2010 Mardi Gras Parade Schedule

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30

• Krewe du Vieux – French Quarter, 7:00 PM

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31

• Little Rascals – Metairie, 11:00 AM

• Perseus – Slidell, 1:00 PM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5

• Oshun -- Uptown, 6:00 PM

• Atlas – Metairie, 6:30 PM

• Cleopatra – West Bank, 6:30 PM

• Excalibur – Metairie, 7:00 PM

• Pygmalion – Uptown, 7:00 PM

• Eve – Mandeville, 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6

• Pontchartrain – Uptown, 1:00 PM

• Shangri-La – Uptown, 2:00 PM

• Caesar – Metairie, 6:00 PM

• Sparta – Uptown, 6:00 PM

• Pegasus – Uptown, 6:45 PM

• Olympia – Covington, 6:00 PM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7

• Alla – West Bank, Noon

• Carrollton – Uptown, Noon

• King Arthur – Uptown, 1:15 PM

• Barkus – French Quarter – 2:00 PM

• Rhea – Metairie, 2:00 PM

• Centurions – Metairie, 5:30 PM

• Nemesis – Chalmette, 2:00 PM

• Dionysus – Slidell, 1:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10

• Druids – Uptown, 6:00 PM

• Thor – Metairie, 7:00 PM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11

• Babylon – Uptown, 5:45 PM

• Chaos – Uptown, 6:30 PM

• Muses – Uptown, 7:30 PM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12

• Hermes – Uptown, 6:00 PM

• Aquila – Metairie, 7:00 PM

• d’Etat – Uptown, 6:30 PM

• Jason – Metairie, 7:30 PM

• Morpheus – Uptown, 7:45 PM

• Selene – Slidell, 6:30 PM

• Orpheus – Mandeville, 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13

• NOMTOC – West Bank, 10:45 AM

• Iris – Uptown, 11:00 AM

• Tucks – Uptown, 12:30 PM

• Endymion – Uptown, 4:30 PM

• Isis – Metairie, 6:00 PM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14

• Okeanos – Uptown, 11:00 AM

• Thoth – Uptown, 11:30 AM

• Mid-city – Uptown, 2:00 PM

• Bacchus – Uptown, 5:15 PM

• Napoleon – Metairie, 5:30 PM

• Tchefuncte – Madisonville, 10:00 AM

LUNDI GRAS, FEBRUARY 15

• Proteus – Uptown, 5:15 PM

• Orpheus – Uptown, 5:45 PM

• Zeus – Metairie, 6:30 PM

MARDI GRAS, FEBRUARY 16

• Zulu – Uptown, 8:00 AM

• Rex – Uptown, 10:00 AM

• Elks Orleans – Uptown, 11:30 AM

• Crescent City – Uptown, follows Elks

• Argus – Metairie, 10:00 AM

• Jefferson Trucks – Metairie, follows Argus

• Elks Jefferson – Metairie, follows Jefferson

• Grela – West Bank, 11:00 AM

• Choctaw – West Bank, Noon

• Lions – Covington, 10:00 AM

• Covington – Covington, follows Lions

HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT

Homebuyer Tax Credit

HOW THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 TAX CREDIT WORKS

*First time homebuyers who purchase a primary residence between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the purchase price.

*The credit is capped at $8,000.

*There is no repayment requirement provided the home is not sold for 3 years.

*The credit decreases as modified adjusted gross income rises about $150,000 for married couples ($75,000 for individuals) and disappears after $170,000 ($95,000 for individuals).

*Any single family residence that is used as a primary residence is eligible.

*First time homebuyer is anyone who has not owned a primary residence in the previous three years before the purchase.

EXTENSION OF THE TAX CREDIT

*Extends the deadline to April 30, 2010, but if there is a purchase agreement in place before April 30, 2010 the buyer has until June 30, 2010 to close.

*Tax credit is extended on a limited basis (up to $6,500) to individuals who have owned and used the same residence as their primary home for any 5 consecutive year period during the 8 year period ending on the date of purchase.

*Income limits are increased to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples.

*Does not apply to homes with a sales price that exceeds $800,000.

*For property purchased in 2009, the credit may be claimed in tax year 2008 or 2009 (if closing took place after April 15, 2009 the taxpayer must request an extension for filing to claim the credit in 2008).

*The home must still remain the homebuyer's principal residence for 3 years or the credit must be repaid.

*IRS Form 5405 is used to claim the tax credit.

The credit is not available if the home is purchased from a close relative such as a spouse, parents, grandparent, chold or grandchild. Any homebuyer purchasing a primary residence using a home loan program connected with state-revenue bond funding is not eligible for the tax credit.

Any potentional homebuyers should consult a qualified accountant to determine if they meet all of the requirements of the new law and to insure that their application for the credit is reported correctly.

