News & Articles of Interest ~

Showtime!
Clean Sweep
Home Stretch
Building a House that Eats Less Energy (January 2007)
Should I Fix Up My Home or Just Sell It? (January 2007)
Dogs Make Their Mark on Home Design (January 2007)
Pottery Barn Unstuffed (December 2006)
Deals on Wheels (December 2006)
Patently Absurd (December 2006)
Foreclosures in Season (September 2006)
Top American Cities for Saving (September 2006)
Rolling Back the Rates (September 2006)
Storing Wine at Home (July 2006)
Beating the Heat This Summer (July 2006)
Is an Interest-Only Loan Right for You? (July 2006)

Showtime!

Putting up a “for sale” sign turns the spotlight on your home. Experts share ways to pare down, spruce up, and seal a good deal.

These days, you have to work hard to make your house stand out, or it might sit on the market for months. That’s a far cry from the way things were in recent years, when people were buying and selling houses faster than short-order cooks flip pancakes.

If you’re selling, you want to captivate buyers so you can sell quickly and for as much money as possible. But there’s a lot to do to get a house ready for the market. You can do the work yourself, pay a consultant for ideas, or hire a professional – called a home stager – to dress up your house.

Kay Lauchner, a USAA member who sold five houses in eight moves with her now-retired Air Force husband, says she and other military spouses learned that lesson long before staging became a profession. “Cleaning and clearing out were the first two things people did, and the third was to make the house look attractive,” she says. “The term “staging” that’s popular today is just a different label for something frequent movers have been doing all along.”

But Mrs. Lauchner’s daughter, Chris Nobles, turned to a stager. Also a USAA member, Ms. Nobles appreciated having a professional reduce clutter and rearrange rooms. And her townhouse sold in three weeks flat.

In some cases, a staged home can sell for tens of thousands more than a nonstaged one. One stager tells of a million-dollar house that sold for $40,000 more than the asking price after she worked her magic.

“Your home has to be cleaner for a showing that you would normally require it to be just to live in it,” says Debra Gould, Toronto-based creator of “The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.” “It communicates care and maintenance of the whole house.”

Your home should smell fresh and clean, as well. Lynn Zumwinkle, a Seattle real estate agent and stager, tells sellers to make their homes appeal to the senses, especially smell. She suggests throwing a batch of cookies in the oven before a showing. “People love it,” she says.

One thing they don’t like is the scent of Fido or Fluffy. Give rugs and upholstery a deep cleaning and keep them free of pet hair. Before showings, send furry friends to visit a neighbor.

While wooing the buyer with scrumptious sights and smells, don’t neglect the old grocery store ploy – encourage them to stay and look around with pleasing background music.

TIP: Strong smells such as musk, cinnamon, and gardenia may turn off some people. Choose a neutral fragrance, such as vanilla, or the homey smell of baked bread or cookies.

Get rid of clutter
Some people fill their house with figurines. Others pack shelves with books. Whatever your passion, now’s not the time to share it with the world. Take down personal items and box them or donate them to charity. But don’t show them off to potential buyers.

“Clutter eats equity. The more you have in the room, the smaller the room looks,” says Ms. Schwartz, who’s staged homes for more than 30 years and now trains others. “Ask yourself this: If I went camping, would I take these things? If the answer is no, get ride of them. We’re not selling your things; we’re selling the space.”

Furniture also creates clutter. If you bump up against a table or chair when entering a room, you probably need to remove it. Robin Zietz, A USAA member and home stager in Colorado, refers to this process as editing. “If you have knickknack-type furniture or too many plants, edit them out so rooms look more spacious and there’s an easy traffic flow,” she says. “Remember, how you live and how you sell are two completely different things.” Rent a storage unit if you need a place to put your excess things.”

TIP: Limit displays of family photos or framed diplomas. People use them to make judgments about you, including whether you look nice enough to bend on price.

Color it neutral
Maybe you daughter requested that Pepto-Bismol-pink on her bedroom walls. And you just love the zebra-strip wallpaper in your den. But not everyone will. Your best bet? Paint walls beige, taupe, or other warm, yet subtle hues. A taupe wall with white crown molding always creates a fresh look, Ms. Schwartz says. Carpet, too, should be neutral. Most furniture looks good with bland walls and floors, enabling buyers to easily envision their things in your home.

Though neutral is the norm, stager often find creative ways to use existing color schemes or elements that homeowners can’t afford to change. In one 1980’s-style kitchen, Ms. Gould used black and white checkered tile floors as inspiration for a bistro theme. She painted gray cabinets sage-green and changed the white walls to clay-red. She added a chalkboard, a bistro table and chairs, and voila! The kitchen instantly became a warm gathering place. “Staging is very much about romancing the buyer,” she says.

TIP: Turn on lights and open shutters or curtains. The brighter it looks, the bigger it seems.

Create curb appeal
“A lot of houses don’t even get walked into because they look so shabby from the street,” says Mrs. Zietz. Paint if you need to. But stick to light colors such as white, cream, beige, light gray, or soft yellow to make the house look bigger. By all means, mow, trim hedges, rip out weeds, buy a new doormat, and brighten the porch with flowers or seasonal color.

