Home sales in North Kitsap County

North Kitsap Closings: Nov 1-7

With the exception of Kingston, activity was up sharply this week over the same period last year. Expect more as pending sales close in time for the original tax credit deadline. 

If you're interested in the details of the home that sold your neighborhood, email me.

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How to prevent football injuries: disarmament (not related to real estate)

Almost nothing annoys me more than the Fox NFL robot. It dehumanizes the players.

But I think it's doing more than that. I'm concerned with the increasing number of injuries, from Pop Warner football all the way through the NFL.

The most serious of these injuries are clearly the result of collisions. The collisions are encouraged by the increased sophistication of the equipment worn by these athletes. The more protection they are wearing, the more they believe they can play with "reckless abandon."

The recent controversy over Alzheimers and dementia resulting from concussions suffered up to forty years previous has brought a promise by organized football to improve the design of the helmets.

But let's consider another approach. Instead of improving the armor, let's take the armor away. Rugby and Australian football is every bit as exciting as American football, but the incidence of serious injury is far lower. If today's players were limited to high tech shoes and minimal protection (yes--leather helmets), I guarantee that there would be fewer concussions.

Nothing else would change (except the shapes of the players, which would appear more human and less Transformerish). The skills (blocking, tackling, running, throwing, catching) would still obtain. Oh, and their life expectancy might improve.

What do you think?

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Highlights of extended tax credit

Homebuyer Tax Credit

The House and Senate have sent the bill extending the Homebuyer’s Tax Credit to the president for signature.  Here are some of the highlights:

Tax credit: Ten percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers. First-time homebuyers are defined as people who have not owned a home in the previous three years. Repeat buyers must have owned their current home at least five years. The credit cannot be used for houses costing more than $800,000.  

Deadline for qualifying: Purchase agreements must be signed by April 30, 2010, and closings must be final by June 30.

Military deadline: The deadline is extended by a year for members of the military who have served outside the U.S. for at least 90 days from Jan. 1, 2009, to May 1, 2010.

Income limits: Individuals with annual incomes up to $125,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full credit. Individuals with incomes up to $145,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $245,000 qualify for reduced credits.

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