The Petalumahomes.com Realty WebLog

Income tax, sales tax, estate tax, excise tax, alternative minimum tax…and just when you thought you’d paid them all…along comes your property tax bill as a homeowner. But did you know that the National Taxpayers Union estimates that as many as 60% of homes are assessed for too high of a value, resulting in an […]

[Read more →]

 
“I KNEW THE RECORD WOULD STAND UNTIL IT WAS BROKEN.” Yogi Berra. And while last week’s Jobs Report wasn’t the worst record breaker of all time, it showed a loss of 533,000 jobs during the month of November, which represented the most job losses the US has seen in 35 years. And adding more pain […]

[Read more →]

With the economy slowing and holidays just around the corner, many consumers may be looking to credit cards to help them get through the heavy shopping season. While that may be a good short-term solution, you want to make sure you don’t overlook the long-term impact on your credit rating. After all, the actions you […]

[Read more →]

 
“TAKE TIME TO DELIBERATE; BUT WHEN THE TIME FOR ACTION ARRIVES…STOP THINKING AND GO IN.” Napoleon Bonaparte. And taking action after deliberating was exactly what the Fed did last week, when they cut the Fed Funds Rate by .50%, lowering it to 1.00%.Why did the Fed take action last week, after it had already lowered […]

[Read more →]

From a historical perspective, we are in the midst of a brutal bear market that began on October 9th 2007. Remember that a decline of 20% constitutes a bear market…and a 10% decline is a “correction.” The last bear market occurred between March 24th of 2000 and October 9th 2002 saw a 49% drop. Overall, […]

[Read more →]

The Congress passed and President Bush signed the $700 billion bailout last Friday.  If you haven’t gotten enough of an explanantion from CNN, CNBC & Fox the Forbes article below is a great, simplified explanation of what the bailout is and what is means to you.
Check it out:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/02/bailout-taxes-washington-biz-beltway-cx_lm_bw_1001bailout.html?partner=daily_newsletter

[Read more →]

TO PASS OR NOT TO PASS? That was indeed the question of the week…and the final answer came on Friday, as the House of Representatives followed the Senate’s lead and passed the $700 Billion rescue plan.
The week began with the House initially voting against the plan on Monday, causing Stocks to plunge in their final […]

[Read more →]