Thank you for your donations to A Touch of Home!

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful donations to A Touch of Home! The children really appreciate the clothing and supplies that they have received. Unfortunately there are still over 1000 children that haven't received much needed jackets and sweatshirts, so we are still in desperate need of donations as the days & nights just keep getting colder. It's hard to imagine how many children that are attending our public schools do not have adequate warm clothing, shoes, or other basic needs being met. Please help if you can. Thank you!!!!

Opportunity to work with a Dynamic Team and Earn Six Figure Income!

Opportunity to work with a Dynamic Team and Earn Six Figure Income!

Passionate about selling Real Estate?  Work with Laura!

 Laura Harbison is now interviewing Real Estate Agents to join her team.  This is an amazing opportunity to work with a real estate agent with more than $1 billion dollars sold.

Laura is looking for professional Real Estate Agents who represent buyers in Las Vegas and Henderson neighborhoods.

REQUIREMENTS

To join our highly successful team, you must:

Ø  Have an ACTIVE Nevada Real Estate License and GLVAR Membership

Ø  Be familiar with Las Vegas and Henderson areas and neighborhoods

Ø  Have knowledge of MLS

Ø  Sit weekend Open Houses    

Ø  Be an enthusiastic team player

Ø  Be a motivated self-starter

With more than 25 years of experience in the Greater Las Vegas Valley area real estate market and career sales totaling over $1 billion, Laura has the skills and experience necessary to ensure the success of her team.  Laura has unrivaled familiarity with the current and recent inventories of available homes, area trends in valuation, and time on market – key information for both buyers and sellers.

Laura’s team was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top 100 Teams nationwide in 2010 and 2011, and she has earned recognition for the highest sales volume in Clark County for residential real estate.  

 Please submit your resume to Resume@LauraWorthington.com.  All information received will be kept confidential.

Back-to-School Backpack Drive

In 1996, I decided that I wanted to give something back to the community.  After checking with the Clark County School District, I discovered that no agency was addressing the needs of the Clark County School District’s Homeless Education Division, which has thousands of children enrolled in their program.  To help with this great need, I created “A Touch of Home”.  I collect new, unwrapped toys and various necessities and the Homeless Education Office, now “Title One” of Clark County School District, sees that they are delivered to the children most in need of a little cheer.

The Homeless Education Office of Clark County School District has a huge job on their hands.  They keep track of the children, and try to provide them with basic necessities so that they may attend school, even though they do not have a “residence”.  Many of these children live in shelters, or even a car or a tent.  

School can be stressful enough, but it is even harder when you don’t have the right supplies.  The school district has provided a list of some items that the children will need to get off to a great start this school year.  These items include:

 Backpacks, pencil boxes/bags, pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, colored pencils, markers, paper, notebooks, dividers, folders, binders, glue bottles/sticks, rulers, pencil sharpeners, highlighters, Sharpies, tissue boxes, scissors, calculators, lunch boxes, hand soap, hand sanitizer, index cards, flash drives, watercolors.

 HOW YOU CAN HELP!  Items can be donated, (the school district picks them up from my office), or donations to purchase these items can be made payable to “A Touch of Home”.  If you can help us, please contact one of my staff at 702-777-1234.  Speak to Kim, Karen or myself.   Supplies and monetary donations can be delivered to my office.  100% of your donation will be spent on the children!

It's amazing to me how quickly the year is flying by, so I thought I would revisit topics that are important to be addressed sooner than later.  Before you know it, it will be New Years Eve again (a funny statement to be making in July....), and the regrets of tasks that we procrastinated on will be upon us if we don't take action now.  This can apply to so many things, but since I am your Real Estate Consultant, I'll stick to some changes that are coming up that are applicable to real estate...

Now that the health care law has been declared constitutional, the remaining provisions will be going into effect. One little known provision is a new 3.8% investment income surtax, also called the health care surtax or the Medicare tax; it will go into effect on January 1, 2013.

This new surtax will be assessed on the lesser of a) net investment income or b) the excess of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over the “threshold amount.” For married taxpayers filing jointly, the threshold amount is $250,000; married filing separately, $125,000; all other individual taxpayers, $200,000. For trusts and estates, it is the beginning of the top income tax bracket ($11,650 in 2012).   What this means is: 1) If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than or equal to the threshold amount that applies to you, you will not pay this tax. 2) If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is greater than the threshold amount that applies to you, you will pay the 3.8% tax on the lesser of a) your net investment income or b) the amount of your MAGI over the threshold amount.

Note that the surtax liability is determined on income before any tax deductions are considered. That means your deductions could put you in the lowest income tax bracket, yet you could still have investment income that is subject to the surtax.  Also, the capital gains rate is scheduled to increase for high-income taxpayers to 20% in 2013, so the total tax on capital gains (with the surtax) could be 23.8% in 2013 and beyond.

The good news is that there may be some steps you can take this year to help you avoid or reduce the amount of surtax beginning in 2013.   Also, 2012 is an exceptional year for estate planning in general. The federal estate tax exemption is $5.12 million, which allows a married couple to transfer as much as $10.24 million from their estate with no estate tax. Under current law, this exemption is scheduled to shrink to $1 million in 2013. Other tax cuts, including income and capital gains taxes, are set to expire at the end of 2012.  With the new 3.8% surtax becoming effective in January, 2013 is on track to have the highest tax rates we have seen in many years.

