What is our City doing? By the Original Keith Baker

The City of Salida has been very busy in the last 6 Mo. Just to let you know the city has your best interests at heart, even when mistakes are made or it just plain seems like what is happening is being done backwards.

2A money( the 1% sales tax increase) is in full swing on the street projects. The city was able to double the amount of street coverage due to the timing of the bids and oil prices dropping. The bit of short term inconvenience will be worth waiting for the completion and next year (hopefully) the projects will be in less congested areas.

2B money is already making the pool more of an attraction again (new east side roof and a face lift for the locker rooms). Perhaps next year will bring more for the best hot water in the state. A new handy dandy machine for significantly increasing the amount of feet of trails that can be completed has already proven its worth.

Also in the process of completion is the City and County services building in the old D&RG hospital. This is going to make these offices much more user friendly.

On the drawing for the near future is the replacement the hot line from Poncha Springs to the pool ( provided the easement issue is settled). A trail on the north side of the Arkansas river is being negotiated with the railroad and may happen. Building projects on the Vandaveer ranch are being looked at and hopefully will get the ball rolling.

Enough for now. Maybe when my turn comes again next month I will talk more on these subjects.

Focus on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 By: Andrea & George Mossman

Greetings from beautiful Salida, Colorado! If you are looking for Mountain Real Estate this is the spot. From river front properties to vacant land, Century 21 Wes Hill and Associates can help you find what you need. Especially if you are looking to take advantage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This stimulus plan may seem daunting, but if we can help you find what fits your life the government will help you buy your next home or business. Below I have listed the key points to this exciting and beneficial program. The information below is provided by the National Association of Realtors.

1-Homebuyer Tax Credit-The bill provides for a $8,000 tax credit that would be available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

2-FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loan Limits-The bill reinstates last year's 2008 loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae loans.

3-Neighborhood Stabilization-Division A, Title XII of the bill provides $2,000,000,000 in additional funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The NSP was created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–289) to provide grants through the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) to states and localities to address the problems that can be created when whole neighborhoods are decimated by foreclosures.

4-Commercial Real Estate-Commercial real estate is impacted primarily through those provisions of the bill focused on green building and energy efficiency as well as business tax incentives.

5-Rural Housing Service-The bill provides an additional $500 million to existing USDA Rural Housing programs. The RHS provides both a guaranteed loan program and a direct housing loan program for those meeting the program’s eligibility criteria.

6-Low Income Housing Grants-Allow states to trade in a portion of their 2009 low-income housing tax credits for Treasury grants to finance the construction or acquisition and rehabilitation of low-income housing, including those with or without tax credit allocations.

7-Tax-Exempt Housing Bonds-Tax-exempt interest earned on specified state and local bonds issued during 2009 and 2010 will not be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). In addition, financial institutions will have greater capacity to purchase tax-exempt state and local bonds.

8-Energy Efficient Housing Tax Credits & Grants-To promote green jobs and energy independence, ARRA invests significantly in efforts to make homes and buildings more energy efficient. The bill provides state and local governments with $6 billion in energy efficiency and conservation grants for energy audits, retrofits and financial incentives.

9-Transportation Investments-The bill provides $46.7 billion to states and localities for capital investment for surface transportation projects including highways, bridges, transit, and rail projects.

10-Broadband Deployment-The bill creates $7.2 billion in grants to promote broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas and for mapping the availability of broadband service in the U.S. Any entity is eligible to apply for a grant including municipalities, public/private partnerships and private companies as long as they comply with the grant conditions.

So as you can see there are quite a few incentives out there and finding the one for you can be challenging however, we are here to help you. Help you not only find your dream home, land or business but also help you to find what fits your financial needs. Give us a call or check us out on our web site. Have a great day!

http://www.freewebs.com/themossmans/index.htm
http://www.century21weshill.com/