Archive for August 12th, 2009

Cedar creek lake houses

Pymatuning Cabins
andover- Home Of Pymatuning Lake Which Is A Recreational Hotspot In The … Deluxe Cedar Cabins On The Lake Erie Lakefront, Six-lane Boat Ramp, Canteen, … wikitravel.org/en/ashtabula_county. pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Real Estate, Pittsburgh, Erie, Lake Erie … … Waterfront Homes, Cottages And Cabins Like No Other Place In … Meadville, Greenville, Franklin, Shenango Lake, Pymatuning Reservoir, Woodcock Creek Lake … www.lakehomesusa.com/waterfront/pennsylvania …  read more…

North Country Gazette » 500 Dogs Rescued From Texas Puppy Mill
KAUFMAN COUNTY, TEXAS—-The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in conjunction with the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake and the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department, rescued more than 500 dogs and approximately 15 cats from … Responsible breeders house their dogs as members of the family and do not keep them confined to cages. 3. Don’t be fooled by common claims made by pet stores when pushing their puppies. Good breeders do not sell to pet stores because they …  read more…

“The Greatest Secret Within The Cedar Creek Lake Area in Texas …
Within these walls, ”The Greatest Secret Within the Cedar Creek Lake Area” now resides. It is a secret that needs to be shared by all of us, who are members and supporters of the First Presbyterian Church of Mabank, Texas. …  read more…

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Resolved Question: Alabama/Georgia fishing?
I generally fish for catfish and stripers on a large creek near my house in Cave Spring GA, near Rome bc you probably haven’t heard of CS. but in addition to those, i fish for Crappie and Largemouth. My question is where are publicly accessible places in NW GA and NE Alabama to fish. preferably near Rome GA or Centre and Cedar Bluff AL. I already fish Lake Weiss and Brushy Branch.

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Resolved Question: This Friday night (10/10), me and some of my family are planning on dining out. Any suggestions? ?
I’m referring to the areas east, south and southeast of Dallas, Tx. (north and east Texas).

We’re planning on going out to eat in either Kaufman, Henderson or Ellis County.

Narrowing that down a lot, in Kaufman County, it would be in Kaufman or Terrell.

In Henderson County, it would be in the Cedar Creek Lake area (either 7 Points or Gun Barrel City).

In Ellis County, it would be Ennis.

Now, of those towns that I just now mentioned — Kaufman, Terrell, Ennis, 7 Points or Gun Barrel City, what are some restaurants in those areas that you would recommend?

We are on a budget. (Who isn’t, nowadays?) So, keeping that in mind, we are not going out for fast food. We want to go to a regular, family-style restaurant…moderately priced, that serves either only, or primarily, American food…different varities of American food…as opposed to specialty-type restaurants (seafood, steak houses, etc.)

Some restaurants that I’ve thought of are:

7 Pts.: McClain’s, The Yellow Rose Cafe, Pop’s Honey
Fried Chicken (not sure about this place), Cedar
Isle Rest. & Club, Jean’s
Home Cookin’, Lakeview Restaurant, The Feed
Trough (not sure about this place)

Gun Barrel City: The Ranch House, Chili’s,
Frames & More (not sure about this place),
Pop’s Honey Fried Chicken (perhaps)

Ennis: Golden Corral, IHOP, Denny’s, Chili’s

Kaufman: Feed Store Restaurant & Moon’s Fried
Chicken and Cafeteria

Terrell: Ables Springs Feed & Country Store,
Applebee’s, Cole Mountain Restaurant &
Catering Co., Denny’s, Ernie’s Cafe, Flamingo
Grille, Kountry Kitchen, McDonald’s Cafe,
Pop’s Honey Fried Chicken (not sure about
whether I’d want to dine here or not);
also, The Terrell Cafe and The Yellow
Rose Cafe

So, out of these restaurants, which one(s)
would you recommend and why?

Also, if there are any other restaurants
(in the geographic areas I mentioned
earlier), that I did not mention….and that
you can think of…..please let me know.

I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks.

