July Fourth Celebrations Made A Little Easier

Technology and Apps For Planning and Grilling

These days, not even the old-fashioned grill or simple picnic is safe from the tentacles of technology.

To make planning your summer festivities a little easier, consider these smartphone apps:

• Picnic Planner— pre-loaded with over 275 typical picnic to-do’s, reminders and lists, this app also lets you add your own items (Android)
• Simple Soiree— manage your shopping lists, your menu, even your guest lists and replies with this comprehensive party planner (iPhone)

If you  prefer to do your planning on your computer rather than your phone, try these nifty tools:

• Perfect Potluck— a free online tool to help coordinate group events with multiple contributors
• Pingg— an alternative to eVite, pingg offers large galleries of designs for online invitations, as well as guest management tools and trackers
• PunchBowl— in addition to online invitations and party planning tools and suggestions, this site offers an extensive database of local vendors across a variety of categories

It’s not just about the planning, however. There are also apps to make you better griller. Weber, the famous BBQ manufacturer, offers Weber’s On The Grillfor the iPhone and iPad with how-to videos, grilling recipes, recipes for rubs and marinades, and a grill timer. Ask The Butcher(iPhone, iPad) not only provides visual definitions of various cuts of meats, it also supplies recipes and cooking times. For Android users, Steak Timer Pluslets you input your grill’s temp, the steak’s thickness and the diner’s desired doneness and then tells you when to flip and when to serve.

For more grilling apps, see LifeScoop’s High Tech Tools for Grilling Success.

Mortgage Relief For The Unemployed

Application Period Only Open for One Month

Early last week, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $1 billion in funding through the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) meant to help homeowners struggling with monthly mortgage payments due to unemployment, underemployment, illness or injury.

In a recent article on HSH.com, Tim Manni reports that EHLP will “help these homeowners pay a portion of their monthly mortgage payments for up to two years or provide up to $50,000, whichever comes first. HUD, who is administering the program along with NeighborWorks, expects to reach up to 30,000 distressed homeowners with loan amounts which are expected to average $35,000.”

HUD’s site notes that EHLP is intended to complement the “Hardest Hit Fund,” which is funded with $7.6 billion to provide housing relief to the 18 states (and Washington D.C.) that suffered the most from the housing crisis. The launch of EHLP means that mortgage assistance programs for the unemployed and underemployed are available in every state.

To be considered for EHLP, homeowners must complete a pre-application screening workshop by July 22, 2011. Actual assistance recipients will be chosen at random from the pool of qualified applicants, as HUD expects demand to exceed available funding. NeighborWorks, a congressionally-chartered nonprofit organization dedicated to improving distressed communities, is partnering with HUD to administer the program.

More details, including links to the pre-application worksheet, can be found on NeighborWorks’ site here.

Something Extraordinary

When TV Meets Dance Meets the Internet

Whether featuring competing singers or dancers, talent shows are an undeniable phenomenon of modern primetime TV. From the one that started it all, American Idol, to the latest incarnations including The X Factor, So You Think You Can Dance and The Voice, these shows offer performances ranging from “Oh no! That girl’s a goner for sure!” to “Wow! Did you see that? Did you see that?”

It’s no wonder then these shows have resulted in so many TV show off-shoots, concert tours and iTunes tracks. But we can also thank these shows for inspiring Jon Chu to create the award-winning web series, The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. If you’re a fan of dance or athletic feats or any combination in between, this is a series not to be missed.

As Advertising Age put it“this richly produced series that follows a cast of highly talented dancers has arguably ushered in a new auteur movement in webisodic broadcasting… it is, by a wide margin, the most beautifully filmed, elaborately staged web series in the history of the medium.” The New York Times says that “in some ways it brings to mind Jerome Robbins, a “NY Export: Opus Jazz” for the hip-hop age. But despite the misfit nature of the characters and the stylishly gritty locales, the series was not made on the cheap; the budget is in the millions of dollars.”