Next, look up. Clear leaves and twigs from the roof and gutters.

TIP: If you can’t afford to paint your entire house, just paint the front door, trim downspouts, and shutters for a fresh look.


Courtesy of USAA Magazine
By: Suzanne McAuliffe

To view article, click link: Clean Sweep

Courtesy of USAA Magazine

To view article, click link: Home Stretch

Courtesy of USAA Magazine

For some decades now our government has been exhorting us to build houses that consume less energy. The rationale has changed over time from reducing dependence on foreign oil imports, to lowering utility bills, to reducing summer peak-load electricity demands that cause brown outs. We now have another, much more serious reason to build houses that use less energy – global warming and green house gases.

Most homeowners are aware of this phenomenon, but most assume that the emissions causing the problem come from the millions of vehicles on our highways and the belching industrial smokestacks located in nearly every state. But here in the U.S., the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, which account for 85 percent of all green house gases, are buildings. And half of these are houses.

An easy way to grasp the scale of this problem is to think in terms of cars. Every year, the amount of emissions attributable to each house in America is equivalent to that of two cars, each driven 10,000 miles a year. With about 80 million houses out there, this is 160 million cars worth of pollution, said Ren Anderson of the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo.

These astounding facts are easily explained. We depend on fossil fuels to live in our houses and when these are consumed they produce carbon dioxide and small amounts of other green house gases such as methane. For heating, our furnaces run on natural gas or oil and vent the smoke up the chimney. For cooling and everything else in our houses that require energy to operate, we depend on electricity. The majority of our electricity is generated at coal-burning power plants, and these are hugely polluting.

Addressing the residential emissions issue head-on, the Department of Energy's Building America program has set the goal of reducing energy needs in new houses by 50 percent within the next 10 years. This will reduce their carbon emissions by 50 percent.

The standard against which new houses will be measured is the average energy use for a new house in 2003

Anderson, who manages research for the Building America program, said this ambitious goal can be achieved with some modification to conventional home building practices and the adoption of some newer building products that are widely available. But he also acknowledged that success requires that Building America not just encourage home builders to participate in its program. It must also engage the buyers of these new houses because the house itself only accounts for 42 percent of the total amount of energy used. The rest goes to operate all the appliances, computers, entertainment equipment, gadgets and doodads that most households own.

The buyers' first purchase for their new house should be Energy Star appliances, which many builders now offer in their base-priced house. On average, major appliances consume about 16 percent of a household's energy consumption; Energy Star models reduce this by about 3.4 percent. Buyers can make additional energy cuts by purchasing Energy Star models for other items such as televisions and computers. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the Energy Star program has grown to more than 40 product categories.

Lighting is another energy drain that buyers must tackle. It currently consumes about 12 percent of the average household's total energy use. This can be cut by two-thirds simply by switching out incandescent bulbs for Energy Star compact fluorescent lamps (usually called CFLs) that screw into a standard incandescent bulb socket. Though more expensive, Energy Star CFLs last up to 10 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs and the latest generation has been color corrected to produce the same quality of light.

To increase the energy efficiency of the house itself, Anderson's group has worked with builders, manufacturers and building scientists around the country to develop different strategies for different climate regions. New products and building practices are "road tested" in pilot projects and deemed to be cost-effective before they are recommended to home builders. Some changes require only minimal modification to conventional building practices; in other cases the learning curve is steeper, but "definitely not insurmountable," Anderson said.

Anderson's suggested changes to the house are not costless, however. On average, he said, they add about $10,000 to the cost of 2,500-square-foot, two-story, four-bedroom houses that are standard offerings in most housing markets.

Many of Anderson's recommendations simply ratchet up the efficiency of standard house parts. The windows should not only be dual-paned, they should also have a low e coating, which many, but not all builders now offer as standard (a low e coating keeps the heat inside in winter and outside in summer). The walls should be framed with 2-by-6 studs, so that more insulation can be added. To prevent the escape of conditioned, heated or cooled air to the great outdoors, air leaks should be conscientiously plugged up. A gas furnace should be a 90 percent or higher fuel-efficiency model because it converts gas to heat more efficiently and thus uses less (this also means a lower gas bill). All home builders are now required to provide a 13 SEER air conditioning compressor; Anderson recommends an even more efficient 15 SEER model.

All the ducts should be sealed with mastic, a gray, gloppy glue-like substance instead of tape, which eventually disintegrates and allows as much as 25 percent of heating and cooling energy to be lost. Anderson also recommends putting all the ducts in the living area instead of in the attic, a standard practice in many parts of the country. Though attic ducts can be insulated, significant heating and cooling losses will still occur because the insulation only lowers the loss of energy, it doesn't eliminate it. When the ducts are included in the "conditioned space," (for example, inconspicuously run along the ceiling), their energy losses will pass into your living area, not the great outdoors. Additional energy can be saved by locating a furnace in the center of the house to shorten duct runs.