Another change in the tax laws regarding real estate that we have coming up is the expiration of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act, which gives tax relief to homeowners that sell their primary residence through short sale.  The difference between selling your primary residence in 2012 via a short sale versus 2013 could be a considerable amount of tax.  Note that the transaction has to actually close escrow by December 31, 2012 to qualify, and that a short sale can take many months to close.  Please contact me if you have questions about short sales, or if you would like for us to mail or email you a free brochure about the process.  Even if you don't need or want to do a short sale, there may be some very legitimate reasons for not postponing the sale of a property, so it's worth investigating your options.  The consulation is free, and I will always give you an honest, direct answer.

Now, more than ever, you need the assistance of qualified professionals to advise you and help you implement the best plan for you and your family.  This is something that many people put off, and don't think about seriously until it's too late.  There are many aspects to estate planning other than the real estate aspect, so this advice is not just for investment property owners - everyone can benefit from proper estate planning, regardless of age or financial status.    Today is the first day of the rest of your life, what better time could there be to put your best foot forward?

Make the Most of Your Realtor!

The common perception is that Realtors “just sell houses”.  And while that is partially correct, there is so much more your Realtor can do for you.  Here are just a few of the additional services that the Worthington Hatcher Harbison Team offers free of charge:

Determine the value of your home.  Laura Harbison will tell you even if you're not a client.  She is happy to help homeowners figure out how much their homes are really worth.  Often, she has prepared a comparative market assessment for homeowners that purchased their home during the peak of the market a few years ago and they were able to use Laura’s assessment as proof to get a county tax break.

Find some help around the house.  Laura maintains a Preferred Vendor List, available to anyone who would like a copy.  Whether you need to be qualified for a loan, have your lawn mowed, your taxes prepared or your trim re-painted, Laura has compiled a list of reputable vendors to meet your needs.*

Be a friend for life.  A top-notch agent doesn't stop helping once the ink dries on the sales contract, but stays in touch with clients and their needs.  For Laura, selling the house is only part of it.  She is always there for her clients when they need her.

* The Worthington Hatcher Harbison Team, Laura Harbison LTD & Realty Executives of Nevada cannot be held responsible for any work of service provided by these businesses. It is suggested that you thoroughly investigate and business before contracting their services.

BEAT THE HEAT

As the temperature rises, so does the cost of cooling your home, especially if you use an air conditioner.  Here are some extra tips to stay cool in the hot summer weather:

1.       Stay hydrated with lots of water.  Avoid caffeine and alcohol as these promote dehydration.

2.      Close your blinds and curtains during the day to block the sun’s heat.  Open the windows at night to let the cooler air inside.

3.      Cool your house down with fans.

4.      When possible, avoid using heat sources such as the oven, stove and dishwasher.  The most common sources of internal heat are appliances, electronic devices, and lighting.

5.      Take advantage of the shade.  Daytime air temperatures can be 3 to 6 degrees cooler in tree-shaded  neighborhoods.

6.      Check window and door frames for any hot air leaking in and seal them with caulk or weather stripping.

7.      Replace you’re A/C unit’s intake filter once a month to allow for greater airflow.

8.      Use the exhaust fan in the bathroom when showering to remove the humid air.

9.      During peak heat hours, find a cool spot to run some errands or catch up with friends.  Go to the mall, coffee shop, library, community pool or movie theater.

10.   Don’t forget your pets!  Our furry friends can suffer from dehydration, heat stroke and sunburns too.  Make sure they always have fresh water and shade.  Don’t over-exercise them and never leave them alone in a parked vehicle. 

STAY COOL AND HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

Be a Good Neighbor!

Your neighbors see the coming and going at your house and are probably more familiar with your schedule than you think.  They know when your in-laws are visiting from out of town, when your dog barks at the UPS delivery person and when your sprinklers are running off schedule.  You probably know the same things about your neighbors without even realizing it.  Most of us don’t even think about it until we see something out of the ordinary in our neighborhood.  This is why it is so important to be a good neighbor.  We can help our neighbors by taking in the paper when they are out of town, letting them borrow that cup of sugar or notifying them of any suspicious activities.  The benefits of being a good neighbor are numerous.  Not only will you feel good about what you are doing by setting a good example, but your community will be friendlier and your neighborhood safer.  You may even inspire your neighbors to be good neighbors too!

Spring Cleaning and You!

As Spring Cleaning time approaches, there are always a few important things that frequently get forgotten…

Ceiling Fans:  Change the direction of your ceiling fans.  The counterclockwise direction provides a refreshing breeze during warm months, while the clockwise position creates an upward draft, which redistributes warm air.  Most ceiling fans have a switch on the base to adjust the rotation.

Bed:  Turn over and rotate your mattress to distribute wear evenly.

Medical:  Update your first aid kit. 

Refrigerator:  Remove all the contents of the refrigerator and wipe down the sides and shelves.  Throw out all expired food and condiments.  Put the food back, wiping off jars and containers thoroughly. 

Smoke Detector/Air Filter:  Replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.  Replace your air filter.

Plants:  Give your dusty house plants a bath.  Wash small plants in lukewarm water in a sink and larger plants in a shower.  Let them drip-dry before placing them in the sun.

Recipe Book:  Update your recipe book by adding your new favorites and throwing out anything you have had but haven’t used in 1 year.

Filing Cabinet:  Clean out any documents that you no longer need and bring them to the WORTHINGTON HATCHER HARBISON TEAM’S FREE SHREDDING EVENT on April 21^st from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.  We will have a shredding truck on site to destroy your documents while you watch.  Call (702) 777-1234 for more details!