Recycle your Christmas tree

Are you looking for a way to recycle your old Christmas tree? I was just looking around online for somewhere where I could go and drop off my Christmas tree when I saw an article in the Las Vegas Sun online entitled, “Pack up the ornaments, Christmas tree recycling underway”. According to this article, the Henderson Parks and Recreation Department and the Springs Reserve have set up several Christmas tree drop-off locations in and around Henderson for residents who would like to recycle their Christmas trees. All trees that they collect will be converted into mulch to be used for landscaping.

According to this article, only 7% of real Christmas trees bought every year are recycled, this means that a huge percentage of these organic holiday decorations are just taking up space in our landfills. That makes very little sense when you consider that they can be converted into something useful.  After all, trees are biodegradable, so it logical to not clutter our landfills with them unnecessarily. I imagine so many trees just end up in the garbage because most folks don’t have a way to lug them to their nearest drop-off location. I’m sure that more than just 7% of those who buy Christmas trees would recycle them if the Henderson Parks and Recreation Department and the Springs Reserve had some sort of service that would pick up these trees curbside. Hopefully they will consider something like this next year.

If you would like to get rid of your old Christmas tree in a way that is friendly to our environment, please take a look at this article for a list of drop-off locations in and around Henderson. Most of these drop-off locations will be open 24 hours a day until January 15.

Please remember to remove all decorations including lights, tinsel and ornaments from your trees before taking them to a drop-off location.

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday season and I wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year.

Paradise is great for kids

I just saw an article in Business Week online that has ranked Paradise, Nevada 29^th among the Best Places to Raise Your Kids. When most folks think about Las Vegas, they don’t usually imagine a good place to raise children, but that is the Las Vegas of old.

The Las Vegas Strip is actually part of Paradise, as is most of what folks call “Las Vegas”. That should give you some idea of how child friendly Las Vegas has become sin it was dubbed Sin City.

This ranking was jointly carried out by Business Week and Onboard Informatics and primarily considered affordability, safety and test scores of all of the cities in the US. Paradise came in first in Nevada and Sunrise Manor and Spring Valley were runners up. All of the things considered when creating this ranking include, school performance, number of schools, household expenditures, crime rates, air quality, job growth, family income, museums, parks, theaters, other amenities, and diversity.

I raised my child in Clark County and can tell you from experience that there are several great cities and Census Designated Places  to raise your children and neighborhoods here and concentrating more and more on becoming more family friendly.

$8,000 tax break succeeding

Of all the instruments that were created to help stimulate home sales across the nation, the $8,000 tax break for first-time homeowners seems to be the most successful so far. So much so that one has to wonder whether sales will drop again after the tax break expires at the end of this month.

In a report released recently by the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales are on the rise, and have been for 8 months straight now. According to the NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, contracts signed in September rose by 6.1%. Some NAR analysts are claiming that anywhere from 200,000 to 400,000 of these sales are due to the $8,000 tax break.

This tax break is slated to expire on November 30 so I am sure that Pending Home Sales Indices for the coming months will follow this upward trend and maybe even surpass the 6.1% growth we saw in September. I am sure that there are still hundreds of thousands of prospective first-time homebuyers who are racing to beat the November 30 deadline as well many others who would like to see Congress extend this tax break into the coming year.

The $8,000 tax break is not the only thing that is stimulating real estate markets across the nation, interest rates are still very low and home prices in many real estate markets have dropped to near historic levels. All of these things combined have helped real estate markets across the nation to show signs of improvement.

We can only hope that folks who are taking advantage of this tax break are not making the same mistakes that have landed us in the situation we are in today, borrowing more than they can afford to pay, or accepting mortgages that will adjust faster than the homeowners can afford. I like to believe that the majority of us learned from the mistakes of others in recent years, and it would be nice to think that those who are doing the lending are behaving a bit more scrupulously than they have in the past.

So even though it will be some time before we see the long term effects of this $8,000 tax break, what we know for now is that it has helped significantly and maybe it would be a good idea to extend this tax credit for just a little while longer.

Las Vegas Valley Book Festival 2009

If you love reading anything from nonfiction and fiction, to poetry, biographies and even comic books, then you are not going to want to miss the 2009 Las Vegas Valley Book Festival. This year’s installment of the Las Vegas Valley Book Festival is scheduled to take place starting on Wednesday, November 4, and will run through to Sunday, November 9.

Over the course of the four days, attendees will be able to attend a variety of book signings, discussions, films, exhibitions, poetry readings, spoken word performances. This festival is a great way for readers and writers alike to meet and share their love for written and spoken word. Attendees will have the opportunity to buy both new and used books as well as meet some of their favorite authors and other book buffs in the Las Vegas Valley.

Throughout the four days of this book festival, there will be a variety of events including the Target Children’s Book Festival, which will take place at the Centennial Plaza at the historic Fifth Street School on Saturday, November 7. So if you love reading, why not take the kids out on Saturday to enjoy a day full of fun and fantasy.

