US commercial property headed for recovery
July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. commercial real estate will recover more quickly than in the 1990s downturn as a lack of financing limits new supply and investors flush with cash compete for properties, according to Prudential Real Estate Investors. READ MORE
Gay ban at campsite before tribunal
A VICTORIAN tribunal will be asked to decide if a Christian group can discriminate against gay people for religious reasons. READ MORE
A Call for Violence Answered in Uganda: Gay Activist Found Beheaded
There's disturbing and sad news out of Uganda today. The severed head of Ugandan LGBT rights activist Pasikali Kashusbe was found in a latrine on a farm in Uganda.
Gay U.S. citizens seek to claim residency for foreign spouses
An immigration reform measure proposed by an Illinois congressman would give the foreign partners of gay U.S. citizens a route to citizenship. READ MORE
Short sales not immune to debt collectors
Experts say it's best to know your risk when considering a short sale.
Obama to host LGBT reception Tuesday
Washington, D.C. — Tuesday is going to be quite a day at the White House, as President Obama welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists to a special reception in honor of Pride month. READ MORE
Colorado LGBT Sportsfest
Date: 06/05/2010 - 06/06/2010
Time: 09:00 am - No Info
Location: Cook Park
Denver, Colorado 80204
Cleveland, Ohio, USA to host 2014 Gay Games
Cleveland Chosen to Host 2014 Gay Games IX
Excellent venues, fiscal accountability and widespread community support cited by Federation of Gay Games
The city of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, has been chosen by the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) to host the 2014 Gay Games. READ MORE
May 25, 2010
Four Social Media Strategies that Work
If we know one thing about today’s consumer, it’s that they are communicating online. According to the 2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, more than one-third of home buyers looked online for properties as their first step in the home-buying process last year (READ MORE).
May 20, 2010
May 14, 2010
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April 14, 2010
April 12, 2010
Real estate agent's dream results in a halfway house for expectant moms
Sunny Shuptrine said late one night about 12 years ago, she had a dream about a blue, two-story, historic home with a front porch swing.
But Shuptrine, who is a real estate agent for Keller Williams Realty Inc., said she wasn’t just dreaming up floor plans of homes she could sell to willing buyers. She said she knew the home was a halfway house for pregnant women, and that her dream was a message from God.
“The Lord gave me the dream, and it needed to be done,” Shuptrine said as she sat in an armchair inside the living room of a baby blue, two-story home located downtown that is the materialization of her dream. “It’s amazing how it’s all come together.”
Shuptrine is the president of the nonprofit Christian ministry STAFF House that aims to provide food, housing, education and other services for pregnant women.
STAFF is an acronym that stands for Shepherds That Attend Father’s Flock. The nonprofit is located inside a renovated 1900s-era home downtown that she said is now ready to take in women from Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow and Pamlico counties to fill its five empty beds upstairs.
New Bern Planning and Inspections granted a certificate of occupancy for the home on Dec. 18, and it was licensed by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services at the end of January. Shuptrine said the sprinkler system still needs to be installed, which she hopes will happen this week.
But the home has already provided shelter for one woman who needed counseling, and another who was four months pregnant, but who had to be referred to Greenville because of substance abuse problems.
Shuptrine said the home was renovated by volunteers and using donations during a six-month period last year.
“It was a community effort from all walks of life, all ages,” she said.
A professional decorator donated her time, as did a general contractor. The furniture and rugs were donated, too. Shuptrine said she had prayed to find the heating and air conditioning system for the home, and when she found what she needed, a local company installed that for free, too.
“I prayed, ‘Lord, we need a 4.5-ton gas pack,’ ” she said. “Let’s get down to what we need here.”
She estimated that the cost of the project would have been about $120,000, but it cost about $48,000 in volunteer work and in donated funds. Half of that went to the construction of an addition that included a bedroom, a bathroom and a fire exit.
The house itself was deeded to the nonprofit by Tabernacle Baptist Church. Church leaders had considered demolishing that house and another on Metcalf Street in order to build a parking lot for a new family life center, said Annette Stone, city planner.
