$254,900.00 1605 LANDON LANE McKinney, TX 75071 Beds: 3 Rooms: 0 Full Baths: 0 Sq. Ft.: 2357 Garage: 0 Built: 2007   DARLING HOME BUILT 2007 WALKING DISTANCE FROM WILMETH. GRANITE COUNTERTOPS,TILE IN ALL THE WET AREAS, WOOD FLOORS IN LIVING AREAS DOUBLE VANITY OFFICE WIRED FOR 5.1 SURROUND SOUND STAMPED CONCRETE ON PATIO UPGRADED FRONT DOOR DEEP STAINLESS SINK WITH UPGRADED FIXTURES. SELLER MOVING TO CA. MUCH OF THE FURNITURE IS NEGOTIOABLE This is a new listing that I thought you might be interested in. Visit this listing online to see more photos of the property, Google Earth satellite images, and much more.   If you have any questions about this property or require more information, please feel free to call. Trae Gardner Stonebridge Realty Group (214)7078723 www.mystonebridgerealtygroup.com     Visit this listing here

$1,200,000.00 735 OXFORD CROSSING ROAD Van Alstyne, TX 75495 Beds: 5 Rooms: 0 Full Baths: 0 Sq. Ft.: 5807 Garage: 0 Built: 2000   OVER 5000SQ.FT. STABLE,BUNKHOUSE,POOL,HOT TUB,GAZEBO,COVERED PORCHES, 2 MASTER SUITES, AND A PARTY BARN FOR ENTERTAINING. CURRENT OWNERS HAVE ENTERTAINED OVER 100 GUEST AT THIS PROPERTY. PERFECT FOR CORPORATE RETREATS, BREEDERS, OR SOMEONE WHO WANTS IT ALL. MUST SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE This is a new listing that I thought you might be interested in. Visit this listing online to see more photos of the property, Google Earth satellite images, and much more.   If you have any questions about this property or require more information, please feel free to call. Trae Gardner Stonebridge Realty Group (214)7078723 www.mystonebridgerealtygroup.com     Visit this listing here

$309,900.00 8136 SAN CRISTOBAL DRIVE Dallas, TX 75218 Beds: 4 Rooms: 8 Full Baths: 2 Sq. Ft.: 2100 Garage: 0 Built: 1969   FOR ENTERTAINING ONLY...TUSCAN INTERIOR, GATED SIDE YARD, DBL OVEN, GAS COOKTOP POOL-GAZEZO-HOTTUB WITH GRILL AREA . THERAPY TUB IN MASTER, NEW CARPET, FORMAL SITTING AND DINING 2 BAY WINDOWS. UPDATED WINDOWS, SUN ROOM WWETBAR. INSULATED WORK SHED,REMOTE CONTROLLED BACK GATE, STEEL FENCE POST. AMAZING FLOWER BEDS. CIRCLE DRIVE,EXTRA STORAGE,SOME BOSCH APP. IN GARAGE MINUTES FROM WHITE ROCK LAKE. This is a new listing that I thought you might be interested in. Visit this listing online to see more photos of the property, Google Earth satellite images, and much more.   If you have any questions about this property or require more information, please feel free to call. Trae Gardner Stonebridge Realty Group (214)7078723 www.mystonebridgerealtygroup.com     Visit this listing here

For More Information, Please Call:
Anna Folmnsbee
City of McKinney
afolmnsb@mckinneytexas.org
972-547-7525

McKinney wants Google!
City enters ring to fight for Google test of ultra high-speed network

McKINNEY, TEXAS (March 8, 2010) – Across the city, residents, organizations, leaders and businesses are working together to lure one of the biggest companies in technology to McKinney. Google is searching for “test” communities in which to launch ultra-high speed broadband networks, and all of McKinney is out to prove why it is the best city for the pilot program.

To be a part of the pool of applicants, McKinney will fill out an extensive Request for Information (RFI) and launch an aggressive marketing and communications campaign to get the community involved. The RFI submission is due on March 26.

“This initiative would impact our community, our lives and our businesses. Just by mobilizing so many community organizations so quickly with a single goal in mind for the good of the entire city, we have reached a tremendous level of success. This is more than just filling out a form. We are out to show Google why McKinney is so special and unique from other cities that residents move here in record number. We have continually been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and only a network as fast as Google’s can keep up with our pace,” said Mayor Brian Loughmiller.

