Selected by urbantrekker

• 
  Home & Organizing

• The Easiest Valentines I've Seen

  KristinAppenbrink

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:36 pm

  I love sending cards—holiday cards, birthday cards, cards for no reason. But I generally leave Valentine's Day cards out of the mix, primarily because I'm still wiped out from sending holiday cards. (I actually made my cards for the first time this year. I was pretty excited with how they turned out, you can see a photo here.) But this year, I'm reconsidering because I was tipped off to the Virtual Valentines section of Red Stamp's site. There are six designs, and four different delivery options, two of which will cost you absolutely nothing. Here are the four options: A…

• Sebastian Foster Gallery

  HollyBecker

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:14 am

  Sebastian Foster is a contemporary art gallery based in Austin, Texas which happens to also have an online shop where you can view many original paintings and prints from a carefully curated group of emerging and established artists. More ways to bring affordable art into your home, yay! In addition to selling affordable originals, Sebastian Foster also operates a print making studio which allows them to offer archival quality print editions from artists like Amanda Blake, Amy Ruppel , Matte Stephens, and Leah Giberson. When you see prints like that ones shown above, do you often wonder how…

• Big Table by Bonaldo: Thoughts?

  HollyBecker

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:37 am

  I just love furniture, don't you? Especially a few statement makers.  That's why the moment I heard about the Big Table designed by Alain Gilles in Brussels for Bonaldo of Italy that was recently crowed with the Good Design award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. This award is one of the most prestigious, and oldest, design awards and as a result the Big Table shown below will become part of the permanent collection of the museum. So now that we know of all that, I ask you Real Simple readers, what do you think? Do you like it? Why? Not like it? Why?

• Curing the Malaise and Fighting Procrastination

  ErinDoland

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:18 am

  My friend Rebecca left a voicemail on my answering machine about 10 years ago that I will never forget: "Hi, Erin. This is Rebecca. I have the malaise and won't be able to make it to dinner tonight. Call me tomorrow after work. Bye." I was a bit disappointed that my friend was bailing on dinner for a fictional malady, but I was laughing so hard that I couldn't be too upset with her. Although a doctor would never diagnose the malaise, I knew exactly how Rebecca felt: Spent. Burned out. Lacking motivation. Not wanting to be near anyone. I'm thinking about the malaise because I'm pretty sure I…

• Keep Calm Gallery

  HollyBecker

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:28 am

  All you need is love! And a bunch of cool prints on your walls! The Keep Calm Gallery just introduced the work of London-based illustrator James Brown and his trio of hand printed designs for your home. Bags is a one color linocut which is nice for your entryway, Absence is a limited edition (only 100) two color linocut that is signed and numbered which can be viewed in two different ways depending on how you want to see things - either "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" or when flipped upside down it reads, "Out of sight out of mind". Ha! Then there is With Love from…

• 
  Daily Tip

• New Solutions to Common Beauty Problems

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:11 pm

  Dull hair? Wimpy lashes? Wrinkles? Try these breakthrough products.

• 
  Cyburbia Forums | Urban Planning Community

• Lincoln, NE: Planner I

  rjain5

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:15 pm

  PLANNER I (Req.#10-0010-CI-1) (1-opening) Planning/Long Range Planning - City - 11-03 (2110:2); Annual Salary Range: $45,601 - $60,823; FULL TIME; M - F; 8:00am - 4:30pm. This position will provide professional planning support in the Department's Long Range Planning Division. This position assists in developing and implementing the City-County Comprehensive Plan; formulates subarea plans for neighborhoods and employment centers; prepares summary reports monitoring local demographic, economic, and environment trends; reviews development applications and land use proposals; and oversees the…

• Raleigh, NC - Bicycle & Ped /Transportation Planner

  Planit

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:59 am

  Bicycle & Pedestrian / Transportation Planner Multi-modal transportation planning with a focus on bicycle and pedestrian planning. Multidisciplinary position requires a highly organized candidate capable of contributing to planning and design of multi-modal transportation projects throughout North Carolina. Successful candidate will have experience in the preparation of current bicycle and pedestrian practice and design solutions, public involvement, web-based outreach technologies, corridor feasibility analysis, GIS analysis and mapping and agency coordination. Experience with local,…

• Advice for the FEMA 8 Step planning process

  gicarto

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:25 am

  I am working on an environmental review for a project located in a floodplain. I have done extensive searches about the FEMA 8 step planning process so I could get some better guidance than the simplified process explanation on the FEMA website. Has anyone worked with the FEMA 8 step before? After I publish the first notice, do I have to go through all of the steps if there are no comments?

• NC Superstreets and other solutions to left turns.

  Tide

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:18 am

  http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruc...reet/Overview/ http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruc...y/Superstreet/ "The Superstreet concept refers to a reconfiguration of a traditional intersection. Simply put, it is a method to safely and efficiently manage high traffic volumes at intersections with multiple approaches along a divided highway. The primary Superstreet concept functions by redirecting through and left turning traffic from the side street approach to turn right, proceed to the nearby U-turn and then return to its original course. At first, this may seem to be a complex solution…

• Sleep positions snoring and other sleep-related issues

  Maister

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:29 am

  There's an olde saying 'a rich man sleeps on his stomach, a king on his back, and a wise man on his side'. I recently experienced some back pain and I gotta say my favorite sleep position is whichever one doesn't hurt like h*ll!. When I'm not experiencing backaches I tend to sleep on alternating sides (the so-called 'log' position), but according to various SO's over the years am told I occasionally sleep on my back as well (and consequently rattle the windows with snoring). Pop psychologists seem to have taken an interest in this whole sleep postion business and have found the following…

• 
  Archinect.com Feed

• Zaha Hadid�s Petroleum Research Center (Ironically) Aims For LEED Platinum

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:38 am

  It may seem ironic, but even petroleum research centers can be LEED certified if they meet the critieria. Case in point:�the King Abudullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC for short), designed by Zaha Hadid, is aiming for LEED Platinum. Set to be built in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the state of the art campus will house research and development facilities on energy and environmental exploration and analysis. KAPSARC�s main building is a crystalline structure composed of modular six-sided cells with many connections between them, as well as a series of shaded outdoor spaces,…

• Huge Church Project Renews Downtown, and Debate

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:01 am

  In downtown Salt Lake City, the Mormon church is undertaking a massive commercial re-development project. "'There will be no evidence of the church within those blocks,' said H. David Burton, a former corporate executive who oversees the church�s business interests as the presiding bishop. Mr. Burton said the civic spaces inside City Creek would be private property, but 'with all the attributes of a public venue.' The next step in a creeping theocracy in Utah? Via the NYT.

• Professor builds case for Barbie as architect

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:43 am

  Over the years, Barbie has been an astronaut, a nurse, the president of the United States and a police officer, among more than 120 careers. But she�s never been an architect, and a University at Buffalo architecture professor wants to change that. Buffalo News

• Burj Khalifa closed indefinitely

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:37 am

  Only a month after it's hyped opening, the Burj Khalifa (formerly known as the Burj Dubai), has been shut off from the public, apparently due to electrical problems. Sounds familiar | Guardian

• Featured Jobs Today: in New York and Long Beach CA

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am

  KLINGMANN Architects & Brand Consultants seeking Architectural Designer in New York, NY Anonymous seeking Interior Designer in Long Beach, CA Joel Sanders Architect seeking Senior Architect & Architect in New York, NY View thousands of active job listings in our jobs section | Post a Job

• 
  BD Latest News

• Architects called on to enter Grand Design Awards 2010

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:04 am

  The deadline is looming for this year’s Grand Design Awards which will be hosted by TV presenter Kevin McCloud.

• Architects called on to enter Grand Design Awards 2010

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:04 am

  The deadline is looming for this year’s Grand Design Awards which will be hosted by TV presenter Kevin McCloud.

• Boyes Rees new Welsh laboratory opens

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:01 am

  A £6 million laboratory building designed by Boyes Rees Architects has opened at Glamorgan University.

• Boyes Rees new Welsh laboratory opens

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:01 am

  A £6 million laboratory building designed by Boyes Rees Architects has opened at Glamorgan University.

• Turley Associates to redevelop former home of the Chocolate Orange

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:50 am

  A scheme by masterplanner Turley Associates to turn the former home of the Terry’s Chocolate factory in York into a mixed-use scheme has been given the green light by city planners – despite Cabe objections.

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  Topix: Business Architecture

• Beer, wastewater on Berlin's agenda

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:01 am

  The mayor and council are expected to approve a proposal from an engineering firm to start work on the design of the town's new wastewater spray site.

• Loma Linda ready to build "quiet zones" near railroad crossings

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:40 pm

  Years of unwelcome train noise are about to end for residents on the eastern side of town.

• Mitigation fees: Is this any way to plan a budget?

  6 Feb 2010 | 11:33 pm

  Mitigation fees paid by hazardous waste businesses and a landfill facility in Tooele County were up this year by 18 percent.

• Baptist Medical Center South Tower D is complete

  5 Feb 2010 | 11:12 pm

  The Haskell Company recently completed a major addition to Baptist Medical Center South.

• Anthony Ferruccio, P.E., GEC, Named Executive Vice President/Division ...

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:03 pm

  MACTEC Development Corporation has named Anthony "Tony" Ferruccio, P.E., GEC, Executive Vice President/Division Manager.

• 
  Architectural Digest

• Famous Houses Around the World

  AD

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  (Slide Show) Our Exclusive Look at Homes from Across the Globe United by Architectural Merit and Noteworthy Inhabitants

• Transparent Furniture

  AD

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  (Slide Show) AD editors present their favorite see-through furniture from designers Philippe Starck, Geoffrey Bradfield, Jennifer Post and more.

• AD 100 Tips

  AD

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  (Slide Show) Our Ongoing Section Featuring Words of Advice From Today’s Top Designers and Architects

• Viewers Vote

  AD

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Fabric Use

• Accessorizing Low Tables

  AD

  31 Dec 2009 | 9:00 pm

  (Slide Show) A gallery of the various styles and objects—from books and decorative trays to sculpture and everything in between—used when accessorizing this living room staple.

• 
  RAOL headlines

• an epa q and a on lead paint

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

• lead on arrival

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

• the disaster-proof house

  3 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

• news from surfaces 2010

  3 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

• new book on florida modern architects

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

• 
  INHABITAT

• Corky Mouse Generates Kinetic Energy With Every Click

  Mike Chino

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:01 pm

  Portable wireless mice have a problem: most of them rely upon disposable batteries, which often wind up in landfills as e-waste. Adele Peters’ Corky mouse aims to change all that — it’s a kinetic energy-harvesting mouse that is powered with a flick of the wrist. One of 18 finalists in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition, it’s also made from 100% recycled plastic components and recycled and biodegradable cork. Read the rest of Corky Mouse Generates Kinetic Energy With Every Click Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: cork, corky mouse, green…

• Solar Building Skin Turns Sydney’s Ugliest Tower into an Eco-marvel

  Jorge Chapa

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:55 am

  Sydney’s ugliest building may soon be getting a new lease on life through to a plan to ‘reskin’ the entire tower with a high-performance photovoltaic skin. Architecture firm Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has proposed the retrofit, and if their plan is enacted it would turn the 1960’s brutalist building into a brilliant super-efficient eco-tower. Read the rest of Solar Building Skin Turns Sydney’s Ugliest Tower into an Eco-marvel Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: eco design, green design, LAVA architecture, photovoltaics, rainwater,…

• World’s Smallest Solar-Powered Sensor Could Run Forever

  Ariel Schwartz

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:35 am

  It’s easy enough to find a solar-powered charger for iPods, cell phones, and other gadgets, but this ultra-tiny solar-powered sensor system is smaller than anything else on the market — 1,000 times smaller than standard systems, in fact. Developed at the University of Michigan, the 2.5 x 3.5 x 1 millimeter system is the smallest in the world, and it can harvest energy from its surroundings almost perpetually.Read the rest of World’s Smallest Solar-Powered Sensor Could Run Forever Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative energy, eco design, energy…

• Zaha Hadid’s Petroleum Research Center (Ironically) Aims For LEED Platinum

  Bridgette Meinhold

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:16 am

  It may seem ironic, but even petroleum research centers can be LEED certified if they meet the critieria. Case in point: the King Abudullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC for short), designed by Zaha Hadid, is aiming for LEED Platinum. To be built in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the state of the art campus will house research and development facilities on energy and environmental exploration and analysis. We take that to read studies on better ways of finding more petroleum (which is hardly a practice we consider to be green) but at least the building itself is striving to be…

• ReRev Makes Energy Generating Gyms a Reality

  Bridgette Meinhold

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:17 am

  Many of us have been to the gym and wondered why the exercise equipment isn’t hooked up to generate electricity and feed it back into the grid. At long last a company in Florida called ReRev has answered our calls, converting existing elliptical machines into sources of power. Now when you hit the gym, you can burn off those calories while creating some renewable energy for a carbon negative workout. Read the rest of ReRev Makes Energy Generating Gyms a Reality Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: elliptical machines, exercise, human generated power, human power, renewable…

• 
  Planetizen

• Canada Housing Prices Return to Pre-Recession Peak

  Cathy Duchamp

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm

  What housing slump? Canada's real estate recovery has been so fast, some analysts worry it signals a return to speculation. read more

• Americans Buying Less, Doing More

  Rebecca Sanborn Stone

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am

  Americans are starting to value experiences over things, according to a new poll. Nearly half of Americans report spending less time purchasing non-essential goods, while many are spending more time on friends, family, and hobbies. read more

• New High-Speed Rail in China

  Tim Halbur

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  A new 350kph train connecting Zhengzhou and Xi'an debuted Saturday, cutting a 6 hour train ride down to less than 2 hours. read more

• Complaints Grow Over Increasing "Ugliness" of Paris

  Tim Halbur

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  A press conference was held in Paris to draw attention to the problem of "increasingly large and unsympathetic buildings" cropping up around the City of Lights. read more

• Florida Amendment Could Shake Up Local Planning

  Nate Berg

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  Florida voters are facing an amendment this November that could dramatically reshape the way local planning occurs. read more

• 
  Green Building : Jetson Green

• BRIO54 Starts Efficient Home Prototype

  Preston Koerner

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:45 am

  BRIO54, a design-driven development firm, recently began construction on a prototype of their H4 design in Milford, Connecticut.  The firm took the H4 through extensive planning and fine tuning in order to construct something with style and a light environmental footprint.  The 2,264 square-foot, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom home should be quite energy efficient.  BRIO54's H4 prototype will be built with a tight envelope and R49 flooring, R26 walls, and R49 roofing.  The zebra finish shown is accomplished with alternating charcoal gray and arctic white Hardie Plank lap siding…

• Efficient Simple Modern Home for $150k

  Preston Koerner

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:24 pm

  Since we last mentioned his efficient home built for under $70,000, Caleb Schafer's been quite busy.  He has a new website for Simple Modern Homes with a number of new home designs.  He's also doing new work with new clients, and one home in particular looks interesting.  Referred to as CL24, the design is for a 2,000 square-foot green home in Canyon Lake, Texas.  What's most interesting, perhaps, is the fact that CL24 will come in below $150,000, including land, utilities, and septic.  It's Texas -- where land isn't necessarily scarce or expensive -- but we definitely like this…

• If It Doesn’t Perform, It’s Not Green!

  Preston Koerner

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:06 pm

  In a forthcoming keynote address to the Green Cities conference of the Green Building Council of Australia, green building guru Jerry Yudelson intends to tackle a important concern in the sustainable building world: performance.  His keynote, entitled “If it doesn’t perform, it’s not green,” is at the center of a hot button topic that seems to be taking on new fervor these days.  Yudelson, principal of green building consultancy Yudelson Associates, said in a press release, "The major focus of the green building movement has become the performance of green-rated and green-labeled…

• Waste Not with a Combo Sink Toilet

  Preston Koerner

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

  You’ve probably already seen this toilet and sink combination before.  It’s the W+W – short for washbasin and watercloset – from Roca.  The product, currently available overseas, reuses waste water from the sink in the discharge of the cistern, which helps it reduce water usage by up to 25% compared to a standard 6/3 liter dual-flush toilet. According to Plumbing Park, the system has two waste options. Once the basin is full of water, the user can either flush it down the main line or recycle it for use in the toilet. When the water is reused, it goes through a double filtration…

• Fly Ash Concerns, Greener Ways, Living Incentives, + 10 Million Solar Roofs

  Preston Koerner

  6 Feb 2010 | 10:54 pm

  Perspectives on sustainability. About the new 10 million solar roofs bill. NY panel suggests 100 ways buildings can be greener. EPA and DOE form State Energy Efficiency Action Network. Economy forces a holistic view of corporate responsibility. Seattle bends the rules for up to 12 living buildings. Los Angeles might require rainwater capture. Fly ash designation could be problematic. Also, follow @jetsongreen on Twitter or fan Jetson Green on Facebook for more news, links, and commentary.

• 
  TreeHugger

• Why Are So Many Paul Rudolph Buildings Being Torn Down?

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:15 am

  Bonnie Alter While out running in Sanibel Island, Florida, passing monster house after monster house, I came upon a small, lovely gem of modern architecture by the side of the road. It took about three seconds (google "small, modern, sanibel) to determine that it was the Walker Guest House by Paul Rudolph, a regular on TreeHugger. One of his first commissions, the 24' square house has lift-up panels connected to 77 pound round counterweights, giving it the nickname the "cannonball house." More to follow after I tour it on Friday, but it clearly shows all those things I love about Paul Rudolph…

• TreeHugger's Best of Green 2010: Now Calling for Nominations

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:03 am

  Do you know of a green person, product, company, event, or concept that deserves to be lauded for the positive environmental change it has enacted? Let us know! In TreeHugger's second annual Best of Green Awards, we're looking to bestow top honors on the people, places, and things that are helping move sustainability into the mainstream. Last year, we awarded more than 170 prizes across eight general themes. This year, we're asking for your help making some of the selections. Let us know who you think should be nominated for a Best of Green Award. Then we'll ask for your hel... Read the full…

• Batucada: Über Cool Home Accessories from Recycled Aluminum

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:45 am

  Photos: Courtesy of Jahara Studio. Made entirely from recycled aluminum and 100% recyclable at the end of their lifetime, these home accessories are the first creation of Jahara studio in Brazil. Their name, Batucada, refers to a percussion beat used in carnaval parties in that country, in which people often play instruments made of tin (hence the beaten aesthetics of the collection). More pieces and colors inside. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

• US Consumer Watchdog Says Shoo to Bamboo Textiles

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:25 am

  Photo: Warren McLaren / Inov8 Last week the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advised it had sent out letters to 78 US retailers advising them to stop labelling clothing as being made from 'bamboo.' Any company that fails to correct its advertising and labeling may find the FTC imposing penalties of up to $16,000 per violation, or as the FTC did last year suing four companies for falsely claiming that their clothing and other textile products were made of bamboo fibre. The Federal Trade Commission believe such claims are deceptive. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

• Ponoko Ships Ideas Instead of Objects Across the Atlantic

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:57 pm

  Ponoko CEO David Ten Have by Williams + Hirakawa, via Inc We have written so much about downloadable designs, about shipping ideas all over the world instead of stuff. It just keeps getting better, with more products and more options. That is why I love Ponoko so much; it is the first real demonstration of the concept. Now that they have added a hub in Europe, you can see the fir... Read the full story on TreeHugger

• 
  WebUrbanist

• Creative Shoes: 13 of the Wildest Shoe Designs and Brands

  Marc

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  [ By Marc in Architecture & Design, Various Uncategorized. ] While the majority of consumers are content to purchase the newest brand of name brand shoes, in the same color and style they always get, this doesn’t hold true for everyone. In our daily lives we only come across the occasional individual who truly works at expressing their personality via their shoes. Here are 13 groups of the wildest shoes you wouldn’t even see on the most outrageous free spirit: (Images via fashionvictim101, popgloss, twolia, hellishhumor) Fur coats are common, but fur shoes, not so much. In the…

• Winsome Words: 18 Examples of Typography in Web Design

  Steph

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  [ By Steph in Architecture & Design, Gadgets & Geek Art. ] “Web design is 95% typography.” That quote has been repeated around the internet so many times it has practically become gospel – probably because it’s true. While images are important, most of what we process while browsing the web is text. Using the same old boring fonts doesn’t make for exciting design, so some graphic artists have turned typography on the web into a stunning art form unto itself. These 18 websites use typography to inform, but also as an (often interactive) design element that’s like a magnet…

• Flip This Home! 10 Unbelievable Upside Down Houses

  Steve

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:26 am

  [ By Steve in Architecture & Design, Furniture & Interiors, Urban & Street Art. ] Upside down houses: they’re more common then you think… but why? Perhaps the artists and designers of these flipped out homes wanted to shake up the way we think of society’s most pressing need, shelter. Maybe they just wanted to stand out from the crowd. In that at least, they’ve succeeded. Sakasa Restaurant, Japan (image via: Nipponsoup) Real estate agencies just love the image of this upside down restaurant in Matsumoto city, Nagano prefecture, Japan – what better way…

• Even Robots Get the Blues: Photos by Markku Lahdesmaki

  Steph

  6 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  [ By Steph in Gadgets & Geek Art, Technology & Futurism, Urban Images. ] If you believe many of the fictional works depicting robots gaining sentience, someday these hunks of metal and wiring will begin to take over our world, eventually seeking to wipe out human civilization altogether. But could it be that they’ll just become an ordinary part of our world, going through the mundane motions of daily existence? Photographer Markku Lahdesmaki imagines rather retro-looking robots in sometimes humorous, sometimes melancholy situations partaking in human activities like talking on a…

• Primates: Humans in Their Natural Form [NSFW]

  Delana

  5 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  [ By Delana in Environment & Nature, Gadgets & Geek Art. ] Ruben Brulat hasn’t been a photographer long; the French artist picked up his first camera just two years ago. But since then, he’s been exploring what it means to be a human and how we interact with our environment. His series “Primates” places him – both as photographer and as subject – in inhospitable terrains to contrast the vulnerability of the human body with the stark roughness of nature. The photographs in the “Primate” series are all nudes, and they all feature the…

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  Art Deco Buildings

• Schine Theatre, Auburn

  David Thompson

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:22 pm

  The Schine Theatre (1938) in Auburn, NY was designed John Eberson, a specialist theater designer for the Schine Brothers as part of their extensive theatre chain.At Auburn, Eberson's design included comets and shooting stars and vivid colours which can still be seen in the doors and ticket box. The building ceased to be a cinema in 1979 and after various uses, finished up as a video store that closed in 1992.For several years it remained vacant and was purchased by the Cayuga County Arts Council in 1998. The Arts Council are working to restore the theatre and make it a viable arts and…

• A House on the Gold Links Estate, Camberwell

  David Thompson

  7 Feb 2010 | 12:45 am

  This house is on a large corner block on the Golf Links Estate in Camberwell. The property is surrounded by a low wall with regularly spaced piers topped with a simple stepped geometric form.This house also demostrates an interesting feature of the Golf Links Estate with a narrow flowerbed between the wall and the footpath bringing the private garden outside the property to the public space. In some streets this etra garden space is well used while in others it is a bit hit and miss with some owners extending the width of the footpath to fill-in the flowerbed.The house itself is rendered and…

• Bow House, London

  David Thompson

  6 Feb 2010 | 2:21 am

  In 2009 English Heritage listed Bow House, the former Poplar Town Hall, at Grade II level.At the time,the BBC website carried this story about the building and several others in Tower Hamlets that also received Grade II listing.The story quotes Ewart Culpin, who designed the building with his son, Clifford as saying the building was "the first town hall in this country to be erected in the modern style".Along the face of the canopy above the entrance there is a mosiac with four figures representing literacy and educational subjects such as art, reading and geography. The mosiac also includes…

• Rogano, Glasgow

  David Thompson

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:15 am

  Rogano is Glasgow's old surviving restaurant.Even on a cold, wet Scottish evening, when I took this photo, the class of its 1935 Art Deco frontage shines through.See my prints and t-shirts at www.redbubble.com/people/dct66 and tees and other giftware at www.zazzle.com/davidt66*.

• Planters @ Art Gallery & Museum, Castlemaine

  David Thompson

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:18 pm

  This is the Castlemane Art Gallery & Museum (1931) by Percy Meldrum. I've written about it before, so today I want to highlight the two large, clunky, concrete planter boxes that sit on the raised area in front of the gallery.They feature Australian animals that I'm sure you'll recognise.KoalasParrotsKangarooKookaburrasSee my prints and t-shirts at www.redbubble.com/people/dct66 and tees and other giftware at www.zazzle.com/davidt66*.

• 
  Freshome

• Megan Fox’s New Home in L.A. an Impressive $2,94 Million Mansion

  Lavinia

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:47 am

  Located in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, California, you are looking at Megan Fox’s latest real estate acquisition, this  impressive $2,94 million mansion. The place stretches 5,200 sq. ft. and houses 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a spa, a huge soaking tub and a giant outdoor pool. The furniture is a combination of old and new, with a lot of interesting details. We really took a liking in the piano room, with the wooden centered table, painting and the fireplace. Bedrooms are painted in white and each of them has at least one distinctive element:  a door with shelves, interesting…

• Beach Retreat for the Weekend: Beautiful 2 Bedroom Home in Malibu

  Lavinia

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:02 am

  This small, but stylish home is located on the California shores, close to the beach and is meant for weekend gateways. The exterior, a modest but great looking building, with a metal roof and countryside feel creates an impression on the interior as well.  Tall, white walls,  plank floors and open ceilings really do great in optimizing the space. Wood is preset everywhere, giving a rustic and classic touch. The two bedrooms feature king-size beds and spacious wardrobes. Comfortable and warm, this place is quite inviting.  Even though this house is situated in a green area, this does not…

• Beautiful and Fresh 81 Sq Meter Apartment in Sweden

  Lavinia

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:07 am

  With vivid colors, a strong appearance and stretching over a relatively small area, this apartment really stands out A funky, open floor plan connects the  kitchen and the  living room. There are two bedrooms, one of which features a double bed, a bedside table, huge windows and a practical wardrobe wall with sliding doors and mirrors which scores high in matters of storage space. The slightly smaller bedroom is similar: it also accommodates a double bed,  a desk and a  built-in spacious shelving system.The living-room is cozy and airy, colorful, perfect for socializing. There are also…

• Egg House, A Fantastic Circular Residence in Prague

  Lavinia

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:55 pm

  A69 is an architecture company from the Czech Republic. Contrary to a general belief, this house was not projected like this willingly. The site had many particular elements (a garden that needed to be preserved, an old building that was used as an adjacent support for the contemporary one) which made the development of the architecture plans rather tricky.  However, the final results are stunning: a circular home built around a garden, which is also a space for relaxation. A roof garden is a particular feature of this house, which comes to increase its aesthetic value. Large windows are…

• The Inflatable Blow Sofa by Malafo

  Michael

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:15 am

  Showcased at [D3] Design Talents during imm cologne 2010, the “Blow Sofa” by Malafor is a simple yet functional unit that lets you carry and use your furniture anywhere, anytime with minimum fuss. The size of the sofa when fully inflated is 180 cm in width and 90cm in height. Made of 100% recycled dunnage paper bags blown up and connected to a metal frame with rubber bands, the Blow Sofa is certainly an innovative take on living room seating, but it is something you could live with? To be honest I don’t think that a lot of people will love this idea, but let’s see what do you…

• 
  New Urbanism Blog

• An Open Letter to President Obama and Congress

  admin

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:42 pm

  While the country staggers towards economic stability, the design professions are feeling their worst economic times since the Great Depression. Depending on the region of the country, the unemployment and underemployment rate for design professionals is anywhere from 20% to 50%. I feel this daily as President of the Kansas City chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and as an owner of a small architecture / planning firm.What I hope to convey to you in this note is not just the seriousness of our situation, but how you can help at the Federal level while achieving your stated goals…

• Free Downtown transit

  admin

  22 Jan 2010 | 12:04 pm

  Over on the Switchboard blog written by Kaid Benfield, he writes today about a free downtown circulator that Baltimore has recently put in place. (pasted below) This is a great heads-up to those cities that are cutting back on transit in tough times. I’ve thought for a while that we need an entirely new service model for transit in most American cities, and will write about this more in future posts. The reality is the current system in most cities is so completely unsupported by fares that we might as well have completely free zones in order to encourage denser, walkable development.

• Let it Snow, Let it Snow

  admin

  14 Jan 2010 | 11:03 am

  This one is especially for my readers in the Kansas City region (but hopefully for others of you in northern climates).I love the snow, and what it does to life in cities. So much of our lives gets consumed by activity and noise, it’s refreshing when we’re forced to have much of that go away. Mainly, it’s wonderful just how quiet the city gets when vehicles can’t travel very well. We forget just how much of the noise of life is vehicular, except when a snowstorm comes and takes most of that away. It’s so… peaceful. Which of course makes you think.You may…

• How walkable neighborhoods increase home values

  admin

  23 Dec 2009 | 2:29 pm

  Posted by: Kevin KlinkenbergIt’s often said that Americans love their cars above everything else, and many question the demand for walkable neighborhoods. And yet, as this and other studies have revealed, quality walkable places are highly valued. This shouldn’t be surprising – as human beings, we inherently like to interact with others, and we prefer to have options on how to experience life. Walking/biking, etc are all just examples of how to achieve what’s in our nature.  This is a blog post that I would like to share written by Kaid Benfield, who is the…

• Path to Prosperity: for retail spaces, think small (and cheap)

  admin

  18 Dec 2009 | 4:12 pm

  We’re obsessed with big: big houses, big churches, big cars, big stores, big food portions. It’s in our nature I suppose to be impressed with size.When planning for our communities, though, it’s often best to think small. Not small as in small goals or dreams; but small as in the kinds of spaces that fill up our neighborhoods. This is especially true when it comes to spaces that sell things – shops, restaurants, etc.What are the benefits of small spaces? For one, they are cheap to rent – very important to mom & pop operations and start-ups. If you want to…

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  dornob

• Secret Rooms: Cool New Condo Hidden in Old Townhouse

  d0rn0b

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  [ Filed under Conversions or in the Architecture category ] Classic collides with contemporary and historic meets modern under the roof of one unbelievably cool townhouse property – part infill project, part retrofit, part adaptive reuse, this is a dream space with secret rooms for people who love cozy remodeled lofts and private luxury interiors all at the same time. Beneath pealing paint and crumbling red bricks on the front of his history row-house facade lies an incredible residence, reinforced with stunning steel supports and remodeled inside and out with modern materials,…

• Furniture Arts, or: the Fine Art of Faux-Unique Furniture

  d0rn0b

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pm

  [ Filed under Sets & Series or in the Furniture category ] This set of strange furniture objects is designed to fit a peculiar purpose: each part is made to seem like a piece of art, or, more specifically, a one-off artwork with a functional side to it rather than a mass-produced furniture object made ready to order at little notice. From a wide-legged wooden bench with rubber-loop cushions to a curved-wood chair and fiberglass lounger, each work by Aaron Asedo does a remarkable job of looking as much like a singular sculpture as the start of a furniture line. Design is in the details:…

• The Ice House: Crazy Crystal-Covered, Fully-Frozen Home

  d0rn0b

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  [ Filed under More or in the Installation Art category ] What happens when you take one of over 20,000 abandoned homes in Detroit and call attention to it in the middle of winter … by pouring gallon after gallon of water over the roof until it is covered from top to bottom – windows, walls, plants and all – with ice? For one thing, the resulting crystals are incredible – unique frozen snowflakes, but super-sized and surrounding every square inch of this installation art project. Moreover, making this structure melt-proof during the day is tougher than you might…

• Happy Pills!? Sweet Happiness in Sugar-Pill Supplements

  d0rn0b

  7 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pm

  [ Filed under More or in the Industrial Design category ] Feeling depressed? Try a sugar pill! No, not the placebo kind – the real deal street drug of choice for children and sweet-toothed adults alike. Forget natural vitamins or herbal remedies: head straight for the colorful ‘drug’ shelf at the local shop when you are feeling down, take two (or three or four) and skip calling the doctor in the morning. Yes, Happy Pills is now not only a popular song (with depressing lyrics), an addictive web game and a common phrasing for anti-depressant drugs, it is also now a…

• Reclaimed Wood Furniture Cut Out of Old Bowling Lanes

  d0rn0b

  7 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  [ Filed under Recycled or in the Furniture category ] Bowling lanes are built to last – but their creators probably never have this kind of creative reuse in mind. Demolition on the way, someone clever thought to recycle these rather stylish sport floors into home furniture objects that may be right up your alley. Beams and other wooden structural supports are also fair game. Created of a thick boards stacked vertically and packed closely, these area bit like classic car decking – made to hold up under serious weight, wear and tear over years of daily use. In short: do not worry…

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  Home Improvement Made Easy on Doityourself.com

• How to Choose Your Cold Air Intake System

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:01 am

  Getting the right kind of cold air intake system for your car can seem like a very complicated process. Doityourself.com, THE source for home improvement information.

