NEW YORK (Money) — My fiancé and I are saving up to buy a house in the not-too-distant future. We want to take advantage of the housing market, but he’s skeptical about whether this is the best time to buy. When do you think prices will go up? — S.R., Los Angeles

I can understand your fiancé’s reluctance given that house prices continue to weaken. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released last week showed that prices fell nationally in the first quarter of this year.

That’s the third quarter in a row prices have dropped, taking them back to mid-2002 levels. Meanwhile, at the end of March the monthly index that tracks 20 large metro areas dipped below its previous low of April 2009, essentially confirming a double-dip in home prices for much of the country.

As for your city, Los Angeles, the stats weren’t quite as bad as those of the 20-metro area index of which it’s a part. Prices in L.A. still remain about 5% above their trough of May 2009, although they fell again in March, the eighth month in a row.

On a decidedly more positive note, though, your hometown did make our list of the Top 10 Turnaround Towns. Whether that turnaround will be in progress by the time you’re ready to buy is anyone’s guess.

But given the recent lackluster jobs report and the million-plus homes in foreclosure, I don’t think anyone is expecting a robust about-face anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean you and your hubby-to-be shouldn’t be out scouting the market for a house to buy.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices are already a third off their highs, but this summer could bring the real discounts.

Buyers are still cautious, and anxious sellers will have to price aggressively to get them off the fence.

That could result in a “summer clearance sale,” predicts Pete Flint, CEO of Trulia, the real estate web site.

“We don’t imagine a stampede of buyers, like outside of Macy’s on Black Friday,” he said. “We see this more akin to January sales where retailers are trying to get rid of stock before it gets stale.”

Several factors, he said, will lead to blow-out prices:

Accelerating price drops: Home prices have already reached their lowest level since the housing bubble burst, and are now at 2002 levels. Sellers will feel the pressure to make deals before their homes lose even more value.

Bloated inventory: There are boatloads of homes on the market, more than eight months worth at the current rate of sales. Many are distressed properties — short sales and bank repossessions. Such homes are selling at discounts up to 50%.

Tight credit: Some homebuyers still can’t obtain mortgages, limiting demand.

Unemployment: While the job picture has brightened, unemployment is still around 9%. People without jobs don’t buy homes, obviously, but high unemployment also rattles working people. Lacking the confidence that their jobs are secure, they may not look to buy.

These forces could all come to a head this summer, according to Flint, because of the cyclical nature of homebuying. Buying takes off in spring as many young families hope to make their moves before the new school year.

“By the end of the homebuying season, sellers will become increasingly desperate,” said Flint.

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There is no such thing as guaranteed safety inside a tornado. Freak accidents happen; and the most violent tornadoes can level and blow away almost any house and its occupants. Extremely violent F5 tornadoes are very rare, though. Most tornadoes are actually much weaker and can be survived using these safety ideas…

Prevention and practice before the storm: At home, have a family tornado plan in place, based on the kind of dwelling you live in and the safety tips below. Know where you can take shelter in a matter of seconds, and practice a family tornado drill at least once a year. Have a pre-determined place to meet after a disaster. Flying debris is the greatest danger in tornadoes; so store protective coverings (e.g., mattress, sleeping bags, thick blankets, etc) in or next to your shelter space, ready to use on a few seconds’ notice. When a tornado watch is issued, think about the drill and check to make sure all your safety supplies are handy. Turn on local TV, radio or NOAA Weather Radio and stay alert for warnings.

Forget about the old notion of opening windows to equalize pressure; the tornado will blast open the windows for you! If you shop frequently at certain stores, learn where there are bathrooms, storage rooms or other interior shelter areas away from windows, and the shortest ways to get there. All administrators of schools, shopping centers, nursing homes, hospitals, sports arenas, stadiums, mobile home communities and offices should have a tornado safety plan in place, with easy-to-read signs posted to direct everyone to a safe, closeby shelter area. Schools and office building managers should regularly run well-coordinated drills. If you are planning to build a house, especially east of the Rockies, consider an underground tornado shelter or an interior “safe room”.

Know the signs of a tornado: Weather forecasting science is not perfect and some tornadoes do occur without a tornado warning. There is no substitute for staying alert to the sky. Besides an obviously visible tornado, here are some things to look and listen for:

1. Strong, persistent rotation in the cloud base.
2. Whirling dust or debris on the ground under a cloud base — tornadoes sometimes have no funnel!
3. Hail or heavy rain followed by either dead calm or a fast, intense wind shift. Many tornadoes are wrapped in heavy precipitation and can’t be seen.
4. Day or night – Loud, continuous roar or rumble, which doesn’t fade in a few seconds like thunder.
5. Night – Small, bright, blue-green to white flashes at ground level near a thunderstorm (as opposed to silvery lightning up in the clouds). These mean power lines are being snapped by very strong wind, maybe a tornado.
6. Night – Persistent lowering from the cloud base, illuminated or silhouetted by lightning — especially if it is on the ground or there is a blue-green-white power flash underneath.