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Resolved Question: What are the nearest GLBT resources in my area? I live about 7 miles s/east of Kemp, TX. in a rural area.?
The nearest GLBT resources to me, that I can find, are in Dallas – but that’s roughly 40-45 miles north of where I live.
I have checked the Cedar Creek Lake area; I’ve known in the past that this area has had practically nothing, in terms of GLBT resources. I was hoping that would change – but apparently, it hasn’t. The only thing that exists is a gay bar in Gun Barrel City. That’s still quite a ways from my house, though. Still, that’s a lot closer to me than Dallas; but still, as I said, the bar is the only thing there is. I’m looking for much more than that. Now, I’ve also looked in Kaufman County – still, nothing – not even a gay bar.
So, that just leaves Ennis (Ellis Co.) and Corsicana (Navarro Co.) – the closest major towns to me – though, I seriously doubt they’d have anything there.

So, are there any GLBT resources in either Kaufman, Henderson, Ellis or Navarro Co’s? If you know of any, please let me know. I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks.

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Taking A Look At Investing in Real Estate

The slowdown in the economy has caused a slump in the real estate market throughout the world. This doesn’t mean that the industry will never be able to recover from this slump. It is only a matter of time before the construction and housing market recovers and be as robust as before just as the economic situation improves. Even now, when there’s an obvious downturn, there are still profits to be made from the property industry.

Of course, we are not talking about dumping large sums of cash in any particular project. Instead, you could opt to try out the rental business. In times like this, cash rich investors will get a lot of opportunities to invest in lower than market value properties because there are a lot of property owners who may put up their properties for sale because they were not able to pay the mortgage. These properties will be a great bargain indeed.

It is a good time to add some lower than market value properties to your portfolio so that you can rent it out to those who are looking for a place to rent. In this bad economic situation, many homeowners may have sold their properties and in need of a place to rent. If you have a property in a good area, then it should be quite easy for your to get tenants and monthly income from their rental.

Of course, before immersing yourself into the real estate industry, you will still need to do the necessary homework to find out which areas are great for investing in and avoid places where rented homes are not high in demand. Renting out of your property is a lucrative way to earn some income or at best, pay for your investment.

One of the best ways to search for suitably below market value properties is to check out auction houses where a lot of properties are being auctioned off at low prices. But remember that before you make a bid for any property, you will need to first do a background check on the said property. You don’t want to end up investing in a property that is beyond repair or worse, has a lot of structural problems that you may end up paying more for.

So, if you don’t want to rent out the property, you can always buy it for now and keep it till the market goes up. In the meantime, you can invest a little bit more to give it a facelift so that you can increase the value. A well-kept and nicely painted house with no defects are easier to sell at a higher price. The moment there is a demand of when the property industry goes up, you can then sell the property for a high price. For now, the real estate market may be going down but it is bound to come up again and when it does, you stand to gain some money from it.

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Atlanta Foreclosures Can Help To Save A Lot On Investments

If you are a homeowner, who is in financial distress, you should understand that you are at the risk of losing your home in Florida at any time. You need to find foreclosure support at the right time to stay away from all the miseries of getting your property to be a part of Florida foreclosure listings. Sometimes, you may find the solution to your financial problems from experts, who have spent their lives in making others realize the importance of foreclosed properties. Even if that is not provided, you may be offered support and advice to deal with the situation once your property has been foreclosed. The role of foreclosure support has become even more important with the count of foreclosed property in the state of Florida standing sky high. The current figure of 266,484 foreclosures is only second to the one recorded in California.

Finding support from people around you

If you are an easygoing person, you are bound to have many friends. Some of these people may be ready to offer you with minor financial assistance with the help of which you can postpone the foreclosure process. Lenders will demand foreclosure only if you miss even minimal monthly payments. You can continue to pay the minimum amount using the help, which you can get from your neighborhood. However, you must remember to repay these persons after regulating your finances. Getting help from a trusted lawyer in Florida is what wise people do when they have to face foreclosure process in the state.

Finding support on the internet Internet is the best way to find expert support and advice. However, you have to be skeptical at times in order to stay away from scams and frauds. Several websites offer free advice to help you prevent foreclosures in the state. The best part with online foreclosure support is that you can get various views and suggestions. You can use them to arrive at a solution for your foreclosure problems.

So, save your property from becoming a part of Florida foreclosures listings by using foreclosure support. Not only will it help you in maintaining a stable credit score, you are also going to find relief from the tension of losing out on your dream home.