Anderson's other target that is built into the house is hot water. This necessity of modern life consumes 12 percent of the total energy use because it is stored in a large tank that is continuously heated. Anderson would halve this with a dual strategy: A solar hot water heater that supplies about 30-40 percent of a household's needs and a tankless hot water heater that heats water as needed for the balance.

Pulling back for the big picture perspective, Anderson said that Building America's goals are a moving target. As new products and building practices are tested and found to enhance energy efficiency beyond the current 50 percent level, the program will raise the bar and push for higher energy savings. In a separate interview, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy David Garmon emphasized that reduced greenhouse gas emissions is not the only benefit of the program. New home buyers will also enjoy significantly lower utility bills and greatly increased comfort.

How soon will a Building America house be available in your market? Many building firms, both large and small, have participated in Building America's programs since the Department of Energy started it 10 years ago. To date, about 30,000 houses have been built. More builders will participate when they sense that buyers are really serious about energy efficiency. When they pass up granite countertops that will impress their friends and relatives today for energy efficiencies that will make a better planet for their children and grandchildren tomorrow, home builders will join the Building America program in droves.

AN ACCOUNTING FOOTNOTE

Only about half of electricity in the U.S. is generated by coal-burning plants. The balance is natural gas plants (20 percent), which are not as polluting as coal; nuclear power plants (20 percent); hydro dams (8 percent); and renewables such as wind and solar (1 percent) that do not produce emissions.

When you make a specific house more energy-efficient, the greenhouse gas emission reductions attributable to it vary from region to region, depending on how the electricity is generated. In areas with coal-fired plants, the emission reductions at the plant are higher than the energy savings at the house would indicate because about 70 percent of the energy created by burning the coal is lost in converting it to electricity and then transmitting it. Gas-fired plants produce electricity more efficiently and produce only about half the emissions of a coal-fired plant. When this is analyzed at the national level and all of these accounting issues are factored in, one can credibly assume that increasing energy efficiency in houses will reduce emissions by an equivalent amount, several experts said.

Helpful Web sites: http://www.energystar.gov/ and http://www.energysavers.gov/.

Helpful books: There are many books that discuss global warming and greenhouse gases. "Adapting Buildings and Cities for Climate Change: A 21st Century Survival Guide," by Sue Roaf, Elsevier, 2005, provides and overview of the issue as it relates to buildings.

By: Katherine Salant

Making the decision to sell your home is always a tough one. There are financial and emotional decisions to make, and any number of factors that can tip the balance one way or the other. The emotional decisions are ones that only you can answer, but as to the financial side of things, there are some common sense questions that may make the decision a little easier.

What Is Your Home's Condition?

If you are faced with large home improvement repairs such as a new roof, dryrot repairs, or major plumbing or electrical system overhauls, you need to weigh that carefully. If your home has substantially appreciated in value over the years and the needed repairs would create a financial burden for you, it may be wise to consider selling – you'll have to ask a little less than you would if those repairs weren't necessary, but you may still make a sizeable profit on the sale.

On the other hand, perhaps the housing market is down, or you haven't had the house that long and your equity is not substantial. It may be wise to refinance or secure other funding, and make the repairs now before the situation worsens.

Can You Expand?

Quite often, the reason people want to move is because the house is simply too small to meet their current needs. If that's the case, and if you like the neighborhood and like the house in general, you might want to consider adding on.

Room additions can make a huge difference in the size, layout and livability of any home, provided they are done correctly. Take a good look at your needs, and what you have to do to meet them. Do you have the room to add onto the side or rear of the house? Can you add a second story? Are their city, county or homeowner's association restrictions that will limit your ability to expend sufficiently?

Remember that as much as you love a house and a neighborhood, and as much as you would like to stay in it, remodeling is not always the answer. No matter how good your contractor is, remodeling will not increase the size of a small lot, it won't add a wood shop in a neighborhood that doesn't allow them, and it probably won't be able to alleviate major flaws in room layout.

Beware Of Overbuilding

Suppose you are considering adding 500 square feet to your 1,000-square-foot home. If your entire neighborhood consists of 1,000-square-foot homes, you may be overbuilding for that neighborhood. For some people, overbuilding is a serious consideration, since part of the reason for the improvement is to make the house more valuable, and to hopefully see a return on your home improvement investment. For others who are primarily interested in creating a home that meets their needs and that have no plans to sell the house in the foreseeable future, overbuilding may be very much a secondary consideration.

Overbuilding is not limited to additions – it can apply to everything from upgraded roofing materials to kitchen remodels to extensive landscaping. You need to take the neighborhood into consideration, the general housing market, your future plans, and even your relationship with your neighbors.

Get That Homework Done

If the time seems to be drawing near for making the decision to move or improve, do your homework first. Look at what your neighborhood is doing, and what housing prices are. Talk with a trusted real estate agent, and consider an independent market appraisal of your home. Consider paying a general contractor a consultation fee to discuss your home's general condition, and the cost of potential improvements. And be sure you don't ignore municipal and homeowner's association requirements and restrictions as part of your fact-finding.