The Google technology will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-home and business connections. Together with community organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), McKinney Convention & Visitors Bureau (MCVB) and others, the city is working to engage businesses and residents to convince Google that McKinney is the ultimate place for their test.

“There are many, many applications for this service in McKinney. It would serve as a huge driver of economic development, help support and enhance public safety, impact health care and education, and even add to the quality of life for our residents. McKinney residents are excited about it, city leaders are excited about it, and it’s a win-win for McKinney and Google,” said Chamber of Commerce Director Jodi LaFreniere.

For residents, the technology can improve quality of life, help public safety, and provide a huge benefit for businesses currently in our community as well as adding tremendous incentive for other businesses to locate in McKinney.

A key component to the process is promotion. Today the groups launched a campaign to raise community awareness and encourage involvement. It centers on the altered city logo with the tagline “Google in McKinney TX: Moving at the speed of McKinney,” which plays on the city’s consistent ranking among the fastest-growing cities in the country.

“We are calling on residents to join in this exciting opportunity. This is a community-wide effort, and everyone's participation will play a role in making sure that Google takes notice of McKinney,” said Deputy City Manager Jim Parrish.

Residents can visit http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi, click ‘Get Involved’ then nominate McKinney for the process by filling out the short form, which only takes a few minutes. The city is using the official McKinney Facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/mckinneytx, as a gathering place for ideas, creative placements of Google in the community and as the central point for information on the campaign.

As an example of how residents can creatively express enthusiasm for Google’s new network, a video was posted on McKinney’s YouTube channel and on Facebook featuring images of speed and man-on-the-street interviews about why Google fits into the town. Residents are challenged to create their own videos and post them to the city’s Facebook fan page using the tagline created for the RFI, “Google in McKinney TX: Moving at the speed of McKinney.”

The Google-centric city logo serves as a temporary substitute on several city photos thanks to some editing with Photoshop, and the photos will be posted on Facebook with another challenge to residents to see if they can “see Google” other places in McKinney. Or they can print the logo from the Facebook fan page and take a photo with it in their favorite McKinney destination to later share with fellow residents. Anyone wishing to participate can visit the Facebook page for instructions and details.

$3,000.00 804 SAN MARCOS DRIVE McKinney, TX 75071 Beds: 3 Rooms: 0 Full Baths: 0 Sq. Ft.: 3056 Garage: 0 Built: 2007   LEASE PURCHASE OPPORTUNITY * 4 CAR GARAGE CIRCLE DRIVE * OUTDOOR KITCHEN * HARDWOODS AND TILE THROUGHOUT * 2 JETTED TUBS * LARGE BACK YARD * OFFICE * MEDIA ROOM BUYER TO VERIFY MEASUREMENTS, SCHOOLS AND ALL DATA. This is a new listing that I thought you might be interested in. Visit this listing online to see more photos of the property, Google Earth satellite images, and much more.   If you have any questions about this property or require more information, please feel free to call. Trae Gardner Stonebridge Realty Group (214)7078723 www.mystonebridgerealtygroup.com     Visit this listing here

Home buyers last month snapped up previously owned properties at the fastest pace in more than two years, a Realtors group said Monday.

Home resales increased 10.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units in October from a downward-revised pace of 5.54 million in September, according to the National Assn. of Realtors in Washington. The October figure was up 23.5% from the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units a year earlier. The last time the sales pace was that swift was in February 2007.

The buying was motivated by low interest rates, a credit for first-time buyers and cheap housing, the association said. The national median home price -- the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less -- was $173,100 in October, down 1% from September and off 7.1% from October of last year. Whether the stabilization of the housing market will continue remains a subject of debate among housing analysts and economists.

In a note to clients Monday, Patrick Newport, U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight, predicted a sales plunge in December, with mortgage loan volume tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Assn. recently dropping to a level not seen in 12 years.

"This surge may last one more month" into November, he wrote.

The Realtors group lobbied heavily for the extension and expansion of the controversial $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers passed by Congress this month. The group contends that the credit has helped motivate buyers and spur sales. Others argue that the credit, which has been plagued by misuse and fraud, has simply been a giveaway to buyers who would have purchased a home anyway.

