04/22/2014
How to make healthy Jambalaya
This recipe has been a staple around our house for many years. 
It is a very simple recipe and tastes much better than you might expect due to the simple list of ingredients. You do need a clay pot to make this recipe, which is pictured to the left. Typically the run $30-50 new or you can often find them in thrift stores. You can get a better idea of pricing at amazon.com.
We make this recipe on a Sunday and have it as leftovers throughout the week and it will also freeze well.
Click Clay Pot Jambalaya to download the recipe.
 Here is the finished product!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CompassChiropractic/~3/2BM2HPJ1Sgw/
10 things to consider before moving into the buy to let market
10 things to consider before moving into the buy to let market
At this moment in time there are property markets around the world which continue to go from strength to strength, with the UK a particularly prominent example. As you might expect, as property prices continue to move higher this attracts more and more potential investors looking to make “easy money” in the buy to let market. However, if this was “easy money” then we would all be doing it – so what 10 things should you consider before moving into the buy to let market?
Are your finances strong enough?
The idea that the rent from your property will cover your mortgage liabilities and any other costs sounds perfect but in reality it is not always the case. You will need to consider whether your finances are strong enough to cope with a potential period of zero income if your property had no tenant or how would you cope with issues such as non-payment of rent?
Why are you buying property?
If you’re looking to build up a buy to let property portfolio then you really do need to have an interest in property and property investment. This is not for everybody and it is not as simple as many people would have you believe.
If a property looks too good to be true, it probably is!
Many people fall into the trap of buying relatively cheap property only to find out there are major structural issues or other potentially costly problems in the long run. Ensure that you do all of your research and all of your homework before buying any property and do not fall into the trap of buying a property which looks too good to be true, and is!
Quote from PropertyForum.com : “A recent report suggested that there are on average eight buyers chasing each and every property for sale in the London area. Is this your experience of property markets around the UK?”
What is your long-term strategy?
The vast majority of people with relatively large buy to let portfolios started out relatively small and grew their business and their portfolio in the long-term. If you are looking to move into the buy to let market and build your portfolio on a long-term basis then you need to have a strategy in place. Are you looking for relatively undervalued properties? Are you looking for areas which may be up and coming in the future?
What would happen if you lost your full-time job?
There are very few people who move into the buy to let market lock stock and barrel without some kind of full-time employment behind them to assist with their income. If you have a job which gives you monthly income and you move into the buy to let property market, do you have enough savings to get by if you lost your job in the short term? This may be a nightmare scenario, it may be something unlikely to happen but the fact is that many people have got themselves into serious financial trouble in this manner.
Partnerships are potential trouble!
The property market is littered with friendships and businesses which have fallen by the wayside due to disputes regarding buy to let property portfolios. It is very difficult to find two people with the same long-term ambitions, who are able to work together long-term without any major disagreements and who have the same financial situations. Partnerships with a friend or an acquaintance you know very well all sound great on paper but situations do change and friendships can be strained.
Is your portfolio tax efficient?
There are many ways to offset ongoing costs against your property portfolio income and some of these may be better executed within a company as opposed to holding assets in the name of individuals. You should take long-term professional advice on the tax efficiency of your property portfolio to ensure that you are making best use of the allowances and deductions available.
Stay within your comfort zone
For every winner in the buy to let market there are many people who started well, built up a relatively strong portfolio and then overstretched themselves into areas in which they had little or no knowledge. If you have knowledge of the buy to let market for young professionals then why venture into other areas? Know your market, know your customer and try to remain within your comfort zone as much as possible.
Do not be afraid to admit defeat
There is no successful business person in the world that has not encountered problems, not made mistakes and not lost money. You will buy investments along the way which could be trouble, in which you should cut your losses but many people are stubborn and determined to make these work. The simple fact is that some investments will go wrong and you should ensure that your time is spent on potentially long-term successful properties rather than fighting a battle which you might never win.
Enjoy yourself!
If you do not enjoy investment, and specifically investment in property, then there will be a limit to how successful you can be in the buy to let property market. Those with a genuine interest will pick up tips and tricks along the way, they will keep themselves up to date with the market and they will act on their gut instinct after researching specific areas in specific markets. It may take time to build up this “gut instinct” but if property investment becomes like a mundane 9-to-5 job for you then perhaps you should think again. Those with a genuine interest will be the most successful and those who are investing in property through gritted teeth may not always be as focused as they could be.
