Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Lexington Bicentennial Band Winter Concert



WHEN: Sunday January 29, 2017
TIME: 3:00 PM until 4:30 PM
WHERE: Lexington High School – Donald J. Gillespie, Jr. Auditorium 

This concert is free and open to the public, with donations always welcome.  The Lexington High School auditorium is located at 251 Waltham Street in Lexington, MA 02421 and is handicapped accessible.  For more information, call 781-862-8473 or visit our web page at the link below. 


Past Events
Take a look back at the LBB's past performances.
Watch the world premiere of "Seeds of Revolution"! (It starts at minute 31.)

Join the Band!
If you are a musician and would like to join, contact Jeff Leonard for details. You can get an idea of kind of music the LBB performs by looking at the repertoire.
The LBB is looking for strong players in the double-reed, french horn, and trumpet sections. The LBB does not have any openings in the clarinet, flute, or sax sections.


Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Lexington Farmers' Market in Winter!


It’s that time of year again: get ready for the SMALL YET MIGHTY WINTER MARKET!
The LFM is excited to partner with the Waldorf School of Lexington, the new location of the Winter Market, with some of your favorite farmers and vendors from the LFM’s regular season. In addition, the Waldorf School will be holding a pop-up shop at each market, featuring handcrafted items, books and toys

FARMERS AND VENDORS:
C & C Lobster and Fish
Copicut Farms (poultry, pork and eggs)
Deano’s Pasta
Del Sur (empanadas)
Herb Farmacy (starting January 21)
River Rock Farms (beef)
Roasted Granola
Still Life Farm
Swiss Bakers
Waldorf School Homespun Store

WHEN:
Saturdays from 11 am – 2 pm
January 7 and 21
February 4 and 18
March 4 and 18

WHERE:
The Waldorf School in Lexington, 739 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington.
The entrance to the market will be around back; parking is available on Mass Ave, in the Waldorf School parking areas and across the street from Follen Church
For more information on participating farmers and vendors, learn more at “Farmers/Vendors” on this website

**IMPORTANT: the LFM will not be matching SNAP dollars at the Winter Market for the time being due to administrative changes. We will update you when the SNAP matching program is back up and running, and apologize for the inconvenience.

Important notice: Sometimes farmers and vendors have last minute changes and cannot come to the market. We cannot update this website on the go, but please check out our facebook page for UP TO THE MINUTE notices and market changes!



Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Family Bingo Night





Event Date: 
 
Friday, January 20, 2017 - 
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Bring your friends and family over to the Community Center for another great night of BINGO.  Entrance fee includes all your playing needs, some light refreshments and snacks, and goes toward prizes during the evening.  Walk-ins are welcome, but pre-registration is required to be guaranteed participation in this fun, family event.

For more information

Phone:
781-698-4870

Friday, January 6, 2017

Make 2017 The Year You Buy A Lexington Home!

Buying a Lexington home is a smart financial decision
Are you considering buying a Lexington home this year? As your Lexington real estate agent, I’m here to share that this is a smart move for numerous reasons! Make 2017 the year that you buy your first home in the Lexington real estate market and begin building wealth for your future.

To prove that homeownership in Lexington is a smart idea, self-made millionaire David Bach recently explained that the best way millennials can accrue wealth is to become homeowners. He stated that purchasing a home is “an escalator to wealth.”

Why is this? Say you rent at $1,500 for 30 years. You’ll pay $540,000 over time, enough to buy yourself a gorgeous home! In the end, you end up with no equity. As a homeowner, you purchase a home and pay mortgage payments. In the end, you’ll either own a home, a financial asset, or you’ll sell the home and get money back. Hopefully, you’ll end up with more than you paid!

As Realtor Magazine recently shared, more equity is likely coming to owners. Home prices nationwide rose year-over-year by 7.1 percent from November 2015 to November 2016! More price jumps are expected, experts say, though at a more modest pace. They predict that prices will increase another 4.7 percent by November 2017.

This means that the sooner you buy a Lexington home, the more you’ll likely save on the price. Mortgage rates are on the rise too, so you could save on rates by purchasing sooner than later as well. Plus, with equity on the rise, you might be able to sell your Lexington home for more than you paid, even if you don’t plan on living in it forever.

If you have questions about the current Lexington real estate market, or questions about the home-buying process, contact me! I am always here and ready to help answer your questions, and to help you find the perfect home for your needs. As a Lexington real estate agent, I am only a call or email away!

Don’t let 2017 be the year of real estate opportunity that you let pass by. Contact me today!

Theresa D'Antuono

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Do You Have What it Takes to Buy a New Lexington Home?

You’re ready to buy your first Lexington home! But before you begin your new home hunt in earnest, it’s helpful to know exactly what you need for a purchase. Do you have it all, or are you missing something that could throw a wrench in your dream of owning a Lexington home?

After all, you can’t just slap down a credit card to buy a house, particularly if you need a mortgage—your lender will want to check your financial background to size up whether you can afford the place you’re eyeing. That means you’ll have to round up some paperwork as proof.
So here’s a handy checklist of what you’ll need to sail through this process without a hitch.

Tax returns
To ensure you have the income history to buy a house, most lenders will ask for two years’ worth of tax returns, two years of W-2s, or both. This is definitely the case for freelancers and self-employed borrowers, but full-time employees may be asked for all of this paperwork as well. Your lender may even retrieve your tax returns themselves straight from the IRS  (with your written permission, of course), since this cuts down on potential fraud. Still, it’s a good idea to get those documents in order just in case.

Pay stubs
Tax returns won’t be where your proof of income ends. You will also need to rustle up copies of your past two months of pay stubs, according to Martha Witte, vice president of FM Home Loans. If you’re self-employed or freelancing, things get a bit more complicated.
 “Most of the time, contract employees receive a 1099 and file a Schedule C on their personal returns. In this instance, we would take a two-year average of the Schedule C income,” Witte says.
Also be prepared to show a projected balance sheet, detailing what you’ve earned this year and what you plan to earn in the coming months.
“It doesn’t need to be fancy, but it should ideally support that you are on track to have consistent income in the current year, when compared to other years,” Witte says.

Financial statements
You will also need to show two months of asset statements—think your checking and savings accounts. This one is a biggie because your lender will use these statements to prove you have enough money available to buy a home and then some.
“You will need liquid funds available for the down payment and to cover closing costs. You will also need reserves after closing, which means you can’t be left with $0 once you buy the home,” Witte says. While the reserve amounts vary, two to four months of reserves is enough for most conventional loans, she says.

Getting a down payment gift?
Finally, if you’re planning on getting a portion of your down payment as a gift (you lucky dog, you), plan on getting some documentation from the gift-givers, like copies of their checking or savings account monthly statements. “We need to also verify the donor’s ability to give the gift,” Witte says.
When in doubt, follow this simple rule of thumb from Witte: “Follow the rule of twos,” meaning you’ll need a two-year snapshot of your income and finances.

Good Luck in your Lexington home search and Happy New Year!