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Building Your Dream Home

When most people imagine what their dream home will be like, they usually have an idea in their mind of how it will look on the outside. Building a dream home is not only an exciting time in one’s life, but it is also a major undertaking. It is easy to imagine the final product, but to get there one has many steps to go through. If you are planning on building a dream home, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind before you plunge into the project.

Budget Planning: It is important to consider how much you can afford to spend on building a new home. You will likely have to get a home loan so research carefully and compare loan options. You should also see what size loan you will actually qualify for. Get an estimate of building costs as well so you will know how much you may be spending. It is important to budget for unexpected expenses. A good way to finance is a ‘pay as you go’ plan, meaning you pay for each stage of the building process.

Consider the Style and Size of the Home: You should think about what type of home you want such as a rustic log home, Cape Cod, Ranch, Colonial, Modernetc. This is what you and others will see when you pull up in the driveway so make sure it is exactly what you want. You have to consider how many square feet you want, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, size of each room, and any additions such as a garage or mudroom.

Lot Considerations: You have to consider such lot features as the size, location such as urban, rural, near an oceanetc. You should also consider such location aspects as approximation to amenities, schools, work, parksetc. Make sure that you obtain information on such aspects as drainage, zoning laws, building regulations, weather conditions, and soil conditions.

Choose a Plan Design: You can locate many designs on the internet or you can enlist the services of an architect. Modern homes tend to have specific plans, but the builder can usually make modifications. There are also software packages that can help you design your dream house. It is important to pick a plan that will meet you and your family’s current and future needs.

Choose a Contractor/Builder: You will need a contractor who will usually have a building team that is qualified in all areas associated with building a home. You will also require a surveyor, electrician, plumber, and building inspector for the various stages of the building process. Ask the builder to review your design to make there won’t be any problems during building. Whoever you choose should have a good reputation so make sure you obtain references. You will also need an excavator for the septic tank installation. You will be required to have a local government official inspect where the septic installation will take place before you receive a permit to install it.

Home Inspector: Make sure you have a home inspector review the home to make sure everything was done correctly and the home is safe and in good condition. A home inspector will be able to identify any errors or poor quality work.

Building a dream home can be a wonderful and exciting time in one’s life. In order to ensure that your dream comes true, it is important to have all of the information about building before you start. It will make the project easier, less expensive, and will help ensure that your new home is a dream come true, and not a nightmare.

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5 FSBO Tips To Ensure A Quick Sale

You’re looking into selling your own home. Most people do this to save on the real estate fees and commissions, and the process of FSBO has certainly taken off in the last few years. You want to arm yourself with some good knowledge and have some of the best tips to sell your own home under your belt.

The FSBO process can be somewhat complicated, but it shouldn’t be. After all, no one knows a home like the rightful owners. If you do your homework and understand the market in your area chances are you’ll already have a head-start on the competition.

Here are 5 tips to sell your own home:

1. Clean your home so it shows well. Dirty, mess homes never show well and it reflects negatively on the sellers. If you don’t like cleaning, spend a few dollars and hire a cleaning service to do it for you. This is extremely important.

2. Set your table. Not the dining table, but the home’s table. Stage it nicely so people feel welcome and space is used properly. Kitchens and bathrooms are the areas of the home that actually help to bring in quick offers, so give these rooms special treatment. Keep lights on or open the blinds in these areas so they appear welcoming and vibrant.

3. Spend some time and do research for your home’s value. Many times a seller asks too much and they sit on the market too long – this listing becomes “stale” after a few months. Avoid this at all costs.

4. Use a good FSBO service. These services are available online and will promote your property on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. It’s important to get in front of the realtors that are representing the buyers for your home. If you aren’t listed, chances are you’ll get fewer showings and absolutely no traffic at your open houses.

5. This about hiring an attorney to facilitate and negotiate the contract for you. This is always helpful because local attorney usually specialize in the real estate contact arena. It’s much better to pay a few hundred dollars and know you’re represented and being looked out for than losing sleep at night guessing on the paperwork.

These are a few things to get you moving int he right direction. There are more steps you can take to sell your own home and ensure a good sale, but start researching these 5 tips first. At the end of the day, you’ll be glad to know you saved thousands of dollars by not hiring an agent and doing it yourself – again, no one knows your home like you do!

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During this year, there have been 22 Fannie Mae updates. Fannie Mae has been a semi-independent company. However, its last act as such occurred several weeks ago.