Crescent Title, LLC

Daniel M. Douglass

Attorny At Law

Crescent Title, LLC

Bergeron, Douglass, Frosch & Mack

3224 N. Turnbull Drive

Metairie, LA 70002

504-888-1919

504-888-1977 (fax)

www.CrescentTitle.com

More Homebuyers Qualify for the Tax Credit

Congress just passed an expanded version of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit that was set to expire on November 30. The new version of the tax credit has the potential to stimulate the housing market even more than the old version due to the fact that more people will qualify under the new rules. Although the tax credit remains at $8,000 for home buyers that have not owned a primary residence in the last three years, it has been expanded to include a $6,500 tax credit for home buyers that have lived in their current primary residence for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight years. Under the old rules, move-up home buyers did not qualify. Consider the three examples:

Example 1:

Jane purchased a home in 2002, lived there for 5 years as her primary home, moved out in 2007, and turned that home into a rental property. If Jane decides to buy a new primary residence today, she would qualify for the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that she lived in the same residence as her primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

Example 2:

Harry purchased a home in 2004, and lived there for the past 5 years as his primary home. If Harry decides to buy a new primary residence today, he would qualify for the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that he lived in the same residence as his primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

Example 3:

Nicole purchased a home in 2006, and lived there for the past 3 years as her primary home. If Nicole decides to buy a new primary residence today, she would not qualify for the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that she did not live in the same residence as her primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

The tax credit applies to homes purchased for less than $800,000 before May 1, 2010. "If you sign a binding contract to purchase a home before May 1st, you would need to close on the transaction before July 1, 2010," Nicholas said. "It works kind of like a gift certificate that can be redeemed for cash. You simply file a form with the IRS right after you buy your home, and the IRS will send you a check for the full amount of your credit."

The income limitation for single tax payers went up from $75,000 under the old rules to $125,000 under the new rules. For married tax payers, the income limitation went up from $150,000 to $225,000. "This means that more people will qualify for the credit -- especially in parts of the country with higher costs of living," Nicholas said. "This should help stimulate parts of the housing market that may not have been impacted by the old version of the credit."

There are many creative ways of structuring your home purchase transaction in ways that maximize the benefits of the credit. Here are a few examples:

• The credit applies to 1-4 unit homes as long as you live in one of the units as your primary residence -- you could live in one unit and rent out the others.
• If two unmarried individuals buy a home, and only one of the individuals qualifies for the credit based on their income or past home ownership status, the individual who qualifies for the credit can claim full credit. (Note: In the case of married couples, both spouses must qualify for the credit.)
• The credit applies even if you have co-signers on your mortgage loan.

Deadline Soon for First-Time Homebuyers

Realtors, Mortgage Lenders say contracts need to wrap now to qualify for tax credit. by Stephen Maloney

Time is running out on the federal tax rebate for first-time homebuyers as the Dec. 1 deadline rapidly approaches, but real estate experts agree it's almost too late to begin the homebuying process and hope to qualify for the rebate of up to $8,000.

Essential Mortgage Co. President Mike Anderson said first-time homebuyers who haven't yet started negotiating a final price on a home are pressing their luck.

"You'd better get in contract by Oct. 15," Anderson said. "You better allow 45 days to get everything finalized. It can be done in 30 days, but I'll tell you what, you better have your ducks in a row."

Anderson said he closed a deal from start to finish within two days last year, but the regulations entacted by the federal government to avoid another housing meltdown have slowed the process considerably.

"We have a whole bunch of different waiting periods now," he said. "You can't hold an appraisal for three business days, you have the Home Value Code of Conduct with its own waiting periods. Things are just taking longer."

Realtors nationwide are asking Congress to extend the program for at least another year, Anderson said, but there is no indication yet whether the lobbying efforts are working.

The incentive itself, however, has attracted first-time homebuyers so far.

Metairie-based Re/Max Real Estate Partners agent Tom French said the tax rebate was the deciding factor in a home sale he put years of effort into closing.

"The first one I closed on I had been working on for three years," French said. "The night that Congress approved this program he sent me an e-mail and said, 'Ok, now it's time to get serious, let's buy that house.'"

That customer figured out exactly how much of a rebate he would qualify for and already had a purpose for the money in mind before he signed the contract, French said.

"He had it all planned out," French said. "When we did his closing he said, 'That tax money is going to be new flooring in this house.' For him it was a big incentive."

Covington-based Stirling Properties vice president Barbara Shelton said more than 350,000 first-time homebuyers have taken advantage of the rebate program since its inception Jan. 1, leading to a potential backlog of paperwork as the final deadline to stop accepting applications nears.

"You're going to be crunched by the end of November with all the delays we're having if you don't hurry up and get things under contract now," Shelton said. "The biggest holdup is underwriting."

Anderson said loan applicants should be prepared to produce a wide array of documents to loan officers or expect delays.

"I would have two years' federal income tax returns, two months' bank statements and your two most recent pay stubs," he said. "If you were in college, get your school transcripts and copies of your diploma. These are the kinds of crazy things we're asking for today."

The college transcripts are looked at as proof that a recent grad is responsible enough to attend class and are analogous to a good work record, Anderson said.

Obtaining the transcripts may take up to 14 days, though, so applicants should be prepared well ahead of time, he said.

"If you're looking at the process starting from making the offer, you need to be doing that right now, in the next week or so," Shelton said. "We're already in October,so time is really running out."

Condominium Market Statistics -- 2nd Quarter 2009

Multi Family Market Statistics -- 2nd Quarter 2009

Single Family Market Statistics -- 2nd Quarter 2009