• Tips on Installing a Pedastal Sump Pump

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:01 am

  A pedestal sump pump is a pump that removes excess water out of a basement and drains it into a drainage supply to prevent flooding. Doityourself.com, THE source for home improvement information.

• Drywall Knockdown Texture Techniques

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:01 am

  Drywall knockdown refers to a type of texturing technique that is used on drywall. Doityourself.com, THE source for home improvement information.

• All About Concrete Screws

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:01 am

  Concrete screws are a necessity when it comes to securing anything to concrete. Doityourself.com, THE source for home improvement information.

• How to Install a Bathtub Drain Stopper

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:01 am

  A bathtub drain stopper is used when you are taking a bath. It helps to make sure that you do not lose warm water while in the tub. Doityourself.com, THE source for home improvement information.

• 
  AskTheBuilder.com

• Tile Grout Cleaning

  12 Feb 2010 | 9:59 am

  When it comes to tile & grout cleaning, there is an easier way to clean tile grout. Knowing how to clean tile grout this method will save you hard scrubbing and your ceramic tiles will look brand new.

• Vessel Sink

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:13 pm

  A vessel sink can add character to your bathroom. There are certain features to check before installing bathroom vessel sinks. Even an old pot can make a great copper vessel.

• Vinyl Siding Replacement

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:11 am

  Vinyl siding replacement is very expensive.  Try cleaning vinyl siding with a spray and wipe vinyl siding cleaner. This could restore the look of your vinyl siding without all the expense.

• Lumber Drying

  2 Feb 2010 | 8:39 am

  Lumber drying is accomplished in a lumber drying kiln. Kiln dried lumber has reduced moisture content, but the dried lumber does not reach 0% moisture.

• Building Collapse

  1 Feb 2010 | 3:33 pm

  What happens a hole is dug too close to a building's foundation? Here is an example of a building collapse due to several factors. A structural collapse can occur when the pressures on opposite sides of a building occur. Excavation, rain and structure defects all can contribute to a real problem.

• 
  Bathroom Remodel DIY Tips and Ideas

• Feb 6, Bathroom Colors - Help in Choosing

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:46 pm

  Choosing bathroom colors can be almost as hard as choosing everything else tha tis a part of your bathroom remodel.

• Feb 2, Tools to Use

  2 Feb 2010 | 10:02 am

  Hello, I would like to know what kind of tile saw is doing the best job in remodeling the bathroom? Pankas - Hello , and Thank you for submitting a Bathroom

• Feb 2, Cost Involved in Converting Tub to Walk In Shower

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:30 am

  How much work/cost is involved in removing a tub and creating a walk in shower? Ingrid - Hello and thanks for submitting a Bathroom Shower How To question...

• Jan 31, Shower Tile size ?

  30 Jan 2010 | 6:12 pm

  We are in the midst of remodeling our Bathroom and are now tackling the shower. We have selected a tile pattern for the walls, the size of the tile being

• Jan 31, Bathroom Sink Faucets - all types

  30 Jan 2010 | 6:03 pm

  Bathroom sink faucets come in a number of finishes and styles

• 
  Old House Web Blog

• Old Houses On Both Coasts

  Conrad

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:45 pm

  Peyton Manning Spent His Early Years in an Old House in the Garden District of New Orleans I’m feeling a bit nostalgic this evening as I write this. For one thing I’m wondering where the time has gone. I happened upon a fascinating website which has a lot of history of New York City of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Old and Sold is an antique dealer, and someone spent a lot of time with their website. What I found the most interesting is that many of the articles, such as “Old Mansions of the Bronx,” were written in the early 1900’s. There is a…

• Spring is the Season for Old House Fairs

  Conrad

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:03 pm

  Garden District Old House in New Orleans First, I would like to welcome Elaine Vitone as a blogger on OldHouseWeb.com. Her blog on possible uses of small closets in old houses was great, and I enjoyed reading it. I was born, and spent the first 12 years of my life, just north of Pittsburgh, and know the area is full of beautiful old houses. Second, I would like to congratulate New Orleans for making it to the Super Bowl. When I think about old houses, New Orleans is one of the first cities which comes to my mind. The city and the people have done a tremendous job of preserving the history and…

• Cordless Impact Driver Review: Makita BTD 141 Drive Time

  Mark Clement

  29 Jan 2010 | 12:12 pm

  One question I’ve been asked on MyFixitUpLife is “I see carpenters on TV using impact drivers. They look cool but do I need one?” My answer is: depends. Cordless impact drivers are pro-grade and one unit I’ve used that I like quite a lot is Makita’s BTD 141. If you’re only doing a few projects a year, well, you may be nicely served by a nice-quality drill/driver. If you’re cranking out larger remodeling projects, well the money spent on a professional-grade impact driver will come back to you in time saved. Of that, I have no doubt. Cordless impact…

• Saving Old Houses Isn’t New

  Conrad

  28 Jan 2010 | 7:55 pm

  Another Beautiful Old House Restoration I don’t think I will ever get over my fascination with the Internet. I enjoy reading, and increasing my knowledge in any area that I have the slightest bit of interest in, and the Internet has been the perfect avenue for that. I can’t count the times I have sat down for what I thought would be 5 minutes, and the next thing I knew several hours had passed. That is how I happened upon these stories about old houses that I found to be intriguing. A young soldier from Denver found himself stationed at a helicopter airfield outside Savannah,…

• 4 New Uses For the Tiny Clothing Closets in Your Old Home

  Elaine Vitone

  27 Jan 2010 | 7:42 am

  Hello, all. My name is Elaine Vitone, and I’m the winner of last month’s blogger contest. Very first, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who voted for me. Thanks to you, I was offered a contributing-writer gig for OHW, which I was thrilled to accept. Really looking forward to getting to know my fellow old-home enthusiasts a little better here on the Old House Blog. Better Half and I live in a 1921 Victorian fixer-upper we affectionately call The DIY Mess. Much as we love it here, we’ve been frustrated by our impossibly tiny clothing closets. Our biggest one measures a…

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  Home Addition

• Grouting Shower Tile

  TheBuilder

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:08 am

  How to Grout Tile in a Ceramic Tiled ShowerBy Mark J. DonovanAfter installing ceramic tile on the walls and floor of a custom shower next comes grouting. Grouting shower tile is really no different than grouting any other tile. However, I do recommend starting with the shower walls and then moving on to the shower floor.To grout shower tile you will need the standard grouting tools, which includes two buckets, a grout float, and a large sponge. A screwdriver also comes in handy.Preparing Shower Tile for GroutingThe first step in grouting shower tile is to check the tile seams for any excess…

• Completed Custom Tiled Shower Project

  TheBuilder

  2 Feb 2010 | 5:01 am

  By Mark J. DonovanLast weekend I completed my latest custom tiled shower project. It was a complete custom ceramic tile shower renovation project. I have to say it came out beautiful after a lot of planning and work. The project took four weekends to complete. The first weekend was dedicated to removing the old ceramic tile and backer board. The second weekend involved installing a mortar shower pan and new cement backer board. The third weekend was dedicated to actually tiling the shower walls and shower floor. The last weekend was associated with grouting the shower walls and tiles, and…

• Tiling a Shower

  TheBuilder

  24 Jan 2010 | 4:35 am

  Progress on Renovating a Shower ContinuesBy Mark J. DonovanI spent most of yesterday tiling my shower. This is after spending a couple of weekends removing the old ceramic tile, backer board and fiberglass shower pan, and installing new backerboard, and a mortar shower pan.Suffice it to say renovating the shower has been a major project. One significant contributor to the work, particularly as it relates to tiling the shower, is cutting the tiles in my garage. Though this has helped to prevent a colossal mess in the bathroom and given me room to work, it has meant lots of running up and down…

• How to Test a Zone Valve

  TheBuilder

  16 Jan 2010 | 2:07 pm

  How can You Check to See if a Zone Valve is WorkingBy Mark J. DonovanQuestion: My hot water heating system does not seem to be operating properly. One of the zones does not seem to produce any heat. How can I test a zone valve to see if it is working properly?Answer: To test your hot water zone valve, turn the thermostat up that is associated with the particular zone valve. Make sure to turn it up high enough so that it is warmer than the current temperature in the room.You should immediately begin to hear and feel hot water flowing through the heating elements. If you do not, then you have a…

• Installed Shower Pan over Weekend

  TheBuilder

  11 Jan 2010 | 9:51 am

  Installing a Mortar Shower Pan for a Ceramic Tile ShowerBy Mark J. DonovanWell I pretty much spent the entire weekend installing a shower pan for a ceramic tile shower. Though I have a few sore muscles today, I am pleased to say that it is all done and looks great. And I am positive it won’t leak!A few weeks back I removed all of the old ceramic tile and cement backer board from my 3’x3’ master bath shower. So this weekend, I installed a new mortar shower pan and cement backer board in preparation for new ceramic tile.I also filmed the entire shower pan installation process and took…

• 
  Home Improvement Blog

• How to Shop for Environmentally Sustainable Furniture

  Susan

  1 Feb 2010 | 8:29 am

  by Julia Ritzenthaler The shopping public is a very fickle monster that retailers work hard to carefully understand and serve. What is popular one month will be out of vogue the next month. Popular styles will differ even in different parts of the country. Environmentally sustainable furniture is a fairly new concept to the buying public. Many people believe that it sounds like a good idea but they do not really know what sustainable furniture is. The key is to not take more from the environment then can be replenished naturally. This includes the materials that the furniture is made from to…

• Lennox Unveils Solar Powered Home Energy System

  Susan

  22 Jan 2010 | 7:07 am

  by Guest Lennox Industries, a leading provider of customized home heating, cooling and indoor air quality products,  introduced the patent pending SunSource™ Home Energy System – a new solar-powered central heating and cooling system that reduces overall household electricity consumption without the costs associated with traditional solar installations – at the International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas this week. The new SunSource Home Energy System not only harnesses solar energy from the sun to reduce the electricity consumed by a residential heat pump or air conditioner, but also…

• Have a Successful Renovation

  Susan

  15 Jan 2010 | 6:00 am

  Start with hiring the right contractor for the job. Make sure your contractor is licensed, insured, and bonded. The contractor should obtain all necessary permits but it doesn’t hurt to be aware of such details (like which permits you’ll need). Many times as renovations begin, it’s revealed that the electrical system needs to be updated. Before any unpleasant surprises arise when the walls come down, hire a licensed electrician to walk through your home and check that everything is up to code. It can be costly to bring a home up to code so it’s better to know and be prepared. Speaking…

• Revamp with Double Sink Vanities

  Susan

  8 Jan 2010 | 11:43 am

  by Julia Ritzenthaler When it comes to bathroom vanities, the days of a white box with a sink sitting on top of it are gone. Time has certainly changed the different types of styles, designs and colors that are available when it comes to bathroom vanities. Whether you prefer contemporary lines, vintage antique or sleek oak, there is something for everyone. From single sink vanities to double sink vanities, your styles and choices are endless, so there are a few key elements to keep in mind before you make your purchase decision. The first thing to consider is the overall size of your bathroom…

• Time for a new furnace

  Susan

  8 Jan 2010 | 8:45 am

  By Guest Up to 100% Off a New High-Efficiency, EnergyStar®- Rated Furnace You read right. It is now possible to get a brand new energy saving furnace for 50%, 60%, 70% off… even 100% free depending on the location of your home. How? By combining a series of concurrently available and very lucrative national and local rebates, credits and discounts, certain national heating companies are able to provide new EnergyStar rated furnaces at steep discounts until March 31st, at which time some of the discounts will promptly end. Why? Governments, utilities and furnace manufacturers are all…

• 
  The Kitchen Designer

• Kitchen Details

  Susan Serra, CKD

  7 Feb 2010 | 12:20 pm

  Here are a few things that you maybe interested in from my travels around the web recently!   Thom Filicia & Me First, my interview for Amana with Thom Filicia on kitchen trends. An interviewer asked questions of Thom and me on a variety of topics. I don't think there is anything that I disagreed with in Thom's answers. He is quite passionate about the importance of the kitchen in today's homes. See 2010 Trends Here are some recent ideabooks I put together and share some tips, on Houzz:    Where To Put The Microwave? 14 TipsHouzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and…

• A Kitchen Design Blog

  Susan Serra, CKD

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:09 am

  It's three years today since I made my first entry in this blog!  Holding a favorite Scandinavian plate in my kitchen from the island of BornholmMy initial thinking was that I finally had an outlet to talk about, really, to share, my 20+ years of experience as a business owner and Certified Kitchen Designer in nearly ALL types of kitchen design...super luxe high end to builders' condos, all different styles and themes, and kitchens in shades of (environmentally) green. I have lots of experience to draw from, knowledge gained from many sources, hopefully presented with a helpful…

• Delta Pilar Faucet - Touch20 Technology

  Susan Serra, CKD

  2 Feb 2010 | 3:36 am

  About a month ago, I was asked to review the Delta Pilar Faucet with Touch20 technology and provided the product by Delta. I knew this might be a perfect product for my son Independent Product Analyst to test in my apartment in Manhattan Independent Product Testing Laboratory. Review aside, do you know what the chances are to get your college kid to return an email, let alone write about a piece of his life on his mom's blog? Reading his review (it was sent to me at 3 am-no surprise there) gave me much insight into features, benefits, and new, learned, behaviors surrounding this faucet…

• AutoKitchen Kitchen Design Software

  Susan Serra, CKD

  15 Jan 2010 | 12:17 pm

  A little bit of shop talk here, but I'm happy to share news of this new kitchen design software and technology that I am using. I'm excited to debut and share information on my new kitchen software with you. It's called AutoKitchen and it's truly state of the art! The AutoKitchen representative, knowing that I am a working designer, offered to provide me with a copy of AutoKitchen software to review and to use in my practice, gratis. I already was using design software, but having recently upgraded my software and being disappointed in the quality of the renderings at the highest level of…

• Electrolux and More...

  Susan Serra, CKD

  10 Jan 2010 | 4:26 pm

  Electrolux Kitchen Stories I want to show you kitchen stories - 89 of them to be exact, courtesy of Electrolux, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. SO...these 89 people with stories are all "kitchen stars", but Electrolux needs just one more to reach 90 - will that be you? I'm crazy about this concept and find it absolutely fascinating looking at all these (real) kitchen stories from all over the world! You can be the 90th kitchen star! To enter, you must have an Electrolux appliance, even a small countertop or small vacuum appliance is ok. I don't love that requirement, but…

• 
  About.com Home Repair

• Fix Your Garbage Disposal and Save $150

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Garbage disposals are the kitchen's workhorse but they love to quit just after a big dinner you've hosted for family or friends. But repairing them can be surprisingly easy and you can do it. I'll show you how make the repairs you need quickly and possibly save $150 or more in a plumbing service call. In this tutorial, I'll walk you through the most common garbage disposal repairs and also tell you how to avoid clogs and slow draining situations. And get familiar with how the garbage disposal is constructed with Anatomy of a Garbage Disposal for a graphic overview of the disposal's…

• Cold Rooms and How to Warm Them

  31 Jan 2010 | 4:51 am

  Sometimes there is a room or two that you just can't get warm. The problem can be caused by several reasons, from an easy fix to a more difficult solution. In the tutorial Cold Rooms and How to Warm Them I'll list what you can look for as possible reasons for the cold room and how to possibly solve the problem. The problem can range from a closed heating register to an improperly located thermostat to lack of insulation. There are lots of reasons and possible solutions. In the tutorial we will look at easy, moderate and more difficult causes and solutions. Cold Rooms and How to Warm Them…

• "Green" Paint - Hype or Healthy?

  24 Jan 2010 | 10:07 am

  The options for paint in your home have never been more varied. You don't have to use paints with formaldehyde like years past. With low VOC paints and ceramic paints with anti-microbial agents, you have a wonderful variety of durable, beautiful and safe, healthy paints from which to choose. You'll also learn about certification by the Green Seal organization that objectively establishes criteria for healthy paints, helping to provide a third party review of paint company claims. It's all described in the tutorial Low VOC Interior Paint and Other Healthy Alternative Paints. In the tutorial I…

• Mysteries of Tankless Water Heaters

  17 Jan 2010 | 11:28 am

  Did you know where you live affects your tankless water heater size? Or that pre-1992 shower heads will increase the heater size? Or that you will probably need multiple tankless electric units or have to use a gas or propane tankless unit for larger high water flow installations? Well that's why we're here. To give you these answers! So read through this comprehensive tutorial on tankless water heaters and gain a better understanding of these new appliances. Also, make sure to check out this excellent site reference from ToolBase.org for additional tankless water heater information.

• Get Almost "Instant" Hot Water Using Your Current Water Heater

  9 Jan 2010 | 9:45 am

  One of the last frontiers of creature comforts we continue to pursue is that of on-demand hot water at the sink or shower. Often people use a point of use tankless water heater under the sink for one location or invest thousand of dollars in a whole house tankless water heater but these options are out of reach for economic or practical reasons for most people. I mean, there's a recession on! But there is a way to get almost immediate hot water from that little old water heater you have chugging away in the basement. How? By using a device called a demand delivery hot water recirculation…

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  Rambling Renovators

• Blog Cleaning

  Wanderluster

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:58 pm

  I've done a bit of cleanup on the blog rolls. There's so many lovely new blogs I've come across lately, like this one, this one, this one, and this one.I've added a new category too, Family Blogs, since as a new mama I like seeing into the lives of other families. Like the family with twin girls and triplet boys or the homeschooling mom with seven kids (that ALL look like models!). Then there are the photographer moms and the moms with great style (and lovely houses to boot!).So if you're looking for a new read, follow the links and you may find something you like.Speaking of something I…

• Master Bedroom: Fabric Hunt, Part I

  Wanderluster

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:46 pm

  Thank you all for your comments to my last post. And for those new commenters who came out of the woodwork, it was so nice to hear from you. I appreciate all the support from you my virtual friends. **** A cute picture...just because. ****Its easier to decorate a room when you have some inspiration, be it a piece of furniture, a paint colour, a swatch of fabric. With the master bedroom, I knew I wanted white walls and we already had the dark furniture to work with but beyond that I was stumped. That's the problem with a white room - you can go in any direction, decorating-wise!To help narrow…

• Wendy

  Wanderluster

  1 Feb 2010 | 5:45 pm

  My friend Willow (Wendy was her real name) passed away yesterday after a 5 year battle with cancer. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that Wendy was one of those people you encounter only once in a lifetime. She was and is a huge inspiration to everyone who met her. I have never met anyone who was so strong and positive in the face of enormous suffering. Beneath my deep sadness, I am happy that now Wendy is now free of pain. The last time I saw her, she spent over an hour just playing on the floor with Chloe, laughing and giggling, playing peek-a-boo, making silly faces.

• Lucky Girl!

  Wanderluster

  29 Jan 2010 | 2:36 pm

  I'm not the lucky girl in question, though I wish I was! Do you remember where I posted about this casting call for Sarah Richardson's new show, Sarah 101? Well, one of my dear readers read the post and applied for the show - and lo and behold she was selected!! So not only will this reader and her hubby have their dining room made over and get $10,000 worth of labour, fixtures, and furnishings, but she will get to hobnob with my absolute favourite designer & her sidekick Tommy. Seriously, I'm so happy (and a tiny bit envious) of your good fortune. Maybe if I'm nice, dear reader will let…

• Reader's Question: Laurie's Bathrooms

  Wanderluster

  27 Jan 2010 | 7:39 pm

  Laurie, a reader in Ottawa, wrote to me seeking some design help. Here's her note:We are in the process of completely renovating the second floor of our 5-year-old home. It's nothing fancy, fairly cookie cutter, but we did do some upgrades. The area I need help with is our bathroom mirrors/lighting. Do you have any a) good lighting/mirror suggestions and b) good stores to find possible solutions. Bathroom A will be a kids bathroom once we start a family. It has white cabinets, white counter tops, white tub...lots of white with blue ceramic floors (almost looks like a sky) and funky blue and…

• 
  This Old House: How-To And Repair

• How to Make a New Mirror with Old Door Trim

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:10 am

  Create an attractive, full-length mirror using salvaged door casings in just 1 day

• How to Repair a Three-Way Switch

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:10 am

  Pro tips for finding—and replacing—a faulty three-way light switch

• How to Repair a Dripping Two-Handled Stem Faucet

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am

  This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey demonstrates how to fix a leaky faucet

• How to Build a Trash Shed

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am

  Create an outdoor waste and recycling shed with flip-open lids and easy-access bifold doors

• How to Replace a PVC Sink Trap

  1 Feb 2010 | 9:25 am

  This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows how to replace a leaky, glued-together kitchen-sink trap

• 
  The Home Know-It-All

• The Furnace Saga Continues: Making a Decision

  Jim Stepp

  28 Jan 2010 | 7:01 am

  As you know, our 15-year-old furnace recently developed a hole in the combustion chamber, which left us scrambling to answer this question: Do we repair it or replace it?  Luckily, the decision was easier than we thought. Most gas furnaces have a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years. For us, it didn’t make sense to spend $600 when the furnace would most likely last another 3 to 5 years before we would need to replace it. Get a second opinion. Not sure what move is best for you? Talk to your heating and cooling contractor, who can assess the condition of your furnace and give you advice on…

• The Furnace Saga Continues

  Jim Stepp

  19 Jan 2010 | 10:01 am

  The furnace we've had for 15 years has a hole in the combustion chamber. So, what happens next? Our furnace needed to be shut down because of carbon monoxide exposure (though we were well below toxic levels when the air around the furnace was sampled) and because it was a potential fire hazard. Of course, this occurred in the middle of November in the Midwest, and until the furnace was repaired or replaced, we had no heat. Talk about pressure to make a decision! If you're in the same boat with no heat, make safety a priority with these do's and dont's: Do stay somewhere…

• Chamber of Horrors – What happens next?

  Jim Stepp

  15 Jan 2010 | 6:42 am

  Our furnace of 15 years has been just diagnosed has having a hole in the combustion chamber. So, what happens next? Our furnace contractor turned on the furnace and showed me what a hole or crack in the combustion chamber does to the furnace. He explained that the hole allows a back-draft of air into the furnace. The back-draft is exhaust, which is supposed to vent outside through the chimney. With nowhere to go, the exhaust is forced down into the furnace. Depending on the size of the hole or crack, the flames from the burner can be forced out of the burner chamber. This can be bad for a…

• Chamber of Horrors

  Jim Stepp

  13 Jan 2010 | 11:20 am

  There is little in this world that causes as much stress as suddenly realizing your furnace fan is running constantly and yet the house is cooling down. Our furnace of 15 years decided it had just had enough, I guess, this past November. With visions of currency flying out of our bank account, I called our heating and cooling contractor. After looking at the furnace, he pronounced that we had either a hole or crack in the combustion chamber of our gas furnace. We can either have it replaced or replace the whole furnace. So, what to do? Does the furnace need to be shutdown completely? Of…

• Happy New Year!

  Jim Stepp

  1 Jan 2010 | 9:15 am

• 
  Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

• Kitchen Backsplash Ideas.

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:01 am

  When it comes to kitchen backsplash ideas there are many materials to choose from. Knowing what's available it the first step in the design of ...

• Kitchen Remodeling Ideas For That Dream Kitchen

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:15 am

  Let years of kitchen remodeling experience guide you to the best kitchen remodeling ideas.

• Door Mount Spice Racks Can Help You Stay Organized.

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:39 am

  Door mount spice racks are an easy and affordable way to add more storage to your kitchen. Plus they are hidden behind cabinet doors which ...

• Kitchen Design Ideas

  2 Feb 2010 | 3:16 pm

  Kitchen design ideas are as numerous as kitchens themselves. Here are some of my recommendations and what you can do to design your own kitchen.

• Kitchen Paint Colors, How Do You Choose?

  2 Feb 2010 | 3:11 pm

  Kitchen paint colors are sometimes difficult to choose. The best way to start your journey down the paint trail is to choose colors you like and that work with ...

• 
  WashingtonGardener

• Think Spring! 8 reasons to join us for Philly Flower Show Trip

  WashingtonGardener

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:42 am

  Washington Gardener Magazine has partnered again with Cheval Force Opp’s Garden Tours company to take local DC gardeners up to the Philadelphia Flower Show on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. What sets this tour apart from all the others? 8 Great Reasons!1. We feed you! That's right, lunch is included on the way up as well as a hardy snack on the way back 2. We entertain you! We'll have garden-related DVDs to view, flower trivia contests, prizes for bests (dressed, on time, etc.), and just plain silly games for your day off work. 3. We'll hold a lively show preview talk! Cheval and I will be at…

• Drumroll please... And the Photo Contest Winners are...

  WashingtonGardener

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:16 pm

  CORRECTION: Richard Paul Weiblinger's name is spelled incorrectly. He placed three times in the Garden Creatures category. Please note the correct spelling.

• Thanks for the Bumps

  WashingtonGardener

  31 Jan 2010 | 1:44 am

  We've gotten some really nice press and coverage lately. Thought I'd collect a few links here and share. I shall refer back to this post on my darker, "why am I doing this again and working 100+ hours a week" days.~ WAMU 88.5 FM American University RadioMetro Connection Friday January 29, 2010. Gardening with Kathy Jentz: The 2010 Seed Exchange. Listen to me online anytime (also linked in previous post)~ Mike McGrath has been Garden Editor for WTOP radio talked on-air a week or so back about "Seed Starting and Grubs" including: "You'll have the chance to do it all and more when…

• Gardening With Kathy Jentz: The 2010 Seed Exchange

  WashingtonGardener

  29 Jan 2010 | 1:48 pm

  Gardening With Kathy Jentz: The 2010 Seed ExchangePosted using ShareThis

• How to Prep for the Seed Exchange

  WashingtonGardener

  28 Jan 2010 | 6:53 am

  As of last night's count, I have 30 spaces left for the Brookside Gardens location and 40 spaces left for the Green Spring Gardens location of our annual Washington Gardener Seed Exchange this Saturday, 1/30. To guarantee a spot at either event, you can print out and overnight /deliver your registration to us by Friday evening.    Or take a chance and come to either location on Saturday at 12noon to register on-site. It will be first-come, first-serve. Once we are full, that is it.   You can speed things up by printing out the registration form from here and bringing it…

• 
  SmartMoney.com - Consumer Action

• Has Your Car Been Recalled?

  28 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  We run down all the models in the recent flurry of auto glitches.

• 10 Things the Weight-Loss Industry Won't Say

  27 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  January is big business for diet companies. Here's the skinny on them.

• How Plan to Curb Banks Could Help Consumers

  21 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Bank investors pan Obama's proposals, but customers may find upside.

• The Trouble With Texting Donations

  21 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Amid Haiti efforts, how do you deduct a cellphone donation from your taxes?

• How Will the New Bank Fee Affect Consumers?

  13 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  President Obama's planned fee could mean changes for customers.

• 
  Personal finance news - CNNMoney.com

• The 401(k) match is back!

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:26 pm

  Employees who took a hit on their savings last year might finally be in for some welcome news: Companies are stepping up efforts to help them save more for retirement.

• Don't be a financial burden on your kids

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:51 am

  Every generation has its challenges. As boomers, one of our biggest is caring for our long-lived parents, providing both physical and sometimes monetary assistance, even as we're putting our children through college and grad school.

• Will move for work

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am

  Ira and Hope Moskowitz, both 44, have lived within a 10-mile radius of Philadelphia their whole lives. City kids, they met in junior high, got married in Philly in 1989, and settled in nearby Cherry Hill, N.J., where Hope manages a hair salon and Ira headed up software administration for a mortgage-servicing firm.

• How to score the last few beach deals

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:37 am

  It wasn't so long ago that travelers could all but name their price. During the depths of the financial crisis, unheard-of deals abounded as hotel companies did anything to lure business. These days? Not so much. The luxury travel market is coming back, with bookings up as much as 40% since mid-2008. You can still find deals this winter; you just need to think creatively -- and follow our tips.

• Make sure remodeling pays off

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:46 am

  Just a few years ago you could count on getting the bulk of your money back for almost any home-improvement project you took on. Today merely replacing a toilet seat can feel like throwing caution, and cash, to the wind. According to a study from Remodeling magazine, the average return on value for an upgrade declined from 87% in 2005 to 64% in 2009. But these six new rules will help you maximize your return on your remodeling investment.

• 
  AllFinancialMatters

• Madoff vs. Social Security: Which One’s the Scam?

  JLP

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:36 am

  Financial planner, Russ Thornton, posted a link to this Neil Boortz piece on his facebook page. It’s a comparison of Madoff’s scheme vs. the Social Security scheme. I like this graphic, which I copied and resized so it would fit on my blog: Boortz isn’t defending Madoff. Rather, he’s showing that Social Security really isn’t any different from what Madoff did. Anyway, I thought it was an interesting comparison. Thanks for the link, Russ.

