2009 April :: Real Estate in Spring, Tomball, Magnolia, Cypress, NW Houston and the Woodlands

So what do you do when you see what looks like a giant beehive in your front yard? My first thought was to grab a bottle of flying insect spray. My husband however happened to know of a bee keeper so we called him instead.

I must say watching him move the swarm to a new home was quite a learning experience. What we thought was a hive was actually a swarm. They swarmed over an old bird nest. It appears that they have been kicked out of their prior castle so these worker bees went with their queen to find a new castle. I for one was not happy about there castle being in my front yard. The bee keeper brought them over a nice 3/2/2 and helped them to get settled. It was a little smaller than their castle in the air but worked quite nice.

Honey bee swarms are actually not dangerous. The only time a swarm gets defensive is when they are protecting their hive and their young and since a swarm doesn’t have young nor food supplies they are not easily provoked. Now our son did get stung when out mowing the yard so maybe the lawn mower provoked them. He was not taking any chances and decided to wait until the swarm was gone to finish the mowing.

I have a new appreciation for bees after talking to the bee keeper and watching the process. I did not catch the swarm dropping but you will see one picture with the swarm in the air and the next one the swarm is on the box.

A bee swarm in Spring TX

After getting the swarm down to the box the next step was getting them settled in to their new condo. You can observe the bees scent-fanning at the entrance to signal the entrance to the new nest as the bees march into their new home. There is one point in the movie where you will see the screen go a little crazy as I was getting away from the bees. According to the beekeeper I was safe but I was not taking any chances.

I was amazed at how comfortable the bee keeper was around the bees. We asked him if he got stung often and he told us no.

Getting the Spring TX bee swarm settled in their new home

When you see the bee keeper pointing he is pointing out a waggle dance. The bees do a waggle dance to share information.

I was a little sad that a small group got left behind. They huddled as a very small swarm in the tree for a few weeks and then were gone. I hope they found a larger swarm but I’m not sure what happens to the remnant when they miss the move.

I found a website that you can go to and find a bee keeper should you find yourself with a swarm in your front yard. After finding out how social honey bees are I’m glad that we helped them find a new condo. I also found out that there is a shortage of honey bees in the United States so you are being ecologically green and helping our environment also.

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texasand need help from a professional REALTOR®, Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332.

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Spring TX first time homebuyer $8000 tax credit There is no better time to buy a home than right now, especially if you are a first time home buyer. The good news is that you can be a first time home buyer a second time. (nothing like a second chance). So even if you have owned a home in the past you may be qualified to receive this $8000 tax credit. When I first read about the tax credit I took it very literally to mean you must be a first time home buyer. However in the case the definition of a first time home buyer for the purpose of this law is “a first time home buyer is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three year prior to the purchase (the date on the HUD 1 is the determining factor). For married taxpayers neither spouse may have owned a home in the last 3 years.

I recently had a closing where my client had previously had a home but had gone through a divorce and was just now able to buy a home again. I called her to let her know that she was again a first time home buyer. She was excited to know about this because just like me she thought a first time home buyer was only a first time home buyer.

There are a few other items that you should keep in mind. This only goes to Dec. 1^st 2009 so if you are going to buy a home this year you need to shop early. You don’t want to wait until the last moment and then take the chance of not closing on time and losing out on the tax credit.

There are income limits. Full credit will be issued to individuals with an adjusted gross income of no more than $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). Individuals with incomes over $95,000 ($170,000 on a joint return) will not receive the credit.

Unlike the 2008 credit (which was essentially an interest free 15 year loan) the 2009 tax credits DOES NOT have to be repaid. You do however have to live in the house for at least 3 years.

This is a tax credit, not a tax deduction. A tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction in the amount of tax the taxpayer owes. If you owed $8000 in federal income tax and received the full $8000 tax credit, you would owe nothing to the IRS for that filing period.

This tax credit is said to be refundable. This means that a credit can be claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no income tax liability to offset. For example if a first time homebuyer had a tax liability of $6000 and received a tax credit for $8000 you would receive a check for $2000.

The finite points of the tax credit are still being worked on. You will want to check with your tax advisor for a complete interpretation.

For all your Spring TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332