March 18, 2010
Despite a slow market and a slight decrease in the resale value of most remodeling projects, Realtors ® report that the smartest home improvement investments may also be some of the least expensive. Results from the 2009 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report show that small-scale exterior projects are the most profitable at resale, according to estimates by Realtors ® who completed a recent survey. On a national level, eight out of the top 10 projects in terms of costs recouped were exterior replacement projects that cost less than $14,000. Certain types of door and siding replacements, as well as wood deck additions all returned more than 80 percent of project costs upon resale. A steel entry door replacement, a new addition to this year’s list, recouped 128.9 percent of costs, followed by upscale fiber-cement sliding replacements at 83.6 percent. Wood deck additions recouped 80.6 percent of costs. “Once again, this year’s Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report highlights the importance of a home’s first impression,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz.
Source: National Association of Realtors
Posted in Around The House, Real Estate 
No Comments »
March 17, 2010
Commercial buildings with green certification rent for an average of 3 percent more per square foot, according to a study by John M. Quigley, a professor of economics and real estate at the University of California, Berkeley. Other studies come to similar findings. The study further concludes that because of higher occupancy rates in green buildings, the effective rent premium is about 6 percent per square foot. And it says green buildings also command a higher sales price, in part because they use 10 percent less energy. The study doesn’t consider the additional costs of building green buildings nor whether location plays a role.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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March 16, 2010
The Internal Revenue Service has clarified which documentation taxpayers need to submit to claim the first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit. While the IRS is still requiring the filing of Form 5405, it is not demanding that all parties’ signatures be on the HUD-1 settlement document in areas where requiring both the buyer and the seller to sign the document isn’t common. The IRS clarification says: "In areas where signatures are not required on the settlement document, the IRS has clarified that it will accept a settlement statement if it is completed and valid according to local law. … The IRS encourages those buyers to sign the settlement statement prior to attaching it to the tax return.” For repeat buyers, the IRS is seeking documentation that home buyers have lived in the previous property for a consecutive five of the past eight years. Proof can include property tax records, home owner insurance records, or interest statements.
Source: Washington Post
Posted in Around The House, Taxes No Comments »
March 15, 2010
The Mortgage Bankers Association is seeing signs that the foreclosure crisis is ending. “The continued and sizable drop in the 30-day delinquency rate is a concrete sign that the end may be in sight,” says Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist, in a published statement. Brinkmann said that normally there is a large spike in short-term delinquencies at the end of the year because of high heating bills and holiday expenditures. This year, there was not only no spike, but the 30-day delinquency rate actually fell from 3.79 percent to 3.63 percent. Thirty-day delinquencies have historically been a leading indicator of serious delinquencies and foreclosures, Brinkmann said. “[This] gives us growing confidence that the size of the problem now is about as bad as it will get,” he said.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
Posted in Lending, Real Estate No Comments »
March 14, 2010
What Do We See In The Shadows? The economy is on the road to financial recovery. It will be a long and hard road, but we are on our way. There are many obstacles that could cause us to break down on this road. None is more important than the concept of "shadow inventory." What is that? These are homes which the banks are not foreclosing upon because they are trying to work out solutions with present homeowners or frankly they don’t want to flood the markets all at once and depress prices. How many homes are casting a shadow over the markets? Projections vary, but suffice to say that there are several million homes that will be foreclosed upon in the next two years. That is a lot of homes. It is also good news that at least one forecaster says that investor demand is so strong that home prices will not be affected by these homes coming upon the markets.
We keep saying this and it bears repeating. Real estate led us into recession and it must lead us into recovery. There are many factors that can help "soak" up shadow inventory. The weak dollar is increasing demand from foreign investors. The tax credit is bringing more first time buyers into the market and now move-up buyers as well. Low rates are keeping homes affordable, especially when compared to renting in many markets. Government efforts at modifications are also expected to keep many in their homes. Even builders are helping by bringing less homes to the market. Not one of these is by itself enough to absorb several million homes. But if we put all these factors together, it very well may happen as the John Burns Real Estate Consulting Company indicates. Keep in mind that all the while the population of this Nation is rising. This means that sometime in the future, there will be growth in the real estate market and our economy. In the meantime, we will navigate the long and winding road.
source: Dave Hershman
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March 13, 2010
1. Money isn’t made out of paper, it’s made out of cotton.
2. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.
3. The dot over the letter I is called a "tittle".
4. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and
down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.
5. Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.
6. 40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
7. 315 entries in Webster’s 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
8. The ’spot’ on 7-UP comes from its inventor, who had red eyes. He was albino.
9. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents, daily.
10. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.
11. Chocolate affects a dog’s heart and nervous system; a few ounces
will kill a small sized dog.
12. Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the
shark’s stom ach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.
13. Most lipstick contains fish scales (eeww).
14. Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn’t wear pants.
15. Ketchup was sold in the 1830’s as medicine.
16. Upper and lower case letters are named ‘upper’ and ‘lower’
because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual
letters, the ‘upper case’ letters were stored in the case on top of
the case that stored the smaller, ‘lower case’ letters.
17. Leonardo Da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the
other at the same time … hence, multi-tasking was invented.)
18. Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War
II were made of wood.
19. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
20. The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan; there was
never a recorded Wendy before!
21. There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and silver!
22. Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years
to paint Mona Lisa’s lips.
23. A tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go
mad and sting itself to death.
24. The mask used by Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" was a
Captain Kirk mask painted white.
25. If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you
have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without
being able to make change for a dollar (good to know.)
26. By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can’t sink
in quicksand (and you thought this list was completely useless.)
