Still Renting?

If You Can Afford to Rent…

Then You Can Probably Afford to Own.

The cost of renting in many areas is now greater than the cost to buy. Even with mortgage rates on the rise, it is still more affordable than renting. Some say mortgage loans are impossible to obtain without perfect credit and/or 20% down.

Want the truth? Read on, and we’ll cite the three basic factors for qualifying for a home loan. 

• Income – If you have a job or steady source of income, you’re off to a great start. If you’re already able to pay your rent on time each month, this could actually be easier than you might think. 

• Assets – You rarely need a 20% down payment. In reality, many programs will work with 5%, 3.5% or 3%, and in some cases, even 0% down. As well, closing costs can sometimes be paid by lenders, sellers or come from gifts or grants. So if you think you’re out of luck just because you don’t have tons of cash, no worries. Chances are still good there’s a solution that may work.

• Credit – Your credit is likely in good shape if you pay your bills on time and have avoided major issues like bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sales and judgments. Requirements will always vary, but there can still be reasonably flexible loan options, such as the FHA and Fannie Mae which both allow for low credit scores.

That’s it. These three items are the fundamentals of mortgage lending. Exceptions will exist, but don’t be fooled into thinking the process is impossible. For those who work and pay their bills, there may not be a whole lot standing in the way of homeownership.

 Here is an example of Buying a home vs. Renting based on today’s mortgage rates with the plan of selling your home in 10 years.

Renting versus Owning

I would like the opportunity to consult with you and start you on the path of Homeownership.  Whether it be for Today or planning for Tomorrow!

           Bill Nickerson NMLS #4194  | 978.273.3227  | Email | Website

My 11th Pan Mass Challenge

Team Lick Cancer riding in formation on Cape Cod

11th Pan Mass Challenge 

I ride for a reason and I ride for a cause and because of this,  I ride with No Pain, I Ride in the cold, I ride in the rain, I ride for hours upon hours so that I can help those who can’t ride.

This will be my 11th year riding in the Pan Mass Challenge.   It comes with great reward as I am building friendships and raising money for a worthy cause…cancer research.  It also comes with great heart ache.  The more friends and family I meet in the PMC, I unfortunately more and more that are battling cancer.  Charlotte who was only 6 years old and fought a long hard 4 year battle.  Charlotte had an aggressive brain tumor known as atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT). Despite treatment after treatment, trips into Boston on a daily basis, experimental medicine and everything some of the best doctors in the world could do for her; it was just not enough.  While enduring all of this, Charlotte taught us all how to live and to enjoy life to the fullest.  She never stopped being a kid!!!  My thoughts and prayers will always be with this special little girl who touched so many of our lives.  I must ride on, I must raise money, I am fighting cancer!!  DONATE

Our team is growing every year as we will have over  160 members riding in this year’s PMC.  Our team will raise over 1 Million Dollars this year alone.

The Pan Mass Challenge is exactly that….a challenge.   Anyone that knows me knows that I am not built for speed. But I knew in my heart that I could do something like this especially for a great cause. I train for months to be in shape to ride the 192 miles from Sturbridge to Provincetown…riding to work a few days and taking long rides on the weekends. But there is something that I can never train for…the arrival day in Sturbridge.  The opening ceremony of the PMC, the stories of cancer survivors, the families involved and especially the Kids that are affected.  To hear and see what people with cancer must go through, gives me all the motivation I need to ride 192 miles in the middle of August.  DONATE NOW

As I ride along the 192 mile route, I see families lined up on every street holding up signs thanking me.  Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this; to be thanked for riding for them.  They stand there holding signs, playing music and yelling to cheer me and my teammates on…it is such a motivating emotional sight to behold.  A sight that makes me tear up just thinking about it.  I know that my feelings are nothing compared to what these kids and families experience as they go through treatments.  It is for them that I ride.  I am officially a Pan Mass rider for LIFE!       I need your help to aid in the continued research for finding a cure for this deadly disease.   Will you help me raise money for this fight?

HELP ME RAISE MONEY TO FIGHT CANCER!!!!!   

Thank you for your continued support!!!!  Bill Nickerson

Click here to DONATE

Have a Great Labor Day!

What does Labor Day mean to us?

To many, it means the end of summer. To others, it means the beginning of school. Those are accurate assumptions but Labor Day is really much more. Labor Day  will be observed on Monday, Sept. 3 2018.

Labor Day: How it Came About & What it Means
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”

But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Labor Day Legislation
Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

A Nationwide Holiday
The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

I credit the following site for information about Labor Day http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

 

Bill Nickerson NMLS #4194

Bill Nickerson

 

The True Meaning of National Doughnut Day

National Doughnut Day started in 1938  as a fund raiser for Chicago’s Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor The Salvation Army “Lassies” of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers in the First World War.

