It’s time to grab your ice skates, mittens, and scarves! The AT&T Raleigh Winterfest Kick-Off starts tonight in downtown Raleigh.   Located in City Plaza, the FREE family-friendly event starts at 5:00 pm and will host activities for all ages.  Tonight’s agenda includes performances by local artists such as the Raleigh Boys Choir, St. Mary’s Choral Group, Raleigh Little Theatre Cinderella, and Grammy-winning, country music headliner Michelle Branch.   The fun continues with free carriage rides, sledding ramps on Davie Street, and for the hockey fans, Carolina Hurricanes’ Andrew Alberts will in attendance to sign autographs. And in the spirit of giving, The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina will be accepting canned food donations and the WQDR Christmas Wish Program will be accepting $1 donations. 

The outdoor skating arena will be open to the public beginning Friday, December 04 through Sunday, January 31.   Admission and skate rentals will be $6.00. To learn more, be sure to visit http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/raleighwinterfest/index.htm

Hello Friends,

The holiday season is now among us and the Triangle area has tons of fun events!  Below is a helpful list of city links to find out what’s happening in your area:

Christmas Parades:

Apex (Saturday, December 5 at 5:00 PM)

Cary (Saturday, December 5 at 2:00 PM)

Chapel Hill (Saturday, December 12 at 10:00 AM)

Durham (Saturday, December 5 at 4:00 PM)

Fuquay-Varina (Sunday, December 6 at 3:00 PM)

Garner (Saturday, December 5 at 10:00 AM)

Holly Springs (Saturday, December 12 at 11:00 AM)

Knightdale (Saturday, December 5 at 2:00 PM)

Rolesville (Sunday, December 6 at 2:00 PM)

Wake Forest (Saturday, December 12 at 1:00 PM)

Zebulon (Sunday, December 6 at 2:00 PM)

Holiday Events & Happenings:

Apex Christmas Nativity Christmas Celebration

AT&T Raleigh Winterfest

Cary: Heart of the Holidays Celebration

City of Raleigh – Numerous Holiday Events!!!

Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour

Holiday Festivities on Salem Street in Apex

Knightdale Christmas Tree Lighting

Light Up Main in Garner

Rolesville: The Lighting of the Town Christmas Tree

Zebulon: Children’s Gift Shop at Sycamore Crossing Gifts

Area Shopping Holiday Events:

Cary Towne Center

Christmas at North Hills

Crabtree Valley Mall

Streets at SouthPoint

Triangle Town Center

Volunteer Opportunities:

It’s never too late to start a new tradition. Here is a list of organizations looking for help this Holiday season.

Western Wake Crisis Ministry
Christmas Toy Program

Thank you cards for our Troops in Iraq
If you go to LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq.

Toys for Tots 2009
Supported by the U.S. Marines, this program collects new un-wrapped toys to distribute to needy children while bringing a message of hope.

Angel Tree Toy Program
A program developed to bring Christmas gifts to children whose parents are in prison.

NC Food Bank
No food donation is too small. Click on link above for more information.

And from all of us at Linda Trevor and Company, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

If you are in the market for a new home, you may still be able to claim the First-Time Homebuyer Credit.  Congress recently passed The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act Of 2009, extending the First-Time Homebuyer Credit and expanding who qualifies.

Here are the top 10 things the IRS wants you to know about the expanded credit and the qualifications you must meet in order to qualify for it:

1. You must buy – or enter into a binding contract to buy a principal residence – on or before April 30, 2010.
2. If you enter into a binding contract by April 30, 2010 you must close on the home on or before June 30, 2010.
3. For qualifying purchases in 2010, you will have the option of claiming the credit on either your 2009 or 2010 return.
4. A long-time resident of the same home can now qualify for a reduced credit. You can qualify for the credit if you’ve lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the new home is purchased and the settlement date is after November 6, 2009.
5. The maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500. However, married individuals filing separately are limited to $3,250.
6. People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after November 6, 2009. The full credit is available to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes up to $125,000, or $225,000 for joint filers.
7. The IRS will issue a December 2009 revision of Form 5405 to claim this credit. The December 2009 form must be used for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 – whether the credit is claimed for 2008 or for 2009 – and for all home purchases that are claimed on 2009 returns.
8. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000.
9. The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement.
10. A dependent is not eligible to claim the credit.  

