Wickland February 09 Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2009

From the desk of Steve Wickland

It seems that every time we pick up a newspaper or turn
on the news, home foreclosures are the lead story. The

foreclosure 'Tsunami' is affecting everyone, either directly or indirectly. I’ve made it the main topic of my February

newsletter so you’ll know what the foreclosure status is

around Washtenaw County. As the graph below shows,
some areas are definitely feeling the pain more than others.

These are unquestionably challenging times as so many homeowners are finding themselves facing foreclosure

or pre-foreclosure. Thankfully, there are local agencies and

programs available to help. (See our Foreclosure Help chart)

The worst thing to do is to ignore the situation. Contact

your lender–they want to work with you.

As with every dark cloud there is a silver lining: this is

especially true for 1^st time buyers and investors. If you are looking to purchase a home, there could not be a better

time than now. Many homes are priced 30 to 50 percent

below what they may have sold for two years ago.

A final comment … real estate will come back! It will

take some time, but home values will begin to go in the

right direction again. In the meantime, if you know of

anyone who is struggling with their mortgage—have

them contact us … We can help!

www.WicklandGroup.com

Memorable Quotes

“IF I AM THROUGH LEARNING, I AM THROUGH.”

JOHN WOODEN - UCLA BASKETBALL COACH

“EVERY NEGATIVE EVENT CONTAINS WITHIN IT

THE SEED OF AN EQUAL OR GREATER BENEFIT.”

NAPOLEON HILL

“I DON’T MAKE JOKES; I JUST WATCH THE

GOVERNMENT AND REPORT THE FACTS.”

WILL ROGERS

“THE GREATEST REVELATION OF OUR GENERATION

IS THE DISCOVERY THAT HUMAN BEINGS, BY

CHANGING THE INNER ATTITUDES OF THEIR MIND,

CAN CHANGE THE OUTER ASPECTS OF THEIR LIVES.”

WILLIAMS JAMES - HARVARD PSYCHOLOGIST

Valentine's Day 2009 - February 14

Opinions abound as to who was the original
Valentine, with the most popular theory that he
was a clergyman who was executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome in spite of
Emperor Claudius II, who felt that marriage
weakened his soldiers. In any event, in
496 A.D. Pope Gelasius I declared
February 14 as Valentine's Day.

Through the centuries, the Christian holiday
became a time to exchange love messages
and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. Esther Howland, a Massachusetts native
is given credit for selling the first mass-produced valentine cards in the 1840's.

The spirit of love continues today as Valentines
are sent with sentimental verses, to and from
both young and old romantics.

Search 1,000s of Listings!

Your Home Inventory

A home inventory can help you:

Buy the amount of insurance you need
Get your insurance claim settled faster
Verify losses for your income tax return
Keep track of the belongings you’ve
accumulated over the years

Getting Started

There are many ways to create a home inventory. It may seem hard at first to record information about everything you have in your house, but don’t let that put you off. First, decide on a way to organize your inventory that works for you. You can do it room by room, category by category (furniture, electronics, etc.), from newest items to oldest or from most expensive purchases to least expensive ones.

Taking Inventory

There are different approaches to making your list. You can write everything down in a notebook, for example. Or you can take pictures, writing information on the back of the photos or putting information on your computer. If you have a video camera, you can walk through your house filming and describing the contents at the same time. Keep receipts when they are available and note the cost for the item, when you bought it and information about the make and model.

Expensive items like jewelry and art work may need to be insured separately. Ask your insurance agent whether you need a floater for your homeowners policy.

Store a copy of your inventory in a safe place outside of your home—with a friend or in a safe deposit box. (If your inventory is electronic, store it on a disk.) That way you’ll be sure to have something to give your insurance representative if your home is damaged. Also, whenever you make a significant purchase, remember to add the information to your inventory while the details are fresh in your mind.

Keeping Important Documents

It’s also important to keep a record of legal documents, such as birth certificates and passports, and financial documents, such as bank account and insurance policies. You can also use your home inventory to record information about these papers. Note insurance policy and bank and investment account numbers along with your insurance policy contact information. -Federal Citizen Information

If you are currently working with another Broker, please do not consider this a solicitation.

IRS HELPFUL HINTS
Choosing A Tax Return Preparer

While most preparers provide honest service to their clients, the IRS urges taxpayers to be careful when choosing a preparer –– as careful as they would be choosing a doctor or lawyer. Even if someone else prepares a tax return, the taxpayer is ultimately responsible for all the information on the return. For that reason, taxpayers should never sign a blank tax form.
And they should review the return before signing it and ask questions on entries they don't understand.

Be cautious of tax preparers who claim they can obtain larger refunds than other preparers.
Avoid preparers who base their fee on a percentage of the refund.
Use a reputable tax professional who signs the tax return and provides a copy.
Consider whether the individual or firm will be around to answer questions about the preparation of the tax return months, or even years, after the return has been filed.
Check the person’s credentials. Only attorneys, certified public accountants (CPAs) and enrolled agents can represent taxpayers before the IRS in all matters, including audits, collection and appeals. Other return preparers may only represent taxpayers for audits of returns they actually prepared.
Find out if the preparer is affiliated with a professional organization that provides its members with continuing education and resources and holds them to a code of ethics.
Ask friends and family whether they know anyone who has used the tax professional and whether they were satisfied with the service they received.

Reputable preparers will ask to see receipts and will ask multiple questions to determine whether expenses, deductions and other items qualify. By doing so, they are trying to help their clients avoid penalties, interest or additional taxes that could result from an IRS examination.

If you know of anyone who you think would be interested in this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to them. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please reply to steve@WicklandGroup.com with Unsubscribe in the subject line.