• My Perspective on the Deficit and “Spending Cuts”

  JLP

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:37 am

  According to an article I read in the WSJ the other day, the US is expected to run a $1.6 TRILLION deficit this year. President Obama has gone through the budget and supposedly cut $20 billion in spending. Okay, when you toss around a number like $20 billion, you might think, “Wow! That’s a lot of money.” Although it is a lot of money, I thought it would be cool to put this in perspective. So, I created a couple of graphics representing our deficit. The first one contains 1,600 squares. Each square represents $1 billion. Okay, now this second graphic represents the $1.6…

• Maybe They Should Just Stick to Cash

  JLP

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:23 am

  From a front page article in today’s WSJ (bold mine): Norfolk County, Mass., has only a small pension fund, but it is a big player in court. Two weeks ago, the fund joined with two others in a shareholder suit against drugstore chain CVS Caremark Corp., whose stock had fallen. It was the 12th time since 2006 the pension fund has gone to court after a stock it owned declined. Twelve lawsuits in 3 years? Obviously they don’t understand the risk involved in investing. Perhaps the pension members should sue the pension managers for failing to properly research the companies they…

• The Middle Class Will Face Tax Increases Too

  JLP

  2 Feb 2010 | 12:23 pm

  Don’t have time to discuss but thought this was an interesting piece by Terri Cullen: Backdoor Taxes to Hit Middle Class.

• What Are Your Thoughts On These Proposed 401(k) Changes?

  JLP

  2 Feb 2010 | 7:24 am

  Interesting article on Obama’s plans for retirement savings programs. I want to focus on the proposed changes for 401(k) plans (from the article). The proposed 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act, for example, would: • Require 401k plans to disclose fees on workers’ quarterly statements as a dollar figure taken from participants’ accounts. • Require service providers and plan administrators to disclose administrative, investment management and transaction, along with other fees. • Help workers understand their investment options by providing…

• 
  American Consumer News

• Citibank Agrees To Extend Free Checking Account Benefits

  trisha

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:11 pm

  Seeming to take courage from the implementation of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD) only this month, the Attorney General of New York, Andrew Cuomo, had this to say in response to Citibank’s previous decision to start charging customers fees for checks on their EZ or Access Checking Accounts; “Adding unexpected fees to consumers’ checking accounts can hit families very hard in these times”. The EZ checking account, otherwise referred to as the Access checking account, was introduced by Citibank as a totally free account option. It operated…

• Better Business Bureau Lottery Scam

  trisha

  7 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pm

  Talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing! A new lottery scam has spread across the country using the name of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has built a solid reputation upon its eight foundation standards; Build Trust Advertise Honestly Tell the Truth Be Transparent Honor Promises Be Responsive Safeguard Privacy Embody Integrity Clearly if some unscrupulous party had intentions of projecting an image of trust and safety, there can hardly be a better organization to use in its ruse and this is exactly what has happened. Lottery scams are probably the most…

• Businesses Hope for Super Profits from Super Bowl

  Debbie Dragon

  31 Jan 2010 | 4:40 pm

  With the up-and-down economy in the United States, businesses are struggling to stay alive. Business owners welcome any occasion that can bring a boost in sales, even if it’s temporary. For some, the Super Bowl provides this boost, albeit temporary. On February 7, 2010, the city of Miami, Fl will host Super Bowl XLIV at Land Shark Stadium, which was previously known as Dolphin Stadium. The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts compete for football’s elite prize, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the legendary Green Bay Packers coach. It’s safe to say that business owners in…

• Social Networking Can Damage You Outside Your Social Circle

  tisha

  31 Jan 2010 | 4:51 am

  Think your daily rants about your egocentric boss are funny? Well your next employer may not think so. The social networking phenomenon may seem like all fun and games until it ends up costing you your current job, your future job, or even your next line of credit. How can it work against you? Here are just some of the current trends in social networking sites: Hiding From a Debt? They’ll Find You Collection agents, not always known for their above-the-line practices, will often scour the internet in search of your contact information. Since many debtors will refuse phone calls or ignore…

• Try Alternative Therapies for Stubborn School Sores

  Debbie Dragon

  30 Jan 2010 | 4:43 pm

  Impetigo or school sores are caused by either of two bacteria, Staphylococcus or Streptococcus, and are not, as was once thought, from poor hygiene. These bacteria live harmlessly on our skin or in our nose, but any cuts, abrasions or eczema can allow the bacteria to enter the body. Called “school sores” because they affect mostly children, and spread rapidly in the close contact environment of school, they are more common in warmer temperatures where bacteria thrive. The infection is dangerous to new babies who haven’t developed their immune system. What are the symptoms? Pimples or…

• 
  Satori Alliance

• A Vicious Circle, Snarling Louder

  Dan Noble

  12 Jan 2010 | 8:20 pm

  Now that the barn door is open and the horses have galloped off into a landscape of foreclosed homes, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has developed guidelines to help people more aware that they’re entering into dubious mortgage arrangements. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/ramh/res/respa_hm.cfm) took effect on January 1, and represents a whole new set of guidelines lenders must follow in order to keep consumers from doing stupid things and avoiding common sense entirely. Part of RESPA is the requirement that lenders deliver a new…

• Letting Go Even More

  Dan Noble

  5 Jan 2010 | 2:34 pm

• Looking for George Bailey and Finding Mr. Potter

  Dan Noble

  30 Dec 2009 | 9:59 am

  As longtime readers of this blog know, my goal for DBNR Investments has been simple: to put people into homes who want them, can afford them, and will improve their situation in life through home ownership. Without apology, there is more than a little altruism there, a throwback to the philosophy espoused in that Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life. I believe, as Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey did, that at the heart of all our actions is simple human decency, however you characterize it - as a concern for humanity or the planet or people or just making a difference.

• Rewriting The Real Estate Rules

  Dan Noble

  15 Dec 2009 | 9:00 pm

  The late Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill used to say, “All politics is local.” That used to be true about the real estate industry too. In order to make investments, you needed a local expert, someone who understood the market and could guide your way. The evidence continues to mount that the world is changing in that regard. I’ve talked frequently about the increasing number of opportunities for private individuals to invest in real estate anywhere, circumventing the need for assistance from traditional players in the real estate and financial community. Part of it is, of course,…

• Balancing the Mundane with the Mission

  Dan Noble

  8 Dec 2009 | 7:21 pm

  One of the hardest parts about starting a business, I’ve learned over this past year, is balancing the mundane with the mission. The mission, of course, is being successful. To achieve this, we’re engaging in planning sessions for 2010, setting strategies and mapping milestones. Our goal for 2010: becoming wildly profitable. Unfortunately, most small businesses don’t do this. It’s difficult to keep your eyes on the horizon because the items on your desk need attention too. Each one is a distraction to the other, but each is necessary. Admittedly, sometimes I get bogged down in my…

• 
  Washington Business Journal

• Snow thwarts many business events

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:50 am

  Here is a list of some D.C. area business events that have been impacted by the snow storm expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon:

• AES joint venture buys biogas firm

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:49 am

  An AES Corp. joint venture created to reduce greenhouse gases has bought a Canadian company that specializes in creating renewable energy. (AES)

• USPS quarterly loss declines

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:33 am

  A drop in revenue was largely offset by an even larger reduction in expenses for the U.S. Postal Service, leading to a modestly lower quarterly loss.

• Fenty welcomes CoStar to town

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:16 am

  Mayor Adrian Fenty welcomed CoStar Group Inc. to D.C. on Tuesday with a snowy press conference at the company’s new headquarters, where he pledged to use incentive packages to lure other employers to the city. (CSGP)

• 2009 online spending falls

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:07 am

  After years of double-digit annual increases in e-commerce spending, Americans spent slightly less online in 2009 than they did in 2008. (SCOR)

• 
  In Shaw

• Moulton v Thorpe hits a new level of crazy

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:16 am

  Hey-Zeus Christy.Thorpe now seeks compensation and damages — for essentially the same complaints that have already been denied or dismissed by the Court — now in the breathtaking sum of US$20,000,000.

• As a pedestrian I find this disturbing

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:14 am

  Some blogger got hit by some SUV. Nobody died but the pedestrian did wind up with a broken knee. However the disturbing factor, the struck pedestrian was charged with jaywalking and presented with a ticket in the hospital. From the pedestrian's telling of it, he was not jogging and seemed to have the right of way as the countdown said he still had time to cross and was in the crosswalk. However

• Would shaming work?

  4 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am

  Snowed over sidewalkOriginally uploaded by In ShawGeorgetown Metropolitian is encouraging neighbors to name names and forward photos of violators who don't shovel their walks. The hope is that the owners will be shamed into shoveling their sidewalks and making pedestrian routes safer.I don't know. Some sidewalks I know are harder to shovel than others. Brick is a ^%#!!! pain to shovel. Yeah it's

• 2010 Census- Count your roommate

  3 Feb 2010 | 10:09 am

  At Monday's BACA meeting there was someone from the Census trying to educate us about the census and census jobs. But a very telling question came from the citizenry, do you count the student/intern/ roommate on the same form. YES. This is not like taxes. If you're all under the same roof, in the same unit, you are a household. So pick someone as the head, and the rest of you roommates (and couch

• Waltha Daniels Shaw Library

  2 Feb 2010 | 4:43 am

  Waltha Daniels Shaw LibraryOriginally uploaded by In ShawSlowly it is coming together.

• 
  Frozen Tropics

• Voting Tomorrow

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:42 pm

  A volunteer contacted me offering to give rides to those who need assistance getting to tomorrow night's ANC 6A meeting in order to vote in the special election. Details:In an effort to support Drew Ronnenberg's bid for ANC 6A02 Commissioner, we'd like to help people get to the polls! If you'd like a ride to or from Miner Elementary on the 11th, please call Scott: 202.460.7461. Voting is from 7:10-8:10pm.Miner E.S., 601 15th St. NE

• ANC 6A02 Candidate Flyers for Thursday's Election

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:41 am

  The special election for the vacant ANC 6A02 seat is Thursday. 2nd Thursday, February 11, 7 p.m.Miner E.S., 601 15th St. NEI'm told voting is from 7:10-8:10pm, and you can just show up and vote. You need not stay for the full meeting. Also, as long you are registered, you don't need photo ID (but bring it if you have it). If you either don't have photo ID, or it has an old address, bring a utility bill (or valid lease). If you have any questions you can call the Board of Elections and Ethics (202) 727-2525. PLEASE VOTE because even a vote or two can make the difference, and the snow will…

• Neverending Snow

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:44 pm

  UPDATE: National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for D.C., effective noon tomorrow to 7PM Wednesday. All parts of the forecast that were just sent remain the same, except the projected snow totals HAVE BEEN INCREASED TO 10-20".Sent by Kevin Kornreich (DC HSEMA) to e-mail, pagers, cell phones....powered by Cooper Notification RSAN

• The Argonaut is Open Early Today

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:23 am

  They are open right now.

• Snowball Battle on H Street?

  6 Feb 2010 | 2:54 pm

  Rumors are circulating that there will be a massive snowball fight outside the Rock and Roll Hotel at 10pm tonight.

• 
  DCBlogs

• DC Blogs Noted

  livitluvit

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 pm

  Speaking of the snow (yes, you were - EVERYBODY is)- tina dela rosa has the most beautiful collection of photographs I could find. (The post title “Snowtorious B.I.G.” sure doesn’t hurt either.) Sure, the Super Bowl happened… but I was in it for the commercials. Soulfull of Thoughts has a round up of her favorites. Average Bro wonders what happens when “Work Wives/Husbands” go too far. All the single ladies! All the single ladies. All the single ladi- Ahem. Now *I’ve* gone too far. But if you are a lady dating in DC, you’ll want to check out…

• DC Blogs Noted

  dcblogs

  7 Feb 2010 | 8:01 pm

  No power, trapped, the tension builds in this snowpocalyptic adventure. The DC Universe. He writes: I’m furious to discover that just a few blocks away, people have electricity. A group of Eckingtonians constructed an igloo. Eckington. Snow fort at Borderstan. Moshe Zusman gets video of the Dupont Circle snowball fight from a ninth floor balcony. From the ground at Dupont Circle, with a nice flip to introduce it, was Courage Performance. And best use of traffic light time at Liberalguy. Not be left out, Meridian Hill Park snowball fight. New Columbia Heights. A Shot in the Arm has many…

• The very latest new adds dcblogs live

  dcblogs

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:09 am

  The latest additions to the dcblogs.com/live feed About Arlington Arlington Yupette Arlington yuppie news Arlington Now Launched in January, Arlington Now is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, Arlington Now seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage. This is an experimental site that tries to get away from the formulaic, aggregation-centric approach to hyperlocal news that’s currently being pushed by…

• DC Blogs Noted

  WashWords

  4 Feb 2010 | 8:01 pm

  So I dunno if you’ve heard but apparently, there’s some kinda storm a coming …DC SNOWpocalpse! Please share your favorite DC snowisms with us here at DCBlogs, where we’re snowwwrageous! Other takes on the STORM of the Century: We Love DC shares the facts at DC Snow Emergency in Effect after 9:30am, while the Capital Weather Gang wonders Will Snowmageddon make history? (hint: it just might according to the Gang). Urban Bohemian tracks the issue on twitter: naming the storm.  Meanwhile 14th & You shares the grocery news from his hood: In preparation for the white…

• DC Blogs Noted

  Foilwoman

  3 Feb 2010 | 8:01 pm

  If you’ve ever wanted to be the high point of someone’s day, have kids.* RudeCactus discusses this phenomenon and how it works and makes him happy, even as he’s driven to buy two bottles of wine, a six-pack of beer, pop-tarts, and ice cream at the grocery store. In more parenthood news, the kids in Stimeyland are not the least bit impressed by little tadpoles growing arms, but their mother is certainly all agog with glee. Skullcrusher Mountain links to a prime example of why techies should ruthlessly suppress their creative sides (looking with dismay at the novel written by the chairman…

• 
  DCist

• Storm Downgraded Slightly to 7 to 14 Inches

  Sommer Mathis

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm

  The National Weather Service has just downgraded our Winter Storm Warning slightly to something closer to 7 to 14 inches, with a mix of snow and sleet likely to start things out early this evening. Winds are expected to get up to between 25 to 35 mph, with gusts over 45 mph possible.

• Orestes: A Tragic Romp Keeps the Audience Off Balance

  Missy Frederick

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:50 am

  Twyford and Sullivan in Orestes: A Tragic Romp. When talking Greek tragedy, the first description to come to mind usually isn't "zany." But Folger Theater's production of Orestes: A Tragic Romp manages to blend unexpected humor and melodrama into a bizarrely innovative package. Anne Washburn's adaptation of the Euripides tale doesn't worry too much about acting as a literal translation. She's too busy binding the story's trajectories, from the fallout from Orestes' murder of his mother to a hastily-conceived kidnapping and murder plot, into a fast-paced telling that wraps up in an unlikely…

• D.C. Has 2nd Highest Snowfall of Any U.S. City This Season

  Sommer Mathis

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:29 am

  We're coming for you next, Syracuse! Chart from goldensnowglobe.com.

• Is This Officially a Lost Week?

  Sommer Mathis

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:42 am

  Photo by andertho With the federal government still closed today and fresh flakes set to start falling any time now, it's looking increasingly like many area residents will end up with an entire week off. Politico is reporting that the House of Representatives has just canceled all votes for the remainder of the week. The Senate is still soldiering on for now, but we wouldn't be surprised if that changed later today. The Office of Personnel Management will continue to make its decisions on a daily basis, as will most school districts, but we're having a hard time imagining much being able to…

• Snow Emergency to Resume at 4 p.m.

  Sommer Mathis

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:03 am

  Photo by The Skipping Hippy D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced at a press conference earlier this morning that a snow emergency will go into effect in the District at 4 p.m. this afternoon. As you've all learned by now, a snow emergency means that vehicles parked along snow emergency routes (download a list of those routes) will be ticketed and/or towed, and that taxi drivers are allowed to charge an extra 25 percent above normal rates. Do make sure your car is moved off of snow emergency routes before 4 p.m. The news comes just as WTOP is reporting some disconcerting news: apparently a full…

• 
  Forbes: Real Estate

• Renovated Carriage House In Chappaqua

  3 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  This 1917 Mediterranean revival home offers luxury amenities with a distinctive style.

• Best Places To Get Ahead

  1 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Over the last few years, jobs and incomes in these counties grew most.

• America's New Housing Crisis Capitals

  29 Jan 2010 | 1:00 pm

  Real-time listing prices in these areas are dropping, and experts expect them to fall further this year.

• 
  WorldChanging

• The Ghost of a Green Los Angeles

  Alex Steffen

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm

  Alex Steffen: Today, I took a long walk through the old neighborhoods of Long Beach: craftsman bungalows, Mission-style courtyard apartment buildings, quaint and walkable streets, old...

• Light and the Bright Green City

  Alex Steffen

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:41 am

  Alex Steffen: It's become a common slide at conferences: a map of the Earth at night, with the wealthier and denser areas shining brightly. Africa seen at...

• De-Industrializing the City

  Alex Steffen

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:27 pm

  Alex Steffen: One of my favorite quotes by Bjarke Ingels: "Engineering without engines. We should use contemporary technology and computation capacity to make our buildings independent...

• Vote Today and Help Us Win $5K!

  WorldChanging Team

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:43 am

  WorldChanging Team: Just by clicking a button, you can help us win a $5,000 grant from Brighter Planet. Worldchanging's project proposal, Advocate for Climate Neutral Cities,...

• Visions Desirable, Present and Future

  Mark Tovey

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:03 am

  Mark Tovey: Here at WorldChanging, we often have conversations about how best to envision desirable futures. Not just on how to collaborate on designing them, or accelerate...

• 
  Environment News Network

• Beans climb to new heights in Rwanda

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:55 am

  Climbing beans suited to rainy high-altitude areas are being distributed in Rwanda after a decade of research. The fifteen varieties, developed by the Rwandan Agricultural Research Institute (ISAR) in collaboration with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), could benefit smallholder farmers in similar areas across Central and East Africa. Unlike the more commonly-planted 'bush beans', the beans are resistant to legume diseases such as anthracnose, root rot and ascochyta, which are found in damp, higher altitude areas.

• Wild tigers in China declining - habitat destruction, poaching to blame

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:17 am

  China has an estimated 50 or fewer tigers left living in the wild, but efforts to stabilize one population in the bleak northeast are starting to pay off, a conservationist said on Monday. Tigers once roamed huge swathes of China, right up to the now booming east coast. Their population has collapsed due to habitat destruction on the back of rapid economic development and poaching for tiger products to use in traditional medicine. About 10 still live in the southwestern province of Yunnan, some 15 in Tibet, and 20 or so in northwestern Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, said Xie Yan, China…

• Sea Level Rises and Falls

  7 Feb 2010 | 4:50 am

  The sea level in Israel has been rising and falling over the past 2,500 years, with a one-meter difference between the highest and lowest levels, most of the time below the present-day level. This has been shown in a new study supervised by Dr. Dorit Sivan, Head of the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa. "Rises and falls in sea level over relatively short periods do not testify to a long-term trend. It is early yet to conclude from the short-term increases in sea level that this is a set course that will not take a change in direction," explains Dr. Sivan.

• Arctic climate changing fast

  7 Feb 2010 | 4:15 am

  Climate change is transforming the Arctic environment faster than expected and accelerating the disappearance of sea ice, scientists said on Friday in giving their early findings from the biggest-ever study of Canada's changing north. The research project involved more than 370 scientists from 27 countries who collectively spent 15 months, starting in June 2007, aboard a research vessel above the Arctic Circle. It marked the first time a ship has stayed mobile in Canada's high Arctic for an entire winter.

• Alternative Energy Grows in Europe

  6 Feb 2010 | 5:42 am

  Wind and solar technology made up over half of Europe’s new electricity generating capacity in 2009, as the number of new coal and nuclear facilities fell More wind capacity was installed in Europe during 2009 than any other electricity-generating technology, according to statistics released today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). Wind accounted for 39 per cent of increased European energy capacity, ahead of gas (26 per cent) and solar (16 per cent). In contrast, the nuclear and coal power sectors decommissioned more megawatts of capacity than they installed in 2009, with a…

• 
  NYT: Environment

• Skeptics Find Fault With U.N. Climate Panel

  By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  Rajendra K. Pachauri and the U.N. panel he leads face accusations of scientific sloppiness and conflicts of interest.

• U.S. Officials Plan $78.5 Million Effort to Keep Dangerous Carp Out of Great Lakes

  By MONICA DAVEY

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:45 pm

  Addressing a threat that has grown increasingly tense throughout the Midwest as genetic material from the fish was found in Lake Michigan.

• Researcher on Climate Is Cleared in Inquiry

  By JOHN M. BRODER

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:27 pm

  An academic board has largely cleared Dr. Michael E. Mann of misconduct arising from the unauthorized release of more than 1,000 e-mail messages.

• Whaler and Activist Ship Collide Off Antarctica

  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

  6 Feb 2010 | 11:05 pm

  The anti-whaling ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided in the icy waters off Antarctica in their second major clash this year.

• Hawaii Senate Says Cutting Back on Paper Has Saved $1.2 Million

  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

  6 Feb 2010 | 4:04 pm

  By eliminating the use of millions of sheets of paper, the lawmakers said they saved more than 800 trees.

• 
  GreenBiz.com Green Business News

• Chicago's Green Economy Grows, But Struggles Remain: The State of Green Business Forum-Chicago

  Jonathan Bardelline

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:43 am

  The Chicago area has seen growth in its green economy and exciting action around services for new and small businesses, but hurdles still remain as companies, non-profits and other groups look for resources and funds.  

• Green Policies Can Add Billions to the U.K.'s Budget

  James Murray

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:09 am

  A new report argues that axing tax breaks for carbon-intensive industries, curbing spending on road expansion and improving public sector energy efficiency could cut the country's national debt by £12 billion a year.

• Energy Efficiency Gains Horsepower: The State of Green Business 2010

  Joel Makower

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:50 am

  As managing greenhouse gas emissions approaches the importance of simply managing energy bills, a new generation of technology is making it easier for firms to pull the plug on wasted power.

• The Age of Sustainability: Why 'Less' Should Be More of Your Business Strategy

  Mahesh Pethe

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:30 am

  Business has officially entered The Age of Sustainability, and businesses that don't figure in sustainability aren’t likely to survive. Here’s a look at the reasons why as well as pointers on how your company can adapt to the change.

• Toxic Toys Scrutinized Under Washington State Law

  GreenBiz Staff

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:39 pm

  The state government has launched its pilot test of a new law that will require manufacturers to disclose potentially hazardous chemicals in toys and children's products.

• 
  GreenerBuildings

• A Call to Action on Cap and Trade: The State of Green Business-Chicago

  Jonathan Bardelline

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:35 pm

  By not having a national carbon cap-and-trade policy, the United States is losing out on its chance to become a green and clean technology leader, says Chicago Climate Exchange founder Richard Sandor.  

• Chicago's Green Economy Grows, But Struggles Remain: The State of Green Business Forum-Chicago

  Jonathan Bardelline

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:43 am

  The Chicago area has seen growth in its green economy and exciting action around services for new and small businesses, but hurdles still remain as companies, non-profits and other groups look for resources and funds.  

• Spotlight: Being Honest With Ourselves: Putting Numbers Behind Green Business

  admin

  5 Feb 2010 | 1:25 pm

  This slideshow, a companion to Saul Griffith's lightning-paced presentation at the State of Green Busines Forum 2010, offers a look at the personal and global levels of responsibility for reducing our environmental impacts.

• Geoengineering -- Our Responsibility to the World: State of Green Business Forum 2010

  Jonathan Bardelline

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:45 pm

  Humans have been altering the planet for more than hundreds of years, so it's only our responsibility to actively use geoengineering to avoid catastrophe, said Jamais Cascio in his State of Green Business Forum presentation, “Hacking the Earth (Without Voiding the Warranty).”  

• When GreenBiz Meets Cleantech: State of Green Business Forum 2010

  Leslie Guevarra

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:55 pm

  What happens when green business meets cleantech? When those companies are like Best Buy, Autodesk and Serious Materials, you get firms that align their products and services with efforts to foster sustainability -- and in some cases guide the marketplace toward broader and deeper adoption of environmentally responsible practices.

• 
  How can I recycle this?

• How can I make a gift bag reusing and recycling stuff?

  louisa

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am

  We all know wrapping paper is bad, m’okay? and that reusable gift bags are a far better alternative if you go in for that type of presentation and reusable gifts bags made out of recycled stuff from around the home are better yet – but how do you make them? I wanted to make a gift bag in a hurry the other day out of some old brown paper. A quick search pointed me towards a number of tutorials which used existing boxes as templates – either intact boxes or as nets – but I wondered if anyone else had any other designs? Another idea I had was to make a quick pouch out of…

• How can I reuse or recycle louvre doors?

  louisa

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am

  We’ve had an email from Stuart: Dismantled some fitted cupboards, six tall louvre doors leftover. Ideas? I really like the idea of louvre/louver doors as indoor window shutters, an alternative to blinds. I’m not 100% sure what they’re called but you can get hinges to fix them together so they fold at the joins, rather than needing a pocket recess/recess space. Similarly, you can use them to make a concertina room divider and there is a lovely Instructable which explains all. The same principle could be used to make a sun-screen/privacy shade for the garden. They can also…

• How can I reuse or recycle sticky hard sweets/candy?

  louisa

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:30 am

  We’ve had a short but sweet (ha!) email to Compost This from Matea: Can I put sweets gone sticky in my compost bin? As with many “can I compost this?” questions, there is no fixed answer that applies 100% of the time in 100% of the situations. In a basic open heap, I’d say no – the sweetness may attracted unwanted insects and if it’s only breaking down slowly, you might end up with a sticky lump in the middle of your heap. Even when it does breakdown, they won’t add that many nutrients to your compost heap – in the same way they’re not…

• Upcycling advice: how to punch out discs?

  louisa

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  We’ve had an email from Kenny that I’m sure some of you will be able to help with: I teach art in Glasgow and I’m trying to find some way of punching disc of various diameters (eg.10mm 15mm 22mm 30mm) out of recycled plastic, fabric, paper etc. to make jewellery. Any suggestions? The ring-binder size metal ones, like one in the picture, work fine for small circles, but only small discs about 5mm in diameter. I tried using fancier shaped/bigger hole punches with thin plastic but because the ones I had were designed for thick paper/card, the plastic kept gumming them up.

• How can I reuse or recycle old plaster board/drywall?

  louisa

  3 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am

  We’re finally having some damp-proofing work done on our lower ground floor – in what will become our awesome office. I say “finally” because it was supposed to be task #1 when we bought the house, finished before we moved in, but we’ve been living here for four months now… The room is damp because it’s partially underground on one wall but, more importantly, it was used as a bedroom for years and was made completely draft-proof. The chimney was blocked up, then covered with a wall, the floor was completely sealed with asphalt, all the windows/doors…

• 
  Consumer Reports: Home & Garden

• 75 years of alligators, toilets, and the New York City sewer system

  Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:46 am

  Has this gator tale gone down the drain? One of the longest-lived urban legends I'm familiar with holds that congregations of hungry, vicious alligators are prowling the New York City sewer system. There's at least one documented case of an actual gator in the city's sewer system, and today marks the 75th anniversary of the discovery by a group of young boys of a 7.5- to 8-foot-long alligator in a sewer on 123rd Street in Manhattan.Borough President Scott Stringer has even declared February 9 "Alligators in the Sewers Day." For more details on that 1935 event, read the…

• Best budget-friendly gifts for Valentine's Day

  Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:54 am

  Make this Valentine's Day a special one. Nearly half the respondents to a survey last year by the Consumer Reports National Research Center said hard economic times were forcing them to spend less on Valentine's Day gifts. The Valentine's Day products and services covered here will help you celebrate without busting your budget. (Reminder: Valentine's Day takes place on February 14—that's this coming Sunday.) For roses, shop at local floristsShop at local florists to make sure you get the flowers you want. When we checked out national flower-delivery services a few years…

• Behr hopes to sell more paint to contractors with its new direct-to-pro program

  Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:22 pm

  Behr Premium Plus Ultra paints, sold at Home Depot, were the top-scoring finishes in our March 2010 report on interior paints. (Ratings of low-luster, flat, and semigloss finishes are available to subscribers.)Lots of you agree with and many of you disagree with our findings and fiercely debate which is the best paint in our active forums. What's more, many professional contractors choose other brands over Behr, a point the company's representatives acknowledged at last month's International Builders' Show. And some pro painters take real issue with Consumer Reports'…

• 2010 snowpocalypse was outdone by the Great Blizzard of 1978

  Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pm

  Storm over the eastern U.S., 2/5/10.Photo: NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab Since misery apparently loves company—and if you happen to have some free time because your stuck at home in the wake of this past weekend's snowpocalypse/snowmageddon and if your power is still on—you might want to read about another huge winter storm that ended 32 years ago today: the Great Blizzard of 1978.  According to This Day in History on History.com, the Nor'easter that in three days dumped up to 55 inches of snow on some parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts finally subsided.

• In this big chill, Ice House Detroit nears completion

  Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:01 pm

  As we reported last fall, the Ice House Detroit project was conceived by architectural photographer Gregory Holm and architect Matthew Radune as a way to draw attention to what's happening in the Motor City as a result of the devastating blow suffered by the housing market there.As detailed on the Ice House Detroit blog, the duo has been wielding water hoses and battling the winter sun as they worked to encase one of the city's thousands of abandoned houses completely in ice, what they label "an architectural installation and social change project." Holm and Radune say…

• 
  Sustainablog

• Americans Want to Know: “How Do I Recycle My Computer?”

  Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:53 am

  Aluminum cans? Plastic bottles? Newspapers? Though recycling statistics show that we’ve still got some work to do on diverting wastes away from landfills, you’ve probably got a good idea of how to recycle these common household items. But what about computers and televisions? Paint? Used motor oil? Earth 911’s search statistics for 2009, released today, [...]

• First Earth: Watch this Earthen Building Documentary Online

  ziggy

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:18 pm

  There’s a growing ecological awareness in all aspects of daily life, but some of our newfangled environmental actions have already been in practice for hundreds (or thousands) or years. “Green building” is an architectural movement that attempts to take the environment more closely into account in designing buildings, but the movement is generally very commercial. Natural [...]

• Solar Irrigation Increases Food Supply, Economic Opportunity in Benin

  Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:38 am

  If you live in the developed world, you likely take turning on the lights or the water for granted. So, it may be difficult to imagine the lifestyle (if you can call it that) of people in sub-Saharan Africa without these kinds of luxuries. Lack of infrastructure to deliver these services doesn’t just create inconvenience; [...]

• Plan B 4.0 Book Byte: Rescuing Failing States

  Earth Policy Institute

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:15 pm

  By Lester R. Brown One of the leading challenges facing the international community is how to rescue failing states, those countries most at risk of collapse due to a combination of weak governance, internal violence, and social upheaval. Continuing with business as usual in international assistance programs is not working, as evidenced by the continuing deterioration [...]

• Sandhill Farm: Eating Homegrown

  ziggy

  1 Feb 2010 | 3:51 pm

  Sandhill Farm is a small agricultural intentional community located in northeastern Missouri, neighbors of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. The community has been farming organically for 35 years and provides most of their own organic food* through a combination of gardens, field crops, raising poultry and bees, growing mushrooms, sugaring, and more. Sandhill’s six members grow food [...]

• 
  All MNN Content

• Can I recycle my old VHS tapes?

  Chanie Kirschner

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:56 am

  Q: I started my spring cleaning early and I just came across some boxes (16 to be exact) of old VHS tapes. I never got rid of them because some of them are home movies that I’d like to transfer to some other form of media that I can actually use. You know, first birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, graduations and the like. The rest, like all my old '80s movies, I’ll probably just toss.