This Festival will be presented by the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs and the large majority of the events will be free and open to the general public. The Office of Cultural affairs is currently looking for volunteers to help with the book festival, if you would like to find out more about how you can help, please call the volunteer coordinator at 229-3515.

For more information about this year’s Las Vegas Valley Book Festival, visit the Office of Cultural Affairs’ website at http://www.artslasvegas.org/vvbf/

A call to cat owners in Washoe County

I just read an article in the Las Vegas Review Journal online entitled, “Shelter manager wants cats registered” and I thought that it would make a lot of sense for cat owners to register and microchip their four-legged friends. After all, what easier way is there to find your lost pet than to track them via GPS? At the moment it is required that dog owners in Washoe County register their dogs, but for cat owners, registration is not yet required.

Mitch Snyder, the new manager of the Washoe County Regional Animal Services is behind the push to have cat owners voluntarily register and microchip their cats in the event that they should get lost and end up at the animal shelter. This move comes after the American Humane Society’s animal control review of Washoe County recommended that cats be licensed. For the time being, Snyder is asking cat owners to register their cats voluntarily, but at the same time, he is also pushing towards establishing an ordinance to make cat registration mandatory in Washoe County. The estimated cost of registration would be about $5, enough to cover the time it takes staff to complete the process. I think that anyone who has had their pet stray would tell you that this is a very small price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing that if your canine or feline should stray and get lost, you would be able to find them quickly.

This small fee on the part of owners will also help the shelter to spend less money housing lost cats, which in the long term will help to save all taxpayers a few dollars.

Please click to read this article in the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Positive news for Clark County

I was just reading some articles online when I ran across a ranking in CNNMoney.com entitled, “Where the jobs are”. This ranking measured job growth rate from 200 to 2008 and Clark County, Nevada came in at number 25 on the list. This is not surprising when you consider all of the hotels, restaurants, clubs and casinos in Clark County. There is usually always work to be found in construction too. As a matter of fact, the new CitiCenter is currently under construction and it is expected to create some 10,000-12,000 jobs once it opens its doors.

Ranking among the top 25 cities in the US for Job Growth is very positive news, especially in light of the housing problems affecting the national economy.  Clark County’s real estate market has been especially hard hit, which makes having ranked in the top 25 cities in the nation for job growth that much more important. So even though Clark County is one of the top cities in the US in terms of foreclosures and depreciating home prices, it is also among the top cities for job growth; which should definitely help our ailing housing market to get back on its feet. Regardless of whether folks who come to Clark County decide to rent a home or buy a home, the more people who come to Clark County for work, the more our housing market will benefit as a result.

Please click to see this top 25 ranking in CNNMoney.com.

Dog parks in Las Vegas

Dog lovers in Las Vegas have it good. Whereas in most cities, you are lucky to find one or maybe even two dog parks, Las Vegas has four excellent playgrounds for your pooches. Those of you who own a dog know how bored they can get just lounging around the house or skulking around the yard. Well, why not take them out to mingle with some other canines and get a little exercise? For those of you who are new to Las Vegas, or who simply haven’t heard about our local-area dog parks, here is some information about all the great dog parks here in the Las Vegas Valley area:

The Desert Breeze Park Dog Run is located at 8275 Spring Mountain Road and Durango Drive. This park features three acres of open space where your four-legged friend can run around, play ball or Frisbee and make friends with other dogs. This park also offers a wonderful children’s’ playground that is fenced off as well as a skate park, football fields, soccer fields and more. There are restrooms and a water fountain in case your pooch gets thirsty, but be sure to bring your own water bowl. All dogs must be well behaved and have all of their immunizations. This park is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. 7 days a week.

Shadow Rock Dog Run is located at Los Feliz Street and Lake Mead on Sunrise Mountain in Las Vegas and has over one and a half acres of open spaces where your dog can enjoy running around like crazy. There is a fenced off area for smaller, timid dogs and a run for the larger breeds. There are restrooms and water fountains where you can fill your dog’s bowl. Though there are plans to include bag dispensers in the future, for now, owners have to bring their own bags to dispose of their doggy doo. Your dog must be sociable and well mannered as well as have all his or her shots. Shadow Rock Dog Run is open from 1 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.

Sunset Park Dog Run covers a 1.5 acre fenced area where dogs can go wild. This park is located at 2601 East Sunset Road near Eastern and requires that your dog have all his or her shots and be well mannered. Owners must bring their own clean up bags and make sure their dogs are both well mannered and have all of their shots. Sunset Park Dog Run is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. 7 days a week.

Dog Fancier’s Park, located at 5800 East Flamingo Road offers residents an amazing 12 acres of space where well-behaved dogs can roam and meet new friends. Owners must have control of their dogs so that they do not interfere with other dogs that are training at this park, or else they could be cited. This park can be reserved for canine related events by calling Terry Bounty at 567-1227.

