City Councilman reelected

Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee reelected

(March 4, 2009) - Incumbent Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee, the only City Council member to draw an opponent, defeated Bruce Knutson with 86% of the vote in Tuesday’s City Council election.  McAtee was elected to his first full term of office in April, 2001, after serving four months as Ward 3's interim representative.

Ward 1 Councilman Gary Marrs, Ward 4 Councilman Pete White and Ward 7 Councilman Skip Kelly were unopposed and retained their seats.

All four councilmen will be sworn in for their new terms of office at the Tuesday April 14 City Council meeting. The swearing-in ceremony will be televised on City Channel 20 as part of its regular live coverage of City Council meetings.

President Obama Announces Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

On February 18, President Obama announced his Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan designed to help 7 to 9 million families avoid foreclosure by refinancing or modifying their mortgages.  The plan also strengthens the federal commitment to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government sponsored enterprises, or GSEs).

Here are the key elements of the Obama plan:

• Refinancing by the GSEs of loans that they own or guarantee.  The GSEs will work with their loan servicers to develop a streamlined refinancing program for borrowers with loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) above 80 percent who now face difficulty refinancing. 

• A $75 billion Homeowner Stability Initiative—with lender, servicer, investor, and borrower incentives to make it work.  The program is limited to loans at or below the GSE conforming loan limits.
  

• More support for the GSEs, including doubling of potential Treasury investment from $100 billion to $200 billion for each GSE, to maintain their positive net worth.  The plan also raises the cap on mortgages that the GSEs may hold in their portfolios by $50 billion to $900 billion.

Home Buyer Tax Credit Details

The Home Buyer Tax credit is available to first time home buyers and is the lesser of 10% of the purchase price or $8,000, which must be paid back if the home owner moves with in 3 years.

 

A first time home buyer has been defined as a person who has never owned a home or has not owned a home in the last three years.

 

The tax credit also has an income cap of $75,000 for a single person or $150,00 for a married couple.

 

The tax credit is retroactive starting 1/1/2009 and ends 11/30/2009 and can be applied for on the home owners tax return