Soon after the US entrance into World War I in 1917, The Salvation Army sent a fact-finding mission to France. The mission concluded that the needs of US enlisted men could be met by canteens/social centers termed “huts” that could serve baked goods, provide writing supplies and stamps, and provide a clothes-mending service. Typically, 6 staff members per hut would include four female volunteers who could “mother” the boys. These huts were established by The Salvation Army in the United States near army training centers.

About 250 Salvation Army volunteers went to France. Because of the difficulties of providing freshly baked goods from huts established in abandoned buildings near to the front lines, the two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) came up with the idea of providing doughnuts. These are reported to have been an “instant hit”, and “soon many soldiers were visiting The Salvation Army huts”.  Often, the doughnuts were cooked in oil inside a metal helmet of an American Soldier.  Salvation Army Lassies were the only women outside of military personnel allowed to visit the front lines.  Lt. Colonel Helen Purviance is considered the Salvation Army’s “first doughnut girl”.

Google “Doughnut Dollies” and click on Images.  Doughnut Dollies Served doughnuts right up until the Vietnam War.

Soon, these workers became known by the servicemen as “Doughnut Dollies”.

                       When receiving your free doughnut today, remember the true meaning of why you are receiving this today.

Enjoy!!!

Bill Nickerson~~Doughnut Connoisseur as well as Mortgage Professional

Bill Nickerson NMLS#4194

 

Veterans Day: It isn’t Just a Holiday

Veterans Day 2013                                                                  Honoring Those Who Served

Veterans Day gives Americans the opportunity to celebrate the bravery and sacrifice of all U.S. veterans. However, most Americans confuse this holiday with Memorial Day, reports the Department of Veterans Affairs.  What’s more, some Americans don’t know why we commemorate our Veterans on Nov.11. It’s imperative that all Americans know the history of Veterans Day so that we can honor our former service members properly.

As each year passes, we lose more men and women who remember and understand what it was like to be at war…fighting for their lives, for democracy and freedom. And unfortunately as time goes by, the younger generations become more and more removed from what Veterans Day is all about and why we recognize it. It is our job as to citizens of this great country to keep the meaning alive.

Please take a moment to tell your children and grandchildren why it’s important that we stop and remember.  Remind them that we are safe and free because of those who fought and died AND because of those who fought and lived.  While November 12th is a holiday for many, and that means sleeping in or shopping or hanging out with friends, it’s also a day of importance and reflection.  Even if you don’t attend a ceremony or observe the minute of silence, please just stop and take a moment to appreciate the freedoms we have and the sacrifices that have been made by our service members and  their families.

And when you get the chance, thank a veteran!

Happy Veterans day!  From Bill Nickerson

Bill@billnickerson.com      978-273-3227

Pumpkin Patches and More

I love autumn in New England!  The colors, the apple picking, Halloween and the pumpkin carving.  I’ve included some information on how to make your carved pumpkin last longer.  Also check out this link, Pumpkin Patches & More, for great local pumpkin patches, recipes and the history of Halloween.

How to Preserve Your Carved Pumpkin to Make It Last Longer!

A little simple Halloween magic with household items will make your Jack O’ Lantern last a week longer!

Did you carve a great pumpkin last year only to have it rot days before Halloween? Here’s how to preserve and protect it!

What causes the pumpkin to decay?

There are several primary causes heartbreak of “pumpkin rot”

• The intact skin of a pumpkin protects it until you carve it.  But then various organisms (fungi, bacteria, molds, fungi, protozoans, insects – scientifically know as “those little buggers!”) can get inside and start to break it down.
• Oxygen in the air can also easily enter and break down the pumpkin (oxidation).
• Simple dehydration (drying out) will will begin the moment the pumpkin is carved.

All of this will turn your carved young happy pumpkin face into a sad old man in several days time!

How to stop pumpkin aging:

Get Dad’s Rogaine and Mom’s Botox…. no, just kidding!  What we need to do is

• Sterilize the pumpkin’s carved surfaces (to kill fungi, mold, bacteria, bugs)
• Seal the surfaces to prevent drying and to keep out new “little buggers” and reduce drying

Essentially, we’re going to embalm your Jack O’ Lantern, just like the ancient Egyptians did their mummies! (Hey, maybe they practiced on pumpkins!)

Here are the simple steps:

1. Make a bleach solution of1 tablespoon of bleach (typical brand name “Clorox) per quart of water and put it in a spray bottle.
2. Remove dirt: Wipe the exterior surfaces of the pumpkin clean using a damp cloth.
3. Spray the pumpkin inside and all cut areas of the pumpkin with the solution.  This will kill much of the surface bacteria and mold that cause rotting.
4. Let it penetrate and dry for about 20 minutes
5. Next, rub all of the carved or cut surfaces with petroleum jelly. This will keep out new bacteria and molds as well as dramatically reduce the dehydration!
6. Wipe away excess with a paper towel!
7. Now, keep your pumpkin out of direct sunlight and try to keep it as cool as possible (but above freezing!) and you should get at least a week’s enjoyment out of it! Then when it’s time to go, you can employ several thousand laborers to build a giant pyramid in your backyard to entomb your Jack O’Mummy!