• FDA to clarify serving sizes

  Katherine Butler

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:54 am

  In a move towards the fight against obesity, the Food and Drug Administration may require food manufacturers to post nutritional information on the front of packages. But the New York Times reports that this effort underscores a larger issue: serving sizes for many packaged foods are too small. For example, look at the calorie count and serving size for a bowl of cereal — odds are that you're eating two bowls and twice as many calories.

• Toyota recalls 2010 Prius, other hybrids

  MNN User

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:29 am

  By Yuri Kageyama / Associated Press   Toyota says it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problems — the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world's largest automaker.   [[social-toolbar]]"I don't see Toyota as an infallible company

• Shredding the streets of DC

  Shea Gunther

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am

  How much snow did Washington, DC just get?

• No Dumpster(ing)

  Matt Hickman

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:28 pm

  Over the summer, I profiled California-based nonprofit, Deconstruction & ReUse Network (DRN), a major player in the home deconstruction movement that had just finished up a fantastic whole-house recycling project in Beverly Hills.

• 
  Triple Pundit

• Can Green Plants Green Coal Plants?

  RP Siegel

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:05 am

  If you take a bunch of dead trees and grasses and shrubs and bury them underground and wait a couple of hundred million years, you get coal: a highly concentrated energy source which has the unfortunate side effect of releasing a very large proportion of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But what if you simply [...]

• Tesco Opens World’s First Zero Carbon Supermarket, Pledges $156 M to UK Green Economy

  Kathryn Siranosian

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:56 am

  Last week, Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, opened the world’s first zero carbon supermarket. The store has no net carbon footprint and exports any extra electricity generated back to the national grid. Located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, this new supermarket boasts several eco-friendly features, including: A combined heat and power plant which runs on bio fuels from renewable sources [...]

• Is Climate Change Legislation Dead in 2010?

  Cory Vanderpool

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  The latest chatter on the Hill is that climate legislation is not likely to pass this year. High jobless numbers, financial reform and the health care debate continue to thwart efforts focused on the environment. It is possible that the Senate will settle for an energy-only bill and call it a day. The likelihood of [...]

• Despite Recession, Home Depot Keeps on Giving

  Jim Witkin

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Last week’s announcement from the Home Depot Foundation suggests that even with sales slumps and layoffs, the nation’s largest retailer of home improvement products still views charitable giving as good business. The company is expecting lower revenues for 2009 when results are announced in February, and for the third consecutive January is cutting its workforce.  Still, [...]

• Nominate A Pioneering, Successful, Green Restaurant!

  Bill Roth

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:21 am

  “Does green really sell,” is the question I am most consistently asked. Amanda’s is one of my favorite answers to this question. It is a restaurant that its founder, Amanda West, defines as “Whole Foods meets In–N-Out Burger.” It is also likely that Amanda’s represents the future of the fast food industry. America is a [...]

• 
  Green Living

• What would encourage you to buy a fully electric vehicle?

  GreenLiving

  26 Jan 2010 | 10:42 am

  * Rebates and financial incentives from the government. * Greatest reductions on polluting emissions. * Superior safety rating compared to other vehicles.

• Do you bike in the winter?

  GreenLiving

  5 Jan 2010 | 12:43 pm

  * I cycle all year round, snow won't stop me. * I try to bike as long as possible but take transit when it gets below freezing. * No way!

• Will being more green be part of your New Year's resolutions?

  GreenLiving

  23 Dec 2009 | 1:27 pm

  * Yes, I'll be making more changes to my lifestyle, I know it's worth the effort. * Not really, I'm going to continue doing what I do now - keeping up with that is hard enough!

• Sensational Eco Accessories

  GreenLiving

  16 Dec 2009 | 7:52 am

  See the stunning new line of jewelry made with recycled gold and conflict-free gemstones read more

• How will you travel to your holiday event?

  GreenLiving

  15 Dec 2009 | 1:36 pm

  * Fly * Car * Bus * Train * The party's at our house!

• 
  Go Green: DIYs, How-tos and Recipes - Editorial Staff Picks - SustainLane

• Recipe for Bubbling Blue Cheese Dip

  SustainLane

  Looking for a great dip? Try this classic blue cheese. Homemade can be almost as fast as opening a tub! Active Time: 10 minutesTotal Time: 10 minutesIngredients1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened2 garlic cloves1 small pinch salt1/4 cup milk1/4 cup mayonaise1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Tabasco)1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper4 ounces blue cheese (about 1 cup, crumbled)2 tablespoons chopped chivesDirectionsPlace cream cheese in bowl of food processor and pulse until smooth.Peel and slice garlic and sprinkle with salt. Use side of knife to mash garlic…

• Is the Fermented Tea Kombucha Really the Healing Wonder Drink It's Cracked Up to Be?

  SustainLane

  They say it smooths cellulite and cures cancer. It tastes pickled, sparkly and faintly alive. Sometimes it contains slimy lumps that slither down your throat. They say it cures cancer. They—and by "they" I mean the nameless, faceless but seemingly unlimited horde of strangers on the Internet—also say it cures diabetes, migraines, asthma, acne, AIDS, hangovers, psoriasis, insomnia, fatigue, bronchitis, arteriosclerosis, bad eyesight, cold sores and erectile dysfunction. They say it reverses the aging process, smoothing out wrinkles, growing hair on formerly bald scalps and…

• Smarter Planet, the Swap and the Surrealism of Now

  SustainLane

  A friend asked me what I thought about yet another site that seems to pick up on Worldchanging's vibe. I've gotten more than a little jaded about the uptake of green techie futurism in the media. While I was taking a break from writing about cities of the future, a friend sent me Jon Hiskes' post about the new Smarter Planet site and asked me what I thought about yet another site that seems to pick up on Worldchanging's solutions-based, future-focused vibe.I've gotten more than a little jaded about the uptake of green techie futurism in the media. See, I've covered sustainability since 1990,…

• 
  TreeHugger

• Fisker Says 'Bye-Bye Michigan', Brings Whole Team to California

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:42 pm

  Photo: Fisker At the end of 2008, Fisker announced that it was opening and engineering center in Michigan, near Detroit. Was it just to help sweeten its position for its government loan approval? Who knows... But now the company is focusing on its next vehicle (codename: Project NINA), and has announced that "Beginning March 1 Fisker Automotive's global headquarters in Irvine, California will house all design, engineering, sales, marketing, and administrative operations." Bye-bye Michigan.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

• Ford Unveils Electric Version of Transit Connect Utility Van

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:36 am

  Photo: Ford Not Sexy, But the Business World Needs Electric Vehicles Too Ford has just unveiled the electric version of its award-winning Transit Connect utility van in Chicago, and it's not just a "maybe far in the future" announcement. Transit Connect Electric vans should be in the hands of customers "later this year", says Ford, though full volume production is only scheduled for 2011.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

• TreeHugger's Best of Green 2010: Now Calling for Nominations

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:03 am

  Do you know of a green person, product, company, event, or concept that deserves to be lauded for the positive environmental change it has enacted? Let us know! In TreeHugger's second annual Best of Green Awards, we're looking to bestow top honors on the people, places, and things that are helping move sustainability into the mainstream. Last year, we awarded more than 170 prizes across eight general themes. This year, we're asking for your help making some of the selections. Let us know who you think should be nominated for a Best of Green Award. Then we'll ask for your hel... Read the full…

• Kaizen Fail: Toyota Recalls 437,000 Hybrids Worldwide, Mostly 2010 Prius Models

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am

  Photo: Toyota Ouch We all knew it was coming, but now it's official. Toyota has formally filed a voluntary recall for 437,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide. Most of those are third generation Prius hybrids, but they're also recalling the few Prius PHEV out there (the plug-in hybrid version, more details here), the Lexus HS 250h, and the SAI in Japan. This breaks down to about 223,000 hybrids recalled in Japan, 150,000 in North-America, and about 63,000... Read the full story on TreeHugger

• 8 Ways to Create City Utopias for Peds and Cyclists (Or At Least Stop Killing Them...Us)

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  Photo credit Tim Green aka atoach @ flickr. Without even knowing it, you are daily performing, probably at least a little bit, the death-defying act of pedestrianism. (And the most fatal area for peds? D.C.) Traffic fatalities

• 
  WSJ.com: Commercial Real Estate

• Mortgage Bankers Sell Building at a Loss

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:06 pm

  The Mortgage Bankers Association sold its 10-story headquarters building in Washington, D.C., for $41.3 million, well below the $79 million it paid in 2007.

• Mortgage Bankers Sell Building at a Loss

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:06 pm

  The Mortgage Bankers Association sold its 10-story headquarters building in Washington, D.C., for $41.3 million, well below the $79 million it paid in 2007.

• Connecticut, Starwood Hit Bump

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:29 pm

  Connecticut pulled off a coup when Starwood Hotels agreed to relocate its headquarters there. But now there are questions being raised over how the state sealed the deal.

• Connecticut, Starwood Hit Bump

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:29 pm

  Connecticut pulled off a coup when Starwood Hotels agreed to relocate its headquarters there. But now there are questions being raised over how the state sealed the deal.

• China Prepares to Salvage CCTV Tower

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:33 pm

  Beijing is preparing to rebuild a Rem Koolhaas skyscraper in the complex housing the national broadcaster, a year after fire gutted the structure.

• 
  WSJ.com: Real Estate

• Mortgage Bankers Sell Building at a Loss

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:06 pm

  The Mortgage Bankers Association sold its 10-story headquarters building in Washington, D.C., for $41.3 million, well below the $79 million it paid in 2007.

• Connecticut, Starwood Hit Bump

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:29 pm

  Connecticut pulled off a coup when Starwood Hotels agreed to relocate its headquarters there. But now there are questions being raised over how the state sealed the deal.

• China Prepares to Salvage CCTV Tower

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:33 pm

  Beijing is preparing to rebuild a Rem Koolhaas skyscraper in the complex housing the national broadcaster, a year after fire gutted the structure.

• Home Builders See Daylight

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:42 am

  Fewer write-downs and cancellations along with improved order rates are putting some lift into the depressed home construction market.

• Lenders Seize Sillerman Resort

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:45 pm

  Lenders holding the $180 million mortgage on entertainment mogul Robert Sillerman's luxury resort in Anguilla have taken over the half-built project.

• 
  Wash Post Real Estate

• Murray Hill, just south of Beltway, offers convenience and comforts

  Ann Cameron Siegal

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  It's easy to drive past Murray Hill as you navigate Indian Head Highway, Route 210. But this conveniently located community of ramblers and split-levels in Prince George's County is worth a look.

• Cash-in refinancing could help homeowners save

  Kenneth Harney

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Thinking of cashing out some equity when you refinance your mortgage? Sure, that used to be what millions of homeowners did when they needed extra money.

• An infrared sauna: Luxury at a price you can relax with

  Barbara Ruben Special to The Washington Post

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Lyme disease left Kathy Fowler's hands so stiff that she couldn't type. She couldn't remember simple directions. Intravenous antibiotics helped, but Fowler, a health reporter for WJLA (Channel 7), wanted to explore alternative treatments as well.

• housing counsel

  Housing Counsel

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Housing Counsel, by Benny L. Kass, can be found this week at http://washingtonpost.com/realestate. He discusses how owners can secure a tax-deferred exchange of a second home. His column will return to the print edition.

• MURRAY HILL

  Murray Hill

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  BOUNDARIES: Indian Head Highway to the west, Livingston Road to the north, Hart Road to the east and E. Barrett Road to the south

• 
  NYT > Real Estate

• Salt Lake City Journal: Project Renews Downtown, and Debate

  By KIRK JOHNSON

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:09 am

  A $1 billion Mormon church-financed redevelopment project and a wave of recent church purchases in Salt Lake City have put a new focus on the line between culture and economics.

• In City Real Estate, Old Clans Are Shrewd Again

  By CHARLES V. BAGLI

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:10 am

  Some families with deep roots in Manhattan kept their heads a few years ago when the market overheated.

• Developer Is Accused of Fleecing Investors

  By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:40 pm

  Adam Hochfelder, a onetime real estate mogul, was charged with taking $2.5 million from clients and friends for hotel deals he never made.

• New York Plans to Topple Public Housing Towers

  By MANNY FERNANDEZ

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:43 pm

  For the first time in its 75-year history, the New York City Housing Authority wants to knock down an entire high-rise complex.

• Square Feet | The 30-Minute Interview: Cory Gubner

  By VIVIAN MARINO

  6 Feb 2010 | 7:20 pm

  Mr. Gubner is the president and chief executive of RHYS Commercial, a full-service commercial real estate company based in Stamford, Conn.

• 
  Commercial Real Estate Industry News Headlines | Bizjournals.com

• RBC buys Portrait project at auction

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:56 am

  RBC Bank purchased portions of the unfinished Ridge Creek condominium project at a foreclosure auction Tuesday.

• Essex buys West Dublin BART site for $5M

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:48 am

  Essex Property Trust, a San Mateo-based apartment developer and owner, paid $5 million for a 3.6-acre parcel entitled for up to 309 apartments next to the West Dublin BART Station.

• Baltimore scrambling for snow removal contractors

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake put out a call Tuesday to local contractors able to clean up and cart off the record snowfall that’s littered Baltimore’s roadways.

• Cousins profit up 18 percent 2009

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:22 am

  Cousins Properties Inc. overcame more than $140 million in impairment charges to grow its profit by 18.5 percent in 2009. (CUZ)

• Fenty welcomes CoStar to town

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:16 am

  Mayor Adrian Fenty welcomed CoStar Group Inc. to D.C. on Tuesday with a snowy press conference at the company’s new headquarters, where he pledged to use incentive packages to lure other employers to the city. (CSGP)

• 
  Smartbrief: International Council of Shopping Centers

• Obama delivers $3.8 trillion budget to Congress

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  The deficit would hit $1.6 trillion this year before beginning to decline in 2011 under a budget President Barack Obama deliv -More- 

• Unibail-Rodamco buys Simon shopping center venture for $981M

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  European property company Unibail-Rodamco is acquiring a shopping center venture between Simon Property Group and Ivanhoe Cam -More- Retail clothing store opportunities are leaking out of ZIP Code 92704. Do you know what's happening in your market? Get a free ESRI Retail MarketPlace Profile report from Business Analyst Online to understand supply and demand, and review the number of businesses by industry sector such as clothing, shoes, furniture, electronics, and more.

• Simon denies reports of negotiations with General Growth

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  Simon Property Group denies reports that it is in negotiations with General Growth Properties.  -More- 

• G-7 can't reach accord on financial regulation:

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  Leaders at a Group of Seven meeting failed to reach an accord on financial regulation, French Finance Minister Christine Laga -More- Can You Grow a Business Without Adding More Staff? "Automating the processing of vendor invoices allowed us to acquire properties w/o more staff," says CFO Tom Rutherford of LBA Realty. Read Study or Attend Webinar to see how Inland Real Estate Group and Maguire Properties automated AP.

• Source: Only Liberty's London operations to exist as REIT

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  More news about U.K.-based Liberty International's possible plans: According to a source, the company will keep its shopping  -More- 

• 
  msnbc.com: Real estate

• Mortgage rates edge up slightly

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:30 am

  Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly this week, inching above 5 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. Freddie Mac - Mortgage - Loan - Macintosh - Apple

• NYT: No help in sight, more homeowners walk away

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:25 pm

  By June, about 5.1 million people are projected own a home whose value is below 75 percent of what is owed, prompting many to walk away from their mortgages. Mortgage - New York Times - Foreclosure - United States - Loan

• Modest increase seen in home sales activity

  2 Feb 2010 | 8:09 am

  The number of people preparing to buy a home rose slightly in December, a sign that home sales could be stabilizing heading into the spring home buying season. Shrubs - Plants - Home - Gardening - Roses

• Duplicity in mother-of-all mortgage walkaways

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:46 am

  Tishman Speyer Properties walks away from 11,232 Manhattan apartments because it can't pay its mortgage. That's good business. Tishman Speyer Properties - Business - United States - Financial Services - Mortgages

• Some see hints of bottom in housing

  29 Jan 2010 | 4:47 am

  Although evidence is mixed and tentative, some analysts see evidence that hard-hit housing markets in California, Arizona and elsewhere are showing signs of healing. California - Arizona - United States - Business and Economy - Housing

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  Residential Real Estate Industry News Headlines | Bizjournals.com

• Texas unveils veteran homebuyer discount

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:47 am

  The state released $30 million today meant to assist veterans buying homes in Texas.

• Condos spur uptick in home sales

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  The number of Nashville-area home sales again ticked upward, according to data released today by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.

• Survey: Jobs, housing biggest local concerns

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:42 am

  Employment and the residential housing industry were the top economic concerns for the majority of Memphians taking part in the latest SurveyMemphis.

• Cousins profit up 18 percent 2009

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:22 am

  Cousins Properties Inc. overcame more than $140 million in impairment charges to grow its profit by 18.5 percent in 2009. (CUZ)

• Zillow: Pennsylvania mortgage rates rise, but stay below 5%

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:02 am

  Average mortgage rates in Pennsylvania rose over the past week, but stayed just below 5 percent, according to mortgage rate Web site Zillow.com.

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  BloodhoundRealty.com

• We can’t undo what happened yesterday in Haiti, but we can do what we can to make tomorrow better. Here’s how you can help.

  Greg Swann

  13 Jan 2010 | 2:41 pm

  Tom Vanderwell, who writes with us at BloodhoundBlog, our national real estate industry weblog, adopted two of his children from Haiti. He has long been involved with the orphanage there, even setting up their weblog: God’s Littlest Angels in Haiti. Since yesterday’s earthquake, Tom has been working continuously with the orphanage’s staff, both to make sure they have what they need right now and to help them prepare for what seems likely to be a surge in orphaned children. No doubt there are a lot of people appealing for your help right now, but Tom’s efforts could…

• Are the uninformed chatterboxes in your area insisting that the real estate market has recovered? You may want to defer the celebration. Even so, this could be the golden moment for investors in Phoenix.

  Greg Swann

  5 Jan 2010 | 4:31 pm

  I’ve known for six months or more that there was a sweet spot on the horizon for investors and other highly-solvent buyers in the Phoenix real estate market. That event was delayed by the first-time home-buyer’s tax credit. Today’s news about declines in the number of pending purchase contracts is a symptom of the market returning to an unstimulated level of demand. I watched the dropoff reflected in today’s news as it happened last fall. Lenders cut off new applications for first-timers and, just like that, price pressure eased, available inventories started to rise…

• Why are lender-owned homes so much easier to buy than short sales?

  Greg Swann

  28 Dec 2009 | 8:03 am

  An extended answer to a question from a buyer client, the short film linked below goes into the in-house procedures that result in the observed effect: Lender-owned homes are much easier to get under contract and to get through the closing process than are short sales. We also talk a bit about strategy, particularly for mortgage-financed transactions. Click on the link below to watch the video.

• To our friends and clients: Merry Christmas, Joyous Holidays, Happy New Year — and thank you so much for being here with us!

  Greg Swann

  25 Dec 2009 | 1:15 pm

  Here’s to your health, wealth and happiness in the coming year!

• A look back at the last decade in real estate, what I got right, what I got wrong — and where things go from here

  Greg Swann

  26 Nov 2009 | 2:16 pm

  My friend Andrew Breese asked me to go through my own history, in light of both the real estate boom and the bust, detailing where I was wrong and where I was right. Very big job, and it would be a long essay to write, so I’ve elected to go through it in video instead. Click on the graphic below to watch the video.

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  Bubble Meter

• Housing bubble poetry

  James

  5 Feb 2010 | 11:50 am

  Now we know what Prof. Karl Case (of S&P/Case-Shiller) is doing with his free time since he retired.Hat tip: Greg Mankiw.

• January 2010 employment data

  James

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:10 am

  The official unemployment rate declined in January. It's still too early to tell for sure, but so far it looks like we're seeing the declining unemployment that occurs after a typical recession, rather than the "jobless recovery" of the previous two recessions. (The typical pattern after a recession is for the unemployment rate to decline. That pattern was broken by the previous two recessions when the unemployment rate rose for quite a while after the recession had ended.)Payroll numbers suggest we lost 20,000 jobs in January. That's far better than the pace a year ago, but we need…

• The danger of walking away

  James

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:01 am

  Apparently, thirty states—including Virginia—are recourse states. CNN Money has an interesting article about banks pursuing people who have lost their homes. If you walk away from your home, you better be poor:Sometimes lenders go after borrowers walking away from their homes if they have other assets, according to Florida real estate attorney Larry Tolchinsky."Banks are pulling credit reports to see if it's a strategic default," he said. "If you're behind on all your other payments, you're okay. But if you're not, they'll come after you."And:What can be scary is that the judgments don't…

• Dean Baker's take on walking away

  James

  3 Feb 2010 | 3:25 am

  Economist Dean Baker, one of the first people to publicly warn of the housing bubble, disagrees with me on ethics:Walking away from an underwater mortgage is one way in which normal homeowners may be able to both help themselves and the economy.The logic is straightforward. As many as 20 million people owe more than the current value of their homes. In most cases they have little hope of ever accruing equity in their home. There continues to be an enormous glut of housing. Nationwide, vacancy rates are at record highs. Rents are actually falling for the first time since we have reliable…

• FHA to encourage flipping

  James

  2 Feb 2010 | 3:51 am

  The Federal Housing Administration is behaving more and more like the financial institutions that got us into this mess:Starting today home "Flippers" are now welcome at the FHA.That's right, with a glut of foreclosures plaguing the nation's neighborhoods, the FHA is temporarily removing restrictions on investors who buy and sell homes within 90 days.It's just for one year, but Flippers are no longer persona non-grata with the government."FHA borrowers, because of the restrictions we are now lifting, have often been shut out from buying affordable properties," FHA Commissioner David Stevens…

• 
  Paper Economy - A US Real Estate Bubble Blog

• Economic Jolt: Job Openings and Labor Turnover December 2009

  SoldAtTheTop

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am

  Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released their latest monthly read of job availability and turnover (JOLT) showing that, on a year-over-year basis, private non-farm job “openings” declined 24.82%, job “hires” declined 9.44%, job “layoffs and discharges” decreased 12.85% and job quits declined dropping 16.68%.Job “openings” (click chart below for larger version), the reports most leading “demand side” indicator, has now declined on a year-over-year basis for 28 consecutive months.Sliding down that slope of the Beveridge curve, the decline in the job vacancy rate is…

• Making His Case: The Poet

  SoldAtTheTop

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:55 pm

  Karl Case may be retired from teaching but he’s still very engaged in housing affairs as witnessed by his recent appearance on News Hour as well as this interesting poem he penned reciting his perspective on the housing bubble and its ongoing unwind.

• Liquidate, Liquidate, Liquidate!

  SoldAtTheTop

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

  At the onset of the Great Depression, then treasury secretary Andrew Mellon became a very unpopular public servant by advising president Hoover to “liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate farmers, liquidate real estate… it will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up from less competent people.”Popular interpretation, particularly among Keynesians and other conventional economists, will have you believe that Mellon’s…

• The Seven Faces of Malaise

  SoldAtTheTop

  5 Feb 2010 | 1:24 pm

  The following is a run-down of seven of the most important trends currently playing out for individuals and households.Any durable recovery must include an easing of all of these measures though some may lead while others lag.Total Unemployment represents the broadest measure of unemployment and includes the “traditional” unemployment measure combined with all “marginally attached” and otherwise “underutilized” workers (including discouraged workers).Persons unemployed for 27 or more weeks represents the total of all long term unemployed individuals who have yet to exhaust their…

• On The Stamp: Food Stamp Participation November 2009

  SoldAtTheTop

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:06 pm

  As a logical consequence of the prolonged economic downturn it appears that participation in the federal food stamp program is on the rise.In fact, household participation has been climbing so steadily that it has far surpassed the last peak set as a result of the immediate fallout following hurricane Katrina.The latest data released by the Department of Agriculture shows that, on a year-over-year basis, household participation has increased 25.45% while individual participation, as a ratio of the overall population, has increased 21.79%.The November results confirm that participation is…

• 
  Home mortgage rates and real estate news - CNNMoney.com

• Scarlett Johansson selling L.A. manse

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:42 am

• Money pit: When a cheap foreclosure costs much more

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:59 am

  Dusan Tatomirovic found a steal when he bought a foreclosed condo just north of Monterey, Calif., last April for $130,000.

• 6 ways to ensure remodeling pays off

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:09 am

  Just a few years ago you could count on getting the bulk of your money back for almost any home-improvement project you took on. Today merely replacing a toilet seat can feel like throwing caution, and cash, to the wind. According to a study from Remodeling magazine, the average return on value for an upgrade declined from 87% in 2005 to 64% in 2009. But these six new rules will help you maximize your return on your remodeling investment.

• The commercial real estate dilemma

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:34 am

  Luckily for banks, the commercial real estate time bomb just keeps on ticking.

• Lost your house? You still have to pay

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:21 pm

  As terrible as it is to lose your house to foreclosure, at least it's a relief to put your biggest financial headache behind you, right?

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  Yahoo! News: Business - Real Estate

• Economy - Monday (Investor's Business Daily)

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:45 pm

  Investor's Business Daily - The Treasury will auction $81 bil of notes and bonds in its quarterly refunding this week, the same as in the prior auction. Gov't officials said they've already raised enough to fund a budget deficit set to expand 14% this year. The Treasury's decision to stop increasing the size of its debt auctions could moderate the rise in bond yields, bolstering the economy as the Federal Reserve removes emergency stimulus. The narrower yield curve may cap mortgage rates as the Fed's $1.25 tril in mortgage-bond purchases is set to expire on March 31.

• Forget the Mortgage, I'm Paying My Credit Card Bill (U.S. News & World Report)

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:04 pm

  U.S. News & World Report - Amid high unemployment and sliding home prices, a growing number of struggling consumers are doing what was once considered unthinkable: paying their credit card bills instead of their mortgages. A recent study developed by TransUnion found the percentage of Americans who were current on their credit cards but behind on their mortgage increased to 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009, up from 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, the share of consumers making mortgage payments on time but behind on their credit cards moved in the opposite…

• Beazer Homes posts a $48 million profit for Q1 (AP)

  5 Feb 2010 | 10:50 am

  AP - Homebuyers spurred by low interest rates and government incentives helped lift Beazer Homes USA Inc.'s sales in the last three months of 2009, but the builder only turned a profit because of a hefty tax gain.

• Rising Fortunes Are Building China's Housing Market (Investor's Business Daily)

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:17 pm

  Investor's Business Daily - China's young and red-hot housing market got caught up in the recession along with the rest of the world. But its downturn became neither as severe nor as prolonged as in the U.S.

• Mortgage investors try to regroup after meltdown (AP)

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:22 pm

  AP - The financial wizards who concocted the complicated mortgage-linked investments that nearly brought down the world economy are trying to come back from the dead.

• 
  Real Estate Investing For Real | A BiggerPockets Investment Property Blog

• Grandma Was Right – Especially About the Farmer and His Mare

  Jeff Brown

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:06 pm

  Grandma was a saint. I’m bettin’ most reading this share that opinion about their grandmas. The older I get, and the more experience I acquire (endure?), the more I’ve come to realize what an incredibly wise woman she was. She was also the only person who’d address me as Jeffrey Scott without me cringing, wondering what I’d done now. She taught me much about the value and the folly of experience — a sometimes deadly paradox. Let’s talk about experience a bit. Factoid: I never saw an interest rate below 7% ’till I’d been in the business…

• Foreclosure Alternatives are Gaining Steam

  Florence Foote

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:01 am

  Nationwide, 1 in 4 mortgages were underwater by the end of 2009.  Recent research suggests when a negative equity hits 25% (i.e., the borrower owes 25% more than the market value), borrowers tend to walk away from their mortgage, even if they are perfectly capable of making the payments. These two trends, taken together, can spell disaster for real estate values. It does not take a genius to figure out that when foreclosures become increasingly common, there is a kind of “contagion” effect of cascading foreclosures, because every additional property thrown onto the market negatively…

• Learn by Doing, Exercise 2 for Real Estate Investors – How to Sell

  Ryan Moeller

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  It is important to learn and stay sharp as a real estate investor.  Learning theory is great, but applying by doing is the best way to learn and retain.  Here is the 2nd of a series of exercises that new and existing real estate investors must do to hone their craft.  Hopefully you had tremendous success during the Buy Right exercise.  Your second exercise is to Sell an item on Craigslist for more than an item is worth and fast, with favorable terms. Sell an item on Craigslist – The goal here is to get people to fight over your item and bid up the price and get better terms –…

• Improve Your Productivity: 4 Great Ways to Clone Yourself While Real Estate Investing

  John Fedro

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  Congratulations!  You are pursuing a career in the lucrative world of real estate investing.  The sky’s the limit.  Isn’t it? We are all bound by the same 24 hours in each day.  Our current unique lifestyle is a result how each one of us has used this precious time. Here are a few tactics, out of many, that will help you to multiply your efforts every day. 1. Don’t sweat the small stuff: A properly worded agreement which rewards your renters for not calling you throughout the month can free up hours per week.  Close your eyes and imagine your tenants fixing their own clogged…

• Fed Leaving Door Open to Extend Mortgage Backed Security Purchases

  Ryan Hinricher

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:02 am

  I’ve been curious lately about the end of the Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) purchases by the Federal Reserve in March.  The Fed is planning to end the program in less than 60 days on March 31st.  Currently they stand at about 94% having purchased 1.17 trillion of the 1.25 trillion allocated to purchase these securities. So while they’ve nearly fulfilled the entire program, I did some digging and found there’s starting to be some chatter about them extending the program.  We, of course, can recall to the first-time buyer credit extension being announced just as the initial credit was…

• 
  Construction Industry News - Construction Industry News Headlines | Bizjournals.com

• RBC buys Portrait project at auction

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:56 am

  RBC Bank purchased portions of the unfinished Ridge Creek condominium project at a foreclosure auction Tuesday.

• Essex buys West Dublin BART site for $5M

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:48 am

  Essex Property Trust, a San Mateo-based apartment developer and owner, paid $5 million for a 3.6-acre parcel entitled for up to 309 apartments next to the West Dublin BART Station.

• Baltimore scrambling for snow removal contractors

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake put out a call Tuesday to local contractors able to clean up and cart off the record snowfall that’s littered Baltimore’s roadways.

• Cousins profit up 18 percent 2009

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:22 am

  Cousins Properties Inc. overcame more than $140 million in impairment charges to grow its profit by 18.5 percent in 2009. (CUZ)

• Fenty welcomes CoStar to town

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:16 am

  Mayor Adrian Fenty welcomed CoStar Group Inc. to D.C. on Tuesday with a snowy press conference at the company’s new headquarters, where he pledged to use incentive packages to lure other employers to the city. (CSGP)

• 
  Top News

• HR 4581 Creates Inspector General Under FHFA to Oversee GSEs. Is this Progress?

