There are two reasons you might want to buy a home NOW:

You have not owned a home in the last three years.

You've owned the same home and lived in it consecutively for 5 out of the last 8 years.

If this is your circumstance, now is the time to shop for a new home. If you put in an offer to buy before May 1 and then close before July 1 of this year, you can file and receive a tax credit this year on your 2009 tax return.



You may be thinking that the best deal to close would be a foreclosure or short sale, but the time it takes to shop and gain bank approval and close may take 3 to 4 months. You don't have that time.

Here's the good news! Buying a newly constructed home closes much faster.

Give me a call to discuss new homes in the area and consider the tax benefits of acting now. Prices for new homes are bottoming out and they may be better than you think.

Call me or email me for more details!

Good news is that our camera is working again (turned out to be bad batteries). So here's some pix from when we pick up the scooter I got from Scooterville through the generosity of donors on Modest Needs.




We bought the scooter from Brad at Scooterville and picked it up at the Broadacres Swap Meet on Saturday, December 5. He's out there every weekend in Space 1304. Since then he's been totally supportive and we highly recommend him, his scooter team and his scooters to anyone who is looking for a great deal with wonderful service.



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I had to learn how to assemble and disassemble the scooter to get it in and out of the van.










Good news is that once I'm done, I got some place to sit and rest.

One of the things that holds back accommodations for differences in abilities is the paradigms through which we see things. There are many ways we are constrained by past thinking, but perhaps none are more constraining than the thinking that goes into design of the material world. Where we live, tools we use, equipment we need, roads we drive and so forth began as an idea in the minds of designers. Those minds were shaped by the culture in which they developed.

Cultural values and cultural mores are embodied in designs. This accounts for the wide varieties of approaches to the same functional problems, which makes specific places seem to be living reflections of the people who have lived there. Many believe that variety is what makes the world a beautiful and interesting place to live and visit. As an avid traveler who enjoys new places, I count myself among those who appreciate that diversity.

But people being who they are, stereotypical, prejudicial and xenophobic tendencies can also become embodied in designs, and once there, they continue to limit the lives and movements of people long after the minds of their designers have died out.

Paradigms limit the thinking of new designs as well. Once embodied, designs become the way its always been, the box that needs to be out-thought. So without someone standing up and saying "That does not work!" these patterns are often repeated even in the absence of intent.

Building homes that are not visitable by almost everyone is a good example of a paradigm that should be shifted. We live longer as a population. With long life comes limitations on mobility and ability. The old paradigm of a home is not a norm written in stone. It is an idea based upon a level of knowledge and born in a particular culture that was ignorant of diversity. In the same way that side and back doors in southern downtown stores are throwbacks to the days when darker people were expected to use the other "entrance" and whites only were allowed to walk through the front door, homes that are not accessible to wheelchairs and other mobility equipment are throwbacks to a world that pretended that we are all similarly-abled. We now better about the color of people's skin and we should know better about the status of those who require technologies to assist them in life.

All people should be welcomed.

The passage of the ADA allowed the world (and those with limitations as well) to see that we have a vast diversity of abilities. There are some that even assert that the persons living with disabilities constitute the largest minority group. We are visible now in a way that the physical barriers would not let us be before.

The appropriate response to this visibility is visitability. Homes carry with them a stigmatization of those who are differently abled. The social stigma of difference is built right into the narrow hallways, the steps to the front door, the second floor bathrooms. A house becomes a home for many reasons. Among them is who is welcomed. Extended family members with disabilities, friends and co-workers with disabilities and someday, maybe even you may need that little extra shift to know you are welcomed.

As new homes are being built, it doesn't cost that much to shift the paradigm to make a home visitable. All we need is the will to do it.

Here's the story plus video.

I-Team: The Power of One - Las Vegas Now

I was extremely excited to receive help from Modest Needs to become more mobile.

Now I'm happy to be part of letting Las Vegans and Nevadans know about this wonderful micro-charity!

If you are local, watch today (January 1st) at 4p on Channel 8, KLAS-TV. They are doing a story about Modest Needs, featuring me and my new scooter.

I highly encourage you to become a donor at Modest Needs if you can. And if you need a little bit of help to make this a great year, don't be afraid to ask.

Neighbors helping neighbors is a great way to make this a better world for us all.

So I doubt many people will realize this because I haven't really publicized this blog much yet, but I spent the past two days setting up a new look and new links. I hope you like it. More importantly, I hope you learn something useful to make your life richer, or at least, easier.

There is definitely more to come.

This week has been a whirlwind of activity:

On Tuesday, I was interviewed by Channel 8 reporter regarding my new scooter and modest needs. I think it will be aired tomorrow. I hope to have a link and video up after it goes on.

Today, I officially transferred my license to Internet Realty, Inc. So I'm active again and able to work with clients. (I decided to not join GLVAR or the MLS at this time, so I had to hang my license with a non-MLS broker).

I've been upgrading my web presence in an effort to be ready for new clients. I plan to do some marketing next week and see where the universe takes us.

The journey continues.

I picked up my new scooter today. Wow. I can't believe that I got it. The camera broke or I'd show you the pix we took when I picked it up from Scooterville.

Here's the history of how I got it:

Last year (2008), my friend Kell told me about this website called Modest Needs that gave small grants to people who needed a helping hand to keep them from falling into poverty. At the time, our Sonata had broke down and need an engine rehaul. Unfortunately, the repair had to be done by a business (not a shadetree mechanic) and I couldn't find a quote for less than $2200. The most I could expect from Modest Needs was $1,000 and they would not let it be a down payment. So I wasn't able to get the grant.

But I remember Kell telling me that one of the ways they helped people was the acquisition of assistive devices like scooters and wheelchairs. So as I started having more and more mobility problems this year, I started thinking I would like a scooter and maybe Modest Needs could help.

The straw the broke the proverbial was when I got my RE license in August. I've tried showing places a couple of times to clients and just exhausted when I got finished. I knew that there was no way to work the two careers without some help.

I found a refurbished chair in early November from Scooterville and sent in the paperwork and waited.

The way Modest Needs works now (it changed a little from last year) is they review your documentation and once approved post your request for donors to review and give small amounts of money towards. If the total of donations reach what you need before 60 days are up, you get a check made out to the business or service that you need paid.

Many of the people on there are looking for more mundane things that a scooter, such as help with rent payments or utility payments.

I am grateful that my request funded in about 27 days.

I plan to pay it forward with my real estate commissions -- 2% of what I make in 2010 will be donated to Modest Needs.