The first part of the guideline change limits the number of properties owned by any one person. The former guidelines allowed for 10. Fannie Mae will now decline any mortgage application for a second home or investment property if the mortgage applicant already finances, or will finance, more than 4 properties in total.

However, if the mortgage applicant ’s homes have loans in a corporation’s name, and the real estate investor happens to be the only owner of this corporation, these properties will not be counted as part of the 4 property limit by Fannie Mae.

Investors, therefore, should consider moving their properties into a corporate structure to avoid triggering Fannie Mae’s 4-property limit. Investors often take this step for liability and taxation reasons, but it’s now a good idea for mortgage approval reasons, too.

Secondly, some of the guidelines do not have such a loophole. All investment property mortgages will be assessed with new loan-to-value based loan fees by Fannie Mae.

*3.75% loan fee – Loan-to-value 80.01-90.00% *3.00% loan fee – Loan-to-value 75.01-80.00% *1.75% loan fee – Loan -to-value less than 75%

It is obligatory that these fees be paid along with any other fees incurred from other risk fees assessed by Fannie Mae. These fees currently are % at a minimum for investors.

Our government hasn’t, since the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac takeover, indicated whether or not mortgage guidelines will be altered. This would be positive for investors because, as we know, low mortgage rates won’t help much if those who want to invest in real estate can ‘t qualify for a loan .

In summary, if you are considering one or several investment properties, it may be more advantageous, and less expensive, to buy over the near term . Definitely consider placing the properties you do own into a corporation.

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Skyscraper Fire Sale

Last week the media reported that a NYC skyscraper sold for about $600 million, and according to Real Capital Analytics the prior purchase price was $1.74 billion. The property has 1.8 million gross square feet, 1.6 million rentable square feet, and is 50% vacant.

At first glance, a 65% reduction may seem like a steal, but a closer look reveals the true reasons behind the urgent need to sell. When such desperate measures are taken, the only logical conclusion is that there must be a reason. And that reason is what investors must investigate before succumbing to the lure of initial savings.

The New York City rental market is no different than other real estate market sectors. Vacancies are high and rents are declining. The subject property is 50% vacant. Given that fact, it is reasonable to presume that the property is generating an operating negative cash flow. Even if the property were bought for all cash, when you add back concessions, the property would be generating an operating negative cash flow. By any logical standard, any operating business with a negative cash flow is a failing business. In other words, the buyer spent $600 million for a failing office building business.

Although this situation seems hopeless, it is possible to turn it around. The property can be brought to a profitable level by acquiring renters to reach a 95% capacity. This can be done realistically by increasing leased space by 10% each year for a span of five years. Significant financial investment is needed to improve the units and pay necessary commissions. This is in addition to the costs of maintaining the property until it generates a positive cash flow.

New lessees never say the space is perfect. In weaker markets, lessees are more demanding and the lessor pays. To get to 95% physical occupancy, 360,000 square feet need to be leased. The going rate for TIs is in the area of $125 per square foot. That comes to approximately $45 million.

Another cost to be considered is the 5% – 6% commission paid to the agents responsible for acquiring the renters. Let’s say the owner can charge $55 per square foot each year for five years. At a rate of 5%, almost $5 million must be paid to the leasing agent upon finalization of the lease agreement.

With expenses reaching into the millions, it is unlikely that this property will turn a profit if the buyer has not set aside enough to cover these costs. But planning and persistence could pay off if the economic climate stabilizes. In a span of five years, with a capitalization rate of six percent, the investment could increase to $750 million. Of course, this transaction is not a loss for all involved. For the recipient of fees, commissions, and oversight, the investment may be a profitable. The point is an investor must always be wise about a great deal that is presented. It is important to investigate all the facts before making such a large investment.

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You Can Fix Your Credit In Seven Steps

You’ve probably seen a lot of things that say you can fix your own credit, and that’s true to a point, but it’s not always as easy as it seems for most people. However, you can certainly take steps to make your credit rating better and more acceptable to lenders in the future if you’re willing to put in the work to improve your credit and your chances of borrowing later on. That starts with step one – knowing what’s on your credit report right now and why. If you don’t know what’s there, how are you supposed to work at making it better?

