly disagreed.We saw Stocks heading lower . . . and they did, actually to a much larger extent than we had expected. But our one Stock selection for last year did quite well, more than doubling in a … (1 comments)
finance: 2008 TAX CHANGES
- 01/04/09 05:52 AM
New Deductions Could Mean More Cuts1 Mileage IncreaseThe standard mileage credit IRS gave in 2007 was 50.5 cents for business and 19 cents for medical or qualified moving trips. However, due to sudden gas price increases - and not-so-gentle congressional prompting - these expenses have gone up effective July 1 of this year. That is the tricky part. Thus, the reimbursement stays as is from January 1- June 30. However, from July 1 on, you can claim 58.5 cents for each business mile driven and 27 cents for medical and moving purposes. That could add up to some big change for … (1 comments)
finance: Savvy Borrowers Are Straying from 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages
- 01/03/09 01:58 PM
Today's affluent homeowners are moving further away from traditional 30- and 15-year fixed rate mortgages and instead are choosing less traditional products, like interest-only mortgages to enhance their financial situations. This trend has started catching on among educated homeowners, who are following suit in an effort to better position their financial assets. "The percentage of financially savvy clients who choose 30-year fixed rate mortgages is very small," states Doug Roquet, a Certified Mortgage Planner with Home Loan Center of Washington & Oregon, division of Netmore America, Inc, a mortgage banking company based in Walla Walla, WA. "Most of my affluent clients … (0 comments)
finance: Commitment for 2009
- 01/02/09 04:47 AM
As I look out my office window to watch a snow accumulation not experienced in SE Washington for many years, I ponder change. Changes we've seen in the last year and changes we'll experience in the next 12 months. Some of these changes we can control and of course, some we can't. I commit to share information that will benefit the reader as we prepare to effect positive change! As many of us share the same strategies and products, many ideas may be similar to other items posted on the web. I simply feel it is professionally and ethically imperative that we … (1 comments)
By Barry Habib;)
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