  Joe Murin

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:28 am

  Posted To: Voice of HousingRecently US Representative Judy Biggert, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations committee, introduced H.R. 4581 in conjunction with H.R. 4450. The congresswoman’s proposal would create an Inspector General under the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for the purpose of overseeing and reporting to congress on the actions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rep. Biggert created the bill to “improve transparency and accountability” within the GSEs. The new IG will report on…

• MBS LUNCH: 3 Year Treasury Auction Results

  Matthew Graham

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:27 am

  Posted To: MBS CommentaryThe Treasury has successfully auctioned $40 billion 3-year notes. The high yield was 1.377%, which was 1.6 basis points lower than the 1pm "When Issued" yield. The bid to cover ratio, a measure of auction demand, was 2.83 bids submitted for every one accepted by the Treasury. The 3 year note has seen an average bid to cover of 3.01 in the last 4 auctions Issued date Feb. 16, 2010 Maturity date Feb. 15, 2013 CUSIP number 912828MN7 YIELDS High 1.377 pct Median 1.307 pct Low 1.200 pct PRICE/ACCEPTANCES Price 99.994122 Accepted at high 26.75 pct Bid-to-cover…

• Cost of a Loan Repurchase; Budget Deficit; Financial Sector Peformance; MBA Headquarters; ResCap Earnings

  C.M. "Corky" Watts, CMB

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:26 am

  Posted To: The Garrett Watts ReportWe asked you last week what your losses averaged on repurchases, and we got quite a few responses. Here is one: “A performing repurchase due to underwriting errors that can be refinanced into a new loan will cost about $10,000. A Non-performing repurchase that was originated in the last 12 months costs about 30 points to sell to a scratch and dent desk. A Non-performing repurchase that was originated over 12 months ago will cost 50 points as the value has most likely dropped 20% since original purchase on top of the 30 point discount in the scratch and…

• MBS ALERT: Reprice for Worse Possible

  Matthew Graham

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:04 am

  Posted To: MBS CommentaryHigh yield 1.377 pct, awards 26.75 pct of bids at high Bid-to-cover ratio 2.83, non-comp bids $156.7 mln Primary dealers take $15.42 bln of 3-year notes sale, indirect $20.37 bln We're down 6 ticks since the auction so far, and falling. Reprice risk is high at the moment...(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

• MBS MORNING: Choppy Price Action Ahead of Auction

  Adam Quinones

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:22 am

  Posted To: MBS CommentaryThis morning I reminded that we are still operating in a trader's market. Technical price patterns and highly trafficked pivot points have a heavy influence over the directionality of stocks and bonds. These effects are expanded when data is minimal and the market is waiting around for more concrete headline news about Greece and Spain. The chart below paints a clear picture of the extent to which the market is dominated by professional traders and dealers. The S&P has rallied back to pre-sovereign debt panic levels, but further progress has stalled as the…

• 
  Homes101 Real Estate News

• Real Estate Outlook: Positive Movement

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  It's a fairly rare event, but now and then most of the important economic directional signs go positive, and this is one of those weeks.

• Prepare to Avoid Buying Panic

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  When you buy anything in a panic, you create lots of room for regret. Buy real estate in a panic and you may lose more than you gain.

• Washington Report: New Budget

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Real estate took some whacks in the new 3.8 trillion dollar Obama budget presented to Congress last week, but there were some helpful proposals for housing as well.

• Housing Affected by Demographic Trends

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  The Urban Land Institute predicts there will be two major changes beginning in this new decade in our country that will affect the housing market.

• Investor Report: Financing Opportunities

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  You've probably heard that the Obama administration's budget sent to Congress last week emphasizes helping small businesses around the country, but you may not know that it also includes lots more potential financing opportunities for purchasers, owners and rehabbers of commercial real estate.

• 
  Trulia Blog - Real Estate Blog

• New Video: Trulia Local Ads

  Rudy, Social Media Guru

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:49 am

  Please join us for our 1st Trulia Local Ads webinar this Thursday February 11 at 10am PT / 1pm EST. Space is limited so please register today. Related PostsLock up your local market! Introducing Trulia Local AdsShine your spotlight everywhereTrulia Voices Video Comments on the Rise?Trulia Introduces our New Partner Program for Trulia ProAdd a Video Comment On the Trulia Blog

• Trulia CEO Pete Flint on CBS News: Homes - Where America Stands

  Rudy, Social Media Guru

  2 Feb 2010 | 4:59 pm

  Watch CBS News Videos Online According to CBS: American retailers report that home sales are up, but sellers aren’t getting the amounts they used to. Ben Tracy reports on the housing market for the CBS News series “Where America Stands.” Trulia CEO Pete Flint says- The #1 cause for Foreclosure is unemployment. Related PostsTrulia on CBS 5 NewsTrulia CEO Pete Flint Gets 4Realz with Dustin LutherThank You Voices Community…Trulia’s CEO Pete Flint on CNET Video | Despite Timing, Real Estate Sites ThrivePete Flint and Sami Inkinen Named to Inman’s List of 100 Most…

• Listen to Trulia’s Real Estate of the Union Industry Call

  Rudy, Social Media Guru

  26 Jan 2010 | 10:07 pm

  Trulia hosted a “Real Estate State of the Union” conference call today that revealed results from a recent survey on consumer sentiment with regard to how President Obama has handled the housing crisis in his first year in office. Also discussed are the most important next steps he can take to solve the housing crisis in 2010 and whether Americans believe homeownership is still a part of the “America Dream”. The discussion was hosted by Pete Flint, CEO of Trulia, Jonathan Miller, President and CEO of Miller Samuel, and Howard Glaser, Principal of The Glaser Group. Key data points and…

• Trulia, President Obama and the Real Estate of the Union

  Rudy, Social Media Guru

  25 Jan 2010 | 9:54 am

  photo credit: hiddedevries On Tuesday January 26th 2010, Trulia’s CEO Pete Flint will be hosting an industry call discussing how President Obama did in his first year in regards to turning around the housing crisis. Pete will be joined by real estate experts and pundits Jonathan Miller, President and CEO of Miller Samuel and Howard Glaser, Principal of The Glaser Group. We’ll share some results from a recent study that asked consumers to grade  how President Obama did in his first year and what steps they thought President Obama should take in 2010 to improve the housing crisis.

• Lock up your local market! Introducing Trulia Local Ads

  Stephen, Agent Marketing

  13 Jan 2010 | 6:23 am

  Today we’re excited to announce our new hyper-local advertising platform, Trulia Local Ads. Local Ads completely open up the ad market on Trulia, making it affordable for real estate professionals and businesses of all sizes to own a slice of their local market. What does a slice of your local market look like? It’s an easy way of directly targeting audiences at the city or even ZIP code level, reaching the local customers who matter to you most. We understand that your local market may be a crowded space. Local Ads make it simple to outshine the competition by grabbing the attention of…

• 
  The Real Estate Bloggers

• Mortgage Loan Fraud With Treasury Notes

  Tom Royce

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:29 am

  It is amazing how inventive people are when they are committing mortgage fraud. A Duluth, Georgia man attempted to purchase a home with a counterfeit Treasury Bond. Seriously. He presented a $225,000 note for payment on a home. One of the 1.6 Billion Dollars worth of Treasury Notes he printed at his house. Yes, you read that correctly, 1.6 billion with a b, worth of counterfeiting. The old line if you are going to steal, steal big, comes to mind. I am just wondering how many of these he got into circulation before he got busted. On Feb. 1, Gwinnett County sheriff’s investigators were…

• Mortgage Banker Association Takes 30 Million Dollar Loss on Real Estate

  Tom Royce

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:41 am

  This is rich. The Mortgage Bankers Association, MBA, bought a trophy building at the top of the market in Washington, DC in 2007 for 79 million dollars. A ten story beauty we are told, right down the road from the White House. Well, they just sold it for 41.3 million dollars in early 2010. Not counting the 7 million they paid in cash, they are still down 30 million dollars in a little over 2 years. I wonder what the association members think of that. And to make matters worse, or even more ironic, they are not letting people know how they are going to make up the 30 million dollars they will…

• Commercial Large Project Lending Improves

  Tom Royce

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:22 am

  I found some good news for the commercial real estate market, lending is improving for large projects. The drought in lending in these markets as property valuations plummeted has been disconcerting to say the least, down right terrifying if you are looking to roll over a commercial real estate loan. But as banks start to see the bottom, they are much better able to analyze the risks involved with new loans. And what a surprise, they can make prudent decisions to lend money. This is not to say the banks are in good shape. Bad loans made over the past 3 years are going to cost them…

• Indiana University Basketball Announcer Todd Leary Arrested on Real Estate Fraud

  Tom Royce

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:11 am

  As the real estate markets falter, the scams that came out of the boom are coming to light and are catching some people that you would not expect. The newest one, former Indiana University basketball player and current announcer Todd Leary was arrested. The charges were that he took title insurance escrow funds totaling 1.3 million dollars. Leary is the more famous person rounded up in this scam. His boss, Joseph Garretson, plead guilty earlier in the week for stealing 2.7 million. Leary has been relieved of his duties as color commentator for Indiana University basketball. The charges…

• A Rant on Congress, The President, and Commercial Real Estate

  Tom Royce

  2 Feb 2010 | 7:28 am

  Can I be blunt. Our government is nuts. On one hand it is sending signals to the New York Times that they are worried about commercial real estate, yet at the same time they are following a White House that recommends a 1.9 trillion dollar tax increase on businesses and the wealthy and wants to punish banks with an additional tax increase. Morons. I understand that they ran on helping the little guy, but let’s face it, the problems we face in commercial real estate are big boy problems. If there is no money to invest in labor, you need smaller offices, and smaller factories, and…

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  Square Feet

• The Good Old Days Are Back

  squarefeet

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:24 am

  A 612-unit apartment complex in Granite Bay has changed hands for $54M. The property went from hitting the market to sold in 48 days. Part of the reason why this was possible is the agency debt available for apartment purchases. The best part of the deal was the due diligence. According to John Adair, a principal with [...]

• Investors Wary of Writing Blank Checks

  squarefeet

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:13 am

  Private money was flowing into REITs by the billions last year (about $20B). But when it comes to handing money over to “blind pools”, the money has been timid. Blind pools are essentially funds offering nothing more than a business plan. Despite having great track records, Ziman (Arden Realty) and Callahan (Trizec Properties) may have some [...]

• Green Street Advisors: CRE Prices Up 10%

  squarefeet

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  According to the Green Street Advisors Commercial Property Price Index (original name), prices are up 1% in January, and now up 10% off the bottom reached in May of 2009. The GSA’s index is based on prices for transactions which have not yet closed yet, as opposed to Moody’s which reflects closed transactions. This is also [...]

• Banks Increasing CRE Lending; Bond Spreads To Widen

  squarefeet

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:40 am

  Sentiment at the Mortgage Bankers Association meeting last week in Vegas showed improvement. More banks are not only willing to lend, but their threshold for risk and size is also increasing. That readiness to restart was reflected in a separate survey of 60 banks and other lenders at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual conference in Las [...]

• Surprise Surprise: More Store Closings

  squarefeet

  4 Feb 2010 | 8:29 am

  More store closings are expected. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Given the percentage of sales retailers ring up during the holiday season, it was obvious it would have been wise to get through the holiday season and then put the wheels of closure back in action. Bloomberg has a pretty cool little multimedia [...]

• 
  About.com Real Estate Business

• Facebook Ads Update

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:40 pm

  OK, it's not a commission, and it's not even immediate business, but it's a possible! I've been reporting here about my Facebook PPC ads that have been running a couple of months. I've gathered a few new Facebook Friends through the ads, and hope to build a group of friends that might result in business. The first direct remark that gives me hope came today, and here's the text: "Anyway, [name withheld] and I will probable retire to Taos in the next few years, you might have a client." It was on the end of a nice message attached to the acceptance of my friend request. It's more than I've…

• Following a Herd Just Results in Knee-deep...

  7 Feb 2010 | 2:11 am

  It's always fun to watch what the real estate community does with a new technology development or service. With email, it's way past new, and there are still millions of spammy "how to make your kitchen smell good for showings" type drip mail going out every day. What the hey, it's free right? Now it's Twitter and "auto-follow" tools. If someone mentions "real estate" in a Tweet, they don't realize that they're about to be attacked. Here's a Tweet in my morning's search: "Marketing on twitter! I wish they'd be sensible about it. ! I got followed by a real estate co in LA just becoz I put Real…

• Rise in Jingle Mail May Be Coming

  3 Feb 2010 | 1:26 am

  In this post about "strategic default," I linked to an article about an Arizona professor's contention that homeowners should not feel guilty about walking away from severely under water mortgages. A new article from the New York Times predicts a rise in jingle mail, considering there are about to be more than 5 million homeowners at least 25% under water with their mortgages. The government hasn't figured out a way to attack this problem. The professor in Arizona seemed to think that if enough people walk away, banks may become much more willing to write down mortgages to true value. We…

• DSCR - Debt Service Coverage Ratio Calculations

  2 Feb 2010 | 1:31 am

  While there are a number of websites that show how to calculate the DSCR, or Debt Service Coverage Ratio, used by lenders to make commercial mortgage decisions, it's not going to be the direction a buyer wants to take in evaluating a property for purchase. While we need to use DSCR when looking at an apartment or multifamily project, we're more likely to want to see what we may be able to borrow to buy it, rather than what the DSCR is for the current mortgage. In this DSCR calculation example, I'll show you how to do it both ways, but with more emphasis on how to determine, with a minimum…

• Arizona Prof Says OK to Walk On Your Mortgage

  31 Jan 2010 | 1:16 am

  It's an interesting article about "strategic default," walking away from an underwater home mortgage even if you can pay the payments. This Arizona law professor believes that homeowners are being treated differently than businesses, in that a corporation's board usually encourages walking away from unprofitable loans as a valid business strategy for their shareholders. He also believes that, if more homeowners would walk away, banks would begin to be more cooperative in writing down balances to erase some or all of their negative equity. If his paper is correct, banks apparently do it…

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  Blown Mortgage

• Loan Modification Horror Stories, What Are The Lessons?

  Andrew

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:37 am

  HAMP’s loan modification program seems to be finally speeding up its conversion rate from trial loan modifications to converted modifications. However, the 4 million troubled homeowners targeted by the program are not even close to receiving the help they need. The debate continues on exactly how much responsibility the Government has towards troubled homeowners. Should they simply shoulder their responsibility, lose their home and start from scratch? One, obviously upset, commentator had this to say about the issue: How many people seeking home loan modifications used their home as their…

• How To Spot A Loan Modification Scam Before You Are A Victim Of It.

  Andrew

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:14 pm

  The media has been rife with horror stories of scam artists preying on one of the most vulnerable sectors of our population, troubled homeowners and their families. However, many homeowners just haven’t got the message so we shall revise a few of the signs that can help us spot a loan modification scammer. These leeches of society will ask for exorbitant fees from homeowners too worried or clueless to see they are paying a thief for something they could do for free. It must be said beforehand that, as in so many other industries, the many pay for the sins of the few, and that most loan…

• Forensic Loan Auditing: How To Get Leverage On Your Loan Modification

  Andrew

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:02 pm

  Forensic Loan Auditing is a fancy way of describing a thorough revision of the documents you signed when applying for your loan. This includes the accuracy of the math in the interest rates and payments schedule, the legality of the terms of the loan and any proof that you were misled in some way. Why is Forensic Loan Auditing useful? Forensic Loan Auditing is useful because if your mortgage did not comply with the Federal Guidelines for lenders at the time of signing there is a chance your mortgage was illegal, or at the very least non-complying. This can cause your mortgage to be void and…

• Loan Modifications Are Going To Be Simpler, What Do You Need Now?

  Andrew

  3 Feb 2010 | 5:19 pm

  HAMP, the Government’s Loan Modification Program is changing their tune about the paperwork required to apply for a loan modification. Homeowners applying for a loan modification must now include their paperwork before even entering the trial stage. Previously troubled homeowners could apply for a loan modification trial by simply providing proof of income over the phone. The problems arose when some troubled homeowners either took too long to send the paperwork or could not prove the claims they had made. The Treasury and many servicers claim that this is the cause that the conversion of…

• HAMP Loan Modifications and “In-house” Modifications, What Is The Difference?

  Andrew

  31 Jan 2010 | 12:56 pm

  A loan modification is a loan modification, right? If it helps you avoid a foreclosure on your home it is good news, right? Not necessarily. It is a little more complicated than all that. HAMP is a Government sponsored loan modification program. This might not give you much peace of mind but the truth is that mortgagees that are part of this program must follow certain requirements in order to receive the incentives the Government offers for loss mitigation actions, another name for loan modifications. These requirements have been recently (Nov. 23rd 2009) updated and include: 1)     …

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  Lanser on Real Estate

• $1 million-plus home sales fell 14.5% in ‘09

  Jeff Collins

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm

  DataQuick reported recently that 2,448 Orange County homes sold last year at prices of $1 million or more. That’s down 14.5% from 2008, when 2,862 O.C. homes sold for at least seven figures. Those figures compare to more than 5,200 million-plus home sales in O.C. in 2007, and more than 7,300 in 2005. DataQuick attributed the decrease in million-plus sales to “buyer reticence, a difficult mortgage market and several years of price drops that tugged the value of many homes below the million-dollar threshold.” Area 2008 2009 change LOS ANGELES 6,046 5,239 -13.3% ORANGE 2,862…

• Yorba Linda home tops most-viewed list

  KELLI HART, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:27 am

  The folks at Realtor.com compiled a list of the top 10 most popular homes for sale in Orange County from their Web site (reflecting last week). City Address Price Yorba Linda 19641 Ridgewood $587,000 Huntington Beach 19852 Estuary $549,000 Irvine 60 Cape Cod $700,000 Irvine 6 Indiana $655,000 San Clemente 10 Via Tesoro $699,900 Irvine 37 Boulder Creek Way $680,000 Rancho Santa Margarita 3 Via Silla $545,000 Brea 655 Candlewood Street $525,000 Irvine 28 Teak Bridge $719,000 Newport Beach 2319 Tustin Avenue $749,000 These are the listings that online home shoppers check out the most in O.C. The…

• Would you relocate to Texas?

  Jon Lansner

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:01 am

  The good people at United Van Lines were kind enough to run a count of their moves to and from Orange County in 2009 — and the results had a cowboy attitude and a BBQ taste! Town Price Index Income Rank Sherman $90,000 93% $57,900 11 San Angelo $114,000 86% $52,400 37 Wichita Falls $105,000 83% $52,800 59 Fort Worth $133,000 82% $65,900 65 Amarillo $116,000 82% $55,300 66 Victoria $126,000 81% $53,700 72 Beaumont $115,000 79% $54,300 86 Killeen $132,000 79% $54,000 92 Tyler $139,000 77% $55,300 107 Waco $119,000 76% $51,700 111 Odessa $118,000 76% $49,000 115 Abilene $115,000 75%…

• Really? Real estate fees in the spotlight

  Jon Lansner

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:50 pm

  Real estate news and views from around the globe that make you go, “Really?” Canada’s competition czar targets real estate fees (Reuters) Cut foreclosures by slicing real estate fees (San Francisco Chronicle) Virginia city debates eliminating stormwater utility fee? (WTVR) Hawaiian lawmakers target higher real estate tax (Pacific Business News) Real-estate tax reform in Philly? It’s no laughing matter (Philadelphia Daily News) Really? Real estate fees in the spotlight is a post from: Lansner on Real Estate

• Does sales burst confirm housing bottom?

  Jon Lansner

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:15 pm

  My latest column for The Register discussed “6 signs of a housing bottom” as seen in year-end, ZIP-by-ZIP Orange County pricing and sales data from DataQuick. You can read the COLUMN HERE! One stat that caught my eye was that sales momentum was broader than I’d thought “as year-over-year gains were found in 72 of Orange County’s 83 ZIP codes. So the excitement wasn’t just bargain hunters fishing at the low end of the housing pond.” What do you think? Does 72 of 83 ZIPs with 2009 sales gains confirm the bottom? For sure! Only one piece of the puzzle!

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  L.A. Land

• Money Links: The Goldman/Greece connection; businesses face soaring tax bills; skill versus luck at the billionaire level

  Tom Petruno

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:35 am

  --- Did Goldman help Greece hide its debt troubles? Germany’s Spiegel magazine contends that Goldman Sachs designed a big “cross-currency swap” debt deal for Greece in 2002 that didn’t show up in the country’s official borrowing statistics.--- Businesses face soaring state unemployment-insurance taxes: The extra money is needed to replenish depleted state insurance trust funds. The irony: The cash some companies will shell out might otherwise have been used to boost hiring.--- Morningstar buys data-digger Footnoted.org: The Footnoted site has won kudos for its work unearthing what…

• Consumer Confidential: Happy Meals, cellphone fees, bank lobbying

  David Lazarus

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:22 am

  Here's your tantric Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web: --Who says we can't compete in a global economy? Our friends at Coca-Cola say their quarterly profit jumped 55%, thanks primarily to strong overseas sales. Meanwhile, the McFolk at McDonald's say their global sales rose 2.6% last month, thanks mostly to hearty appetites for Happy Meals and other fare in Asia and Britain. Here in the U.S., President Obama announced a new initiative to combat childhood obesity. Our next export, perhaps? --Nobody likes those nasty fees that cellphone companies inflict if you…

• Pushed by international sales, McDonald's and Coca-Cola post upbeat numbers

  Tiffany Hsu

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:12 am

  Two of the world’s largest food and beverage companies – McDonald’s Corp. and the Coca-Cola Co. – said Tuesday that they have countries other than the U.S. to thank for their recent strong performance. McDonald’s, the fast-food industry’s leader, said sales in stores open at least 13 months jumped 2.6% in January, pushed along by 4.3% leaps in Europe and the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions. Though the company still outpaced its competition in the U.S., McDonald’s said, sales in this country fell 0.7%. But additions such as the breakfast Dollar Menu, the…

• Department of Justice digs into food corruption and antitrust concerns

  P.J. Huffstutter

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:11 am

  When it comes to the food sector, the Department of Justice -- particularly its antitrust division -- has become very hungry. Last month Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed developer, disclosed that the DOJ has requested information about its herbicide-friendly soybean seeds business as part of a probe into anticompetitive practices. The DOJ also filed an antitrust lawsuit in Milwaukee against Dean Foods Co., the country’s leading distributor of dairy products, in an effort to dissolve a 2009 deal it made to buy a Midwestern competitor. The deal allegedly left many…

• Markets surge on hopes Europe will aid Greece

  Tom Petruno

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:08 am

  Vague promises of European support for Greece sparked a big turnaround in battered financial markets Tuesday.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 190 points, or 1.9%, to 10,097 at about 10 a.m. PST. The blue-chip index on Monday had fallen 104 points to a three-month low of 9,908, in part on fears that European government-debt woes would fuel another global financial crisis.The euro currency, beaten down in recent weeks, has soared to $1.379 from $1.365 on Monday.The action in stocks and the euro looked like a “short squeeze,” meaning that traders who had bet on continuing declines in…

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  Hawaii Real Estate Reporter

• Oahu Home Sales and Prices – Year End Update for 2009

  Hawaii Real Estate reporter

  20 Jan 2010 | 6:49 pm

  Hawaii Single family Home and Condo Price Trends 2009 While the number of home sales steadily increased through 2009, the year still ended with single-family home sales down slightly, 1.7% compared to 2008. Condominium sales were down further, 9.5%. Median price for both single-family and condominiums bottomed out during the first half of 2009 but closed the year at $580,000 for single-family homes and $320,000 for condominiums, down 7.2% and 6.2% respectively from 2008. Click to Download the Oahu Real Estate Report – 2009 Year End Oahu 10 Year Graph of Condo Prices December 2009 Oahu…

• August 2009 Hawaii Housing Stats – Looking Good!

  Hawaii Real Estate reporter

  2 Sep 2009 | 7:36 pm

  The Honolulu Board of Realtors released its statistics wrap-up regarding Hawaii Housing in August 2009. These stats continue to show upward price pressure. Click here to Download August 2009 HBR Stats Number of Sales. Sales for SFH dropped for the first time this year from 265 in July to 247 in August. However, Condo sales jumped again, from 327 in July to 351 in August. This is the highest number of Condo sales this year, and higher than August 2008. Median prices down. This has been expected for the last few months. Remember, median prices don’t mean very much. They are measuring what has…

• July 2009 Video Discussion: Has Real Estate Hit The bottom Yet?

  Hawaii Real Estate reporter

  29 Jul 2009 | 5:21 pm

  Bill Chee and Howard Dicus discuss current Hawaii real estate market conditions for July 2009. Have we hit the bottom? Click on the video to listen to the discussion: Post from: Hawaii Real Estate Reporter July 2009 Video Discussion: Has Real Estate Hit The bottom Yet?

• Hawaii Ranked 15th for Highest Number of Foreclosure Filings

  melissav

  15 Jun 2009 | 11:30 pm

  Due to a steady rise in Hawaiian foreclosure filings as stated by a June 11th honoluluadvertiser.com posting, Hawaii ranked 15th among the 50 states for the highest number of foreclosure filings per household last month. These numbers come from a recent RealtyTrac report, ranking the states based upon foreclosure filings. There were 816 foreclosure filings within Hawaii. This marks the second time that Hawaii has been among the 20 top states for foreclosure filings since RealtyTrac’s creation in January of 2005. The reason for Hawaii’s ranking in recent months is believed to be that the…

• Mortgage rates have risen above 5%, Probably Won’t Go That Low Again

  melissav

  5 Jun 2009 | 7:45 pm

  According to a May 29th, 2009 article posted by CNNMoney.com, Both mortgage and interest rates have risen above 5% and will remain there for sometime. This past week mortgage rates peaked at 5.45%, which is the highest recorded rate for this year. The reason for the increase in rates has been linked to the great deal of debt that the United States government has been issuing in the form of treasuries or bonds. Recently the supply of treasury bills has begun to increase with little response from buyers. This has led to a direct hit on mortgage rates, pushing them well above the 5% mark. The…

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  Realty Times

• Market Conditions

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index shows that there has been a market swing, driven by response to the home buyer tax credit.

• Realtor Association Expands Anti-Discrimination Policy

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  At the recent annual governance meeting of the National Association of Realtors held in San Diego, the Board of Directors adopted a recommendation to expand its existing support of equal opportunity to include its application with respect to sexual orientation. The exact wording of the motion was: "That existing NAR policy on equal housing opportunity be amended to include opposition to discrimination based on sexual orientation."

• Prepare to Avoid Buying Panic

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  When you buy real estate in a panic, you may lose more than you gain. PJ Wade shares tips on removing the panic from buying in even a fast-paced market.

• Real Estate Outlook: Positive Movement

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  It's a fairly rare event, but now and then most of the important economic directional signs go positive, and this is one of those weeks

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  Inman News

• NAR must vie for sold listings

  matt_carter

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

  First American, Move Inc. also want to partner with MLSsread more

• Have buyer? Cut commission

  Barry_Stone

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:17 am

  Although seller does legwork, agent still provides valueread more

• Security, United Title brands no more

  Inman_News

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:09 am

  Mercury's former Colorado subsidiaries folded into Fidelity National Title read more

• Doing business with people you don't like

  Bradley_Inman

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

  From BradInman.comread more

• Financial 'Zen' here we come

  Tara-Nicholle Nelson

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:25 am

  Book Review: 'One Year to an Organized Financial Life'read more

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  WSJ.com: Developments

• FHA Loan Defaults Surpass 9%

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am

  Officials at the Federal Housing Administration take every opportunity they can to assure the public that the agency is weathering the housing downturn just fine. But the latest batch of numbers show that defaults on loans backed by the government insurer show no signs of slowing. Loan defaults crossed the 9% mark in December, ending the year at 9.12%, up from 6.82% one year earlier and 8.94% at the end of November.  Through 2009, the agency had insured 5.8 million loans worth $752.6 billion, or a 24% increase from one year ago. FHA officials say that the loans that are being originated this…

• Talking ‘Aboot’ Canada’s Housing Bubble

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:03 am

  In the U.S. we’re still mucking around at the bottom of the crash (or the false bottom), but in Canada recovery has been so rapid that some there are worrying about (aboot?) a bubble. WSJ reporter Phred Dvorak wrote yesterday about rising home prices in the country. One index that tracks Canada’s six biggest cities posted its seventh straight monthly gain, Ms. Dvorak writes, and prices in November are now back to prerecession peak. Citing a report from the Canadian Real Estate Association, the Globe and Mail said Monday that house prices will hit a record C$337,500, on average, in…

• Pay Borrowers to Pay Their Mortgage?

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:13 am

  How do you get borrowers to avoid walking away from homes that are deeply underwater without encouraging more to follow by writing down principal balances? One idea: Pay them to keep paying their mortgage. The novel approach is being touted by Loan Value Group LLC, a firm selling their idea—and ready-made application—to mortgage investors nervous about the risk of strategic default, where borrowers walk away from their homes even though they can afford to pay their mortgages.  The firm says it’s signed up an undisclosed mortgage investor to test a pilot program with a few hundred…

• Mortgage Bankers Mum on How They Fixed Their Own Mortgage Woes

  6 Feb 2010 | 2:54 pm

  Is the Mortgage Bankers Association embarrassed by the way it resolved its own mortgage mess? In any case, officials of the trade group are refusing to provide details on that question. Surely, many Americans could sympathize with the MBA’s plight. Like them, it made a bad bet on real estate at the peak of the bubble and then watched the value of that property fall far below the loan balance, a predicament known as being “under water.” Unlike most of those other distressed borrowers, however, the MBA seems to have found a way out of its real estate nightmare. On Friday, CoStar Group…

• 4Kids Entertainment CEO Purchases Madoff Penthouse

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pm

  Toy magnate Alfred R. Kahn has bought Bernard Madoff’s Manhattan penthouse, according to a person familiar with the deal. Mr. Kahn is the chairman and chief executive of 4Kids Entertainment, the New York company behind such hits as Cabbage Patch Kids and Pokemon. Pending board approval, he would own the 4,000-square-foot penthouse cooperative unit. The duplex apartment was originally listed for $9.9 million; the price was later cut by $1 million. The apartment is one of three Madoff properties the government seized and is selling to help reimburse victims of his fraud. Mr. Kahn…

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  WSJ.com Video - Real Estate

• Let the Home Savings Flow

  5 Feb 2010 | 10:56 am

  Homeowners looking to go 'green' may think that means installing pricey solar panels or wind turbines. But new, efficient showers, faucets and toilets can save thousands of gallons of water a year -- and the cost savings add up. Amy Hoak reports.

• Say Goodbye to the McMansion

  29 Jan 2010 | 11:32 am

  Times have changed, and the square footage of new American homes is dropping. Super-sized homes are out, and efficiency and versatility are in. MarketWatch's Amy Hoak reports on the latest building trends.

• Gay Retirement Community Stalled

  27 Jan 2010 | 5:33 pm

  Fountaingrove Lodge was supposed to be a haven for gay retirees. But now in the face of local opposition to the project, plans for the upscale Santa Rosa retirement community are on hold. Nick Burns reports.

• Report Suggests Unsteady Housing Recovery

  26 Jan 2010 | 3:08 pm

  Dave Blitzer Chairmen of the Index Committee at S&P speaks to Kelsey Hubbard about the latest S&P Case-Shiller home-price indexes.