Source:

Storm Prediction Center – Roger Edwards – Norman, Ok

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Malynda Williams didn’t set out to be a real estate tycoon. But the 40-something has managed to acquire four properties over the past three years, and she’s looking for more.

“I started out trying to get something going for after I retire,” Williams said. “I never thought it would be this, but I really love it.”

Her first buy came in October 2008, a vacation home on the Texas Gulf Coast, 225 miles south of her home base in College Station. She and husband John planned to retire there someday.

“My husband used to travel for work in the oil fields,” she said. “We knew it was reasonable to buy a home there, and the people are so friendly.”

They bought a four-bedroom place for $540,000 in Aransas pass near Rockport, a city of 8,000 residents on Aransas Bay.

The area boasts a nice beach and great fishing. Visitors from all over the world make it their base for trips to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Rockport is also home to many “winter Texans,” northerners escaping the big chill.

John soon sold his business building natural gas facilities, and began spending time in Rockport. Malynda kept her retail consulting job for Xerox in College Station. To be able to stay in Rockport most of the time, she decided to install a home office and hired a cabinet maker to put it in.

The cabinet maker mentioned that he also builds vacation homes to rent, and a light bulb went off. “I can do that too,” Williams said to herself.

Williams found a two-bedroom on the water for $250,000. It sleeps 12, has its own dock and provides easy access to great fishing waters. “There was very little work to do on it and the deal included the furnishings,” Williams said. (Ask the Expert: ‘Should I buy a vacation home?’)

The next purchase was a five-bay storage property she bought for $119,000 in April 2010. She and John use it for their own stuff, but it came with a 750 square foot apartment, which she rents for $600 a month. (Latest home price forecasts in your area.)

The latest deal came this past winter and seemed, at first, like a steal. Williams paid just $140,000 for a six-bedroom, five-bath, “lodge-like” house a few blocks off the shore, but a problem cropped up.

“The home is 2,180 square feet,” she said, “and 460 of that, right in the middle, was a mobile home. Its axles were rusting.”

A previous owner, maybe two, must have expanded the living space of the mobile home by building wings all around it. Fixing the axles involves tearing out the core and rebuilding it. That will improve the house but cost upwards of $25,000.

Williams had been getting calls from renters since she first put the rental online in late March, at $1,800 a week and up. Now, she can’t book until June when the repair is finished, so there’s lost income.

She rents out the homes for short-stays — weekends, weeks or months. That’s more work, because she has to manage the bookings and supervise maintenance and cleaning crews. But it’s also more profitable, as long as tourists keep coming.

She set the weekly rates at $900 to $1,500 for the two-bedroom, and the house has been booked about 70% of the time, bringing in $40,000 or so a year. Williams said that’s enough to cover all expenses and turn a tidy profit.

That setback has not discouraged Williams. As early as later this year, she plans on adding to her five properties, which includes the old College Station residence, now rented out. She figures she can handle as many as 10.

She paid cash for her three of her acquisitions but she got the cash for the most recent by borrowing against the couple’s investment portfolio of stocks and bonds.

That means lower closing costs, and the interest rate on the loan against her portfolio is less than that of a mortgage.

She has also started to manage vacation home rentals for other owners, which only adds lightly to her work, since she’s already doing that for her own properties.

This new career will be a perfect retirement fit, she thinks, providing extra income and — just as important — fun.

“I can’t be idle,” she said, “and I don’t want to be tied to a desk.”

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For a long time I have resisted teaching & sharing Feng Shui for the worry that some people would see it as just plain weird.  Having practiced it fervently for the past two years I can no longer keep quiet. It has been a life changing experience & one worth sharing.  There are depths of the teaching that I too do not fully understand quite yet.  As a matter of fact, there are people that have dedicated their lives to learning it & still may not be masters.  I challenge you that if you have thought “that’s just too much to learn” or “I don’t have time to read all the books”…. Don’t let that stop you.  There are benefits to applying even some of the minor methods.  Over a period of time I will share more & more, but just for today I’ll share a getting started point.

Like a breath of fresh air, with a little time & care you can improve the energy flow & over all “feel” of your space…  I definitely recommend it for home & work, but lets start with home.  What your eyes take in the moment you awake or walk in your door sets the tone for your inner peace or lack thereof.  Of course, I’m not referring to a spiritual peace, that can only come from God.  I am referring to the internal stress or aggrivation we feel when things are out of order.  If you do not feel that, then you may have gotten use to it & I would be willing to bet that your surroundings are chaos.  In this case people are blocking the feeling & that is an even deeper issue.