For more information about the expanded First-Time Home Buyer Credit, visit www.IRS.gov/recovery.

The holiday season kicks off this Saturday, November 21 with the Raleigh Christmas Parade!!  And it doesn’t end there – in the next following weeks, there will be all kinds of fun holiday events happening around the Triangle.

Be sure to check out these helpful links:

City of Raleigh

North Hills Holiday Events

Cary Jaycees Christmas Parade

Wake Forest Christmas Parade

Apex Christmas Parade & Holiday Events

Happy Holly Days Christmas Parade

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade

City of Durham Holiday Parade

The Milken Institute has released its list of the 2009 Best Performing Cities and both Durham and Raleigh-Cary made the Top 10! Durham is up from number 21 in 2008 to number 6 in 2009 while Raleigh-Cary dropped from number 2 in 2008 to number 10 in 2009.

For a complete list, be sure to visit: 

http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bestcities2009.taf?rankyear=2009&type=rank200

(Source: Milken Institute)

If you thought your time was running out to use the homebuyer tax credit, your luck just changed!  Today, President Obama signed the bill into law extending the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.  In addition, this new law now includes a $6500 tax credit for buyers who are current home owners and have lived in their home for five of the past eight years.

The National Association of REALTORS® has created a simple and helpful CHART that showcases the modifications – for more information, click here

The “City of Oaks” accolades continue to build!  Relocate-America™ released its 2009 Top 100 Places to Live in 2009 and Raleigh ranked in the Top 10.   This is the twelfth year for the annual list with nominations accepted throughout the calendar year.  

For more details, visit: http://top100.relocate-america.com

Another hour of sleep – who couldn’t use that these days!  Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 a.m.  Remember to change your clocks one hour back before you go to bed this Saturday night and enjoy an extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning.

 103 Berrybrook Ct, Cary, NC

This beautiful cul-de-sac home welcomes you with keystone accents and a 2-story covered front porch with four majestic columns. The grand 2-story foyer showcases faux stone paint, chandelier, catwalk, and quarter inch maple hardwood floors that carry through the rest of the first floor living areas. The dining room has crown molding and two single windows to let in lots of light. The kitchen hosts 42 inch cabinets, tons of counter space, all white appliances, and connects to the breakfast area that showcases a large bay window and updated light fixture. Continue into the vaulted living room that includes a fireplace with marble surround, a custom mantle with dental molding, a ceiling fan with light, two arched entryways that lead to the kitchen, and a French door to the back deck. The first floor master suite also shows off a vaulted ceiling, a large bay window, walk-in closet, and master bath with His & Her marble vanities with updated fixtures, a garden tub, tile surround shower, and separate water closet. Journey upstairs to the three additional bedrooms that feature double door closets and laminate hardwood floors. The upstairs hallway includes a sitting/loft area anchored with Berber carpet. The back deck is perfect for grilling and overlooks the wooded and peaceful backward. Combined with a neutral paint scheme and tons of updates, this home is move-in ready!  Be sure to also check out the VISUAL TOUR!

MLS # 1691078

Price $250,000

October in the Triangle is packed full of fun events!  One being a long standing tradition that brings in visitors from all over the state – the NC State Fair!

Beginning on Thu, Oct. 15 and running through Sun, Oct. 25, this years theme is “A Whole Lotta Happy”.  And there’s something for everyone of all ages ~ enjoy the rides, dancing contests, horse shows, food, musical performances, magic shows, cooking contest, the fireworks extravaganza every night and so much more!

If you purchase your tickets in advance, you’ll save some cash too!

For a schedule of daily events, please be sure to visit: http://NCStateFair.org/2009