Minneapolis - An Art Lover's Dream!

Minneapolis is truly a mini New York City! We have the arts, the restaurants, the culture, parks galore, lakes, and activities to meet just about everyone's desire. One of my favorites is the The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden which received national recognition on USA Weekend list of 10 top national travel destinations. Though the next door Walker Art Center has an admission charge, the 11-acre Sculpture Garden is free, and showcases 40 iconic and often whimsical works by Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Richard Serra and Frank Gehry, and more, USA Weekend reports. This spring, shocked visitors found the cherry missing from Spoonbridge and Cherry but found out they were "not to worry"as it was just away for a new paint job. For information about this wonderful (now nationally recognized) site, use this link: www.minneapolisparks.org Contact info: 726 Vineland Pl. Minneapolis, MN 55403 612 230-6400, Hours: 6 a.m.-midnight Tip: Don't miss the Cowles Conservatory, on the edge of the park, open Tues-Sun 10-5 (also free) the the Walker next door (info at http://www.walkerart.org/.

Viva Minneapolis!

$8,000 Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment

I won't make a habit of copying news into my post, but I felt the news that first time home buyers (someone who has not owned a home for three years or more) can now use the $8,000 tax credit towards the down payment of their home purchase is too important and wanted to share with my readers the exact language.

I hope many of my readers, their family and/or friends will be able to take advantage of this very nice incentive!

Daily Real Estate News May 12, 2009 Share
Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.

Previously, most buyers wouldn't receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has been calling for the change. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a down payment,” Donovan says. His remarks came in an address to several thousand REALTORS® gathered Tuesday morning at "The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy," at the 2009 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C..

He says FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

Source: NAR