Lets begin with clutter.  Never underestimate the effect of clutter on your life.  Whenever I meet people that need my help in decor & they tell me they are “stuck” & just don’t know where to begin, they are usually inendated with clutter. Where clutter accumulates, energy stagnates.  If you are wanting to go on the journey to a more peaceful, more serene you, then I urge you to begin clearing today.  In the first effort you should have an awareness of how many things you are moving & either move or discard twenty-five things.  Don’t mull over each item, just getting moving with them….. Grab one… On to the next & so on! Moving energy is healthy energy. Just think what happens to a pool of still water… Soon it becomes murky & begins to smell. A lot of times people with all this “stuff” say that they can’t find the desire to begin. They constantly feel tired. No wonder you are tired. You are sitting in a box of stagnant energy.  Just begin to move these things…especially the things that have no meaning & you will marvel at how light you will feel in body, mind, & spirit.

Source:

Living Free With Feng Shui

(c) Amanda Barker – All Rights Reserved

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) — The House passed a bill Tuesday to kill a signature Obama administration program that helps homeowners stay in their homes but has faced criticism as ineffective.

The House voted 252 to 170 to stop any new funding for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Eleven Democrats joined Republicans to defund the program.

The program taps the federal bailout that saved the big banks, providing incentives to mortgage servicers to modify mortgages for borrowers behind on their payments.

“To many struggling Americans seeking permanent mortgage relief, HAMP offered little more than false hope. More homeowners have been kicked out of the program than have received permanent relief,” Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement.

The bill’s path in the Senate is uncertain. President Obama has vowed to veto it.

Already, House Republicans have passed three other smaller programs designed to help families and neighborhoods dealing with foreclosure. What makes the HAMP program different is the widespread criticism it has received, from both Republicans and Democrats, for being ineffective.

“It would put an end to the poster child for failed federal foreclosure programs,” said Rep. Judy Biggert, an Illinois Republican.

On Tuesday, 50 House Democrats wrote Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner a letter, urging him to reform the program, saying “HAMP must change to meet its potential.”

“Yes, the HAMP program has a lot of problems,” said Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, on the House floor. “But, the absence of any program leaves homeowners worse off.”

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Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Source: AllRecipes

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The recent run-up in gas prices is taking a big bite out of most consumers’ budgets. But there are ways to save at the pump that don’t involve driving less or buying a more fuel-efficient car.

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Your home needs attention after the Winter, as you prepare for the beauty of Spring. Here are 10 Home Maintenance Tips for Spring to help you get started.

1.Check for loose or leaky gutters.

Improper drainage can lead to water build-up. Make sure downspouts drain away from the foundation and are clear and free of debris.

2. Fill in low spots in the yard.

Low areas in the yard or next to the foundation should be filled with compacted soil. Spring rains can cause yard flooding, which can lead to foundation flooding and damage. 

3. Examine roof.

See if any shingles were lost or damaged during the winter. Also make sure the flashing around plumbing vents, skylights and chimneys need to be checked and repaired by a qualified roofer.

4. Service a/c.

Have a qualified heating and cooling contractor clean and service the outside unit of the air conditioning system. Clean coils operate more efficiently, and an annual service call will keep the system working at peak performance levels. Change interior filters on a regular basis.

5. Replace exterior lightbulbs.

Check around your home to make sure all exterior lightbulbs are in working order, and are the correct wattage.

6. Set your watering timer.

Set the timer for your watering device for your lawn if you have one. Make sure it’s set to the times you are authorized to water in your area.

7. Check all fire alarms & carbon monoxide alarms.

Make sure fire alarms are in working order, and check the battery to make sure you are protected.

8. Replace the filter in your fridge.

Replace the water filter in your fridge to ensure fresh water without contamination for the rest of the year.

9. Check your fence for weak spots.

If you have a wood fence, nail any loose planks back into place. Check all other fence-types and get professional help if needed.

10. Clean flower beds.

Now is the time to clear winter debris (if any) from flower beds. Trim trees and prune shrubs.

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At a time when virtually all things real estate have been distressed, there’s one corner of the sector that has been fruitful for investors. Many factors working against the residential housing market have actually helped returns on real estate investment trusts.

REITs — which invest in commercial properties from office buildings to shopping malls, as well as rental apartments — have outperformed the S&P 500 since the financial crisis. Total returns for REITs were 28% in both 2009 and 2010, besting the S&P 500, which returned 23% and 15%, respectively, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, the industry trade organization. Though the gains in REITs are still 20.84% below their February 2007 peak, their performance is impressive.

Indeed, a few factors make REITs especially attractive, even with the fragile economic recovery. For one, prices for REITs don’t necessarily move in tandem with the broader stock market. They tend to rise and fall with the commercial property market. And because a REIT (by law) must distribute at least 90% of its income to shareholders, the investments pay relatively high dividends.

The best performers are tied to the residential rental market, such as Campus Crest Communities (CCG) and Camden Property Trust (CPT). In 2010, investments in apartment complexes led gains in the overall REIT market with total returns at 47%, followed by lodging and resorts at nearly 43%, free-standing stores at about 37% and regional shopping malls at about 36% (see also The American mall: Back from the dead). 

The returns from apartment REITs are due in large part to a housing market still in disarray — and they might just continue being a wise investment, given the grave market for buying single-family homes.

Via Fortune: Full Story

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