Reading MLS Numbers
The MLS (Multiple Listing Service) number is essentially the serial number of a listing. In RMLS the first two digits denote the year: 13208782 shows that the property was listed in 2013. So what do the next six numbers tell us? Absolutely nothing. The last six digits are randomly assigned. Up until a couple of years ago listings were assigned sequential numbers. Low numbers in the series meant the listing was older. This caused many agents to “refresh” the listing by canceling it and relisting so a new MLS number was assigned It also reset the Days on Market calculation. Though the practice of relisting still goes on there is less motivation to do it now. The second deterrent was the addition of Cumulative Days on Market tracking. Instead of the days resetting with a new MLS number the days continue accrue unless the property is off the market for at least 30 days.
Source: http://portlandrealestateblog.com/realestate/2014/01/reading-mls-numbers/
04/21/2014
Pro-Russian militia force Jews in East Ukraine to register property and religion
Pro-Russian militia force Jews in East Ukraine to register property and religion
In a frightening development in the Ukraine it has been revealed that pro-Russian militia in the “Donetsk People’s Republic” have been handing out leaflets to all Jewish people over 16 years of age. The leaflets advise them that they should register all properties they own and their religion or face the loss of citizenship and deportation. There have been a number of alarming issues connected with the ongoing problems in the Ukraine but this is one which nobody saw coming and has been criticised in the strongest terms by the US and its allies.
Despite the fact that Russian, US and Ukrainian officials signed an agreement yesterday demanding the return of all Ukraine government buildings this has seemingly been ignored by the pro-Russian militia.
What next?
The forced registration of properties owned by all Jewish people in East Ukraine bears many similarities to the Nazi persecution of the Jews. This is a situation which is moving out of control by the hour and there are grave concerns that we could be moving towards WW3 unless the US and Russian authorities can come to some kind of mutual agreement for long-term peace.
While in the midst of all this trouble the ownership of properties is not necessarily a major issue on its own, because you would expect all illegal thefts to be corrected in the future, it is the targeting of the Jewish community which is most alarming. Even though the US government has been in talks with Russian counterparts about a peaceful solution, in many ways it is President Putin who holds all of the aces.
Quote from PropertyForum.com : “In a frightening development it has been revealed that Jews living in East Ukraine have been forced to register their faith and their properties with pro-Russian forces. These militant gangs seem to be introducing some form of ethnic cleansing which is taking the Ukraine issue to a whole different level.”
In just a matter of moments he could have the pro-Russian militia moving out of the Ukraine, ceasing their barbaric activities and looking for a long-term negotiated political settlement. For some reason, and we can only speculate why, he does not appear to be interested in this particular option at the moment.
Striking similarities with the Nazis
There are many similarities today with the way in which the Jewish community was treated by the Nazis in years gone by. Many had hoped that the theft of property belonging to the Jewish community by an illegal occupying force was a thing of the past. If this situation in East Ukraine is allowed to continue we can only speculate about the next stage of this worrying development.
It is common knowledge that the Jewish community lost possessions, properties, lives and indeed their dignity when faced with the German forces. While we have seen “ethnic cleansing” in areas such as Yugoslavia in recent times many had hoped this type of conflict was a thing of the past. We can only hope for a political settlement in the short to medium term, that the situation in East Ukraine does not worsen for the Jewish community, as well as the wider population, and peace will eventually prevail.
Conclusion
Many people are speculating that the next step by the pro-Russian militia will be the forced “repatriations” of Jewish owned properties in East Ukraine. This would be a frightening development in a situation which seems to be going from bad to worse with little or no light at the end of the tunnel. What next?
Getting Your Groove Back
After taking a long hiatus from working out, for an injury, illness or pregnancy, many of my patients feel discouraged that they will never “get their groove back” and return to their previous fitness level. This can create a downward spiral because you don’t feel motivated to get back to the gym, walk or start increasing your activity levels. However, sitting on the couch because you’re depressed furthers the atrophy of your muscles and cardiovascular system, putting you one step further from your goal. After all, you can’t do the same exercises or run as far as you used to, so what’s the point of working out anyway?
To break yourself of the cycle of fitness self-pity, start by defining your end goal (running a half marathon, being able to bike for 45 minutes, walking the length of the mall). After you decide what that goal is, determine smaller steps that will help you achieve it. For instance, you want to bike for 45 minutes and you haven’t been on your bike for a year, you might want to start with cycling for 15 minutes your first day, followed by stretching and using your foam roller to loosen up muscles that have been a bit dormant. Once you feel comfortable doing the 15 minutes, start lengthening your cycling by 5-10 minutes, as you feel able to gradually increase your fitness level. The key is slow, steady progress. Not going Olympic the first day and retiring from the activity because you’re so sore or injured from going too far, too fast.
