Prepare you and your family for future disasters by creating your own personalized Family Disaster Plan.

In a major disaster, emergency workers may not be able to reach everyone right away, and in some cases it may take 3 or more days for help to arrive. What would you do if you had no electricity, no gas, no water and no telephone service? Having a plan for your family and their needs will help ensure their safety and comfort during these difficult times.

Go to: http://www.floridadisaster.org/family to create your family plan.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Marco Rubio, will be in Hernando County to get your input and concerns regarding Property Tax Reform, Wednesday, May 30th at 5:00 pm at the Palace Grand.

Palace Grand is located at 275 Della Court in Spring Hill (just off US 19 near County Line Road). The phone number there is 688-3590.

Governor Crist Announces Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday

Governor Charlie Crist has signed into law House Bill 211 establishing a sales tax holiday from June 1 through June 12, 2007, for hurricane preparedness items. “I urge all Floridians to take advantage of the Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday so that every person is prepared for the possibility of a storm,” said Governor Crist. “We have learned from experience that prepared residents and communities are key to surviving and recovering from hurricanes or other natural disasters.”
Governor Crist thanked the Legislature and urged all Floridians to prepare for the 2007 Hurricane Season by taking advantage of the third annual sales tax holiday. The holiday is expected to save Floridians almost $25 million in sales taxes. “As public awareness of this tax holiday continues to grow, we are encouraging Florida retailers to prepare for even greater demand than last year,” said Governor Crist. “While we hope for a quiet hurricane season, the tax holiday will help give Floridians the opportunity to be prepared for any possibility.”

“Recent history shows us that hurricanes can impact every Floridian,” said Director Craig Fugate of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “I challenge all residents to get a plan and prepare now.” Governor Crist encouraged all Floridians to update their disaster plans and to use the tax holiday during the first 12 days of June as an opportunity to restock their disaster supply kits. Below are a few examples of items that will be exempt during the sales tax holiday.
- Flashlights and other portable, self-powered light sources - $20 or less
- Portable radios, two-way radios and weather-band radios - $75 or less
- Tarps - $50 or less
- Gas or diesel fuel containers - $25 or less
- Batteries - $30 or less (AAA, AA, C and D cell, and 6 and 9 volt batteries)
- Non-electrical food storage coolers - $30 or less
- Portable generators - $1,000 or less
- Carbon monoxide detectors - $75 or less
- Storm shutter devices - $200 or less

For more information on the 2007 Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday or to find information on building a customized family or business disaster plan, please visit www.FloridaDisaster.org or www.myflorida.com

Mr MacKinney wrote:
I am writing to express our satisfaction with and appreciation for your Sales Associate’s service in the sale of our home. Overall, her vigorous marketing effort, her providing us with a great deal of useful and important information, her prompt responses to our inquiries, all done in the context of unfailing good cheer, were very much appreciated. We would be pleased to have you share this with future prospective customers.

Florida grew 15% between 2000 and 2006-a total of nearly one million new households-in spite of the six hurricasnes that hit the state in 2004 and 2005!
Source: The University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research

Adjustable rate mortgages sounded good at the time, but now all those low interest rate loans are steadily rising and putting the pinch on a larger number of homeowners.
“While interest rates are expected to be flat or up slightly in 2007, there are roughly $500 billion in outstanding adjustable rate mortgages that will see a monthly payment increase due to an interest rate re-set, the start of amortization, or both,” said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac deputy cheif economist.
“Other homeowners have second liens that adjust each month depending on changes in the prime rate,” she said, and Freddie Mac expects that many borrowers facing payment increases this year will refinance those loans.

A recent study conducted by a national mortgage lender has found that 43% of women felt they did not spend enough time shopping for a house before buying one, while 23% of men said the search took too long.
In other areas, men and women generally agreed they could do some things to improve the homebuying experience, including:

* 25% wish they had saved more money for the down payment and closing costs.

* 25% wish they knew more about the process.

* 22% wished they had purchased a new house.

* 21% said they would have purchased in a different neighborhood.

Here is one reason analysts are being careful not to wave the all-clear sign: A large number of homes for sale are unoccupied. In the third quarter of last year, there were 5.7 million vacant housing units for sale or rent, accounting for a record 4.6% of all US homes. The average in the 1990’s was 3.5%. To get this ratio back to normal 1.3 million vacant homes would need to be occupied.
High vacancy rates have other effects, points out Credit Suisse analyst Ivy Zelman. When an occupied home gets sold, the seller has to buy another house. When a vacant home gets sold, the seller doesn’t have to do anything. That sets off a chain reaction that ripples through the housing market.
The owners of the unrented, unsold homes bear costs. They have insurance, lawn care, taxes, and often a mortgage payment. Seeing those costs pile up can motivate an owner to sell or rent at a lower price. When a house sells at a lower price, other would-be buyers expect lower prices as well. When it rents for less, it becomes a more attractive alternative to buying. The good news (yes, there is good news) is that trouble in housing hasn’t spelled trouble for the rest of the economy. Lower interest rates give households more buying power.

The housing market has made a soft landing and will gradually pick up again over the next several months. That is the prognosis from the National Association of REALTORS economist David Lereah.
“Despite the doomsayers, household wealth will not evaporate and the economy will not go into a recession. If you’re in it for the long haul, housing is a sound investment,” Lereah said.
The national median existing-home price is expected to rise 1.9% to $226,200 in 2007, after rising 1.1% in 2006. The median new-home price is expected to increase 1.8% to $249,800 in 2007, and in 2008 existing-home prices are forecast to rise 3.4%.

Local high school and middle school athletes can receive their physicals May 19th at the Center for Bone and Joint Disease, 11307 Cortez Blvd. in the Oak Hill Hospital complex. The fee is $20, which will be donated back to the Hernando Athletic Program. Athletes should attend during the session time slotted for their school, with middle school students attending the session for the high school they will be attending.
8 am-Nature Coast Technical High
9 am-Springstead High
10 am-Hernando High
11 am-Central High
For more information, please call 352-596-0900