The expansion of the credit to include a $6,500 incentive for some current homeowners probably will spur some sales, though many are likely to come from people downsizing into smaller, more affordable homes, said Cameron Findlay, chief economist at LendingTree.com. Soaring joblessness is expected to weigh on the housing market for months.

"Certainly, unemployment will be a factor in this equation, and I don't see any short-term solution for that one," Findlay said.

In the West, including California, home resales rose 1.6% to an annual rate of 1.31 million in October and are 12% above a year earlier. The median price in the West was $220,200, which is 14.7% below that of October 2008. It was the weakest performance for sales and housing price improvement among the four national regions.

The selling pushed the resold-home inventory at the end of October down 3.7% to 3.57 million, which represented a seven-month supply at the current sales pace, according to the Realtors group.

Distressed properties -- foreclosures or homes whose owners are delinquent on their mortgage payments -- accounted for 30% of U.S. sales in October.

From LA Times

$364,900.00 806 LAKEWOOD DRIVE McKinney, TX 75070 Beds: 5 Rooms: 0 Full Baths: 4 Sq. Ft.: 3734 Garage: 3 Built: 1995   Open House on Sunday 11/01/09 from 2-4. Bring All Offers This is a new listing that I thought you might be interested in. Visit this listing online to see more photos of the property, Google Earth satellite images, and much more.   If you have any questions about this property or require more information, please feel free to call. Trae Gardner Stonebridge Realty Group (214)7078723 www.mystonebridgerealtygroup.com     Visit this listing here

From the Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Buying a home is about to get cheaper for a whole new crop of homebuyers — $6,500 cheaper.

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. But with the program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the Senate voted Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. The House could vote on the bill as early as Thursday.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers — or anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years — would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers in both groups have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30.

"This is probably the last extension," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a former real estate executive who championed the credits.

The homebuyers tax credit is one of two tax breaks totaling more than $21 billion that the Senate included in a bill extending unemployment benefits for those without a job for more than a year. The other would let companies now losing money recoup taxes they paid on profits earned in the previous five years.

"We are still in a world of economic hurt, and Congress must continue to act boldly and creatively," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "With the right mix of tax breaks and investments we will get through this recession and get folks working again."

The real estate industry has been pushing to extend and expand the housing tax credit. About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes. While the measure passed the Senate by a 98-0 vote, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., questioned its efficiency in stimulating home sales.

"For the vast majority of cases, the homebuyer tax credit amounted to a free gift since it did not affect their decision to purchase a home," Bond said. "And for the small minority of buyers whose decision was directly caused by the credit, this raises the question of whether we are subsidizing buyers who may not have been able to afford buying a home in the first place."

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

The credit would be extended an additional year, until June 30, 2011, for members of the military serving outside the United States for at least 90 days.

Expanding the tax credit for money-losing companies is projected to cost $10.4 billion.

The business tax break would allow money-losing companies to use current losses to offset taxable profits earned in the previous five years, giving them refunds of taxes paid in those years. Under current law, businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $15 million can claim losses back only two years.

The tax break would help industries suffering losses in 2008 or 2009, including retailers, homebuilders and newspapers. Congress included a scaled-back version of the tax break — for companies with revenues of $15 million or less — in the economic recovery package enacted in February. The new tax break would be available to companies of any size, providing a quick source of cash.

The U.S Chamber of Commerce has been a big backer of the tax break for money-losing companies.

"It frees up capital that they can use to maintain jobs and potentially even hire new people as the economy returns," said Caroline Harris, senior tax counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The tax breaks would be paid for largely by delaying a tax break for multinational companies that pay foreign taxes. It was passed in 2004 and originally was to have taken effect this year, but would now be delayed until 2018.

___

The bill is H.R. 3548.

$364,900.00 806 LAKEWOOD DRIVE McKinney, TX 75070 Beds: 5.0 Rooms: 0 Baths: 4.00 Sq. Ft.: 3734.00 Garage: 3.0 Built: 1995   Open House on Sunday 11/01/09 from 2-4. Bring All Offers This is a new listing that I thought you might be interested in. Visit this listing online to see more photos of the property, Google Earth satellite images, and much more.   If you have any questions about this property or require more information, please feel free to call. Trae Gardner Stonebridge Realty Group (214)7078723 www.mystonebridgerealtygroup.com     Visit this listing at Here