By: Paul Bianchina

If 70 percent of Americans would choose their dog over their spouse, it's not surprising that many dog owners want nothing but the best for Fido when they are choosing finishes and features for a new house.

But Fido could care less, said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a veterinarian and the founder of the renowned Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts Cummings Veterinary School in North Grafton, Mass. "A house is not intrinsically interesting for a dog. Dogs have been domesticated for 12,000 to 14,000 years, and they cling to humans because we're both social animals. But dogs still have a dog agenda."

"Dogs are just not on the same wavelength of enjoying a house. A dog couldn't care less about granite countertops. They're not interested in furniture types or drapes. They're not interested in aesthetics," Dodman said. They will notice the difference between their old house and their new one, but it's not a distinction that is meaningful to them. Fido's owners may be thrilled with all the great things in their brand-new house and be more careful with them, but "he'll come in out of the weather, scratch, and roll around on the carpet" just like he always did.

But, Dodman went on to say, although Fido may have no interest in the particulars of a house, he will prefer a house to an apartment because he cares a lot about having a yard to play in.

How big a yard would Fido want? An acre may seem huge to you, especially if you're the person maintaining it, but it's not that big to a dog -- his natural roaming territory can be many miles, Dodman said. But he added, dogs are amazingly adaptive. Though Fido "would say that 'bigger is better,'" he will happily run around and play whatever size yard you have, even if it's only a small side yard.

Unlike a dog's blase attitude towards a house, differences between yards will definitely register. If you actually do have an acre-sized yard, Dodman said that your dog will notice things like "there's no next-door dog patrolling the fence, and out here in the country there's squirrels to bark at." Although a fence might seem unnecessary in a rural or semi-rural setting, Dodman advises owners to install one wherever they live because "bad things like aggressive dogs and coyotes can come in." He also said that owners shouldn't feel obliged to fence in their entire property simply for their dog's benefit -- their dog will be quite happy to run around in part of it.

A dog's preferences for things outdoors also extend beyond the size of his own yard. "It's in a dog's nature to jump into a lake," Dodman said, and most would love to live near a beach where they can play and run in and out of the water, especially in hot weather.

When a dog comes indoors, he does appreciate the basics like central heating and air conditioning. He's glad to get in out of the rain. And there are a few things that would make a difference to him, Dodman said. If the house has a yard, a dog would like a dog door so that he can come and go as he pleases.

Dogs have preferences for certain types of spaces. They like recesses where they can feel protected, and different ones would appeal for different reasons. To a dog, a recess in a kitchen is a ringside seat to much of a household's activity. If the new kitchen will have so many base cabinets that the owners could remove the doors from one, a small dog may take it over. A recess under a desk in a study would be a safe haven from a heated family argument or loud and obnoxious guests. If the new house doesn't have a small cozy spot, not to worry, Dodman said. "A dog will invent one because he wants a little space he can call his own."

A dog will like a crate. He'll like it even better if his owners cover it with a hood because that will make it feel like a den, a private space where he can be left alone. "It's the dog equivalent of a teenager in his own room," Dodman said.

Because a dog wants to see outdoors easily, he will like a window seat that puts him right next to a window and French doors with glass panes that are low to the floor.

Although a dog will not care one way or the other about a room arrangement, a very open plan can be disadvantageous because "you can't block anything off," Dodman said. "A high-spirited dog like a Border Collie can careen around in circles and there's nothing you can do. With a more compartmentalized house you can contain him."

Whether a dog is high-spirited or placid, however, owners will need to create a contained space with kiddie gates when he's a puppy being housebroken and when he's teething and wants to chew everything in sight, a stage that generally lasts until a puppy is about eight to nine months old, Dodman said.

For the owners' benefit, Dodman recommended a mud room where they can dry their rain-soaked dog as soon as he comes in, before he can track water and mud into the rest of the house. It's also handy as a place to give a dog an occasional bath, he added.

With limited square footage, the easiest way to get a good-sized mud room is to combine it with the laundry into one large room, said Memphis, Tenn., architect Carson Looney. In his own house, the dog and laundry room is about 10 feet by 10 feet. He designed it to be a purely functional space where the household could dry the dogs as soon as they came in and, when they were dirty, give them a bath in the shower stall with its hand-held showerhead. But, Looney said, the dogs have turned the room into a "big dog crate" where they sleep at night, spend part of their day, and occasionally seek refuge from loud noises.

The most unusual feature in the dog and laundry room is Looney's dog feeding station. It not only gets the food and water dishes out of the way so they won't get knocked over, it's is also big enough to hold two 20-pound bags of dry dog food, as well as dog treats, leashes and other dog paraphernalia.

The feeding station looks like built-in cabinetry. A shelf recess at the base holds the food dishes, and Looney installed a water line and a faucet with an automatic water attachment for pets. As the dogs drink, the bowl is automatically refilled. A pull out hamper above the shelf holds the bags of dry dog food, and a cabinet at the top holds everything else. The ensemble is about 30 inches wide and 60 inches high. In Looney's house it fits neatly into a wall recess. It could just as easily be freestanding, and mud room or not, it would be handy addition for any dog-owning household.