College 101: Dorm Room Essentials Checklist

Well, I’m not at this stage of the game yet with my three kids still being under 7 but I do know many who are sending kids off to college right now.  Whether your kids are going into grade school or heading off to college, getting ready for the school year is very busy and sometimes stressful.  For those of you sending kids off to college, I have provided a helpful checklist of items that your college bound kid may need.  Please feel free to print it off for your personal use…and remember, it may not be a complete list depending on the needs of your student.  I wish you all a safe and stress-free transition into this school year!  Best of luck to all the kids heading back to school!

Dorm Room Essentials Checklist

Please contact me for questions regarding home financing or information about the economy.         Bill@billnickerson.com             978-273-3227   

My Personal Passion: The Pan Mass Challenge

Bill Nickerson

In 11 days I will be riding in my 9th PMC, raising funds for The Dana Farber/Jimmy fund.  I’m very excited to have the opportunity to once again ride for a great cause!  Please help me, help them by donating to my ride this year.  Click the link to Donate to Bill’s ride.  Thank you for helping to make a difference!  Ride On Baby!!

To learn more about this great cause, I have enclosed some basic information about the Pan Mass Challenge.  Please see below.

About the PMC:
The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge is an annual bike-a-thon and a pioneer of the athletic fundraising industry that today raises more money for charity than any other single event in the country. The organization was founded in 1980 and has since raised $338 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. The PMC is a model of fundraising efficiency. The PMC donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the cause. In 2011, the PMC generated 60 percent of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue and it was Dana-Farber’s single largest contributor. Over 230,000 individual contributions were made to last year’s fundraising campaign. In 2012, PMC cyclists will ride with the goal of raising $36 million for Dana-Farber.

Click to Donate

The Ride:
The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge is a fully supported bike-a-thon — with food and water stops, mechanical and medical assistance, luggage transportation, and lodging — that runs through 46 towns across Massachusetts. Approximately 5,500 cyclists ride in the event. Cyclists choose from 11 routes of varying mileage designed to cater to all levels of cycling strength and fundraising ability. There are six two-day routes that range from 153 to 190 miles and five one-day rides that range from 25 to 110 miles. In 2012, cyclists are required to raise between $500 and $4,300 to ride in the PMC, depending on the chosen route.

When:
The 33nd annual PMC is Aug. 4 and 5, 2012. The ride has two starting lines on Saturday, Aug. 4, in Sturbridge and in Wellesley, and five finish lines in Provincetown (2), Bourne, Wellesley or Sharon on Saturday, Aug. 4 or Sunday, Aug. 5.

Bill Nickerson

Who:
Cyclists travel from 36 states and eight countries to ride in the PMC. Nearly 300 riders are cancer survivors or current patients. Some PMC cyclists are weekend warriors, others are trained triathletes. Most PMC participants ride in honor of a family member or friend fighting the disease. Cyclists range in age from 13 to 88. The average PMC cyclist is 45 years old, trains for three months, solicits 40 sponsors, and raises more than $6,000. During PMC weekend and throughout the year, more than 3,000 volunteers donate their time and 200 corporations provide over $4 million in products and services. The PMC was founded in 1980 by Billy Starr, who remains the event’s executive director, an annual cyclist and a fundraiser. It is presented by the Red Sox Foundation and New Balance.

YEARS RIDERS VOLUNTEERS DONATION
1980 – 1989 4,968 1,778 $3,665,800
1990 – 1999 16,668 11,921 $38,750,000
2000 – 2009 39,972 22,575 $227,200,000
32 Year Total 71,955 42,244 $338,000,000
2012 GOAL $36,000,000

Memorial Day, The True Meaning

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance of those who have died serving our country.  General John Alexander Logan ordered the Memorial Day holiday to be observed by decorating the war dead.  The day became known as “Decoration Day” because of the practice of decorating soldier’s graves with flowers. In 1971, Memorial day was declared a federal holiday.  We observe this day with families and friends by visiting cemeteries and memorials to pay homage to their loved ones.

Memorial Day was born out of the Civil War and was to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

Red Poppies

In 1915, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem:  She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms. Michael. When she returned to France she made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children’s League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help.

Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their “Buddy” Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms. Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.

Please remember why we have the Freedom to enjoy our Family, our Friends and this Wonderful Place we call The United States of America.

God Bless the Men and Women who Serve and who have served our Country

Bill Nickerson