It’s okay to have some mild muscle soreness after starting (or restarting) a new physical activity. What’s not okay is pain or soreness that doesn’t go away with stretching, icing and rest within 2 weeks. If you keep having discomfort and can’t seem to stretch it away, give our office a call and we’ll be glad to help you troubleshoot what’s holding you back from meeting your goals.
Dr. Erin Ducat is a mother of a 10 month old son and is in the process of getting her groove back too! If you need help with pain from working out or if pain is keeping you from becoming active, find out more about her Bloomingdale chiropractic practice by going to www.ducatchiropractic.com
Source: http://ducatchiropractic.com/2012/03/getting-your-groove-back/
04/20/2014
04/19/2014
Why You Can't Find That Home For Sale on Zillow or Trulia
I talk with home buyers and sellers every day. Most are in the initial stages of deciding if the market is right for them. They're searching on Google for real estate sites with local home listings and prices. The first search results they receive are often big, national websites that aggregate listings and look great.
These usually include sites like Zillow and Trulia. While consumers gravitate to these sites because of the high-end user experience, very few realize that they're missing a huge portion of the market. It seems counter-intuitive, but for all of the programming horsepower of the largest nationwide sites, there are actually far more timely and accurate listings on the average real estate agent's site than there are on these monstrous property portals.
Big Portals Have Fewer Real Listings, More Duplicates and Expireds
To cite just one example, a recent study compared agent websites to portals in the Seattle market. While agent websites with a regular MLS feed had 100% of the agent-listed homes available, on that same day, Zillow had just 72% available on their website. Trulia only had 63% of those same homes. Consumers searching on these sites for homes were literally missing out on 30% or more of the market.
How can this be? It all comes down to where real estate listings are created and how they're distributed.
Agent Websites Receive Direct Feeds While Portals Patch Together Secondary Sources
Real estate agents create and enter their "for sale" listings into the local MLS database. Those listings are available for the public to see, the very same day, on the website of every real estate agent that signs up for the listing feed. It's fairly simple. The day the listing goes live, it shows up on the agents' websites, and the day it's sold, it goes away. There are no outdated listings or duplicates, just the raw list of homes for sale, straight from the MLS.
With a big property portal, on the other hand, there are a multitude of different sources being pulled in to attempt to construct a full market picture. Some agents send their listings directly to the portal, some brokers do it for them, some indirect feeds are pulled in, and some listings are just never submitted to the portal at all.
The inefficient process creates delays in the display of new home listings, and a backlog of sold and expired listings that remain on the portal websites long after they should be gone. The inventory of listings on a portal site balloons with outdated listings, while the newest homes often show up days or weeks after they've already been on the market.
Serious Home Buyers And Sellers Are Using Their Agents' Websites For Listings
While it's clear why a consumer would enjoy browsing homes on a beautifully-designed portal website, it's also important that real home buyers and sellers are informed about their choices. If you're truly looking to buy a home, or to assess your chances of selling, you need to see the entire market picture to make a good decision. Portal websites' beautiful graphics and charts notwithstanding, inaccurate data in an attractive format will not overcome missing out on that perfect home, nor will it help you find the right set of comparable homes to make a good decision for your sale.
So, if you enjoy browsing real estate on a national portal's website, just remember that while the local information and statistics are interesting, the listing portion of the site is merely an advertising platform, not the full picture of homes for sale. If you're a serious buyer or seller, use an agent's website. Whether it's SeattleHome.com, SeattleCondo.com, or your favorite local REALTOR®'s site, you'll feel much more secure knowing you can see that perfect home on the first day it's available. In a market where many homes are selling within a week, you'll never miss out because you were looking in the wrong location.
* By the way--apps have the same problem. See the real Seattle market. Try The Seattle Homes App. 100% of MLS listings, updated daily.
© Seattle Homes Group: - Sam DeBord, Managing Broker, REALTOR®, Coldwell Banker Danforth
Director, Seattle King County Realtors - State Director, Washington Association of Realtors
Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google + | Sam (at) SeattleHome.com
Statistical source if not otherwise noted is NWMLS. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service did not compile or publish this information.