• News Hub: Who Controls Stuy Town?

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:29 am

  When complex deals like the one for Stuyvesant Town fall apart, who is in control? The News Hub panel discusses what they call "the $4 billion question."

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  BBC News | In Depth | mortgages | World Edition

• House prices rise by another 0.6%

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:45 am

  UK house prices are up for the seventh month in a row - rising by 0.6% in January, the Halifax says.

• Mortgage boost for first-timers

  3 Feb 2010 | 6:08 am

  The availability of mortgages is on the rise, providing a glimmer of hope for first-time buyers, figures suggest.

• Fears over mortgage funding gap

  2 Feb 2010 | 7:19 am

  Lenders warn of a £300bn gap in the funding of UK mortgages which will not be filled by savers' deposits.

• New rules over mortgage arrears

  26 Jan 2010 | 3:55 am

  New rules to protect mortgage holders who are in arrears have been proposed by the Financial Services Authority.

• Property sales hit two-year high

  22 Jan 2010 | 7:28 am

  Completed UK residential property sales hit their highest level for two years in December, latest figures show.

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  NYT > Foreclosures

• American Charged in Haiti Had Some Troubles in Idaho

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  An Idaho businesswoman had complaints from employees over unpaid wages, state liens on a company bank account and lawsuits in small claims court.

• No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  By June, about 5.1 million people will own a home whose value is below 75 percent of what is owed.

• Sick and Tired of Treading Water

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Last week in Yonkers, lenders came under heavy criticism for their apparent reluctance to negotiate or compromise on mortgages that are âunderwater.â

• Riverton Houses in Harlem to Be Sold in Foreclosure

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  The owner of the complex failed to meet his projections and defaulted on the mortgage.

• F.H.A. Lending Standards Tightened

  30 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

  With F.H.A. mortgage defaults increasing, the government has tightened lending standards for those with the worst credit and increased fees across the board.

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  Real Estate Q&A

• Seller's Responsibility After the Closing

  By JAY ROMANO

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:36 am

  About a month ago we bought a one-bedroom co-op in Brooklyn. During our walk-through before the closing, the seller told us that all the appliances were in good working condition. A couple of weeks after we moved in, the refrigerator stopped working. A repairman told us that it would make more sense to buy a new one than repair the old one. Would the seller be responsible for replacing the refrigerator?

• Outwaiting a Picky Board

  By JAY ROMANO

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:30 am

  At what point does the board become liable for having such an overzealous policy?

• When Maintenance Is Long in Arrears

  By JAY ROMANO

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:28 am

  Can a co-op refuse to entertain any application for a new shareholder to buy an apartment until the arrears and penalties are paid?

• Co-op Buyer Looks for a 'Bridge'

  By JAY ROMANO

  29 Jan 2010 | 8:47 am

  I own a co-op in Forest Hills. I am waiting to buy a bigger unit - now owned by the sponsor - when it becomes available. I don't want to sell my place until this larger one is for sale. My mortgage broker told me that banks no longer give bridge loans. I thought of offering to pay rent for the new apartment until I sell mine. Is this possible?

• When Apartments Make You Sick

  By JAY ROMANO

  29 Jan 2010 | 8:44 am

  Six months ago I bought a co-op apartment in Bayside, Queens. I am susceptible to mold, so before closing I had the apartment inspected by a specialist who didn't find any mold. Days after the closing I felt sick in the apartment and brought this to the attention of management. I never received a response. Is the co-op responsible for correcting the problem?

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  Housing News

• Canadian Real Estate Association forecasts record home sales in 2010

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:31 am

  The Canadian Real Estate Association now says 2010 will be a record year for home sales.

• Stocks Higher After Budget Talk, Data

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:16 am

  Home Buyers: Pending home sales index shows signs of stabilization. Geithner Testifies: The Treasury Secretary is on the Hill to talk about the 2011 budget.

• Maui home sales up 48% from 2009

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:14 am

  Maui's housing market experienced dramatic swings in sales of single-family homes and condominiums in January compared with the same month a year earlier.

• ICBC to curb property loans

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:02 pm

  The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China vows it will not issue new loans to developers who seek to speculate on rising property prices through "hoarding land" or "putting off home sales" and may also call back earlier credit to such borrowers.

• Why house short sales take such a long time

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:38 pm

  Anyone trying to sell their home today knows it's a challenge. Now couple that will trying to sell your home on a short sale.

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  Foreclosure News

• Murdered Coleman family home in foreclosure

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:29 am

  COLUMBIA, Ill. a ' The bank that holds the mortgage on the house where Sheri Coleman and her two boys were strangled in May has filed papers to take the property by foreclosure.

• Lewiston hotel to remain open during foreclosure process

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:08 am

  The Barton Hill Hotel will remain open during the process to foreclose on its mortgage, an attorney for the mortgage holder said last week.

• Bulgarian Real Estate Predicted To Continue Slide In 2010

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:46 am

  Bulgarian real estate prices should continue falling in 2010, leading to growing fears that there will be a sell-off of foreclosed properties by anxious banks - spelling disaster for the property market.

• Completed Garfield County foreclosures lag behind filings

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:24 pm

  GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Although completed foreclosures in 2009 dropped 4 percent in Colorado, the number of foreclosures that went to auction in Garfield County for the most part mirrored the increase in filings as a whole.

• Makena Beach & Golf Resort so be sold at foreclosure auction

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:01 pm

  The Makena Beach and Golf Resort on Maui is scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction in April, according to a ruling by a Maui Circuit Court judge.

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  HUD Press Releases

• HUD FY2011 Budget Focuses on Fiscal Discipline, Investing in People and Places

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today unveiled the Department's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal, following President Barack Obama's presentation of his Administration-wide budget. The HUD budget focuses on fiscal discipline, creating jobs and builds on the administration's first year accomplishments by proposing reform in HUD's housing and community development programs to make them more streamlined, efficient, and accountable.

• HUD Secretary Donovan Names Rick Garcia as HUD's Rocky Mountain Regional

  29 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am

  DENVER - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced President Barack Obama's selection of Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia to serve as HUD Regional Director for the six states in HUD's Rocky Mountain Region which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah.

• HUD Selects Three Innovating Housing Authorities to Elite Program to Enhance Federal Rental Assistance Programs

  29 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am

  WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary Sandra B. Henriquez today announced the three public housing agencies that will participate in HUD's Moving To Work Program (MTW). MTW allows housing agencies to design and test innovative housing strategies that assist lower income families living in public housing or who are assisted through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program.

• HUD Secretary Donovan Names Mary McBride as HUD's Northwest Regional Director

  29 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am

  SEATTLE - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced President Barack Obama's selection of Mary McBride to serve as HUD Regional Director for the four states in HUD's Northwest Region including Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska.

• HUD Secretary Donovan Names Edward Jennings, Jr. as HUD's Southeast Regional Director

  29 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am

  ATLANTA - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced President Barack Obama's selection of Edward L. Jennings, Jr. to serve as HUD Regional Director for the eight states in HUD's Southeast Region including Tennessee, Kentucky North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

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  Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network

• Canada Housing Prices Return to Pre-Recession Peak

  Cathy Duchamp

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm

  What housing slump? Canada's real estate recovery has been so fast, some analysts worry it signals a return to speculation. read more

• Americans Buying Less, Doing More

  Rebecca Sanborn Stone

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am

  Americans are starting to value experiences over things, according to a new poll. Nearly half of Americans report spending less time purchasing non-essential goods, while many are spending more time on friends, family, and hobbies. read more

• New High-Speed Rail in China

  Tim Halbur

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  A new 350kph train connecting Zhengzhou and Xi'an debuted Saturday, cutting a 6 hour train ride down to less than 2 hours. read more

• Complaints Grow Over Increasing "Ugliness" of Paris

  Tim Halbur

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  A press conference was held in Paris to draw attention to the problem of "increasingly large and unsympathetic buildings" cropping up around the City of Lights. read more

• Florida Amendment Could Shake Up Local Planning

  Nate Berg

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  Florida voters are facing an amendment this November that could dramatically reshape the way local planning occurs. read more

• 
  Housing Wire

• December Drop Brings IAS Index Back to 2004 Levels

  AUSTIN KILGORE

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:09 am

  Integrated Asset Services’ (IAS) monthly IAS360 House Price Index declined 0.7% from November to December, the Denver-based default management and residential collateral valuations firm said, adding prices are at mid-2004 levels. That’s a bigger drop than the month-over-month declines the index experienced in November (0.3%), October (0.5%) and September (0.6%). The index is a county-level measure of median sales price of single-family residences in five US Census Bureau regions, nine Census divisions and 360 counties. After five months of declines, the index is now 5.3% below its 2008…

• Democrat Attorneys General Push for Consumer Financial Protection Agency

  AUSTIN KILGORE

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am

  The Democrat attorneys general from Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio are calling for the passage of legislation to create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), in order to protect borrowers from the predatory lending practices they say helped lead to the extensive retraction in the economy. In a conference call with reporters, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the current network of federal regulatory agencies did not have consumer interests in mind before the near collapse of the financial markets because the agencies primary focuses were not on consumer…

• Silent Second Lien Risk to RMBS Getting Louder

  DIANA GOLOBAY

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:32 am

  Second liens, commonly made in the form of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), are so far a silent hazard to first lien bond holders in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), as many of these investors may not even know if a second lien is tied to their collateral investment. And as the press continues to focus on subprime fall-out, strategic default and option ARM resets, experts warn that these “silent second” HELOCs may become a much louder problem, according to converging data from a consumer credit agency and securities research. They say that investor claims on the…

• Pay Borrowers to Pay Their Mortgage?

  DIANA GOLOBAY

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:25 am

  How do you get borrowers to avoid walking away from homes that are deeply underwater without encouraging more to follow by writing down principal balances? One idea: Pay them to keep paying their mortgage. The novel approach is being touted by Loan Value Group LLC, a firm selling their idea—and ready-made application—to mortgage investors nervous about the risk of strategic default, where borrowers walk away from their homes even though they can afford to pay their mortgages.  The firm says it’s signed up an undisclosed mortgage investor to test a pilot program with a few hundred…

• Federal Reserve hopes clear exit strategy will boost market confidence

  DIANA GOLOBAY

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:03 am

  When you’ve flooded the economy with trillions of dollars, mopping up is no easy task. That’s the reality the Federal Reserve is confronting as it starts to explain how it will undo the aggressive growth-supporting steps that were put in place when the economy was in its deep dive — and begins to be clearer about when that may happen. But it is a fraught exercise. Federal Reserve leaders and private economists expect the jobless rate to remain high for years, despite a dip in the unemployment rate to 9.7 percent in January, and the Fed could make the situation worse if it…

• 
  Housing Market

• The Future of Housing Demand: 4 Key Demographic Trends

  Demographic shifts and changing values will increase demand for pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use communities in both urban and suburban settings, according to John McIlwain of the Urban Land Institute. "The age of suburbanization and growing homeownership is over," McIlwain said in a recent report, "Housing in America: The Next Decade." "The coming decades will be the time of the great reurbanization as 24/7 central cities grow and suburbs around the country are redeveloped with new or revived walkable suburban town centers." This transition will be fueled by the…

• Home Prices Stabilize Further, But More Drops May Be in Store

  Although home prices continued to stabilize in November, real estate experts believe we have another 5 or 10 percent of declines in store before values finally hit bottom. Home prices in 20 major cities declined 5.3 percent in November 2009 from a year earlier, a significant improvement over the 13.3 annual drop posted in July, according to the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller home price report. The figures, released Tuesday, represent the third month in a row of single-digit declines following 20 consecutive months of double-digit drops. But a number of factors—including the effects of…

• Home Sales Tank: What it Means for You

  Existing home sales plunged in December, falling nearly 17 percent from November in their largest month-over-month drop since record-keeping began. Meanwhile, December's inventory represented a 7.2-month supply of unsold homes, notably higher than the 6.5-month supply recorded in November, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Although the monthly decline was larger than expected, the figures are much less jarring when compared with December 2008. Existing home sales remain 15 percent higher than a year earlier, while raw unsold inventory fell 11 percent from December 2008 to…

• New FHA Requirements: Party On!

  Facing a tricky balancing act of keeping the housing market alive while protecting its eroding balance sheet, the Federal Housing Administration's new policy changes help ensure that most American home buyers still have access to government-backed mortgages with just 3.5 percent down. The steps—which include increasing fees and boosting minimum down payment requirements for borrowers with very low credit scores—are intended to rebuild and insulate the agency's capital cushion, which has eroded alongside falling home prices. But while the FHA insists they will help strengthen its…

• Strategic Defaults and the Foreclosure Crisis

  Nearly a year after the Obama administration unveiled its ambitious housing rescue program, foreclosure tallies continue to break records. Foreclosure filings were reported on more than 2.8 million properties in 2009, up 21 percent from the previous year and 120 percent from 2007, according to RealtyTrac. With nearly 10 percent of mortgages now delinquent--which is also a new record--even more homeowners appear headed for foreclosure this year. "A massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market," RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in a statement.

• 
  The Business Insider: Housing Crisis

• Lumber Futures Spike Before Housing's Last Gasp

  The Pragmatic Capitalist

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:50 am

  (This guest post originally appeared at the author's blog) Lumber futures have surged nearly 60% since the beginning of October despite mixed signals in recent housing data (read Mike Farrell’s must read housing comments here).  Random Lengths recently reported the continuing substantial weakness in housing as lumber production declined 23% vs 2008: U.S. lumber production through November totaled 21.205 billion board feet, down 23.0% from the January-November 2008 figure, according to the Western Wood Products Association. Through the first 11 months last year, production in the…

• The Fed Makes Screaming Invitation To Housing Bubble Speculators By Promising To Restart Mortgage Support If Rates Rise

  Vincent Fernando

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:22 am

  The Federal Reserve's $1.25 trillion mortgage-backed security buying program is slated to end on March 31st. But Federal Reserve president William Dudley just made it clear that it would likely be restarted if the mortgage market started showing signs of weakness whereby mortgage rates rose too much. A screaming invitation to Housing Bubble 2.0 punters: WaPo: In interviews with the Nightly Business Report and the Associated Press, Dudley said the time is right to end the program because the economy is growing and because expanding the purchases would make it harder for the Fed to unwind its…

• Hey Taxpayers! Get Ready To Bail Out The FHA

  John Carney

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:08 am

    John Carney, Managing Editor, Business Insider Sorry Folks, The FHA Is Still Going To Melt Down (3 min) FHA's default rate has been climbing for months, but the agency insists that it will not run out of cash Taxpayers will be stuck with the tab, if FHA is wrong The FHA is working on improving its finances (but how?) FHA's assertion: Loans backed in 2009 are much, much better than the loans in 2007 and 2008 The FHA probably insured more than 2 million single-family mortgages in FY 2009, compared with 1.2 million in FY 2008 The FHA also thinks that a good part of the growth last year…

• Is Congress Really So Corrupt That Wall Street Calls The Shots?

  John Carney

  4 Feb 2010 | 8:17 am

    John Carney, Managing Editor, Business Insider (3 min) Your Questions (3 min) Is Congress really so corrupt that Wall Street calls the shots? Yes The Capitol Hill to investment banking and lobbying system The three types of people interested in the financial system Is it outrageous that a company like AIG is paying millions in bonuses? Of course it is Bankrupt without government support We're not liquidating AIG, so we're stuck with this Produced By: Kamelia Angelova & William Wei BONUS: Watch FHA Is In Denial And Running Out Of Cash > More Video: Click HERE >Join the…

• 20 Reasons Why The U.S. Economy Is Dying And Is Simply Not Going To Recover

  Michael Snyder

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:26 am

  (This post originally appeared at the author's blog.) Even though the U.S. financial system nearly experienced a total meltdown in late 2008, the truth is that most Americans simply have no idea what is happening to the U.S. economy.  Most people seem to think that the nasty little recession that we have just been through is almost over and that we will be experiencing another time of economic growth and prosperity very shortly. But this time around that is not the case.  The reality is that we are being sucked into an economic black hole from which the U.S.

• 
  Housing Crisis

• New Home Building’s Ten Most Critical Factors–And What to Do

  jmcmanus

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:51 am

  Winter’s insufferably long days have started to relent to the point where it’s no longer necessarily pitch dark both when you arrive and go home from work. Still, whatever the geography, cold, difficult days and nights lay ahead, even if optimism attaches itself to cautiousness in an increasing number of pronouncements of publically traded home building company leaders in their quarterly and fiscal year financial reports to analysts. This, the first formal week of what’s long been known as spring selling season, here’s how we’d oversimply characterize the 10…

• Home Building M&A in 2010? Don’t Count it Out

  jmcmanus

  1 Feb 2010 | 12:06 pm

  Just a little visibility for home builders would be so welcome right now. However, it looks as if clarity about what exactly to anticipate next among home buyers and sellers is on hold. So, we’re looking at 2010 as another pre-visibility year. It’s another year where we see cash and balance sheet management action plans (a.k.a. savings wherever possible and sales at almost any cost) playing to greater emphasis than revenue generation. It’s not the inflection-point year we might have hoped for, but that doesn’t mean operators get more time just to practice their…

• For new home builder, Joseph Carl Homes, the moment to rise from Phoenix’s ashes is now

  jmcmanus

  28 Jan 2010 | 1:43 pm

  When Joseph “Carl” Mulac  grand opens his CantaMia active adult community in the Estrella master plan in Goodyear (Phoenix market), Az., Feb. 10, home building’s spring selling season officially begins. Mulac–whose youthful appearance belies his three decades of experience in home building management–is a veteran of large enterprise companies, most recently as the Phoenix division president of the now no-longer TOUSA’s Engle Homes. But to him, he is one thing. “I’ve worked for several of the nationals, but I think of myself as a home…

• Home Builders to Suppliers: You’re Part of the Problem if You’re not Part of the Solution

  jmcmanus

  27 Jan 2010 | 12:22 pm

  With so much of focus going to housing demand stimulus policy that has been playing havoc with monthly new home sales trends, it takes readers to bring the conversation back to earth. Here’s what one production home builder wrote to us about his experience last week in Las Vegas at the International Builders Show: “Still lots of folks WAY out of touch on the supplier side.   Expensive stuff catering to a market that might never return, green touches that buyers won’t pay for, the cattle call financing section was off the rails…..builders don’t need someone to talk to them…

• Six Secrets from Behind the Headlines at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas

  jmcmanus

  25 Jan 2010 | 11:32 am

  Everybody talks these days about “take-aways” when there’s an industry event of  significance. Last week, we hunkered down in the trenches, mostly behind the scenes of the NAHB International Builders Show in Las Vegas with our industry friends–home builders–and tried to learn which way their fates and fortunes are headed: up, down, or sideways. You have heard and seen in other reports that the sentiment among attendees was positive although attendance at last week’s International Home Builders Show was middling at best. File them under wishful…

• 
  Credit.Com News Feed: Housing Market

• FTC proposes rule to eliminate up-front fees

  In an effort to protect homeowners from fraudulent firms, a Federal Trade Commission rule proposed Thursday would require mortgage modification and foreclosure rescue companies to provide services before charging customers.

• Second lien program through HAMP to help debt management gets nod from BoA

  There are a number of debt management issues facing consumers in the country, including dealing with credit card debt and difficulties with their home loans.

• Home sales drop in 2009 even with credit for first time homebuyers

  Despite a credit put forward for first time homebuyers, recent statistics show that sales of new homes fell for both December and 2009 as a whole.

• Property-value declines continuing to level off

  Homeowners worried about everything from falling credit scores and property values to looming foreclosure fears got a small bit of good news this week.

• December saw drop in home sales

  Consumers with sufficient credit scores still have several months left to apply if they are hoping to apply for a mortgage and qualify for the federal homebuyer's tax credit.

• 
  Wash Post Housing Market

• Paying your credit card bill before the mortgage

  MICHELLE SINGLETARY

  6 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  My grandmother Big Mama had a key financial rule that I've followed throughout my life.

• Investment strategist forecasts events that could affect the economic recovery

  Anne Kates Smith

  6 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  It's a tradition on Wall Street to offer predictions early in the year about where the economy is headed, whether companies will prosper and what will happen in the stock market. Here, Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, a New York-based firm providing independent investment strategy...

• Fewer D.C. affordable housing options left as city rents rise

  Ovetta Wiggins

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Rents have increased more in the District than they have in most major cities, and renters are spending a larger portion of their paychecks to keep a roof over their heads, according to an analysis released Friday by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute that examines the city's rental housing market.

• It's property tax assessment time. Here's what homeowners need to know.

  Renae Merle

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Thousands of Washington area homeowners are receiving their property tax assessment notices from their local jurisdictions. But many homeowners, will see their property tax assessments fall as the housing market continues to suffer.

• Cash-in refinancing could help homeowners save

  Kenneth Harney

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  Thinking of cashing out some equity when you refinance your mortgage? Sure, that used to be what millions of homeowners did when they needed extra money.

• 
  iNET Property - Colorado Real Estate Blog

• Upgrading Your Home - A Math Lesson

  Rich Barnhart

  12 Jan 2010 | 9:30 pm

  Have you been thinking about upgrading your house, but find yourself procrastinating or wondering if the real estate market has yet to find a bottom? If you are fortunate enough to have the income and resources necessary to sell your current home and upgrade to your dream home, then now is the time. In many parts of the country, we’ve already seen the bottom of the market and if you haven’t seen it in your market, then it is probably closer than you think. Even if I’m wrong and values continue to drop (they will in some markets), if you wait for the absolute bottom, you’ll miss it and…

• Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program - HAFA?

  Rich Barnhart

  10 Dec 2009 | 7:30 am

  Another Government AcronymWhen this program was first announced last May it was referred to as the Foreclosure Alternatives Program (FAP), an easy name to understand and a concept that we have all been anxiously awaiting. When the details were finally released last week it was no surprise that the program was 7 months late, provides no real incentives for banks to participate and has absolutely no “teeth”. What is surprising is that the government has chosen to make this program part of its already questionable Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and they have created a totally…

• Be Thankful Denver

  Rich Barnhart

  25 Nov 2009 | 5:01 am

  Happy Thanksgiving!As I write my blog this morning I can’t help but think about how thankful we should be for our real estate market in Denver. Other parts of the country are still trying to find the bottom of their markets and in some areas foreclosure rates continue to rise. So, if you’re someone who has watched the value of your Denver area property diminish over the past few years, be thankful that you live in a place where there is a light at the end of the tunnel.Good Housing NewsI’ll be honest, we are far from being out of the woods on this nationwide housing crisis, but there is…

• Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended, Includes Current Homeowners!

  Rich Barnhart

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:10 pm

  In a long awaited move, the Senate and House voted in favor of extending the first-time homebuyer tax credit. President Obama is expected to sign the bill tomorrow. The amount of the tax credit to first time home buyers remains the same at $8,000. However, the bill includes some interesting amendments that are beneficial to first time homebuyers and current homeowners. All amendments and updates to the current bill become effective immediately when President Obama signs the bill. Here are some highlights of the new bill:First Time Homebuyer UpdatesTax credit remains the same at $8,000Property…

• Last Chance to be Heard - Extend the Home Buyer Tax Credit!

  Rich Barnhart

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:15 am

  OK, I've blogged about the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit before and I have asked Congress nicely to extend it on several occasions. But, one more time is not going to hurt and it just might make a difference. I'm not going to rant about it; I'll just ask that you reach out to Congress and be heard. This is not just about getting money in the hands of first time homebuyers, but more about the housing recovery and our economy. Whether you are buying, selling or not even involved in the real estate market right now, this is important for you and for your country. We need the stimulus, we need…

• 
  NHC Open House Blog

• Guest Blogger Bill Kelly: Whither Weatherization?

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:22 am

  The appropriation of $5 billion in the stimulus bill for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), about 20 times what had usually been appropriated, held promise that significant resources might finally be made available for energy conservation retrofitting of affordable multifamily housing. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Stephen Chu devoted considerable energy early in 2009 to make that happen, announcing memorandums of understanding last spring.In May 2009, DOE issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking…

• President's FY 2011 Budget Combines Economic Discipline With Support for Affordable Housing in Communities Nationwide

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:05 am

  Budget Focuses on HUD’s Key Strategic Goals, Including Strengthening the Nation’s Housing Market, and Meeting the Needs of Low- to Moderate-Income Families, Individuals, and the HomelessThis week, the Obama Administration released its FY 2011 budget proposal, which combines economic discipline with vital support for affordable housing in communities nationwide. Specifically, priorities outlined in the proposal support the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) key goals, including strengthening the housing market, meeting affordable rental housing needs, improving…

• Live at the Forum: Communities at Risk and Living Cities' Foreclosure Mitigation Initiative

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:12 am

  Next Tuesday, February 9, the Center for Housing Policy will host a Live at the Forum online event focused on Living Cities' Foreclosure Mitigation Initiative, as well as their new report, Communities at Risk: How the Foreclosure Crisis is Damaging Urban Areas and What is Being Done About It. The report's authors, George McCarthy, Matt Pacenza, and Kevin McQueen, will be the featured presenters.Hear About the Initiative: The two-part event begins at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST) with a 30-minute conference call, where major findings from the report and initiative will be presented. The call-in…

• GOOD Compares Transit Systems in Five Major U.S. Cities

  3 Feb 2010 | 2:04 pm

  Cities with access to good public transit have the added bonus of less congestion and a reduced impact on the environment, contributing to a greener way of life for residents. However, such places must continue to invest in transportation infrastructure to adequately address riders' needs. To emphasize this, GOOD collaborated with Oliver Munday to illustrate how transit systems in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Massachusetts are serving riders.Click the image below to view the full-size graphic on GOOD's Web site.

• Two Case Studies: Developing Green Housing and Infrastructure

  2 Feb 2010 | 10:05 am

  The Home Depot Foundation is one of many organizations working to foster green design and innovation to make homes healthier and more affordable for families across the U.S. In 2007, the Foundation made a long-term commitment to building strong and healthy communities through its Affordable Housing Built Responsibly grant program – pledging to invest $400 million to build and rehabilitate100,000 affordable homes and to plant and restore three million trees in ten years. Thus far, the organization has contributed to the development of 27,000 homes nationwide and helped plant some 500,000…

• 
  Oh My Apartment

• Saving Money: 3 Proven Tips for Sticking to a Budget

  Staff Writer

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:57 am

  The first step to saving money is to create a budget and stick to it. This isn’t new advice; it’s proven to work, but many people don’t create one. Many people take the time to create a budget, but then forget it and resume their spending habits. Why is sticking to a budget so hard for so many? The answer for many is that they just don’t know how to. Here are 3 proven tips to help you use the budget you create: 1. Use More Cash One problem you may be having with sticking to a budget is that it’s all on paper, making it not seem real. It’s almost an…

• Getting Rid of Clutter: Donating Old Clothes

  Staff Writer

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:55 am

  Getting rid of clutter is a necessary but unpleasant job. While doing so will keep your home clean and reduce your stress level, it is rarely a task many people look forward to. Decluttering your home, though, is oftentimes as simple as purging your closet and donating your old clothes. Emptying your closet will provide you with more space and contributing your old clothes to a charity will leave you feeling cheerful to have helped someone in need. Pick a Donation Date Contact local charities and schedule a reasonable pick-up date and time for your donations. Scheduling this before you begin…

• How to Detect a Gas Leak

  Staff Writer

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:53 am

  Knowing how to detect a gas leak can be very important. Gas leaks in a home are potentially deadly and need to resolved immediately. Gas leaks can occur inside from an appliance that uses gas or they can happen outside if a gas line is damaged while digging. How to Know When You Have a Gas Leak Remember that gas does not have a color or a smell of its own. The smell of rotten eggs is something that has been added to it to help let you know when there is a leak. Carbon Monoxide detectors and natural gas detectors can be used to detect a gas leak as well. An alarm will sound to let you know…

• 5 Tips for Packing Kitchen Appliances and Cooking Utentils

  Staff Writer

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:49 am

  Kitchen appliances are fragile items to pack and move. If not done properly, they can get damaged and you’ll have to spend money to replace them. You can avoid this hassle by packing them the right way so that both your kitchen appliances and cooking utensils arrive intact at your final destination. Use these 5 tips to help you pack your kitchen items safely for transport: 1. Bubble Wrap Whether you use bubble wrap depends on how much money you have to spend on the move. There are alternatives to using bubble wrap (described below), but they are handy if you can afford it. Wrap your…

• 4 Common Problems when Starting a Container Garden

  Staff Writer

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:46 am

  A container garden is a great option for apartment renters who don’t have access to a yard for growing plants and flowers. With the right containers and the knowledge of the common problems to avoid, you gain great satisfaction and reward in growing a garden to meet your needs. Here are 4 common problems you need to know about: 1. Higher Electric Bills If you plan on growing your container garden indoors, one problem that you’ll run into is a monetary one: a higher electric bill. It may take the use of artificial lighting to get your plants growing to their full potential if you…

• 
  Accuweather.com: Global Warming

• Record Warmth Last Month, according to Satellite Measurements

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:04 am

  This information has already been out a few days, but just to recap, satellite measured temperatures of the lower troposphere last month from Remote Sensing Systems indicates that January 2010 was the warmest January in the satellite record. Records go back to 1979. The image below shows the temperature anomalies for the month of January. Note the incredible warmth over the eastern and northern half of Canada. This is a reflection of the persistent blocking high pressure pattern that has persisted across the high latitudes. This blocking also forced the coldest air well south into the Lower…

• How Reliable is the U.S. Temperature Record?

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:19 pm

  I have been meaning to blog about Matthew Menne's latest revision to his study that was posted in the Journal of Geophysical Research. The title of his study is 'On the Reliability of the U.S. Temperature Record' Here is the link. In the study, Menne evaluated and compared temperature trends of poor vs. well suited U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) sites in response to photo evidence by surfacestations.org of widespread poor siting conditions of these sites across the country. Anthony Watts (Watt's Up with That), in particular, has speculated that U.S. surface temperature records…

• IPCC Head Responds to the Glacier Fiasco and other Questions

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:11 am

  The Economist just recently interviewed Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, who is the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In the interview, Dr. Pachauri discusses the Himalayan Glacier debacle. The Economist also questions Dr. Pachauri about certain conflict-of-interests. This is a good Q & A......... Here is the link to the Economist interview.

• Penn State Climate Scientist Cleared of Most Serious Charges

  3 Feb 2010 | 1:39 pm

  Just saw this breaking story from Penn State University.......... An academic board of inquiry from the Pennsylvania State University has largely cleared Climate scientist Michael Mann of science misconduct, but a second panel will decide if his behavior undermined public faith in the science of climate change, according to the New York Times story. Three of the four allegations were dismissed completely. Dr. Mann was one of the central figures that was brought up in the "climategate" email controversy. AccuWeather.com's Katie Fehlinger of Headline Earth ran an exclusive three-part video…

• Did Sudden Drop in Water Vapor Slow the Rate of Warming?