In an interview with Vanity Fair, one of the dancers, Harry Shum (perhaps better known for his portrayal of Mike, the dancer who can’t sing, on Glee), explains that the first season introduces the roster of characters and their origins. In the world of LXD, when unexplainable and bad stuff happens, the only way to stop it is to… dance. The second season delivers plot, story, explanations and a lot of… dancing.

Each episode is about eight minutes long and offers an exhilarating demonstration of dancing of all kinds. The series has won the NATPE award for “Content Innovator” (along with AOL and Ikea), as well as Advertising Age’s prestigious Media Vanguard Award for “Best Original Web Series.”In April, the series’ creator and director, Jon Chu, won the 2011 Pioneer Prize at the International Digital Emmy® Awards.

To watch, go to LXD’s siteand click on “Episodes.”

Now “Zestimates” Are More Accurate Than Ever

The same day that Inman News published a “perspective”by David Charron, President of MRIS, the largest multiple listing service in the U.S.A., on the superfluity of broad market based statistics and trend analysis, Zillow announcedthat its database now has information on more than 100 million homes, representing more than 75 percent of all the homes in the country.

By adding more than 25 million Zestimate Home Valuations, Zillowhas reduced the margin of error on those estimates to 8.5 percent across the country, and to less than 6 percent in such major metropolitan markets as Denver and San Diego.

This is good news to owners, buyers and sellers alike, as Mr. Charron points out in his article, “considering the critical role that real estate statistics play in just about every housing-related decision, it is time for our industry to rally around better data.”

In addition to increasing accuracy overall, Zillow’s expansion means that such states as Iowa and New Hampshire now have access to Zestimates that wasn’t available before. Zillow sees Zestimates as a tool or starting point when trying to assess a home’s value, along with comparable recent sales and current listings.

Zillow’s increased accuracy and expanded database couldn’t come at a better time, as industry leaders begin to shift the focus from broad market reports and analysis to timely local data.

Make the Most of those Memorie

Gadgets, Tips and Cameras for Photography Buffs

From point-and-shoots to the camera phone, from Hipstamatic to Photoshop, photography has come a long way since the days of Leicas and dark rooms. My Life Scoop, a site devoted to “tips for a connected life,” recently posted its Top 20 Cameras and Gadgets for Photographers.

Camera Phone Add-ons — LifeScoop recommends the magnetic/detachable telephoto lens(around $22) and the telescope with crystal case for iPhone 3G/3GS(around $19).

Accessories — useful, handy, maybe even indispensable, LifeScoop includes the Opteka soft box flash diffuser(around $10) and the Westcott 40" 5-in-1 reflectoraround $55).

Tripods —The Ultimate List of Photography Gadgets and Gizmos, on Tutorials Plus, notes that a tripod is practically a requirement for good night-time photography, and comes in handy in many other circumstances. The three that made this list are the Manfrotto 458B Neotec Pro Photo Tripod (around $400), the Hama Star 75 (around $15) and the Heavy Duty Professional Aluminum Tripod with Ball Head for Camera/Video  (around $77).

Cameras — making LifeScoop’s list are three Canon models (the EOS Rebel T3 digital SLR, the PowerShot S90and the PowerShot waterproof digital), a Nikon (the D90 digital SLR), an Olympus (the Evolt E620 digital SLR with swivel lens) and a Panasonic (the Lumix digital). 

Tips— once you’re outfitted and ready to start snapping away to capture those fleeting moments of summer, don’t forget these summer photography tips posted on Digital Photography Secrets, Advanced Photographyand Station Stops:

 

• Avoid your flash — you’ll get a softer picture with more mood, but you might also get a blurrier photo. The less light in the picture, the steadier your hand must be, or try resting the camera on something stable or using a tripod.
• Be wary of flare — summer light can cause unwanted flare in your photos, experiment with blocking the sun with your hand or moving your position until another object blocks the sun.
• Think minimal— reduce the number of distracting elements in your photo and really feature your subject (this doesn’t always mean centering the subject).

