ST. PETERSBURG — Home improvement magazine This Old House showed the Tampa Bay area some love in its latest issue.

Editors at the magazine picked St. Petersburg’s Old Northeast as one of this year’s “Best Old House Neighborhoods” in the country.

The magazine gushed about the charming section of town, calling it “a gardener’s paradise,” and noting its eclectic mix of architecture styles.

Old Northeast was the first established neighborhood in St. Petersburg, according to the Historical Old Northeast Neighborhood Association.

It also is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is considered one of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods.

For more on the magazine’s choice, visit www.thisoldhouse.com.

This is just wonderful!

243 Heritage isles way in Bradenton FL is sold and closed for $228,000!

Dyan & Hank, I want you to know I’ve enjoyed working with you again. I feel you found the perfect home for you both, I knew the moment we talked in to this home it was the one for you. The community and location is perfect for your lifestyle. I’m sure you are going to be very happy here for many years to come.

The White House is considering a housing proposal that would allow millions of homeowners with government-backed mortgages to refinance into lower interest rates, The New York Times reports.

“A wave of refinancing could be a strong stimulus to the economy, because it would lower consumers’ mortgage bills right away and allow them to spend elsewhere,” an article in The New York Times notes.

Many homeowners have been unable to take advantage of today’s low interest rates — which are averaging around 4 percent — because they don’t qualify for refinancing at the best rates since they owe more on their home than it is currently worth or because of poor credit. The refinancing plan is still under discussion of how it would work, The New York Times said.

“This is the best stimulus out there because it doesn’t increase the deficit, it accomplishes monetary policy, and it reduces defaults in housing,” Christopher J. Mayer, an economist at the Columbia Business School, told The New York Times.

The White House is also considering other options to try to stimulate the housing market or save homeowners from foreclosure. Such options include more changes to its refinancing programs so more homeowners can participate or a home rental program to that would rent out foreclosures instead of putting them for sale so foreclosures would stop weighing down overall home prices.

“This is just want this economy needs! I was just saying I would love to refinance my home but after talking to Wells Fargo I was told they couldn’t refinance my home because my loan to value wasn’t within tolerance. I was looking to refinance to a 15 year mortgage to take advantage of the low rates. I do hope this gets through the White House. I could see this as a huge plus for most Americans, putting $150-$200 a month or more in their pockets.”

Easy-to-install security cameras let you keep an eye on your home from afar, ensuring safety and security for you and your family.

Network cameras
Internet-based network cameras are a quick solution in setting up home surveillance. They connect to your broadband connection and don’t require difficult wiring or mounting.

Logitech’s Alert lets you view either real-time or recorded footage—with audio—of the inside and outside of your house through your iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry smartphone, and the system is expandable by adding additional cameras. You’ll get text or email notifications on your phone or computer if the camera’s motion sensor is triggered.

Panasonic’s BL-C131A goes one step further by giving you remote pan and tilt control from your smartphone or computer, allowing you to view in eight different positions.

The Alert 750i Master System starts at $299.99. (A similar device from D-Link costs $119.99.) The Panasonic BL-C131A costs around $300.

Riding the Z-Wave
If you have a Z-Wave-based home automation system installed, you can add wireless cameras to create a security network inside and outside of your house.

ADT’s Pulse is a complete home alarm system that uses Z-Wave cameras for home monitoring from your iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android. ADT Pulse service plans start at $48 a month, not including installation and cameras.

Schlage’s LiNK offers its Z-Wave Wireless Camera as an option to its electronic locks. Like ADT’s Pulse, you can also perform additional home management functions with compatible Z-Wave products like thermostats. Schlage LiNK starter kits cost around $300, and the Wireless Camera costs around $150.

Similar wireless security cameras are available for X10 home automation systems.

DIY camera
You can turn a basic computer webcam into a surveillance system using free downloadable software from Yawcam and EyeSpyFX. You’re required to have your computer remain on, but once set up you can log in remotely from another computer—say, at work—and view streaming video of your home. Just position the camera at what you want to monitor.

Yawcam offers motion detection and can send a snapshot to your email when triggered, while EyeSpyFX lets you view footage from dedicated iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry apps.

An affordable webcam like Microsoft’s LifeCam VX-2000 costs about $30 or less.