Saving the two historic homes was a compromise between the church and city and historic preservation officials. The church agreed to save the buildings in exchange for the ability to demolish a sanctuary on its property instead.
Shuptrine said she believes the whole project is a miracle, starting with the dream, then to her finding the house, and down to the smallest details, such as choosing what colors to paint the rooms. She said God even spoke to her about painting the downstairs in warm colors and in cool colors upstairs.
“It’s just like a still, small voice that you hear in your spirit,” she said.
And now that the home is nearly complete, the nonprofit is looking for more volunteers and donors, and also looking for girls to live in the home, Shuptrine said.
“We need more workers, and we need girls,” she said.
Laura Oleniacz can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at loleniacz@freedomenc.com.
April 8, 2010
March 31, 2010
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March 8, 2010
Important dates to remember
April 5 - A few years back, most people would get what's called a conventional loan when financing a house. At that time, you could arrange for financing with no money down. Well, those days are long gone, and most conventional loans now require a 20% down payment. As a result, many homebuyers are now turning to FHA backed mortgages. These loans only require a 3.5% down payment. But an FHA loan also requires that you purchase mortgage insurance. On April 5, FHA is going to increase the cost of that insurance from 1.75% to 2.25%. An increase of one half percent might not sound like a lot, but it comes to $2,500 on a $500,000 house. The April 5 deadline is defined as the date by which FHA assigns a case number to the loan. In reality, what that means for Joe Homebuyer is that you should have a ratified contract to your mortgage broker by something like March 25. That will give your lender enough time to obtain the FHA case number by the April 5 cutoff date.
April 15 - Here's a date most of us would rather forget than remember. Nevertheless, if you bought a home or did some refinancing in 2009, there might be some expenses you could deduct from your taxes. So make sure you let your tax preparer know about any real estate transactions you completed in the previous year. Usually, all the information you might need could be found on your settlement statement, known as the HUD-1. If you can't find a copy of your settlement statement, call your real estate agent, or the title company who conducted the settlement and they should be able to get you a copy.
April 22 - Last week, we did a column on rehabbing a home. For those of you considering renovations to an older home, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has some new rules that will take effect on April 22. These new regulations pertain to lead paint. On any home built prior to 1978, there is a potential for the presence of lead-based paints. On April 22, the EPA will now require that any remodeling done on a home built prior to 1978 be completed by a contractor who is certified by the EPA in lead-safe practices. This only applies to renovations where the paint will be disturbed, but there aren't many remodeling jobs where that isn't the case. The EPA has a fine of $32,500 for contractors who don't comply, and many contractors have yet to receive the necessary training. So if you're getting ready to do a renovation on an older home, make sure your contractor is qualified, or the project may be delayed.
April 30 - If you're a first-time homebuyer, Uncle Sam will give you an $8,000 tax credit if you get under contract on a house by April 30 and then get to settlement on that house by June 30. A first-time homebuyer is defined as someone who hasn't owned a principal residence during the past three years. There's also a $6,500 tax credit available for repeat home buyers. For repeat buyers, you can qualify for the credit if you have owned and resided in the same home for at least five consecutive years of the eight years prior to the purchase of a new home. The same deadlines of April 30 and June 30 that are in effect for first-time buyers also apply to the credit for repeat buyers. There are additional qualifications and rules regarding the tax credits.
March 6, 2010
March 3, 2010
Saturday February 27, 2010
Supreme Court Scrutinizes State, Local Gun Control ( see pertinent excerpt below )
"The court also has relied on that same clause -- "no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law" -- in cases that established a woman's right to an abortion and knocked down state laws against interracial marriage and gay sex. " to read the rest of the article from the AP visit this link: http://www.wmur.com/politics/22691385/detail.html
Friday February 26, 2010
Thursday February 25, 2010
Monday February 22, 2010
Saturday February 20, 2010
Friday February 12, 2010
Wednesday - February 10, 2010
Sunday February 7, 2010
Monday February 1, 2010
Real Estate - Tips to Real Estate Web 2.0 “ Discover How To Unlock Real Estate Marketing In Your Deals Today: http://bit.ly/aZ7hQB
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday December 1, 2009
Movement under way in California to ban divorce
Thursday November 19, 2009
U.S. Census Bureau Convening With Sac LGBT
Tuesday November 17, 2009
Lesbian Candidate for Houston Mayor Faces Anti-Gay Opposition
Thursday November 12, 2009
Salt Lake City OKs gay rights laws with Mormon backing
Salt Lake joins with Austin, Texas and Tallahassee, Florida in
extending or enhancing their Cities policies for GLBT employees and
residence, since the November 2009 elections
By JENNIFER DOBNER (AP) - 36 minutes ago
SALT LAKE CITY - The Mormon church for the first time has announced
its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain
unanimous approval for Salt Lake city laws banning discrimination
against GLBT people in housing and employment.