The Best Places to Put Your Real Estate Dollars

Top Five Markets in the Nation for Investors

Inman News, a leading Real Estate Industry news source, recently completed an analysis of hundreds of U.S. markets to determine those best for investors. The full report and research is available at Inman’s website, here. To compare and rank the markets, the researchers took into account the median sales price of homes, population and unemployment statistics, loan data, walkability scores, foreclosure sales and discounts statistics and more. Information was culled from respected sources including Realty Trac, CoreLogic, the U.S. Census Bureau, SmartZip and others.

The top five markets, according to the report, are:

1.         Indianapolis-Carmel, IN.With an unemployment rate somewhat lower than the national average, a population rate somewhat higher, and the lowest median sale price of the top 10 markets, Indianapolis ranks number one on the list for investors.

 

 

2.         Winchester, VA/WV.  This market had the largest increase in population of all the markets looked at, rising nearly 25 percent in the last decade. Its combination of a decrease in median sale price year-over-year with an increase of over 60 percent in home values expected in the next 10 years (the highest projected appreciation rate in the top 10 markets) makes this area a prime opportunity for investment.

3.        Gainesville, FL.Between the huge university and several hospital networks located in this area, Gainesville can boast unemployment rates roughly 25 percent lower than the rest of the state. And although the median sale price was down from last year, the projected ROI for a property bought today over 10 years is well over 250 percent.

4.        Tucson, AZ.The number of distressed sales in Tucson is the highest of the top 10 markets (over 45 percent of sales were foreclosure sales, close to double from the same period last year). This means an abundance of affordable properties in a market where SmartZip, a company specializing in real estate analytics and ratings, projects a 10 year ROI of 225 percent.

5.        Tallahassee, FL.Households making the median income saw the supply of affordable houses increase more than a third from the previous year, and nearly 40 percent of all sales have been all-cash purchases. For “buy and hold” investors, this market is ripe with opportunity — in fact, at the end of March, active investor loans in Tallahassee represented nearly 50% more of the market’s loan activity than the national average.

To see the full reportand read more about these markets as well the other five markets that round out the Top Ten list, visit the Inman News website.

Country Clubs and Home Buyers

What's In a Name?
You may be seeing a sudden increase in communities and subdivisions with “country” or “country club” in their names. A recent study by the University of Georgia found that the link with a status symbol such as a country club in a subdivision’s name resulted in purchase prices averaging 5.1% more than those paid for other, less “prestigiously” named properties

Looking at 20 years of data from Baton Rouge, LA, the researchers concluded that a

“more deliberate and empirically-based study of property names could enable significant improvements in return on investment for investors and long-term home owners. In addition, some assumptions about the primary drivers of home values may be challenged; buyers’ perceptions of real property attributes may prove as valuable as or more valuable than the real utility of some attributes."

The study showed that wealthier buyers were more likely to pay a premium for a life-style name than for the advantage of being in a neighborhood with good schools for their children, but also that in economically depressed times, they were less willing to pay for any premiums.

As developers and homeowners wait for the light at the end of the long tunnel that is the housing market, this news may still feel like a little skylight opening up.

Summertime means deals and over 85% of travelers report planning a pleasure trip this summer. A recent article on BizReport.com reports that nearly half of all consumers are planning a summer vacation, and nearly one-third say they plan to travel more this summer than last.

Airlines, resorts, hotels and even entire cities are packaging and promoting deals on summer destinations. Your first stop when searching for savings is your favorite airline and hotel. Check their websites and see what promotions, bundles and packages they are offering.  Some of the more popular travel brands offering promotions are:

 

•  American Airlines – see their Vacation Deals page
• Delta – see their Deals & Offers page
• Sheraton Hotels – see their Special Offers page
• Hyatt Hotels – see their Best of Summer Deals page
•  Avis Rental Cars – see their Deals within the US & Canada page

If you have a particular city in mind for your trip, search that city along with “summer deals,” “summer promotions” or “summer specials.” Many cities have sites dedicated to planning trips and finding promotions, as well as events, activities and special events.

• For New York City, visit NYC Go.
• For San Francisco, visit Only in San Francisco
• For Austin, visit Austin, Texas
• For Chicago, visit ChicagoLogue

For other city guides and travel tips, check out these sites:

Fodors

NY Times Travel

Virtual Tourist

Lonely Planet