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Source: http://www.seattlehome.com/blog/why-you-cant-find-home-sale-zillow-or-trulia/
emee Home Comfort Heating Control System
Our house was pretty much a gut remodel. All the systems were new-to-the-curb and I was never happy with the HVAC system. We’ve got a high end variable speed furnace with AC but in reality we would have been better off with two separate systems to heat and cool the four floors. One system can’t deal with pumping air evenly. The basement was usually 20 degrees colder than the top floor. I looked into Home Comfort Systems years ago. The cost of the install was about the same as the new furnace and AC we had just paid a boatload of money for.
Fast forward to this year and Home Comfort is now owned by emme. An improved system costs less than half of the original bid. The premiss is that a computer controls bladders in all the ducts and the wireless thermostat in every room tells the system where it needs to heat or cool. Using the fan, it can circulate air from floor to floor to adjust the temperature. The video here is sped up by a factor of 4:
There are three levels of programming available and to be totally honest, we’re using the basic mode as I haven’t taken the time to program the more complicated programs. The thermostat is disappointingly slow in its response time, even after two software updates. It’s on WiFi so at least I could sit at a computer to program. We used to use space heaters in both the home office and our son’s room and those are no longer required. The basement still runs warmer than any of the other floors when the furnace is running but the temp difference is small compared to before. The in-room controllers allow a temporary setting to be held for two hours or to send that room into “saver” mode which lowers the heat/cool for that room until it is turned off.
The control system attached to the furnace. There are also two wireless access points boosting the signal from the room controllers.
Source: http://portlandrealestateblog.com/realestate/2014/02/emee-home-comfort-heating-control-system/
Friday fun: Sleep with the fishes with this amazing aquarium bed!
Forget counting sheep, count fish instead!
Forget a waterbed, the Aquarium Headboard by Las Vegas-based Acrylic Tank Manufacturing is where it’s at. This customized aquarium can hold up to 650-gallons of water and is the perfect way to upgrade your existing bedroom.
The massive aquarium is completely custom made to give your bedroom a one of a kind aquatic look, and can probably double as a swimming pool if you feel like swimming with your pets. Price? US$11,500.
For further information, check out Acrylic Tank Manufacturing.
Source: thisiswhyimbroke.com and complexmag.ca
This Canadian Real Estate Blog was brought to you by BestHomesBC.com. Looking for a home to buy in Vancouver? Check out BestHomesBC.com for properties for sale throughout British Columbia. Looking for an assignment condo? Check out AssignmentsCanada.ca for pre-sale condos for sale in Canada.
Source: http://blog.besthomesbc.com/2014/03/28/how_to_make_your_bedroom_more_creative_aquarium_bed/
04/18/2014
04/17/2014
Property Tax Swap or Levy Duty Upshift: Solving WA's McCleary Decision on School Funding
The recent decision by Washington's Supreme Court on school funding is a complex topic. When it's broken down to its basics, however, there may be a straightforward solution to a large portion of the financial demands created by the decision.
In a nutshell, the state constitution says that Washington has a paramount duty to fund basic education. The court decided that, currently, the state is not funding basic education adequately.
To be clear: the court said that the state itself is not meeting its obligation in funding basic education. This means that the overall budget for education needs to come from the state, not other sources. While the state property tax and sales tax fund around 70 percent of the education budget, municipalities across the state pick up around 20 percent of the education tab through local levies on property taxes (the federal government covers the rest). There may be some need to increase the total funding for the state, but making sure all funds come through the state will also be a priority.
This is the focal point of the so-called "Property Tax Swap". If all of the money that local homeowners are paying in levies to their cities was instead being paid to the state and earmarked for schools, the education budget could be funded with those same dollars, but it would be the state supplying the funds it is constitutionally required to provide. It's essentially a levy duty upshift--putting the responsibility of schools back to the state venue where it was meant to be.
It sounds a bit simplistic, but sometimes that's the way accounting works. The state can make up a large portion of its lacking education budget by simply taking in a larger state school levy (increasing the current rate on the school levy portion of the property tax), while reducing local school levies by limiting the local rates charged. Statewide, the plan is revenue neutral. There is no additional tax revenue coming from taxpayers statewide as a group, or going to schools--there's just a larger amount of the money coming from the state to the schools.