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:46 pm

  New research from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory in Colorado indicates that there was a sudden, unexplained drop in the amount of high atmospheric water vapor almost a decade ago (late 2000 and early 2001). Water vapor is a powerful, widespread greenhouse gas. A water vapor image from GOES satellite, courtesy of NOAA The researchers claim that this drop has substantially slowed the rate of warming at the earth's surface in recent years, according to the US News article. The research team's modeling suggests that the rate of increase in the average global surface temperature from 2000…

• 
  WSJ: Real time economics

• Prominent CFPA Supporters Turn Up Volume

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:45 am

  Several prominent policy makers rallied Tuesday to support the creation of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency, as anticipation mounts over the details of legislation that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) is drafting to overhaul financial regulation. 1) Harvard’s Elizabeth Warren, whom many credit with coming up with the idea of an independent CFPA, penned an editorial in The Wall Street Journal. She blasted the banking industry for lobbying so aggressively to kill the creation of an independent consumer agency: “This generation of Wall Street…

• Fed’s Dudley: Financial System In ‘Much Better’ Shape

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:40 am

  The U.S. financial system is in “much better shape,” although small and medium-sized financial institutions are under pressure, which will put a damper on credit availability in the U.S. economy, a top Federal Reserve official said Monday. “The capital markets are generally open for business–with the important exception of some securitization markets–and the major securities dealers that survived the crisis have seen a sharp recovery in profitability,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said. But, “many smaller and medium-sized…

• Bernanke Hearing Canceled Over Weather

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:02 am

  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Wednesday appearance before a U.S. House panel has been postponed because of the ongoing weather issues in the nation’s capital. Bernanke The House Financial Services Committee said Tuesday it was canceling all of its hearings for the week. The panel was supposed to hear Wednesday from Bernanke on how the Fed planned to unwind the many liquidity programs put in place during the financial crisis. Bernanke is also expected to appear later this month to give his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. The Fed plans to release…

• Secondary Sources: Consumer Agency, Euro Crisis, Climate Change

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:38 am

  A roundup of economic news from around the Web. Consumer Agency: Writing for the Journal, TARP watchdog Elizabeth Warren argues for creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. “The consumer agency is a watchdog that would root out gimmicks and traps and slim down paperwork, giving families a fighting chance to hang on to some of their money. So far, Wall Street CEOs seem determined to stop any kind of watchdog. They seem to think that they can run their businesses forever without our trust. This is a bad calculation. It’s a bad calculation because shareholders suffer…

• Small-Business Owners Remain Pessimistic

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:32 am

  Small-business owners in the first month of the new year remained pessimistic about the economy, according to a report released Tuesday. The Small Business Optimism Index has now posted seven quarterly readings below the 90 mark as small business owners entered 2010 the same way they left 2009: still downbeat on the economy. The index, though, in January did post a small gain, of 1.3 points over December, rising to 89.3, reported the National Federation of Independent Business in a press release Tuesday. Seven of the index’s components posted gains and one remained unchanged. Two…

• 
  NYT: Paul Krugman

• Anatomy of a Euromess

  By PAUL KRUGMAN

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:52 am

  The troubles of the eurozone have turned out to be even worse than the skeptics imagined.

• Euro perspective

  By PAUL KRUGMAN

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:41 pm

  It's easy to lose perspective on the size of the Greek problem.

• Know Your Deficits

  By PAUL KRUGMAN

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:09 pm

  Until the crisis hit, Spain to all appearances was highly responsible on the fiscal front -- more so than Germany.

• Alesina On Stimulus

  By PAUL KRUGMAN

  6 Feb 2010 | 9:55 am

  Why I'm not convinced.

• People Should Travel In Trains As God Intended

  By PAUL KRUGMAN

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:33 am

  Amtrak does its part. NJ Transit ... we'll see.

• 
  Calculated Risk

• CBRE: Retail Cap Rates Increase Sharply in Q4

  CalculatedRisk

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:31 am

  From CB Richard Ellis: U.S. Retail Cap Rates Ending at 9.01%, cap rates were up again. The 35 basis point gain is slightly lower than the last few quarters (43 and 46 b.p.). Rates are now the highest recorded since the Q1 2003 start date of our series. emphasis added Click on graph for larger image in new window.This graph from CBRE shows the retail cap rate since 2003. Note that 2009 is an average annual rate, and the cap rate in Q4 was at 9.01% - the highest since the series started.Also on retail, Reis recently reported that the strip malls vacancy rate hit 10.6% in Q4, the highest on…

• Report: Euro Zone Agrees to Help Greece

  CalculatedRisk

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:10 am

  UPDATE: Reuters Headline Changed to: Report of EU Help for Greece Is Now Described as 'Unfounded'That didn't take long ...From Reuters: Euro Zone Agreed in Principle to Aid Greece: Report "The decision on help for Greece has been taken in principle within the euro zone," [a senior German coalition source] said.From Bloomberg: U.S. Stocks Gain on Prospects for Bailout of Greece by EU “You have to do the necessary measures in order for us to support you,” [Olli Rehn, who takes over as EU economic affairs commissioner tomorrow] said of Greece in an interview in Strasbourg, France today.

• BLS: Few Job Openings in December

  CalculatedRisk

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:04 am

  From the BLS: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary There were 2.5 million job openings on the last business day of December 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate was little changed over the month at 1.9 percent. The job openings rate has held relatively steady since March 2009. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and the separations rate (3.2 percent) were essentially unchanged in December. Note: The difference between JOLTS hires and separations is similar to the CES (payroll survey) net jobs headline numbers. Remember the CES (Current Employment…

• NFIB: Small Business Owners Report "shortage of customers"

  CalculatedRisk

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:52 am

  From Reuters: Dark clouds hang over U.S. small businesses: survey The outlook of small business owners remained bleak at the start of the new year, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business. ... But the group also said that seven of the index's 10 components rose, indicating conditions could soon improve. Better outlooks on jobs, inventories and capital spending have helped push the index up 1.3 points since December, the group said And a few excerpts from the report: The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business…

• D.C. Closed Again on Tuesday and Euro Perspective

  CalculatedRisk

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:23 pm

  From the WaPo: Federal government will be closed on Tuesday. More snow ...This could mean that some of the economic releases might be delayed this week.And from Paul Krugman: Euro perspective. Professor Krugman provides a pie chart putting the GDP of the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) into perspective.Greece, which is making most of the headlines, is a tiny economy. So are Portugal and Ireland. The only sizable player among the countries in the news right now is Spain. ... the group of stressed economies account for about 20 percent of the eurozone’s GDP. So muddle through might…

• 
  Econbrowser

• Letting the EGTRRA and JGTRRA Provisions Expire

  Menzie Chinn

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:47 pm

  Or, what would happen if we "Let Bush Be Bush". Recall the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts were written to expire, for the most part, in FY2011. The impact of extending those cuts (along with some others) is strikingly depicted in this Figure from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (h/t Brad Delong). Figure 1 from Ruffing and Horney, CBPP, Dec. 16, 2009. Ruffing and Horney describe the method of calculation of the "Bush-era tax cuts" portion thus: Through 2011, the estimated impacts come from adding up past estimates of all changes in tax laws -- chiefly the Economic Growth and Tax Relief…

• Reactions to last week's economic data

  James Hamilton

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:26 am

  Here I offer some thoughts on last week's numbers for employment, auto sales, and commodity prices. On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 20,000 fewer Americans were working in January compared with December on a seasonally adjusted basis but that the unemployment rate nevertheless fell from 10.0% in December to 9.7% in January. The discrepancy comes from the fact that the BLS gets employment counts in two different ways. The first is by asking establishments how many people they employed last month, and this establishment survey provides the basis for the reported 20,000…

• Federal Debt: More Time Series

  Menzie Chinn

  6 Feb 2010 | 9:38 am

  Augmenting my previous post, here are two additional graphs, motivated respectively by comments by Econbrowser readers Eric Swanson (for Figure 1) and Cedric Regula and tim kemper (for Figure 2). Figure 1: Federal debt held by the public as a share of GDP (blue) and as a share of potential GDP. NBER defined recessions shaded gray; assumes last recession ended 09Q2. Vertical dashed line at last Q4 of each Administration, solid vertical line at Q1 of beginning of each Adminisration. Sources: Series FYGFDPUN from St. Louis Fed FREDII, with 09Q4 data from CBO, and BEA, 2009Q4 advance release, CBO…

• The January Employment Situation: Four Pictures

  Menzie Chinn

  5 Feb 2010 | 10:52 am

  Downward revision in the level of nonfarm payroll (NFP) employment; stabilization in employment measures (establishment, household, research series); aggregate weekly hours trend up. Figure 1: Nonfarm payroll employment, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, from January release (blue), December 2009 release (red) and December 2008 release (green). NBER defined recession dates shaded gray, assumes recession ended 2009M06. Source: BLS January 2010, December 2009 and December 2008 releases via FREDII, and NBER. Figure 2: Nonfarm payroll employment, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, from January…

• Doubling Exports

  Menzie Chinn

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:18 pm

  The Administration has committed itself to doubling exports in five years, via the National Export Initiative. Much of the journalistic coverage has focused on the regulatory, trade-credit financing, and export promotion measures being considered [0]. I wanted to take a macro oriented approach to the viewing the plausibility of this goal. Let me address this issue from a variety of perspectives. The historical record First, has a doubling of exports ever occurred in the past forty or so years? The answer is yes! Figure 1: Ratio of nominal exports to exports 5 years earlier (blue), and real…

• 
  Topix: Virginia News

• Historic snowstorm rages on

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:47 am

  A powerful winter storm will continue to bring heavy snow and high winds to much of the Mid-Atlantic today.

• Grants to expand broadband infrastructure in Va

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:24 am

  Two stimulus grants totaling $21.5 million have been awarded to expand broadband infrastructure in Virginia .

• State Senate backs placing gays under anti-bias policy

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:48 am

  The Virginia Senate today passed an anti-discrimination bill that would add sexual orientation to existing anti-discrimination policies in state hiring.

• Government Closed Monday But Broadband Stimulus Money May Be Handed Out

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:13 pm

  Looks like the National Telecommunications & Information Administration could be handing out more broadband stimulus money even on a day when the federal government is ostensibly closed.

• February 9, 1773 - Berkeley - President William Henry Harrison

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:49 pm

  William Henry Harrison, born in Berkeley, Charles City County, Virginia. Ninth president of the U.S. (1841). Governor of the Indiana Territory (1801), army Brigadier General and first president to die in office on April 4, 1841.

• 
  The Virginia Pilot

• Couple's DIY project restores home to its original glory

  HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  By Staci Dennis Correspondent NORFOLK For Justin Hickman and Terresa Landess, finding their first home was more of a hunt for the perfect diamond in the rough, rather than a quest for a shining gem. The duo set their minds on buying a place they could fix up and eventually resell for a profit. But the search proved harder than they thought. "We looked at so many houses, and they all were the same," Hickman said. "They were cookie cutter and generic. We wanted something different." Their agent suggested looking beyond traditional neighborhoods and suggested older homes in…

• Meet the 71-year-old Dominion Power lineman

  HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  VIRGINIA BEACH Wardell Driver joined his trainee on the truck in the Dominion Virginia Power lot shortly before 7:30 a.m. They tested the lights, the brakes, the stabilizing jacks - everything before heading out on a call this Wednesday. The trainee, Kenneth Johnson, could've handled the work in the early-morning cold. But it wasn't like 71-year-old Driver to be idle. "The legend!" shouted lineman W.R. Welch, pointing at Driver as he walked by. Driver smiled. Driver is Dominion's most senior field employee, and he says his 50 years with the company feel more like five…

• GOP plan emerges to fix Va. shortfall

  HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:47 pm

  House of Delegates budget negotiators hope to overcome a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall in part by deeper cuts at state agencies, bigger contributions from state workers to their pension plans and more federal money to pay for Medicaid. Each of those items are landmarks on a "road map" the Republican-controlled House is using to produce a budget by Feb. 21, the day both chambers are scheduled to release their spending plans. The House spending plan, and the Senate's counterpart, have to compensate for a $4.2 billion shortfall. Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's outgoing…

• Portsmouth council seeks quicker action on plan

  HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:45 pm

  PORTSMOUTH City Council members demanded faster action Monday on an ambitious economic development plan that they had asked staff to begin drafting in November. So far, the plan involves a list of goals with deadlines ranging from 45 days to six months. The timelines didn't thrill council members, who were briefed in a presentation from economic development director Patrick Small. "Another six months of planning - we don't have that much time," Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. said. Vice Mayor Bill Moody Jr., Councilman Doug Smith and Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas…

• Ensnared in hazing scandal, sailor relieved to tell his story

  HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:31 pm

  The key players in a hazing scandal among Navy dog handlers in Bahrain finally had their day in court, three years after the original investigation ended and one implicated sailor killed herself. The venue wasn't a court-martial; it was a retirement pay hearing for the unit's enlisted leader, Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint. The case drew public scrutiny last year after media reports revealed that Toussaint had been promoted despite an investigator's finding that numerous incidents of hazing, some of them sexually charged, had occurred under his leadership. Top…

• 
  alextimes.com Latest News

• Prepare for round two

  Times Staff

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:49 pm

  Getting through this weekend's storm was just the beginning.

• Signed, Thomas Jefferson

  Austin Danforth

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:18 am

  Surprise find begins authentication, planning process for artifact

• Budget's release postponed a week

  David Sachs

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:44 am

  Concrete figure for projected budget deficit to come next Tuesday.

• Titans forced to forfeit 12 wins

  Austin Danforth

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:39 am

  Discovery of ineligible seniors wipes winning record, sparks investigation

• On stage, a classroom outlet

  Austin Danforth

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:38 am

  Little Theatre actors enlighten students to the fuzzy side of history

• 
  Falls Church News-Press

• Gov. McDonnell Updates Emergency Plans As New Blizzard Approaches Virginia

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:56 pm

  In advance of another blizzard arriving Tuesday that forecasters now predict could dump another 20 inches of snow on top of last weekend's record storm, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell updated today the existing State of Emergency that's been in effect since last week.

• Falls Church City Schools Closed Tuesday

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:47 pm

  Falls Church City Public Schools will be closed Tuesday, February 9, it was announced this afternoon. In addition, daycare, after school programs and all other school activities are cancelled.

• PHOTOS: Snow Days Are Here Again!

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  As The Little City gets pounded by the snow this weekend, we'll be posting photos of many a snowy scene taken from around Falls Church. If you capture some picturesque views of the City, send them to us at fcnp@fcnp.com and we'll post them here and they may even wind up in next week's paper!

• City of Falls Church Officials Urge Citizens to Remain Off Roads as Clean-Up Continues With Storm Over

  6 Feb 2010 | 3:33 pm

  With the cessation of the snowing at 6 p.m. today, City of Falls Church officials issued a public statement urging citizens to remain off the roads while City crews continue working overtime to clear the main arteries through the City and prepare to clear side roads over the course of the next two days. F.C. Public Information Officer Barbara Gordon also urged citizens to remain patient through the clean-up effort, noting the monumental task that has faced City crews since early Friday.

• Despite Blizzard, Drinks, Dining Alive & Well in Downtown Falls Church This Saturday Night

  6 Feb 2010 | 3:07 pm

  At least three popular dining spots with well-stocked bars are open tonight downtown in the City of Falls Church, the News-Press has established through a series of investigative phone calls, even though the roads are impassible.

• 
  InsideNova.com

• Community events, Feb. 10

  InsideNova.com

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:20 pm

  » Saturday, 6 to 8:30 p.m.: Gainesville United Methodist Church is holding a Valentine's Dinner.

• Neighborhood news: Enjoy homemade chili at St. Stephen’s

  InsideNova.com

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:19 pm

  Bring your favorite dish or just enjoy tasting homemade chili when St. Stephen’s Episco-pal Church holds a Chili Cook-off Saturday from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners.

• Appreciation tea

  InsideNova.com

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:15 pm

  PACE West thanks community organizations for their continuous support and partnership.

• 2 JMU students face felony over snowballs

  InsideNova.com

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:34 am

  Harrisonburg police say throwing snowballs at occupied vehicles isn’t a harmless prank.

• Former Va. gubernatorial hopeful seeks to buy mill

  InsideNova.com

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:32 am

  Terry McAuliffe, an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 2009, is in the running again — this time, to buy a soon-to-close Southside paper factory he wants to convert to a wood-fired power plant.

• 
  This Old House: Kitchen And Bath

• Attic Becomes A Suite Retreat Upstairs

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:15 am

  Untapped space tucked under the roof becomes a light-filled bedroom, bath, and home office

• All About Stone Countertops

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am

  Nothing elevates the appearance of a kitchen like a handsome, hard-wearing slab of stone. The experts at This Old House explain how to find a quarried countertop that suits your home, your budget, and your cooking style

• Buy a Vintage-Look Dresser Vanity

  3 Feb 2010 | 9:10 am

  Check out these seven classic beauties

• Basement Bonus Rooms

  29 Jan 2010 | 9:05 am

  16 smart ways to turn dead space into a comfy place for unwinding, entertaining, and working

• Best Kitchen Before and Afters 2009

  28 Jan 2010 | 9:10 am

  You submitted thousands of remodels to us. Then you voted on your favorites. Here are some of your top picks and ours

• 
  Apartment Therapy Main

• Affordable Lounge Chairs and Cocktail Tables

  Misty Adair

  A round cocktail table surrounded by four comfy lounge chairs seems to be the perfect arrangement for sharing drinks and conversation with friends, playing board games with family, or just reading the paper with a cup of coffee. There is no rule stating that a cocktail table must be flanked by a sofa and two chairs, so why not shake it up just a little?Read Full Post

• Inspiration: Red & White Rooms for Valentine's Day

  Geoff Bentz

  Valentine’s Day brings a sea of red and white everywhere you look. So let's get inspired by a few homes decorated with the two perfectly paired colors. Read Full Post

• Artwork from Apartment Therapy House Tours at Laconia Gallery

  Kyle Freeman

  When you peruse Apartment Therapy House Tours do you ever crave to see the house in person? Well, we can't offer that option, but you can see the artwork collections from a few of our house tours, live at Boston's Laconia Gallery.Read Full Post

• Recycling Made Easy Good Finds

  Ashley Sheping

  There is nothing glamorous about our kitchen's recycling display. It consists of two paper bags on the floor and one underneath the sink. Since our kitchen is tiny, the two on the floor usually get kicked around the room depending on where we are cooking, resulting in the occasional spill. After seeing this invention, we could not be happier.Read Full Post

• How To Sew a 5-Minute Pillow Cover Home Hacks

  Regina Yunghans

  Pillow covers are a simple, low-commitment way to change up the look of a room. We've made this style of cover for our throw pillows for years. They slip on and off through an overlapped opening in the back, they look clean and simple, and they're a cinch to make:Read Full Post

• 
  Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com

• Dubai selling off Cirque du Soleil and QE2?

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:21 pm

  Dubai is reportedly preparing to sell a host of assets, including one of the world's best known cruise ships, as the emirate's investment arm looks to restructure a mountain of debt.

• Stocks rally on Greek bailout hopes

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:20 pm

  Stocks rallied Tuesday afternoon as growing bets that European officials will rescue Greece from its debt problems reassured investors following a four-week selloff.

• High-speed rail: Skipping your town

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:15 pm

  Most of the $8 billion in high-speed rail funds that President Obama awarded last month will not be used for high-speed projects, but rather to improvements designed to make existing lines faster.

• Toyota faces a Capitol grilling

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:20 am

  As Toyota's troubles mount, the automaker is gearing up for a new front in the battle to salvage its once-sterling image and credibility: Capitol Hill.

• Complaints of Corolla steering problems arise

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:03 am

  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has collected more than 80 complaints about steering problems in 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corollas.

• 
  Reuters: Business and Finance News

• U.S. job openings rise, hirings steady in December

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:03 pm

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job openings rose in December and the number of unemployed workers fell, according to a government report on Tuesday that supported views the labor market was on the brink of recovery.

• Toyota to recall more 2010 Camrys in U.S.

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm

  DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will recall 7,314 model-year 2010 Camry sedans in the United States due to the risk that a potential defect in steering may make it harder for drivers to stop the vehicle.

• MetLife may pay AIG in stock, cash for unit: source

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:49 am

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - MetLife Inc plans to pay American International Group Inc in stock and cash for American Life Insurance Co (Alico), as the two sides negotiate what could be a roughly $15 billion deal, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

• Wall Street jumps on reports of help for Greece

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Tuesday, with the Dow on track for its largest daily percentage gain since November, boosted by reports about an aid plan for heavily indebted Greece.

• Obama courts Republican support on jobs, deficit

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought common ground with Republicans on Tuesday on his top policy priorities of job creation and deficit reduction, winning hints of support in both areas but a rebuke on healthcare reform.

• 
  U.S. News - Money & Business

• Republican Stimulus Hypocrisy: They Knew it Would Work

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm

  GOP For Stimulus After They Were Against It

• IRS Cracks Down on Fraudulent Tax Preparers

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm

  The feds are cracking down on fraudulent tax preparers.

• University Students in Nevada Plan Walkout to Protest Budget Cuts

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:39 am

  Facing $881 million deficit, Nevada considers major cuts in higher education.

• Seized Hiker Josh Fattal Is No CIA Agent

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:36 am

  A close friend of the hiker says his pal is no spy.

• David Souter to Speak at Harvard Commencement

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:41 am

  Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter will deliver an address to Harvard grads in May.

• 
  MarketWatch.com - Top Stories

• Metals Stocks: Gold finishes higher on report of Greek bailout

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:19 pm

  Gold and metals futures rally, as talk of a German plan to rescue Greece leads stocks to soar, removing safe-haven demand for the dollar and lifting commodities.

• Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks head for best day in three months

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm

  The stock market trades off its highs Tuesday afternoon but remained on track for its best full-day gain in three months, helped by hopes for a financial rescue of Greece.

• Coventry Health Care profit climbs 24%

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:13 pm

  Growing membership, rising rates and lower costs pushes Coventry Health Care profit up by 24% during the fourth quarter.

• Hartford drops on concern about TARP repayment

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:13 pm

  SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hartford Financial Services Group shares fell more than 5% Tuesday on concern the insurer may have to raise roughly $2 billion in new equity to repay money it got from the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

• Jobs package may come in steps, Obama says

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:13 pm

  A legislative package aimed at creating jobs may come out of Washington in "incremental steps," President Obama says after a high-level meeting at the White House with congressional leaders of both parties.

• 
  USATODAY.com Money - Top Stories

• Paulson, Buffett agree: U.S. may profit from bank bailout

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:27 pm

  Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson predicted the U.S. government will regain every penny given to the nation's banks during ...

• Two cribs recalled after 3 infant deaths

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

  Government safety officials Tuesday announced a recall of more than 500,000 drop-side cribs sold at Buy Buy Baby, Kmart, Wal-Mart ...

• Stocks climb amid hopes for Greece debt assistance; Dow above 10,000

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:41 am

  Stocks rose Tuesday as hopes grow the European Union will help Greece with its growing debt burden

• Job openings plunged by one-quarter last year

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:02 am

  Finding a job got much tougher last year, as the number of available openings fell by nearly one quarter.

• Toyota recalls 2010 Prius worldwide; Corolla probed

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:58 am

  Toyota says it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid cars worldwide to fix brake problems the latest in a string ...

• 
  Finance News Pro

• What Is E-File?

  Charles

  28 Jan 2010 | 10:14 pm

  The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, has created many methods of filing to make it easier for taxpayers. A filer can choose to either mail the tax forms in or send them electronically, known as e-filing. Previously, a user could submit their tax return by telephone, utilizing Telefile, but this service has been discontinued as of 2005. Advances in internet technology have made it possible to securely transfer these documents from a professional tax expert or home user to the IRS. The transmitted data is encrypted before transfer, thus no outside party can gain access to the information. When…

• Auto insurance – Taking advantage of the recession

  Charles

  20 Jan 2010 | 10:17 pm

  Due to the current recession situation, almost everyone who have their auto insurance policy know for a fact that the insurers in their nation and almost throughout the world have been forced to constantly adjust their rates in order to attract new customers. Most of the times the sad thing is that the insurers do not inform their existing customers about the changes in the rates and insurance policies. Since most of the people do not come to know about the latest changes in the rates and policies, the savings that are possible goes to waste as those who should take advantage of it are…

• Keep your insurance costs lower

  Charles

  4 Jan 2010 | 9:02 pm

  It’s the Christmas time and there will be a lot of spending on gift items, parties and vacations. In these tough times, every single penny that you can save matters. Many insurance providers are likely to throw away money on in-store insurance policies that offer the same cover as their home insurance. According to the recent research done by a home insurance provider, nearly one third of the total population who purchase insurance policies buy additional insurance to cover the loss, damage or theft of expensive items like jewelry, costly watches or mobile phones. There are many others who…

• Tips on Personal finance – Shape your dreams

  Charles

  9 Dec 2009 | 6:41 am

  If you have any kind of financial emergency, having an emergency fund in your savings account is always helpful to cover the needs. Many people borrow money from their friends, family members, getting cash advance from their employer or getting a loan at very high interest rates. If you are falling short of cash and you know the payday is still a few days away, there are ways to bridge the gap. Most of the people live from one paycheck to another paycheck and this is certainly not a good way of living life in this expensive world. Many students when they step out of the college get…

• Perfect planning for the Christmas time

  Charles

  1 Dec 2009 | 8:00 am

  This Christmas time, if you are already struggling with your current financial situation, then you do not need to increase your worries by overspending or going overboard on what you buy. You can buy some small gift items that suits well to your budget and leave you with a smile on your face as well as the person you have bought it for. You should know how much you will be able to spend on Christmas gifts and then figure out the number of close people in your family and friends. This will give you a clear picture and you will know the cost that you can afford for the gift items. There are…

• 
  WSJ.com: US Business

• Google Adds 'Buzz' to Gmail

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pm

  Google launched a new service to bring social updates such as photos and Web links into Gmail and some Google mobile products, in a challenge to Facebook and other sites where people go to check up on their friends.

• Outfront on Calories

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:17 pm

  The beverage industry, including Pepsi and Coke, unveiled new labeling plans that will move the calorie content to the front of containers by the end of 2012.

• FSA Chief Sants to Step Down

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:03 pm

  Hector Sants submitted his resignation as chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, the U.K. financial regulator that he led through the credit crisis but which faces an uncertain political future.

• Beer Makers' Volume Slips

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:40 am

  MillerCoors said quarterly results, adjusted for a year-earlier charge, declined due to a drop in sales. Molson Coors, meanwhile, also saw volumes slip.

• Fiat to Forge Venture in Russia

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:34 am

  Fiat and Russian auto maker Sollers are forming a joint venture to make Fiat cars in Russia, a spokesman for Putin said.

• 
  WSJ.com: Markets

• Germany Considers Loan Guarantees for Greece

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:39 pm

  Germany is considering a plan with its European Union partners to offer Greece and other troubled euro zone members loan guarantees in an effort to calm market fears of a default.

• Stocks Gain on Hopes for Greece

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pm

  The stock market traded off its highs but remained on track for its best full-day gain in three months, helped by hopes for a financial rescue of Greece.

• Showdown at Infineon Tests German Governance

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:59 am

  A group of shareholders are challenging the nomination of Klaus Wucherer, a longtime supervisory board member at Infineon Technlogies, to become chairman of the supervisory board.

• Greek, Portugal CDS Spreads Tighten

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:57 am

  The cost of insuring the sovereign debt of Greece, Portugal, and Spain against default fell sharply after Portugal announced plans for a 10-year, syndicated bond issue.

• Gold Gains on Steadier Euro

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:34 am

  Gold futures moved higher on hopes of support for the euro zone economy and as Chinese customers buy the metal ahead of Lunar New Year's celebrations.

• 
  Smartbrief: The Financial Services Roundtable

• BofA CEO Moynihan aims to take harder line on risk

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer at Bank of America, recently sent a memo to the bank's employees, encouraging them to -More- 

• Nasdaq CEO Greifeld scrutinizes proposed curb on proprietary trading

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  Nasdaq OMX CEO Bob Greifeld said it would be difficult to distinguish when banks are trading on their own behalf or on behalf -More- 

• Lincoln National posts fourth-quarter profit of $102.3 million

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

   -More- 

• Treasury may be backing away from loan-modification efforts

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  Comments made by Seth Wheeler, senior adviser to the Treasury Department, to the American Securitization Forum last week sign -More- 

• Principal Financial reports $150.2 million quarterly profit

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

   -More- 

• 
  TRANSPARENT REAL ESTATE

• My Early Days on the RE.net

  Pat Kitano

  1 Feb 2010 | 12:32 am

  Todd Carpenter did a nice job chronicling the birth of real estate social media at http://realtynex.us/2010/01/29/a-six-year-history-of-the-re-net/.This is my contribution to these early days that I sent to Todd for his article:I met Larry Cragun at Inman 2006, who proudly proclaimed he was a real estate blogger. That got me started on blogging (my first blog article), and I've always called him my blog godfather. Teresa Boardman showed me enough of the ropes to blogging to be christened "blogmother" (Teresa, I still feel bad about the Weenie crisis that got you unfairly labeled as some sort…

• Ten Real Estate Predictions for 2010

  Pat Kitano

  3 Jan 2010 | 10:02 am

  Here are ten 2010 predictions for real estate. I listed 10 predictions for media in 2010 at my social media blog Media Transparent.1) Curation is the new marketingAt Media Transparent, I called this "Curation is the new Syndication". Positioning yourself as the community conduit curating local real estate news to your client base is the new marketing. Mass media used to rule syndication, now anybody can curate and present content across a panoply of social media platforms. Curating breaking news is key to readership – it’s the reason why people follow CNN, Marketwatch or engadget.

• Society's new intimacy - it's surprising to me

  Pat Kitano

  22 Dec 2009 | 12:05 am

  One of 2009's biggest trends was real estate industry adoption ofsocial media marketing. What I find striking is the intimacy of thesocial interchange:(Conversing about a chain restaurant on the opposite coast... it is just like a cafe conversation...) The real estate industry, one of the most socially networked societies in part for the purpose of building business, is becoming a bellwether for how people interact in a new society. The new intimacy surprises the same people whose first impressions of Twitter was "why are they telling me their daily life stuff?". In fact, it's now the norm to…

• Be a part of the Mortgage Revolution

  Pat Kitano

  7 Dec 2009 | 11:43 am

  We're looking forward to being a part of the Mortgage Revolution... register now - Atlanta January 10-12 ...

• Attend HomeGain's Ask the Experts next Tuesday December 8

  Pat Kitano

  4 Dec 2009 | 11:39 pm

  We'll be discussing strategies for community engagement. December 8 9:00am PST... thanks to Louis, Jessica and HomeGain for the opportunity for a high level discussion... ...

• 
  Today's Real Estate News

• NAR must vie for sold listings

  matt_carter

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

  First American, Move Inc. also want to partner with MLSsread more

• Security, United Title brands no more

  Inman_News

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:09 am

  Mercury's former Colorado subsidiaries folded into Fidelity National Title read more

• Doing business with people you don't like

  Bradley_Inman

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

  From BradInman.comread more

• Social media not just a 2-way street

  GahlordDewald

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am

  Target behavioral trends, consumer needs and wantsread more

• Appeal filed in Corcoran client list case

  TheRealDeal

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am

  From The Real Dealread more

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  National Commercial Real Estate News From CoStar Group

• In The Pipeline: CoStar Development and Construction News for Feb. 7-13

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:45 pm

  In this week's Pipeline, George Smith Partners is close to finalizing that rarest of transactions in today's soft market -- a construction loan for new development on the Westside of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, to the east of L.A. in the Inland Empire,...

