City of Tyler

This from MY TYLER NEWS:

by L. Krantz - December 28, 2006

While the rest of the country may see a slow down in building, the City of Tyler continues to count an increasing number of building permits issued each year.

So far this year the City’s Development Services Department has issued 593 residential building permits, which is expected to meet or exceed the 606 issued last year. These permits include stand-alone houses and multi-family dwellings as well as homes built in subdivision such as Tyler Cascades, Oak Hollow and Cumberland Gap.

In addition, there has been a 20 percent increase in commercial building permits issued this year. The City issued 70 last year and has watched that number climb to 84 this year. Notable commercial developments that have begun construction this year include several new schools such as Jack Elementary on Balsam Gap, Douglas Elementary on Hanie, Austin Elementary on Franklin and Bonner Elementary on Saunders, as well as a new Boys and Girls Club and additions to ETMC.

“This past year has seen continued and increased development activity in Tyler,” Tyler Development Services Director Michael Wilson said. ”The formation of the new Development Services Department has helped the City to meet the challenge of keeping pace with the growth of Tyler. We have expanded our services to the community while increasing the efficiencies in providing those services. We are looking forward to the prospect of a new and even better development year in 2007.”

Home Sales

This from the New York Times:

"Builders sold new homes at a faster rate last month than they did in October, shrinking the backlog of unsold homes on the market, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.

The report showed that sales of new single-family homes rose 3.4 percent in November, seasonally adjusted, to an annual rate of 1.05 million. That followed a 3.8 percent decline in October.

The news helped propel stocks on Wall Street to another record high — its 22nd so far this year — with the Dow Jones industrial average rising more than 100 points to finish the day above 12,500 for the first time."

Interesting, huh?

Christmas in Tyler Texas

All over the world people are celebrating the birth of the King. In Isaiah chapter seven it was prophesied, 750 years before His birth, that He would be called Immanuel...... "God With Us". In Micah it was prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. 1400 years before He was born the Babylonian sorcerer, Balaam, prophesied that a star would indicate His birth, and Gentile magi from places all over Arabia saw it and came to pay Him homage in Bethlehem.

There are still many here in Tyler, Texas who worship Him, for He is the only-begotten Son of God Who came to save His people from sin (Matthew chapter one).

Tax Tip

I'll try to post some tax tips between now and the end of the year:

Consider refinancing your mortgage this year. Loan fees (i.e. points) are supposed to be deducted over the projected life of the mortgage, but when the loan is paid off early in order to refinance, any remaining points not yet deducted can be deducted in that year. Mortgage refinancing can be a smart move for those of us with higher mortgage interest rates and/or who want to replace an adjustable mortgage with a fixed rate product while rates are still low. In addition, if your home has appreciated since its purchase and you are currently paying for private mortgage insurance, you may no longer be required to carry it if your refinanced loan amount is less than 80% of the home’s current appraised value. Also, if you have had your current loan for some time, a larger portion of your monthly payment applies to the principle, so you have less interest to deduct than you had when you first got the mortgage. If you are among the fortunate who could use additional tax deductions, refinancing your home will mean you’ll have a bigger interest deduction every month, even if your payments stay about the same.