27. The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English
law,which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider
than your thumb (sign of a true civilized society … not.)
28. The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player
for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market
was the Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.
29. Celery has negative calories! It takes more calories to eat a
piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. It’s the
same with apples! (Guess what I’m buying on my next trip to the grocery store?)
30. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying!
31. The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
32. Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most
often stolen from Public Libraries.
33. Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space
because passing wind in a space suit damages it (families taking long
car trips should adopt this same policy.)
Posted in Fun Stuff - Cartoons, Loretta's Line, Things of Interest, Trivia No Comments »
March 12, 2010
Daylight Saving Time
(Not Daylight "Savings" Time)
Daylight Saving Time Extended by Four Weeks in U.S. Starting in 2007
Whether "Spring forward" or "Fall back," we change our clocks one hour ahead or behind twice each year, thanks to Daylight Saving Time.
On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States.
Every Spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each Fall we move our clocks back one hour and "gain" an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an "s") wasn’t just created to confuse our schedules.
The phrase "Spring forward, Fall back" helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. At 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of Standard Time ("Spring forward"). We "Fall back" at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to Standard Time.
The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the eight-month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones4 in the U.S. change as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth.
Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I6 in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II,7 states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time.
Daylight Saving Time is four weeks longer since 2007 due to the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The Act extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, with the hope that it would save 10,000 barrels of oil each day through reduced use of power by businesses during daylight hours. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to determine energy savings from Daylight Saving Time and based on a variety of factors, it is possible that little or no energy is saved by Daylight Saving Time.
Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time. This choice does make sense for the areas closer to the equator because the days are more consistent in length throughout the year.
Daylight Saving Time Around the World
Other parts of the world observe Daylight Saving Time as well. While European nations have been taking advantage of the time change for decades, in 1996 the European Union (EU) standardized a EU-wide European Summer Time. This EU version of Daylight Saving Time runs from the last Sunday in March through the last Sunday in October.
In the southern hemisphere, where Summer comes in December, Daylight Saving Time is observed from October to March. Equatorial and tropical countries (lower latitudes) don’t observe Daylight Saving Time since the daylight hours are similar during every season; so there’s no advantage to moving clocks forward during the Summer.
Kyrgyzstan is the only country that observes year-round Daylight Saving Time. The country has been doing so since 2005.
By Matt Rosenberg, About.com Guide
Posted in Around The House, Energy Saving, Helpful Hints, Things of Interest No Comments »
March 11, 2010
1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn’t much, but the reception was excellent..
2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I’ll serve you, but don’t start anything."
3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.
4. A dyslexic man walked into a bra.
5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."
6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"
7. "Doc, I can’t stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home." "That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome." "Is it common?" "Well, It’s Not Unusual."
8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning." "I don’t believe you," says Dolly. "It’s true; no bull!" exclaims Daisy.
9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.
10. Deja Moo: The feeling that you’ve heard this bull before.
11. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn’t find any.
12.. A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can’t feel my legs!" The doctor replied, "I know, I amputated your arms!"
13. I went to a seafood disco last week…. and pulled a mussel.
14. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
15. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, "Dam!"
16. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Not surprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.
17. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office, and askedthem to disperse."But why," they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said. "I can’t stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
18. A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt , and is named ‘Ahmal.’ The other goes to afamily in Spain; they name him ‘Juan’ Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal."
19. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (oh, man, this is so bad, it’s good) … a super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
20. A dwarf, who was a mystic, escaped from jail. The call went out that there was a small medium at large.
21. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
Posted in Jokes, Loretta's Line No Comments »
March 10, 2010
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken
breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup red peppers, coarsely chopped
1 cup baby carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup snow peas
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fat free Catalina salad dressing
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce or soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Serve Over
2 cups brown rice, cooked
Cook chicken in hot oil in large skillet on high heat for 3 minutes, stirring consistently
Stir in vegetables and garlic and continue to stir for 5 to 6 minutes or until chicken is slightly browned.
Add in remaining ingredients and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender, stiring occasionally.
Posted in Favorite Recipes No Comments »
March 9, 2010
A recent report shows that one in five U.S. homeowners owed more on their mortgage than their home was worth in the fourth quarter; however, California’s housing market is bucking the national trend and is telling a different story.
Although the report by Zillow.com claims that the percentage of American single-family homes with mortgages in negative equity rose in the fourth quarter, the report does not account for seasonal changes. The traditional home-buying season is April through August. Historically, this time period also is when median home prices rise. In September, median home prices generally show a declining trend, and remain steady from November through February. The change in the median home price noted by Zillow.com is a typical year-end seasonality adjustment in price.
Unlike the national median home price, the month-over-month changes in California’s median home price for 2009 were stronger than the long-run average. Low interest rates and tax incentives led to a rise in the demand for housing. As a result, housing inventory was constrained and created upward pressure on home prices.
California’s housing market has shown signs of stabilization since early last year. Sales of existing, single-family homes bottomed out in August 2007, and the median home price reached its trough in February 2009. In December, California’s median home price was 25.1 percent above the low for the current cycle.
In December, the median price of an existing, single-family home rose to $306,820, an 8.4 percent rise year-over-year, the second consecutive year-over-year increase, and the 10th consecutive month-over-month increase, according to C.A.R.’s December sales and price report.
Although home buyers should not focus solely on future home price appreciation, homeowners who purchase a median-priced house, live in their home for at least five years, and sell it at the then current median price, have averaged an annual rate of return of more than 11 percent, according to data collected by C.A.R. over the last 40 years.
source: Reuters
Posted in Real Estate No Comments »
Loving the San Diego Coast!