The mud room has two entries. One opens onto an outdoor fenced area. The other, which opens onto the garage foyer, has a Dutch door. The lower half is closed at night and when the dogs are drying off after a bath.

With four acres, Looney had no trouble fencing off an area for his own dogs, but he said that he can almost always work one in, no matter how small a lot is. He's even tucked them into the narrow 5- to 7-foot-wide side yards that are common in many new subdivisions now. In those instances, Looney puts the dog's area next to the garage. Despite the proximity of other houses, he said that neighbors rarely complain because the side yard is next to their garage as well.

By: Katherine Salant

To view article, click link: http://identitycraft.com/2005/idcR/Images/Magazine.pdf

Your next car could be the ultimate souvenir when you
sign up for overseas delivery.
By: Karen Asp

The deal that sent my husband, Chris Pataluch, and me to Sweden three
years ago seemed too incredible to be true. Even friends doubted it,
joking that we were getting scammed. And, yes, although my dad had done
something similar a year earlier, the deal did seem downright ludicrous.

Who, after all, buys a Volvo XC70 station wagon for 12 percent off the
manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) and then gets two plane
tickets to Sweden, one night at a four-star hotel in Gothenburg, all
airport transfers, and a Volvo factory tour with a Swedish lunch all for
the whopping price of free? We did by signing up for overseas or European
delivery.

Call it the world's best-kept secret, as manufacturers rarely advertise
their European delivery programs. Often the only way you learn about it
is if you meet someone who's already gone through the program. And trust
me; Once you do it, you'll be hooked for sure. In fact, Chris and I had
such a great experience through Volvo that we bought another car through
overseas delivery in 2004, heading to Germany for a BMW. Want to get
hooked into the deal? Here's what you should know before you go.

MAKING THE PURCHASE
Several manufacturers offer overseas delivery programs, including BMW,
Mercedes-Benz, Saab, and Volvo, and although each one has its own set of
specifics, the concept is the same. You buy the car through your local
dealer as if you were buying any other car. Yet as part of the deal, you
get a substantial discount on the car. Depending on the manufacturer,
expect to save anywhere from 7 to 9 percent off the MSRP. Then several
weeks later, you head to Europe to take delivery of it. This step is
mandatory, as the owner must take delivery of the car in Europe.

You can then drive the car around Europe for a certain time period before
returning it to a specified drop-off location. About 7 to 12 weeks after
you've bid farewell to your car, it will arrive at the dealer where you
bought it.

The one catch? You have to arrange to pay for the car when you make the
purchase. In other words, you'll be paying ahead of time for a car you
don't have. (Leasing may also be an option.) However, the benefits
undoubtedly negate this small downside.

Speaking of costs, there are no hidden fees when you sign up for this
program. You don't have to pay additional shipping fees to the United
States or import taxes. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo also offer up to 15
days of free European insurance coverage. If you stay longer in Europe,
you can buy extra insurance for up to six months, which can be arranged
when you purchase the car. If you buy a Saab, though, you'll have to
purchase insurance separately. A 15-day insurance plan provided by Saab
is approximately $300.

So the process starts by choosing the model you want - some models aren't
available for overseas delivery so check with the dealer - with your
requested specifications.

The timing, though, is critical. Generally, you need to allow about six
to 12 weeks before you head to Europe to pick up your car. Some
manufacturers, however, will keep stock inventory for last-minute
customers who want to travel to Europe as early as two weeks after placing
their order.

You'll then book your airfare, using the promotions each manufacturer
offers. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, for example, offer two-for-one tickets.
Volvo, on the other hand, offers two free round-trip tickets, while Saab
gives you a $2,000 travel allowance.

Your arrival gate in Europe will depend on the manufacturer. BMW and
Mercedes-Benz offer only one pick-up location in the towns where their
factories are located (Munich and Sindelfingen, Germany, respectively).
Saab, on the other hand, has 16 pick-up locations in different countries,
but only its factory in Trollhattan, Sweden, is free. Volvo also has
multiple pick-up locations in Europe, but only Gotehnburg, Sweden, is
free. One advantage of heading to the factory? You can tour the facility
and perhaps enjoy a free meal.

You'll also need to choose your drop-off location. All four manufacturers
offer several drop-off locations in different countries. However,
depending on the manufacturer, you could incur charges for locations other
than the original delivery point. Volvo, for instance, doesn't charge for
its locations in Gothenburg and Bremerhaven, Germany. However, if you
choose one of its 15 locations, you'll incur a slight fee. When Chris and
I participated in BMW's program, we picked up our car in Munich and
dropped it off in Frankfurt at no extra charge.

Other perks might include passes to the airline's business lounge, a free
night at a European hotel, and airport transfers. Also, previous Saab
owners who go through Saab's overseas delivery program will receive a $500
loyalty bonus.

TOURING IN STYLE
As if all that isn't good enough, there are ways to make your overseas
delivery experience even more enjoyable - and perhaps save yet more money.