Next, step two is to take a look at the credit reports that you’ve been sent from the various bureaus (there should be three of them – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and spend some time comparing them. If you see discrepancies, part of your credit problem could be that there are things on your credit that actually don’t belong to you and that are hurting your credit. You can call the credit bureaus and ask that these things be removed, and they will investigate them for you – finding no evidence that these things really belong to you will get them removed from your file and a new copy of your credit report issued to you, which can help to raise your credit score.

Step three involves how many active credit accounts you really have, since having a good credit score requires at least three active accounts. When someone only has one or two accounts, especially if those accounts are only credit cards and not longer-standing accounts like vehicle loans or mortgages, it doesn’t show a strong history of being able to handle credit properly. You can get more accounts if you don’t have enough to have a great credit rating, but you should be careful doing that, since getting too many accounts too quickly can harm your credit – and that’s especially true if those accounts are just credit cards.

Step four is finding someone that you trust and asking that person to add you to their credit cards – but there’s a catch to this. You won’t actually get a card or be allowed to use it, but you will be added as an authorized user, effectively giving the length and quality of their credit on that card over to your credit report, as well. However, don’t try this with someone who hasn’t had the card very long or who hasn’t been paying it on time, or their bad credit will be attached to your credit report, and you definitely don’t want that.

In step five, you have to start paying down your debt, because having high balances on things will really hurt you in the long run – it makes you look irresponsible. Your credit card debt, for example, should be no more than 30% of the amount that you’re actually allowed to borrow on your credit cards, but even if you can’t get them to that point work to get them down below 50% of the available credit. Having balances that are low and that stay low means that your lenders will see that you’re taking good care of the credit you’ve been offered, so you’ll have a better chance of getting even more credit.

Step six is to let those paid-off, open credit card accounts stay open, and don’t close them out just because you’ve paid them off. When you close out accounts they drop off of your credit report after seven years, so you’ll stop getting ‘good credit’ points for them, and you don’t want to do that. Some accounts like car loans and mortgages do that automatically, but credit cards will stay open as long as you don’t close them and you use them occasionally, so be sure to keep your credit strong by doing that.

Probably the easiest step of all is step seven, but it’s also a long-term step, and that’s to maintain what you’ve managed to get where good credit is concerned. Don’t pay off your old debt just so you can add up a bunch of new debt, and you’ll not only have more money but you’ll be better able to get credit in the future for something that you really need if you don’t have a bunch of other debt. If you only get credit for things that you really need (vehicle, house, etc) and use your credit cards sparingly, you’ll be much better suited to having a really high credit score and not worrying about your ability to get credit when you absolutely need it.

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Houston Foreclosures And Lawmakers

Capitol Hill Lawmakers has recently passed a bill to assist families with avoiding Houston foreclosures. The bill will allow homeowners to refinance their current loans and re-mortgage the loans to other loans that are backed by the government. Some of the homeowners in Houston are currently taking the steps to prevent their property from becoming another of Houstons long list of foreclosed property.

It is a sensible step for homeowners, since the economy is uncertain. With the economy, the way it is and the interest rates, fallen people are looking every day for Houston foreclosures. Some people however are renting some of their living space to others to save their home. Despite of the efforts the economy is suffering and the debt market rates are increasing, which is making it difficult for homeowners to repay their mortgage.

Our economy is suffering dramatically because of the greed that is surfacing. Bills are increasing, which is making it difficult for people to stay erect. Thus, people in Houston have to rent some of their living space just to make ends meet.

Nationally, people are renting some of their living quarters as well just to make ends meet and to avoid going on the foreclosure list. Some homeowners however do not have the option to rent space. Some of the newer areas will not allow homeowners to rent to others, since the deed they had signed prohibited this option. What do these people do to avoid foreclosure?

Many of them lose their homes because their options are limited, which is why we see a long list of foreclosed property in Houston. Houston is located at the southeastern parts of Texas and it is the seat of Harris County. It is located at the head of the Houston Ship Channel, which links the city to the Gulf of Mexico. The inland seaports are where the chief financial, manufacturing centers and distribution is seated for the United States. Texas was one of the largest cities in Texas and the fourth largest in the United States. People believe that everything is big in Texas so they migrate there to enjoy the new style of living. With cowboys and girls, they join. If you are looking Houston foreclosures now is the time to get started. Buying homes for 20 to 40 percent at discounted prices is no big thing in Houston Texas.

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