• CoStar's Retail News Roundup: Feb. 7-13, 2010

  7 Feb 2010 | 8:30 pm

  This week in the Retail Roundup, CoStar reports on expansions or new concepts at Casual Male, Coach, Subway and Chick-fil-A; closings, cutbacks, bankruptcy, default, receivership or foreclosure news at Disney Store, Movie Gallery, Car Dealerships, Walking...

• Global Law Firm Signs 102,000-SF Lease in Washington, D.C.

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:31 pm

  Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobsen LLP is relocating its Washington, D.C. office, leasing 102,000 square feet at Lafayette Tower. The international law firm signed a 16-year deal, slated to commence in about a year. The 11-story, 245,000-square...

• Hill Country Galleria Sold at Bankruptcy Auction for $75M

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:08 pm

  Chicago-based REIT Management & Research is the new owner of Hill Country Galleria, a 1.28 million-square-foot mixed-use lifestyle center located in Bee Cave, TX (a suburb of Austin) that filed bankruptcy in May of last year. The investment company won...

• Lease Up/Lease Down (Jan. 31 - Feb. 6): Exploring Possibilities: Ford Adding 1,200 Jobs in Chicago

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:59 am

  CoStar compiles news of corporate expansions, relocations, extensions, closures, layoffs, lease cancellations and mergers in the weekly Lease Up/Lease Down news report, a concise read keeping you updated on major corporate moves affecting commercial...

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  The Cash Flow Mercenary

• Michigan Real Estate Investing TV: Forced Saving Makes You Rich

  Dennis Fassett

  19 Jan 2010 | 6:35 am

  This is a follow up to the post I did yesterday on the necessity of having rental properties if you have a day job and don’t get all the Federal and State income taxes back that you pay. I buy another cash flow property with my windfall. Think about what doing the same thing over the course of several years could do for your retirement – and your legacy?

• How to Buy Your FIRST Apartment Building: Feb 6, 2010

  Dennis Fassett

  18 Jan 2010 | 12:57 pm

  Due to the tidal wave of chaos and uncertainty that’s building right now in commercial real estate, I believe that 2010 is the year to buy Apartment Buildings! Because of this I’m teaching a half-day FREE seminar on How to Buy Your FIRST Apartment Building. Saturday, February 6, 2010. 8:30 am to 1:00pm. There’s a catch though – in order to be admitted free I’m asking for your help with something that’s very important to me. Medical care for pregnant mothers. I’m doing this seminar to raise money for a charity that I personally work with and have…

• Michigan Real Estate Investing TV: When Vendors Go Bad

  Dennis Fassett

  18 Jan 2010 | 10:34 am

  Stop me if you have heard this one before: you spend time looking for a good service provider. You go through two or three before you find someone that’s great, then you give them all of your business. Then something strange happens – their prices start to go up, they get more difficult to get a hold of, and they stop meeting deadlines. What do you do when that happens?

• Michigan Real Estate Investing TV: 2010 is for PLANNING?!?

  Dennis Fassett

  18 Jan 2010 | 10:33 am

  I was listening to one of the talking heads over the weekend on one of the paid programming financial shows. His advice to everyone in 2010? Do nothing. Use the year for “planning”. In this time of unprecedented opportunity, all that’s all this guy can come up with?

• Michigan Real Estate Investing TV: The Power of Experience

  Dennis Fassett

  18 Jan 2010 | 10:30 am

  As a follow up, during my long sit down on Friday we talked about various aspects of commercial real estate. He asked about what I had done, then suggested a course of action that blew me away.

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  Zillow Blog - Real Estate Market Stats, Celebrity Real Estate, and Zillow News

• Mortgage Rates Decline to 4.84%

  Sarah Greenleaf

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:02 pm

  Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages declined this week, with the current rate borrowers quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.84%, down from 4.87% at this time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rates hovered at or below 4.80 percent for most of the past weekend and neared 4.75 percent on Monday. Additionally, 15-year fixed borrowers were quoted on average, 4.27% and for 5/1 ARMs, 3.70%. What are the rates right now? Check Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for up-to-the-minute mortgage rates for your state or the nation.

• Scarlett Johansson’s Hollywood Hills Home Listed for $4,950,000

  Diane Tuman

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:54 am

  Ooh, this has to hurt: Actress Scarlett Johansson purchased this Hollywood Hills home in 2007, paying $7 million and now she has listed it for sale for $4,950,000 — a price reduction of $2,050,000 (see percentage of Hollywood Hills homes sold for a loss). This gated Spanish Villa was built in 1931 and just underwent a complete restoration, including some green upgrades such as solar power. A gourmet period-style kitchen includes “Big Chill” appliances (retro, baby). Rooms flow in and out to terraces, patios and cascading gardens. Johansson has starred in films such as…

• Academy Award® Winners and Their Homes

  Diane Tuman

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:24 am

  For actors and actresses of the big screen, it’s nail-biting time as nominees for the 82nd annual Academy Awards® were just announced and winners will be selected on Sunday, March 7, in Los Angeles’ Kodak Theatre. As a salute to Hollywood’s best, here is some celebrity real estate we’ve posted that includes past winners of Academy Awards®: Nicolas Cage (Best Actor, “Leaving Las Vegas,” 1995) Mr. Cage has been faced with some financial troubles in the past couple of years, losing three homes to foreclosure — two in New Orleans and one in Las Vegas.

• Dallas RainCamp - Internet Marketing Class For Professionals

  Sara Bonert

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:45 am

  Dallas, TX RainCamp What is RainCamp?  It is a full-day seminar for real estate professionals packed with ideas easily implemented in your strategies for social media, networking, blogging or overall business plan.  Zillow is proud to partner with ActiveRain to bring this event around the country to teach professionals about growing their online business in today’s modern-day real estate market. If you are in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb 16, you should definitely register to attend the Dallas RainCamp. I recently attended the New York RainCamp, which was a packed house of more than 500…

• How Do I Do a Short Sale on My House?

  Rachel Rosen

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:48 pm

  From Yakima, WA, in the Buying Foreclosures section of Home Buying Advice, within Zillow Advice, misssassy1146 asks: “How do I short sale my house?” Having been through a short sale myself, my opinions are very biased. That being said, I’ll share my personal experience, which I found to be very similar to the many short sale blog posts I encountered as I searched for help myself. How to start the process of short selling your house: 1.)  List your home for sale with an agent. Do not do a short sale by owner, as there is no money to be saved. Start gathering paperwork…

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  Real Estate Investing For Real | A BiggerPockets Investment Property Blog

• Grandma Was Right – Especially About the Farmer and His Mare

  Jeff Brown

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:06 pm

  Grandma was a saint. I’m bettin’ most reading this share that opinion about their grandmas. The older I get, and the more experience I acquire (endure?), the more I’ve come to realize what an incredibly wise woman she was. She was also the only person who’d address me as Jeffrey Scott without me cringing, wondering what I’d done now. She taught me much about the value and the folly of experience — a sometimes deadly paradox. Let’s talk about experience a bit. Factoid: I never saw an interest rate below 7% ’till I’d been in the business…

• Foreclosure Alternatives are Gaining Steam

  Florence Foote

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:01 am

  Nationwide, 1 in 4 mortgages were underwater by the end of 2009.  Recent research suggests when a negative equity hits 25% (i.e., the borrower owes 25% more than the market value), borrowers tend to walk away from their mortgage, even if they are perfectly capable of making the payments. These two trends, taken together, can spell disaster for real estate values. It does not take a genius to figure out that when foreclosures become increasingly common, there is a kind of “contagion” effect of cascading foreclosures, because every additional property thrown onto the market negatively…

• Learn by Doing, Exercise 2 for Real Estate Investors – How to Sell

  Ryan Moeller

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  It is important to learn and stay sharp as a real estate investor.  Learning theory is great, but applying by doing is the best way to learn and retain.  Here is the 2nd of a series of exercises that new and existing real estate investors must do to hone their craft.  Hopefully you had tremendous success during the Buy Right exercise.  Your second exercise is to Sell an item on Craigslist for more than an item is worth and fast, with favorable terms. Sell an item on Craigslist – The goal here is to get people to fight over your item and bid up the price and get better terms –…

• Improve Your Productivity: 4 Great Ways to Clone Yourself While Real Estate Investing

  John Fedro

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  Congratulations!  You are pursuing a career in the lucrative world of real estate investing.  The sky’s the limit.  Isn’t it? We are all bound by the same 24 hours in each day.  Our current unique lifestyle is a result how each one of us has used this precious time. Here are a few tactics, out of many, that will help you to multiply your efforts every day. 1. Don’t sweat the small stuff: A properly worded agreement which rewards your renters for not calling you throughout the month can free up hours per week.  Close your eyes and imagine your tenants fixing their own clogged…

• Fed Leaving Door Open to Extend Mortgage Backed Security Purchases

  Ryan Hinricher

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:02 am

  I’ve been curious lately about the end of the Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) purchases by the Federal Reserve in March.  The Fed is planning to end the program in less than 60 days on March 31st.  Currently they stand at about 94% having purchased 1.17 trillion of the 1.25 trillion allocated to purchase these securities. So while they’ve nearly fulfilled the entire program, I did some digging and found there’s starting to be some chatter about them extending the program.  We, of course, can recall to the first-time buyer credit extension being announced just as the initial credit was…

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  Appraisal Scoop

• Appraisal Institute Analysis Shows Two-Thirds of Failed Banks Cited for Appraisal Problems

  Brian Davis

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:12 am

  An analysis conducted by the Appraisal Institute of failed banks shows that nearly two-thirds had been previously cited by federal bank examiners or had ongoing appraisal administration problems, highlighting a significant weakness in many struggling financial institutions.   For a copy of the analysis, visit www.appraisalinstitute.org/newsadvocacy/downloads/key_documents/FDIC_MaterialLossReview_Appraisal.pdf.Source: Appraisal Institute

• Humor: YouTube Rant on AMCs, Cuomo, the HVCC, and MORE!

  Brian Davis

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:42 am

• 6 Reasons Appraisers Are Worth Their Salt

  Brian Davis

  3 Feb 2010 | 9:37 am

  Placing a Value on Your Services - a Guest Post by Michael W. Armetrout of AM Appraisals As every appraisal firm manager knows, gauging the direction of the current business environment can be a difficult task. Some may see every new trend as a time to reinvent themselves while others may simply lay low through fluctuating periods.  One thing is for sure, the constant wave of financial fiascos and regulatory changes have made it nearly impossible to figure out what is on the horizon for our industry. Whether you subscribe to a “glass half full” or a “half empty” approach to the…

• First American Introduces Appraiser-Validated Price Opinions - Identify "High Risk" BPOs

  Brian Davis

  2 Feb 2010 | 2:22 pm

  First American Valuation and Property Solutions, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies, has announced a new valuation service, the Appraiser-Validated Price Opinion. Appraiser-Validated Price Opinions, the company says, are expert opinions that provide a second level of review for broker price opinion (BPO) users, without the need to build in-house review functions. While this is not an appraisal, a licensed appraiser confirms the specific set of values determined by a local Realtor by looking at comparable sales and verifying accuracy. If discrepancies are found, the…

• Download the Realtor.com iPhone Real Estate App

  Brian Davis

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:52 am

  Not only can you instantly access over 4 million homes for sale with the touch of a button, whether you aredriving or walking through a neighborhood, you can also see: Homes for sale nearby your current location with your GPS enabled iPhone Open house times, dates and locations Homes for sale on a map, even the neighborhood you're standing in, instantly Multiple photos, property details and pricing on nearly any home for sale More homes for sale than any other real estate site in America Information you can trust - because it's the official listing site of the National Association of…

• 
  Financial Times - US homepage

• Berlin looks to build Greek ‘firewall’

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:33 pm

  Schäuble to brief on aid for troubled nation either bilaterally or via EU

• Warner chief sees no barriers to EMI tie-up

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:33 pm

  Warner Music sees no regulatory barrier to a bid for part of EMI, its chief executive said, heightening expectations that the UK music group’s debt troubles may lead to a combination of the two labels

• Obama urges unity on jobs measures

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:27 pm

  President Obama made a new appeal for bipartisan efforts on tackling ‘the pressing challenges’ facing the US, especially job creation and deficit reduction, and attempted to neutralise criticism from both Republicans and the press with a new openness

• BofA and Citi warned over credit ratings

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

  The planned overhaul of US financial rules prompted Standard & Poor’s to warn it might downgrade the credit ratings of Citigroup and Bank of America on concerns that the shake-up would make it less likely that the banks would be bailed out by US taxpayers if they ran into trouble again

• Greek rescue rumours help bourses regain poise

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:01 pm

  Global Markets Overview: Euro rises on news as it emerges that Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, is returning from a banking summit to attend Thursday’s meeting of European leaders

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  naked capitalism

• Links 2/9/10

  Yves Smith

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:51 pm

  ‘Boredom can kill you’ ANI Genes reveal ‘biological ageing’ BBC Re-Engineering the Human Immune System h+ (hat tip reader David C) Sahara Desert Greening Due to Climate Change? National Geographic (hat tip reader Diane R) Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything PhysOrg (hat tip reader Nick) Sarah Palin caught cheating, proving to the world once again she’s a colossal IDIOT! Zeitgeist Watch (hat tip reader John L) Unaccountable America Archein Traders make $8bn bet against euro Financial Times The Option of Last Resort: A Two-Currency EMU RGE…

• Head of BIS Calls for Bigger Liquidity Buffers

  Yves Smith

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:43 pm

  Regulators have been making a concerted push for banks to hold more equity as a protection against loss and overly-optimistic valuation of trading assets. But the head of the Bank of International Settlements, Jamie Caruna, argued at a secret (not) central bankers’ conference in Sydney that banks also need to carry more in the way of liquid assets (note that this recommendation apparently came in the form of a paper, but we can find no such document at this hour at the BIS website). Caruna recommended that banks hold enough to allow them to survive a month without access to funding.

• Guest Post: “More Empires Have Fallen Because Of Reckless Finances Than Invasion”

  George Washington

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:12 pm

  While Eric Margolis’ entire comment in the Toronto Sun is a must-read, the following two quotes really hit the nail on the head: More empires have fallen because of reckless finances than invasion… If Obama really were serious about restoring America’s economic health, he would demand military spending be slashed, quickly end the Iraq and Afghan wars and break up the nation’s giant Frankenbanks. Margolis is right. As I have repeatedly shown, war is bad for the economy. According to a Nobel prize-winning economist, the head of JP Morgan and others, the Iraq war and the war on…

• Questions about the coming wave of second mortgage writedowns

  Edward Harrison

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:26 am

  By Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns In the lead-up to the credit crisis, I really didn’t write a considerable amount about second mortgages despite my focus on credit writedowns. At that time, I was more focused on writedowns from securitized mortgage paper (and later construction loans and commercial real estate because of the stress these loan types put on regional financials). However, second liens are a very big deal and I believe they will loom that much larger in 2010 because of the rise in strategic defaults in prime and Alt-A categories. When the crisis first developed, in…

• Links 2/8/10

  Yves Smith

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:14 am

  Galapagos sea lions head for warm Peru waters BBC (hat tip reader Steven L) Pratap Chatterjee, Destabilizing Pakistan TomDispatch Secret summit of top bankers News.com.au Europe needs to show it has a crisis endgame Wolfgang Munchau Financial Times Employers set to keep squeezing pay Independent Irked, Wall St. Hedges Its Bet on Democrats New York Times. Some one needs to break these guys. The SWIFT Battle Heats Up FireDogLake (hat tip reader Michael T) Let’s Atomize Wall Street Martin Hutchinson, Prudent Bear Super-wealthy investors move billions out of Greece Guardian Flatlhead Matt…

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  alpha.sources

• Q&A on Asian Economies and their Place in the World

  CV

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pm

  The good folks at Icfai University Press and specifically the editor of the magazine The Analyst have queried me to answer some question on the Asian economies and their ascend to the top position (or not) of the global economy and what this means. They have shipped me some questions, given me a deadline and below I provide some answers in Q&A format. Enjoy! Question:History reveals that every international crisis leaves a lasting mark on the world, once the crisis is over and the difficulties it brought have been encountered, things tend to change. Similarly, do you think that the…

• Random Shots

  CV

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:40 am

  Watching, monitoring, and analysing the economy and her markets is as much about tracking discourses (and how they change) as it is about perusing data material on various leading and lagging indicators. And thus, as I am still knee deep into putting the last touch on my thesis [1] I thought that I might as well move in with some random shots at what just might (or might not) be a subtle change of discourse in the context of the areas of the economy I am interested in.   Rallying Risky Assets no More? The first interesting piece that got my attention was the coverage by FT Alphaville's…

• No News from Japan

  CV

  27 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am

  Sometimes no news is more telling than one might initially think and although it was hardly earth shattering for the market that the BOJ chose yesterday to keep its main benchmark rate sitting at 0.1% it does highlight the extraordinary difficulties Japan currently face in terms of sparking its economy back into some kind of forward momentum. (quote Bloomberg) The Bank of Japan held interest rates near zero and said it remains committed to fighting deflation as gains in the yen risk stunting the recovery from the country’s worst postwar recession. “I hope that price declines will…

• Paging Martin Wolf - A Detailed Look at Savings in Japan

  CV

  21 Jan 2010 | 12:47 am

  [Update: Martin Wolf moves in with a comment below and I have answered] In short, if the world economy is to get through this crisis in reasonable shape, credit worthy surplus countries must expand domestic demand relative to potential output. How they achieve this outcome is up to them. But only in this way can the deficit countries realistically hope to avoid spending themselves into bankruptcy.  Martin Wolf (2008) It is not the first time that I am using this quote by the FT's chief economics commentator and I don't suspect that it will be the last. Of all the attempts by pundits and…

• Moodys on Japan and the Eurozone - Stating the Obvious

  CV

  13 Jan 2010 | 10:59 pm

  I shall openly admit that I have always found the exact role of the rating agencies a bit odd in the global financial system. I mean, do we really need them to tell us which bonds are good and which are not? I am not sure and what is more; rating agencies sometimes, if not all the time depending on their ability to stay in front of the curve, seem to wield a tremendously amount of power relative to their role as private actors (after all) in financial markets. For example, they may ultimately decide whether bonds of a given Eurozone economy may be eligible for collateral at the ECB or, even…

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  Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

• Anecdotes from Architects: How Bad Is It?

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:37 pm

  Here is an interesting email from "JL" about the architecture industry."JL" writes:Hi Mish-A while ago, you published a stat from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) regarding architecture businesses and billing increases and decreases. I thought that was a good indication of future construction growth and I checked it out. It looks like it ticked up marginally for December but it's still terrible according to the Wall Street Journal article Architecture Billings Tick Up, but Still Show Decline.The Architecture Billings Index moved slightly higher last month, although the index…

• How To Keep The Money "All In The Family"

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:35 am

  Here is an interesting idea in response to Seniors Need Yield But Nowhere Good To Go; FDIC Moral Hazard Yet Again."Doug H" Writes:Hi MishMy Dad, now 88 years old, sold out of everything, bonds, mutual funds and even his house a few years ago, right before the crash and has kept it all in laddered CDs. Thank-you for helping to inform our decision there, it helped preserve $150k or more.Interest payments covered most of his expenses while he was getting 4-5%, but that isn’t happening now and, at 88, he certainly is in no position to go chasing yield elsewhere.We have hit on what we think is a…

• Small Businesses Owners' Association Slams Obama's Stimulus Efforts, Sites Weak Demand and Poor Sales

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  Small business optimism inched higher but all it really means is things are getting worse at a falling rate. Please consider U.S. Small-Business Optimism Index Rose in January.Confidence among U.S. small businesses increased in January for the first time in three months as the outlook for sales improved, according to the National Federation of Independent Business optimism index.The gauge climbed to 89.3, the highest level in 16 months, from 88 in December, the Washington-based organization said today. The advance left the measure close to the 2009 low of 81 reached in March, which was second…

• $550 Million Will Create 400 Jobs ... In Mexico

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:43 pm

  It takes ever increasing amounts of money to create just a few manufacturing jobs. Here is a case in point. Please consider Chrysler pledges $550M to build Fiat 500 in Mexico.Chrysler Group LLC says it will invest $550 million to build the Fiat 500 minicar at its assembly plant near Mexico City.Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the new work at its Toluca plant will create 400 jobs. He said Monday the company will begin making the model in December for U.S. and Latin American markets.Mexican President Felipe Calderon says Chrysler will produce between 100,000 and 130,000 vehicles at the…

• Seniors Need Yield But Nowhere Good To Go; FDIC Moral Hazard Yet Again

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:07 pm

  One of the many massive distortions caused by the Fed's miserable policies is hitting hard on senior citizens who cannot afford stock market losses but need fixed income to live on."California Banker" writesHey MishDuring the past several weeks we've had a lot of seniors coming to the bank as their certificate of deposits of mature. They are very disgruntled about the rate environment in general as bank rates are much lower than a year ago.Many of these seniors are 70 and up and are using the interest to live on in retirement, so their interest income has taken a hit. I imagine most of those…

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  Seeking Alpha

• Putting a Dollar Value on Buzz

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:40 pm

  Andy Beal submits: Generating buzz—getting people talking about our products or even advertising on their own—is the goal of many ad campaigns today, even television commercials. (Case in point: the Super Bowl.) Online, buzz seems to be the Holy Grail: going viral, getting evangelists, having people talking/Tweeting/friending/following you. But assigning a value to that can be hard. We’re driven to assign an ROI to social media, but we’re having a hard enough time even monitoring success. General Sentiment, a sentiment analysis company, has come to the rescue. Using…

• Temple-Inland Inc. Q4 2009 Earnings Call Transcript

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:37 pm

  Temple-Inland Inc. (TIN) Q4 2009 Earnings Call February 9, 2010; 9:30 am ETComplete Story »

• Is Dow 10,000 Still a Meaningful Threshold?

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pm

  Market Blog submits: By David BermanYou can forgive investors for shrugging at the sight of the Dow Jones industrial average crossing the 10,000-point mark on Tuesday. Aside from the fact that the 30-member index is not representative of the U.S. stock market or that psychological thresholds are really just round numbers, investors have seen Dow 10,000 more times than they can probably remember.Complete Story »

• Can German Wage Hikes Save Greece?

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:35 pm

  Felix Salmon submits: Marco Annunziata has a diagnosis of what ails the PIGS: Germany has been relying on an export-led growth strategy: With virtually no wage growth over several years, it has rapidly gained competitiveness against most of its European partners, running a substantial current account surplus, which stood at 6.5% of GDP in 2008. As two-thirds of German exports go to other EU countries, it is not surprising that some of them ended up with huge external deficits. With a sharp rebound in international trade now leading the global recovery, Germany sees no reason to change…

• If Google Wave Is the Future, Google Buzz Is the Present

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:31 pm

  TechCrunch submits: By MG SieglerSee our live notes from today’s Google Buzz event here. Google (GOOG) has a problem. Despite having their hands in just about everything online, they’ve never been able to tackle what is a key part of the fabric of the web: social. Yes, they have Orkut and OpenSocial, but no one actually uses them. Okay, some people use them, but not in the meaningful social ways that people use Facebook or even Twitter. Today, Google may have just solved their social problem.Complete Story »

• 
  Dollars & Sense blog

• Elizabeth Warren Calls Out Wall Street

  Dollars and Sense

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:59 am

  From James Kwak at Baseline Scenario; hat-tip to LF.Although the Consumer Financial Protection Agency made it through the House more or less intact, the banking lobby is taking another, better shot at killing it in the Senate, and is planning to use the magic words: "big government" and "bureaucracy." Elizabeth Warren wrote an op-ed for Tuesday's Wall Street Journal that lays out the confrontation. For most of the past two decades, many Americans trusted the banking industry—not necessarily to be moral exemplars, but they trusted that the banks were basically doing what was right for…

• Why Aren't There More Radicals at Work?

  Dollars and Sense

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:32 am

  From the (new?) website, radicalsatwork.org:Works sucks and it's been getting worse in the U.S. for decades.So why aren't there more radicals at work?For the first part in a series about radicals and labor today, we asked a dozen radical workplace organizers—teachers, Teamsters, telephone technicians, union organizers, and more—that question. Read what they had to say.The activists we talked to blamed the American Dream, persistent racism, and a feeling that struggle and collective won't do any good. They also laid some of the blame on radicals themselves, for failing to connect…

• Deficit Hawk, Progressive Style, Part II

  Polly Cleveland

  7 Feb 2010 | 2:52 pm

  As I wrote in Part I (Feb 3), the deficit hawks legitimately claim that huge deficits will hinder investment and kill jobs. But their solutions would make matters worse. What are those solutions? What are alternatives? A leading hawk, C. Fred Bergsten of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, proposes three control measures: containing Medicare and Medicaid costs, "comprehensive Social Security reform, including gradual increases in the retirement age and an alteration of the benefits formula" and a national consumption tax.The hawks are right that we need to control all--not…

• Mixed Jobs Report for January (BLS)

  Dollars and Sense

  5 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its employment numbers for January. It is a mixed report: the official unemployment rate fell from 10.0% to 9.7%, yet the economy lost 20,000 non-farm jobs. This means that the decline in the rate of unemployment has to do with people who aren't (fully) employed but aren't counted as unemployed (i.e. they have become discouraged or marginally attached). The BLS also revised upward its estimate of the number of jobs that were lost in Dec. 2009, from 80,000 up to 150,000. Here are the basics from the BLS: THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JANUARY 2010The…

• Deficit Hawk, Progressive Style, Part I

  Polly Cleveland

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:37 pm

  As the national debt balloons, the deficit hawks have swooped in again, crying for "fiscal responsibility." According to C. Fred Bergsten of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, that means restricting or cutting spending on "entitlements"-- Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security--and imposing a national consumption tax. And now President Obama has heard their cries--and proposes to freeze discretionary spending--except for the military! The hawks' concern is justified. But their policy conclusions don't follow. When a government runs a "deficit"--spends more than it collects in…

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  Block's Indicator of Sustainable Growth

• First climategate, then glaciergate, and now treegate

  by Ray Block Climategate in November 2009 is the name global warming sceptics gave to the theft of 61 megabytes of material from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. The cache contained hundreds of files, code and documents from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Centre, which Russian or ...

• Energy savings offer biggest scope for carbon abatement

  by Ray Block It’s becoming readily accepted in the community that energy efficiency is important. But it isn’t really understood that the No1 priority on the road to a low carbon economy is achieving energy savings. Investment in energy savings in buildings, industry and transportation ranks above investment in new energy sources ...

• Concentrating solar more cost competitivePart 2

  by Ray Block When Arthur J Goldman, the founder of Luz abandoned the parabolic trough for his new start up BrightSource Energy, the dominant feature is a 143-metre central power tower. On top of the tower, 1600 double tracking heliostats (small mirrors) reflect sunlight on to a boiler to produce high temperature ...

• Concentrating solar more cost competitive Part 1

   by Ray Block The accepted view is that wind energy electricity per kWh is almost competitive with natural gas and coal, but solar energy is much more expensive. In turn, concentrating solar (CSP) in utility scale plants, is cheaper than solar PV However, there is a concerted effort among CSP producers to bring ...

• Is Schwarzenegger’s renewable energy targets at risk?

  by Ray Block Being a movie actor must have something about it to qualify as a politician. Ronald Reagan, the one time movie actor changed overnight from liberal to conservative, and having become the darling of the Right, became the successful 40th President of the US. Arnold Schwarzenegger, another movie actor and ...

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  NYT > Business

• Square Feet: Learning to Live Without Walls

  By JONATHAN VATNER

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:25 pm

  Grey dispensed with almost all private offices and hired a workplace psychologist to help employees adjust.

• Opel’s Strategy Has Fewer Jobs and Less Capacity

  By JACK EWING

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:20 pm

  Opel, G.M.’s European unit, says it plan to become profitable by 2012 by cutting its work force by 8,300 while introducing many new models.

• Square Feet: New Jersey, Home of the Servers

  By JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm

  Commercial real estate is experiencing a boom in data center construction, especially in New Jersey, thanks to its proximity to New York’s financial companies.

• Stocks Rally on Hopes of Greek Bailout

  By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm

  Stocks climbed on hopes that European officials would move to rescue Greece from its debt troubles.

• China Overtakes Germany as Top Exporter

  By JUDY DEMPSEY

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:58 am

  Chinese exports amounted to $1.2 trillion in 2009, while German exports totaled $1.1 trillion, or €797 billion, the German Federal Statistical Office said.

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  Bank-O-meter

• Small Biz Connects Dots

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:49 am

  You gotta love small businesses. The operators are crazy, stupid, clever, optimistic people; it’s a requirement to start a small business. The National Federation of Independent Business’ Index of small business optimism rose to 89.3 in January from 88 in December. The index is at historic lows, below levels in the 2001 and 1991 recessions. What was the source of the newfound, albeit subdued optimism? Companies were cutting jobs, wages and prices. Most said sales and profits were still falling. Credit remained tight, but most firms didn't want to borrow any money.

• Friday Night Frights

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:46 pm

  The over/under is 5. The unders win. The economic backdrop is a picture of smoke and mirrors. Today, the first Friday of the month, brought the jobs report from the Labor Department. The economy lost 20,000 nonfarm jobs and the unemployment rate dropped from 10% to 9.7%. Job losses from April 2008 through March 2009 were revised up a whopping 930,000, or 23% from their earlier revisions.  In addition, the BLS revised their job loss estimates for 2009 up 617,000, or 14.8%. How does the economy lose jobs and the unemployment rate drops? In January, 1.1 million people fell off the list. They…

• Invisible Jobs

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:19 am

  The Labor Department releases data on the previous month’s job picture the first Friday of each month. Tomorrow we will get the job picture for January. The picture will be fuzzy. Calculating jobs is no easy task. The Labor Department uses certain assumptions; birth-death models and models for business creation. Based upon the past five years data, the department adds in jobs to adjust for population growth; they add in jobs for anticipated new businesses and subtract jobs for anticipated business failures. The last year saw many businesses fail and few start-ups, but the Labor Department…

• Housing Double Dip

  3 Feb 2010 | 11:59 am

  The US economy is showing signs of life. Confidence is up, ISM services and manufacturing both in positive territory. How about the housing market? Not so much. Here are the major impediments to housing market recovery. Shadow inventory is bigger than ever and growing. There are 2 million homes that are seriously delinquent (90 days plus); plus, 2.3 million homes in foreclosure or bank owned. There are nearly 4 million homes in traditional inventory. The total is more than 8 million homes. I believe the figure may be low, not fully accounting for loan mods and unreported inventory. The real…

• Cheap Assets

  2 Feb 2010 | 10:52 am

  You’ve probably heard that more millionaires were created in the Great Depression than at any other time; the time to build a great fortune is when you can buy assets cheap. Here is an interesting excerpt from 1891, courtesy of the American Bankers Association, as printed in the Congressional Record of April 29, 1913.