Take, for example, the extra vacation packages offered through overseas
delivery programs. After Chris and I spent five days driving around
Sweden and Denmark, we took advantage of Volvo's winter travel package
option and headed to Nice, France. The package included two nights in
Gothenburg, our flight from Gothenburg to Nice, airport transfers, and
three nights at a four-star hotel along the Promenade des Anglais, Nice's
main strip, for a measly sum. Volvo has since offered that package for
$595 per couple for other cities in Europe. However, as of press time,
Volvo wasn't sure it would continue that program this winter.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Saab also offer special packages. Starting at
$2,600 per person, you can participate in one of BMW's three
custom-designed, five-day driving tours, choosing from lakeside, alpine,
or castle-and Mozart-themed tours. Or do the Black Forest-Alps Rally
Package through Mercedes-Benz for $1,300 per couple, which includes five
nights' lodging in the Black Forest and the Austrian Alps. If you're
buying a Saab, you can participate in the Saab Sweden Ice Experience in
February and March, a four-night package that includes one night at the
Ice Hotel, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, plus dog sled and
snowmobile rides and car performance driving on ice. The price has not
yet been set as of press time.

And, yes, there are ways you can save even more money. As Chris and I
learned, incentives are occasionally offered that will save you more than
the suggested 7 to 9 percent off MSRP, one reason we were able to save 12
percent off MSRP on our Volvo. You'll also find better airfare if you
travel during the off season (about November to April), but of course that
means tourist attractions aren't operating at full speed.

As I warned earlier, these programs are addictive. Now that Chris and I
have bought two cars through overseas delivery, we're eager to do it
again. Anybody in the market for a three-year-old station wagon?

For more on the overseas delivery programs, visit: BMW,
www.bmwusa.com/europeandelivery; Mercedes-Benz, www.mbusa.come/edp; Saab,
www.saabusa.com/saabjsp/europeandelivery; Volvo,
www.volvocars.us/mybagsarepacked.com.

Courtesy of GQ.com, December 14, 2006

Extending a successful brand into new territory has long been a pillar of the business world, but for every Paul Smith bicycle or Versace Lamborghini, there are seemingly hundreds of products that push the boundaries of taste (not to mention logic). New York firm TippingSprung and Brandweek recently asked more than 800 marketing professionals for their picks for the year's most notable examples. Here are a few highlights:

Play-Doh perfume
SpongeBob SquarePants organic edamame
Starburst Fruit Chews Bath and Body Collection
American Kennel Club cremation urns
Snoop Dogg pet products
Cheetos Lip Balm**
Salvador Dali Agua Verde deodorant stick

**Voted "most inappropriate"

- Staff

Finding bargains among distressed properties is not as easy as it looks.

Auctioneer Kevin Jepsen stepped into a ring of bidders outside the Orange County Courthouse on a recent Friday and launched into an incantation filled with terms like “trustee,” “parcel,” “sale” and “default.”
Fifteen minutes later, three homes were taken from owners who had fallen behind on their payments.
It’s a ritual that’s become more frequent in Orange County as home sales decline and price gains no longer provide enough cushion to bail out financially distressed homeowners.
As of July 31, 183 Orange County owners lost their homes through foreclosures this year, the highest level for that seven-month period since 2002 and nearly triple the number in 2005, figures from DataQuick Information Systems show.
For some, foreclosure means misfortune. But others see it as an opportunity to buy real estate at bargain prices, wither as an investment or as their home.
But buying foreclosure properties isn’t for the faint-hearted or the uninitiated. It’s very risky.
For every person who succeeds in buying foreclosures, there likely are others who overpaid for a home or didn’t reckon on all the debts, liens or title problems. Not to mention the ugliness of negotiation with a family in financial distress or the occasional need to evict a dispossessed homeowner.
“It’s not as easy as buying a property from a local Realtor,” said Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing for RealtyTrac, an Irvine-based foreclosure listing service.

Step One: The Process
There are several stages in the foreclosure process, during which the homeowner has numerous opportunities to reinstate the loan. The key stages include:

Default: After about three to six months of missed payments, the lender orders the recording of a “notice of default.” This puts the borrower on notice that he or she is facing foreclosure and starts a “reinstatement period” that typically runs until five days before the home is auctioned off.

Notice of sale: If the default isn’t corrected within three months, the lender is free to record a “notice of trustee sale,” which also must be published three times in a local newspaper over a three-week period.

Trustee sale: The home is sold to the highest bidder at a public sale.

Repossession: The lender takes title to the property if bids don’t cover the amount owed.

Step Two: Finding Foreclosures
Ways to learn about foreclosures include:

Public records: Records filed with the county Clerk-Recorder’s Office are the raw material of the foreclosure process, and they’re open to everyone. But finding public documents is the most cumbersome way to locate foreclosure properties.

Newspaper: Newspapers are repositories of legal notices used to announce trustee sales. For example, the Register’s weekly community papers publish sale announcements in their “Public Notice” sections.