The Utah-based church's support ahead of Tuesday night's vote came
despite its steadfast opposition to gay marriage reflected in the
high-profile role it played last year in California's Proposition 8
ballot measure that barred such unions.
"The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and
reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage,"
Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said.
Passage made Salt Lake City the first Utah community to prohibit bias
based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the two new
ordinances, it is illegal to fire someone from their job or evict
someone from their residence because they are lesbian, bisexual, gay
or transgender.
"I thought this conversation would never come to be while I was here
in Salt Lake City," said Larabee, adding that the discussions have
"shifted her perspective of what's possible" and could foreshadow a
different relationship between the two sides.
Wednesday November 11, 2009
Orlando Ranks 9th in Gay Residents
Tuesday November 10, 2009
Real Estate Outlook: Pending Sales Rise
Tuesday November 10, 2009
Washington Referendum Ensures Domestic Partners Rights
Monday November 9, 2009
Question 1 Funded Mostly by Churches
Friday November 6, 2009
President Obama and Gay Rights: Forgetting the Lessons of the Campaign
Thursday November 5, 2009
Congress giving homebuyers a $6,500 tax break
Monday November 2, 2009
"What the Puck?" - Dallas' new Arts District
Thursday October 29, 2009
Check out America's Strongest Housing Markets
Thursday October 29, 2009
Saturday October 24, 2009
‘Racist, homophobic’ campaign fliers distributed in Maplewood ( Minnesota )
Read more great articles from The Minnesota Independent
Friday Oct 23, 2009
Friday Oct 23, 2009
Dan Savage Interviews Frank Rich - Read the story here:
Wednesday Oct 21, 2009
Wednesday Oct 21, 2009
Vote to approve R-71 ( Washington State )
Our founding fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Those asking us to reject Referendum 71, would exclude the pursuit of happiness to a segment of our society by not allowing them to have the same financial security, support, protections and benefits guaranteed when two people make a lifetime commitment to each other with state recognition of their partnership. Domestic partnerships are not marriage. Domestic partnerships are not a stepping-stone for gay marriage. Our Supreme Court has already ruled against gay marriage, so these claims are pure nonsense.
Vote “Approve” on Referendum 71 and demonstrate that Washington state is the home of reasoned people who respect our rights, freedoms, the rule of law and the separation of church and state.
Michael T. Barr
Taken from the www.Sammamishreview.com
Thursday Oct 15, 2009
Evangelicals step up for marriage equality
Thursday Oct 15, 2009
Obama picks MN woman as 1st openly gay US marshal
Tuesday Oct 13, 2009
Schwarzenegger signs gay rights bills -
Tuesday Oct 13, 2009
How Iago Explains the World
Monday Oct 12, 2009
Obama vows to end military gay ban
Monday Oct 12, 2009
Gay rights advocates march on DC, divided on Obama
Thursday Oct 8, 2009
Obama nominates gay ambassador
David Huebner has strong ties to GLAAD
Monday Oct 5, 2009
America's Smartest Cities - First to Worst
Monday Oct 5, 2009
Gay married couples fork over $467,000 more than straight married couples in the US
Friday Sept 25, 2009
Have a Great weekend everyone - It's Rainy here in the Southeast but the real estate market is booming!
Wednesday Sept 23, 2009 - Posted by Brad Hudson
Just added a Twitter page to the site. To Access it just click on the Menu to the left. It's easy to follow us from there and we ALWAYS follow back. Have a great evening.