There are some side effects that could create dissension. Projections show property owners in wealthier counties or school districts paying more in property taxes than they had before, and vice-versa for lower-income districts. While there is some resistance to that idea, it answers another part of the court's concern, which is the current uneven distribution of state education funds. The idea has bi-partisan support, as it was first posited by Democrat Ross Hunter, and championed by former Attorney General Rob McKenna, a Republican, during his campaign for Governor. The widespread support is due to the more reliable long-term funding mechanism for education that doesn't rely on individual districts renewing their local levies every few years.
Just as importantly, it minimizes the funding gap that now exists in the state's education budget. While there are many other tough decisions to be made in funding the rest of the education budget and satisfying the Supreme Court based on the McCleary decision, this is one fairly painless fix with a big payoff. Taxpayers, on the whole, pay nothing more, and that's preferable to across-the-board tax hikes to nearly any voter.
REALTOR® groups generally approve of the idea. While we oppose most property tax increases, we support sensible property tax rates that build quality schools and infrastructure. Good schools make for good communities, which is why a predictable long-term source of funding is in the best interest of the real estate industry as well as every individual in the state. Maintaining the current funding source for schools, while reducing the need for state government to increase other taxes, is good for Washington schools and for Washington businesses.
See the real Seattle market. Try The Seattle Homes App. 100% of MLS listings, updated daily.
© The Seattle Homes Group: - Sam DeBord, Managing Broker, Realtor
Director, Seattle King County Realtors
State Director, Washington Association of Realtors
Coldwell Banker Seattle: Coldwell Banker Danforth & Associates
Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google + | Sam (at) SeattleHome.com
Source: NWMLS Stats - The Northwest Multiple Listing Service did not compile or publish this information.
Stay informed: Subscribe for automatic email updates
04/16/2014
Increased property taxes, growing demand and limited supply
Increased property taxes, growing demand and limited supply
These three terms are the nightmare of real estate buyers around the world and with the United Nations confirming that recent worldwide population growths forecasts are wrong, there is going to be further limited supply, growing demand and governments will take advantage of this. These three terms can very often the associated with an array of buoyant property markets around the world. When you also take into account that the worldwide population currently tops 7 billion and is expected to top 8 billion by the year 2025, how can anybody control the ongoing rise in property values?
There is growing concern that governments around the world are well aware that property will be in short supply and demand will continue to grow. As a consequence, a new property tax (or increase in existing property taxes) would likely be introduced as a means of “reducing demand” and then inevitably this would increase year on year. History shows that many taxes are introduced on a short-term basis and decades later they have still not been repealed.
What can the paying public do about this?
The reality is that there is only so much land around the world, the population is growing and in general property prices are rising. If you look at areas such as London in the UK, the demand for luxury property has literally “gone through the roof” and prices now seem to be detached from reality. There is talk of individuals acquiring properties with a rental yield well below 3% which is historically low but perhaps not as challenging as it seems with base rates also at historic lows.
Quote from PropertyForum.com : “Yes,property funds offer a safer alternative to direct real estate investment as the property costs are increasing it is a great option for investing in real estate.”
The problem with London is that restricted property approval, an ever-growing population and a relatively upbeat economic outlook are all feeding this problem. The UK government has been looking to introduce a new property tax on overseas investors as a means of “reducing demand” but many see this as yet another long-term income stream for the government of the day. The reality is that if people want to acquire property in strong markets, in markets with relatively low supply and relatively high demand then they will have to pay the price.
Shared purchases
Many areas of the world have already seen average property prices move beyond the affordability of the “average citizen” which has increased the number of shared purchases and shared accommodation. There are obvious risks with shared purchases and shared accommodation but in reality many families and individuals have limited options open to them. There has been talk of mortgage approvals at rates in excess of five times annual income as people scramble to climb aboard the UK property ladder.
This may seem relatively risk-free, bearing in mind government financial assistance and low base rates, but what happens when UK-base rates eventually start to move higher? This is when household expenditure will be squeezed, mortgage payments will rise and more and more people will feel the pinch.
Conclusion
Sometimes it is easy to forget the monumental long-term increase in property prices in markets such as Australia, the UK, the US and other parts of the world, despite the problems experienced since 2008. Many governments around the world are already talking about “property taxes” as a means of reducing demand and while they have been described as “short-term solutions” there is every chance they will continue forever and a day. There are many taxes in our everyday life, and indeed the investment arena, which were introduced on a “short-term basis” only to remain decades later. If you were a government with a prosperous property market, limited supply and growing demand, would you be tempted to take advantage of investors?
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