Online: Dozens of online listing services cull public records and provide lists of properties in various stages of foreclosure, and often supply details, such as the amount that’s owed the lender and all other loans out on the property.
Because subscription fees, quality and accuracy all vary, RealtyTrac’s Rick Sharga recommends that investors sign up for the free trial period to see which providers work best for them.

Step Three: Buying Strategies
Buying opportunities can occur at any stage of the foreclosure process.
Most guides cite three methods of buying foreclosure properties.
Kurt De Meire, co-owner of the Huntington Beach listing service County Records Research.com, says there are four key ways:

1. Buying from the homeowner: The most common method, De Meire said. Homeowners in the three-month default period often risk getting nothing if their home is sold at auction. So they often will negotiate to avoid foreclosure, salvaging some of their money and their credit rating.

2. Buying the note: This part gets technical. First, you need to know that one homeowner may have two or more loans out on a single property, called a “first trust deed,” a “second,” a “third,” etc. The loans are ranked in the order in which they were recorded. A first loan is “senior” to a second, while the second is “junior” to the first. All loans junior to the defaulting loan get wiped out at the foreclosure sale. Who’s nervous? The junior lender. Hence, junior lenders sometimes will sell their loans for less than they’re owed rather than risk losing it all. De Meire says you can buy that junior loans, pay the foreclosing lender the missed payments, then foreclose on the home yourself. The transaction can be profitable if you acquire that junior loan below its face value. For example, there’s a $400,000 first loan on a home, and a $50,000 second. The first defaults because the homeowner is behind by $15,000 in missed payments and penalties. The minimum bid on that first loan is approximately $415,000, and the lender on the second loan may get nothing. Assume you buy the $50,000 loan for $15,000. You then pay the first lender an additional $15,000 (the amount that is in arrears) to halt the foreclosure. You now have paid $30,000 and you are owed $65,000. When you foreclose, the minimum bid is now $65,000. If the home sells for that amount, you get $65,000 on an investment of $30,000. Your profit is $35,000, and the home now belongs to the highest bidder, who takes over payments on the first $400,000 loan.

3. Buying at auction: Buying at a trustee sale can be the riskiest way to acquire a property, experts say. You must know beforehand what the home is worth, how much is still owed after the sale, and if there are any liens and title problems. Even then, you have no way of knowing the property’s condition, and you may end up having to evict the former homeowner. De Meire estimates that just 10 percents of all homes facing foreclosure are sold at auction. “I never recommend that anybody buy their first property at a trustee sale,” he said.

4. Buying from the lender: If nobody bids more than is owed on the loan, the lender takes title to the property and resells it. De Meire argues that you must track the results of an auction, contact the lender that same day, and offer to buy it immediately – without cleanup costs, repairs or real estate commissions. “The key is to get to that lender the same day as that trustee sale,” he said.

Article courtesy of: The Orange County Register
Sunday, August 27, 2006
By: Jeff Collins

Homebuyers could save $1 billion a year if a state plan to adjust title and escrow fees proceeds.

Representatives of the title insurance and escrow industries turned out in force at a public hearing in San Francisco last week to protest Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s proposal to roll back their rates and fees.
Garamendi says California consumers pay too much when they buy or refinance a house because there is insufficient competition in the title and escrow business.
Garamendi claims the system is “rife with illegal kickbacks and gratuities,” which are passed along to homeowners in the form of higher prices.
Industry representatives admit they depend on referrals from third parties buy strongly deny that kickbacks are widespread.
Here’s a look at some of the key issues:

What Consumers Might Save
Garamendi says the new regulations would save homeowners $1 billion a year by rolling back the rates.
Based on typical rates charged in Los Angeles, Garamendi said, someone buying a $600,000 home would see a $443 savings on their title insurance and at least a $1,393 savings on their escrow fee.
Garamendi estimates the averages statewide cost of title insurance would decrease 23 percent for homebuyers and 16 percent for people refinancing. He said the average escrow cost would drop 27 percent, although many Southern California escrow firms not linked to title insurers wouldn’t have to lower their rates.

When New Rates Could Kick In
Title insurance and escrow costs would be temporarily rolled back to 2000 levels as early as March 1.
But Lawrence Green, executive vice president of the California Land Title Association, said his group is considering filing a lawsuit to block any rate changes. He claimed Garamendi’s plan would decrease title-insurance competition because “It would drive a lot of small companies out of business.”
Permanent rates under the new rules would be established as early as 2008.

How It Works
Currently, title insurance and escrow companies set their own prices. But under state law, Garamendi says, he has the power to cap those charges if he can prove the industry isn’t competitive, which is what a study for Garamendi concluded in December.
Among other things, the study found that three title insurance groups controlled more than 75 percent of the market in California and that title insurance firms earned excessive after-tax profits of 49 percent in 2003 and 32 percent in 2004.

Critics Say Study Is Flawed
Green contends the study was flawed by poor methodology and incomplete data. Others in the industry dispute the after-tax profits that Garamendi cites, saying they are much lower. Green also accused Garamendi, who is running for lieutenant governor, of introducing the plan to gain publicity. Garamendi denied any political motive for the changes.

