Planning for Retirement ? Your 30s

November 16, 2009 at 8:38 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit this post

November 16th

They say, your 30s are the vital years for retirment savings because you are running out of time for returns. Had you been saving $5000 a year in your twenties, you would be well on your way to $1mil plus bank account before you are 65. If you wait until you are in your 30s you will need to save double that or more ever year, depending on your rate of return.

Time Magazine offers these 5 tips on how to plan for retirment in your 30s:

1. Create a Budget: As I always say, you should pay your "savings account" bill first, before your other bills or expenses. Budget for this!
2. Set Up Automatic Pay Deductions to Your 401k: Most of they time these deductions are "pre-tax" so you are saving even more money. And this will force you to budget around paying yourself first.
3.  Saving for the Kids: It is estimated a 4 year college 15 years from now will cost over $100,000.  Getting the little ones set up with an early college fund will help save for this expense. As Alaskans, the PFD can be easily saved in a college fund automatically.  But there are other options as well.
4.  Take a good look at your insurance coverage; life and disability. A healthy 30 something can purchase $1mil in coverage for as little as $100 a month. You shouldn´t have any more coverage that what it would take to pay off your mortgage and all other debts, pay for college expenses, and replace at least half of your salary.
5.  BUY A HOUSE! Yes! This the best step to take. Buying a home helps you feel like you´re part of a community and provides shelter and stability for your family. Sure, there are expenses with buying a home, you may have dues, upkeep and taxes. But overall house values rise at an average of 3-5% over long periods. This is the best investment you could ever make. You buy with as little as 3.5% down ($0 if you are military), then you get a tax deductible loan, years later you have a valuable asset. You may not realize the gain until you sell your home, but the value will always be there. Be careful not to over commit and budget properly.

So there you have it folks. Let me know if I can get you touch will a lender or investment strategist to consider some of these tips for your future.

Cheers,
Kathi

Buyer Tax Credit Extended to May 1st, 2010

November 5, 2009 at 7:53 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit this post

November 5, 2009

Third quarter statistics showed an increase in home sales due to the home buyer tax credit nearing it´s end date. Homes were "flying off the shelves" for lack of a better term.  Concerns were raised on Capitol Hill whether home sales would receed if the incentive for first time buyers waned.

The Senate wasted no time in extending the $8000 First Time Buyer´s Tax Credit and allowing buyers who have previously owned a home in 5 of the last 8 years to receive a $6500 tax credit on a new purchase.

Even with more pressing matters entrenching law makers in paper and reform bills, this measure I expect will stimulate real estate sales early in 2010.

To read more visit the National Association of Realtors article highlighting the news

Ciao,
Kathi


Anchorage Transit Dilemma

October 30, 2009 at 6:21 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit this post

October 30, 2009

Good morning! Like most of you I read the paper every morning to learn about what´s going on in Anchorage. Front page news, may not be new news to you and me but it is careful to consider what the city and state are considering to decrease the bottle neck traffic in downtown. The Seward Highway and the Glenn Highway meet at the Gamble Street intersection. During rush hour times and especially on the weekends traffic on the Merrill Field Corridor backs up, sometimes past the Bragaw overpass.

There are several options to change where the Seward meets the Glenn. One is to leave it the way it is, there are too many challenges facing rerouting the highways. Many commuters already use alternate routes such as Tudor to get to the East side of Anchorage, or use Minnesota to move South. One option to explore is doing a complete bypass of the major Anchorage communities for commuters to Eagle River and Wasilla. This would stretch International Airport Road all the way around passed the Muldoon curve to the Glenn.

There are many challenges to face and one solution officials are considering is expanding public transportation options such as more buses or a rail system rather than a complete highway make over.

Nothing has been decided yet. Take a look at the Anchorage Daily News column regarding this issue and see all the other options. This is an important issure for Real Estate for two reasons: this may affect resale value depending and where they do decide to reroute the traffic, and it may increase property taxes to pay for the makeover.

Cheers, Kathi

Retirement - what to do when you're in your 20s

October 29, 2009 at 7:50 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit this post

October 29, 2009

Time Magazine has been publishing some great articles on what to do about your retirment at any age. I find it fascinating that some people don´t start thinking about saving or planning until they are in their thirties or beyond.
According to experts, there is no better time than now for people in their 20s to start saving and thinking about retirement. Their suggestions are pretty minimal: maintain good credit, pay yourself first, and TIME IS ON YOUR SIDE.

Periods of overperformance in the market follow recession times like these. No doubt investing is a gamble but don´t knock it just yet. People in their twenties have been affected little in their pocket books by the slide in the stock market last year, as they may not have any investments to speak of. The job market is tightening and your earnings power may be lower as more people in their sixties are maintaining jobs. But that can only last a short time.

According to the Times, don´t get yourself into too much debt, pay off your student loans, pay your savings account first before you pay the bills, and don´t wait! Time is on your side. You have a better chance of meeting your retirement goals if you start young then some who don´t start planning until they are 40. Twenty years of savings and planning could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars!

I have a wonderful investment banker if you are considering planning your retirment. Please let me know if I can get you in touch with her :)   Kathi

Local Architect Awarded Highest Achievment

October 26, 2009 at 10:18 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit this post

October 26, 2009

The Anchorage Daily News reported this morning one of Anchorage´s local architects received the American Institute of Architects Northwest and Pacific Region´s Medal of Honor. Edwin Crittenden has received this high honor for his work in Anchorage after the 1964 earthquake. Crittenden´s firm was fundamental to planning and reconstructing Anchorage after the quake.

Edwin was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1915 and moved to Alaska in 1943. He served 4 years in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. Having served on the Alaska Housing Authority, Anchorage Planning Commission, and the Anchorage Platting Board, Mr. Crittenden has certainly influenced the city I love. Many of the neighborhoods I have lived and worked in were no doubt either developed or planned by this incredible citizen of Anchorage.

He still practices his trade and has made great contributions to the University of Alaska Anchorage architectural department with his innovative ideas about construction in Anchorage, including how to build in permafrost and how to make building in Alaska more cost effective.