All of these parks are free to the public. If you would like more information, please call (702) 455-8200. So if you have a pooch, why not take him out to one of our great dog parks a few times a week and enjoy the outdoors, meet new people while watching your dog play with other canines?

Fairways Collection by Rhodes Ranch offers four new floor plans

Homebuyers in southwestern Las Vegas now have a new option when looking for new homes. The Fairways Collection at Rhodes Ranch is now offering four exciting new floor plans ranging from 2,515 to 2,903 square feet for less than $100 per square foot. These great homes all feature a breakfast nook, den, game room, great room and loft as well as high ceilings, gourmet kitchens and oversized walk-in closets. Home buyers can also choose between a wide variety of optional features to further personalize their new homes.

Amenities available to Rhodes Ranch residents include… Rhodes Ranch has a 24 hour gated entrance with guards, a 35,000 square foot recreation center and an award-winning golf public golf course. There is also the Fun Zone Water Park, which features a 13,000 square-foot lagoon, three speed slides, 5 kids’ slides, squirt stations, rope bridges and a 1,000 gallon bucket that spills every 5 minutes.

As an incentive, Rhodes is currently paying 3% of the sale price of every home in the Fairways Collection and applying it to closing costs. This can save homebuyers thousands of dollars, and eligible first-time homebuyers who purchase their home before November 30 can also receive a tax credit from the government for $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home they purchase. In order to qualify as a first-time homebuyer, the purchaser cannot have owned a principal residence in the last three years. Vacation homes do not count as principal residences. There is also an income restriction for this tax credit, single buyers must earn less than $75,000 per year and married buyers must earn less than $150,000/year. However, who earn more than these amounts can still be eligible for a reduced tax credit.

If you would like to find out more about the Fairways Collection at Rhodes Ranch, please contact me.

Model 3431

Model 3021

2742 Residence

2515 Residence

2903 Residence

2744 Residence

.

1467 Residence

1611 Residence

1931 Residence

Floorplan 1734

Floorplan 1534

Floorplan 1841

Harmony Homes Promotional event this week

I just read in the ReviewJournal.com that Harmony Homes has made June, its Summer Sales Blowout month and will be offering special pricing in each of their communities throughout the month. This free event to showcase eight new homes features entertainment for kids including games in the park, bounce houses, prizes. While the kids are having a blast, parents can tour these 8 homes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Prices for these homes start at $139,900. When you think about it, you can buy one of these new homes right now and live in a wonderful community for less than many used homes are going for.

There are nine different floor plans available ranging from 1,286 square feet to 2,252 square feet. Those who attend the Summer Sales Blowout will be able to view four different model homes, each with its own unique layout, design and options. There will be a free lunch for attendees.

Harmony Springs is a great neighborhood for families, there is a grassy park where residents can relax and chit chat on the benches while they let their children play in the tot lot and playground. Throughout the summer months, there are outdoor movies and there is also a wonderful French Farmer’s Market every other Saturday.

During this Summer Sales Blowout, Harmony Springs will be offering incentives such as waiving 3% of closing costs for new buyers and a zero-down program for qualified buyers. When you add to that the $8,000 tax break being offered by the IRS for qualified first-time buyers, and the relatively low interest rates being offered by lenders, this Summer Sales Blowout could be a great opportunity for first-time homebuyers to get a great deal on a wonderful home in an excellent community.

The Summer Sales Blowout will continue until June 30.

No more buyer’s market

There are varying opinions out there concerning whether we are starting to see real estate markets improve. Some are saying that the reduced inventory of homes in many markets across the US is helping to bring home values closer to their historic norms. I cannot comment on other markets in the US, but it is pretty safe to say that it is no longer a buyer’s market here in Nevada. Though there are those who would tell you otherwise, I can attest to the fact that homes in Nevada are selling faster and for closer to asking price than they have in years. Maybe this is just a temporary spike in sales and dip in inventory, but for more than a year now, home sales have been increasing every month. Sure, there are those who will remain cautious and wait a little longer before trusting that this upward trend will continue, but from where I stand it is clear that we reached rock-bottom not too long ago and that we are now on our way back to a historical norm.

Lowballing, or making ridiculously low offers on a home, makes no sense anymore. Most real estate markets across the nation are showing signs of recovery and Nevada, which was one of the states that led us into our housing crisis a few years ago, is now leading us out of it. While many home sellers in Nevada had to price their homes competitively and accept some very low offers on their homes a year ago, they are now able to raise their asking prices and hold out for the highest bidder.

Many agree that it is first-time homebuyers who are driving existing home sales. Hopefully, lenders will continue to make it possible for those who want to purchase homes to do so. If those who want to buy are able to continue to receive financing, it really won’t be long now before we are back to where we should be in terms of the inventory of homes for sale.