Why Prices Have Increased
While title insurance fees have increased between 200 and 2005, along with California real estate prices, the slowing pace of sales “has changed the dynamics” of the title industry in recent months, Green says.
Every time a fee is increased, the state has every opportunity to examine that fee before it goes into effect, industry experts say.
“I believe the title insurance market is competitive, that title rates have been falling, and that the commissioner’s regulations are actually anti-competitive,” Green said.

A National Issue
Insurance regulators have begun questioning title and escrow fees in a number of states, including Colorado, New York and Texas. Some analysts say California is in a position to lead a national movement.
Last year, Garamendi reached a settlement with nine title companies that agreed to pay $37.8 million in refunds and penalties for alleged illegal rebating.

What Happens Next
Because the proposed rollback would be administrative, it would take a lawsuit or legislation to block implementation. If the rollback plan goes forward, it will be completed by Garamendi’s successor because he plans to leave office at the end of the year.

Article courtesy of: The Orange County Register
Sunday, September 3, 2006
By: Register News Services

If you're someone who loves a good glass of wine, having your own wine storage at home ranges anywhere from a convenience to a necessity. Depending on your needs and your budget, you have lots to choose from.

Bottle storage
Whether you have a couple of bottles in your kitchen or a couple of hundred in your wine cellar, options abound for the storing of wine bottles. Your choice comes down to one of price and aesthetics.
Metal racks are typically the least expensive. These typically are found in the form of an open grid of black metal wire, and you can combine two or more grid racks to increase the storage. A rack approximately 30" wide by 65" high will hold about 150 bottles, and is priced around $100.
Wood racks offer another alternative. They can be found in the form of interlocking grids that hold one bottle per opening, or as solid-sided or open-slatted "crates" that are divided by diagonal slats to form a series of large triangles. This is similar to what you might see in a wine shop or other retailer, with several bottles being stored together in each triangle. You'll find wood storage shelves and crates in pine, oak, redwood, and a variety of other woods, or you can have a wood shop custom make whatever you need. A typical wood rack that holds around 125 bottles will start at about $100 and go up from there.

Refrigerated storage cabinets
Refrigerated cabinets provide a more stable environment for fine wines. The typical refrigerated cabinet will have a well insulated outer case to prevent temperature fluctuations and excessive vibrations, a solid or glass-fronted door that provides a tight seal and reduces light inside the cabinet, interior racks that hold the wine at the proper inclination to keep the cork moist, and a specially designed refrigeration unit that keeps the interior environment at precisely the correct temperature and humidity.
Refrigerated wine cabinets are different from standard refrigerators, and they're available in a variety of sizes for either stand-alone and under-cabinet installation. Common sizes will hold anywhere from 25 to 100 bottles or more, and prices range from $1,000 to over $3,000.

Prefabricated wine rooms
As your collection grows, you might want to step up to a wine room for extra storage. The easiest way to accomplish that is to purchase a prefabricated, fully insulated wine room, which comes complete with everything you need in one package.
Wine rooms are available in a wide variety of sizes and finishes, including oak, mahogany, and even stainless steel. There are several different finishes available, and doors that range from solid wood to stained glass. Sizes range from around 4' x 7', which will store about 750 to 800 bottles, to 7' x 10' or larger, which will handle more than 2,100 bottles. Each one has a refrigeration unit that is specifically sized to accommodate the dimensions of that particular unit, and most sizes are shipped unassembled for easier installation. Prices range from $3,000 to $6,000 or more.

Site-built wine cellars
Now you've reached the ultimate in wine storage – the site-built wine cellar. This is typically an existing room (or rooms) that is converted for this specific use, and the size, layout, and storage capacity is virtually unlimited.

If you're considering converting an existing room, there are a few things to keep in mind. The walls and ceiling need to be insulated to at least R-19 for good stability and energy efficiency – more if possible – and raised floors should be insulated to R-19 or higher as well. Concrete slab floor should clean, free of cracks and seepage, and protected with a good grade of concrete sealer. To prevent possible condensation, a vapor barrier of 6-mil plastic sheeting needs to be placed on the warm side of the insulation – in this case, that would be the side facing away from the inside of the wine cellar.

Interior surfaces need to be capable of withstanding cold temperatures and humidity. Waterproof drywall is one option, and most wine experts recommend sealing it with latex paint to prevent possible paint odors from getting to the wine. Naturally rot-resistant woods such as cedar, redwood, and teak are another option, as are plastic panels. The door needs to be solid core wood or insulated metal, and very well weatherstripped.

Finally, you need a refrigeration unit, of which there are two basic types. In-room systems have all of the components inside a single cabinet located inside the room, and while they take up a little more room, they have the advantage of lower cost and easier installation. The other choice is a split system, which utilizes an outdoor condensing coil and an inside evaporator connected by insulated pipes – similar to a standard home air conditioning system. Either system needs to be carefully sized to the size and energy efficiency of the room, and prices start at around $900.

By Paul Bianchina