So what does your kid’s college fund have to do with real estate? A whole lot if you’d like to have more control and leverage your money to reap a greater return on your investment.
When you say the words “College Fund” what usually comes to mind is the 529 plan. The 529 plan is an education savings plan that is managed by a state or educational institution that is designed specifically for families to save money for future college costs. These plans are simple to set up and as long as the plan meets certain qualifications there are some tax benefits. Your financial advisor or the 529 plan manager can help you set up the account.
Now let’s talk money. If your child is 1 today, you will have 17 years to sock away money every month. How much do you need to pay for 4 years of college in 17 years time? This number will vary depending on the college that your child will attend and if you plan on paying for room and board. To get a more accurate number visit http://www.savingforcollege.com/college-savings-calculator This tool will help you calculate the future costs of attending university and will allow you to base the calculation on your school of choice. When I did a calculation of $17,336/year which is the national average for an in-state school including room and board and transportation, for 4 years, the amount that I’d have to save monthly was $432. We would invest $88,128 over the next 17 years and at 7% interest that would yield us $204,215. And that is for just one child. We have two so to make it easy, let’s double that. Yes $864 each and every month for the next 17 years or a whopping $176,256. That’s another mortgage payment that we would have to pay for the next 204 months. Yowch! But it is a good return, right?

If that number is just as staggering to you as it was to me, and expect it to be more if your child is older or if you have multiple children, don’t stop reading just yet. The 529 plan is a good plan but it’s not the only way to fund your child’s education. There has never been a better time to buy real estate than today. With the amount of foreclosures, short sales and just plain motivated sellers on the market coupled with historically low mortgage rates your child could have a much brighter future.

The typical home will double in value every 10 years and since we are at the bottom of the market buy now and you could be the one laughing all the way to the bank. Let’s say you found a property for $50,000, the bank is going to want to see 20% down if this is an investment, so that’s $10,000. Let’s assume it needs some work for another $10,000. So you’re now at a $20,000 investment, but you decide to rent the property out and have someone else pay the mortgage on the remaining $40,000. Only buy a property that will give you a positive cash flow. So now your putting money into your pocket, there are tax benefits to owning real estate and you can expect that property to double in value every 10 years. In 17 years time you’ll be sitting on a property worth $150,000 or more. If you took that same $20,000 and invested it into your 529 plan you would only get about 5 years into the plan and you’d still be on the hook to pay for the next 12 years. So let me ask you, would you rather invest $20,000, make some additional money every month and enjoy the tax benefits or would you rather invest $88,128? Although, you end up with a $90,000 return at the end of 17 years if you were to sell the property, the initial investment and the other benefits along the way is true leverage of your money and time.

You obviously want to consult with a financial advisor, an experienced Realtor, have the home inspected thoroughly as well as speaking with a rental management company to find out what you could rent the home for before you buy. And whatever number you’re told that repairs will amount to add 20% as a buffer for the unexpected. No matter how good of a home inspector you have it’s always a good rule of thumb to plan for the unexpected.

The IRS unveiled a smartphone app Monday that will let taxpayers check the status of their tax refunds and get other information about their tax returns. The app, IRS2Go, can be downloaded for free on iPhones and Androids, the IRS said.

Taxpayers will need to provide some basic information to check the status of their refund on the app. They’ll need to enter their Social Security number, which will be masked and encrypted for security purposes, the IRS said. After that, they’ll need to select the filing status they used on their tax return and enter the amount of refund they expect to receive.

For taxpayers who e-file, the refund function of the smartphone app will work within about 72 hours after they receive an e-mail acknowledgment from the IRS confirming receipt of their return. Taxpayers who file paper tax returns will need to wait three to four weeks to check their refund status, the IRS said.

App users can also sign up to receive daily tax tips from the IRS via e-mail.

Earlier this month, TurboTax, the nation’s largest tax software provider, released a mobile application that allows taxpayers who file a 1040EZ to prepare and file their federal and state income taxes on their smartphones. Customers can download the SnapTax app for free but will have to pay $14.99 to file their tax returns.

“This phone app is a first step for us,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “We will look for additional ways to expand and refine our use of smartphones and other new technologies to help meet the needs of taxpayers.”

© Copyright 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.