<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442</id><updated>2011-08-12T05:04:46.739-07:00</updated><category term='Social Media'/><category term='Term Insurance'/><category term='customer'/><category term='eincome'/><category term='Tourists'/><category term='Wine'/><category term='packing'/><category term='robert'/><category term='Freebies'/><category term='Interest Rates'/><category term='public speaker'/><category term='taxes'/><category term='wealth'/><category term='savings'/><category term='Views of Colorado'/><category term='Fire Department'/><category term='International'/><category term='visualization'/><category 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term='bing'/><category term='bank'/><category term='prostination'/><category term='right'/><category term='Unique Visitors'/><category term='Home Loan'/><category term='Nevada'/><category term='Estate in Denver'/><category term='Fair Market Value'/><category term='loophole'/><category term='Dallas MLS'/><category term='DFW'/><category term='wrong'/><category term='Tourism'/><category term='stress'/><category term='REALTOR'/><category term='Property Value'/><category term='Foreclosures'/><category term='Self-Employed Insurance'/><category term='Vineyards'/><category term='Home Shopping'/><category term='Virtual Tour'/><category term='706 Walnut Dr'/><category term='Tax Credits'/><category term='Values'/><category term='food'/><category term='Homeowners Association'/><category term='Lifestyle'/><category term='Training'/><category term='St. Frederick High School'/><category term='Weight'/><title type='text'>DFW Relocation</title><subtitle type='html'>&lt;B&gt;Are you planning on moving to the Dallas - Fort Worth Area ?&lt;p&gt;Let us help you find a home. Call 972-679-9029 today!&lt;/B&gt;</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default?start-index=101&amp;max-results=100'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>186</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-1375755851131958589</id><published>2010-11-14T18:42:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-11-14T18:42:25.951-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='thanksgiving'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='celebration'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='health'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='food'/><title type='text'>Think Outside the Bird - Trimmings for the Ideal Thanksgiving Meal</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;Thanksgiving is almost the perfect holiday. Unlike many celebrations, the emphasis is less about the material aspects, and more about the day itself. Simply put, Thanksgiving is about reconnecting with loved ones, eating great food, and watching a few football games. The one blemish, however, is the pressure we feel to flawlessly execute a great Thanksgiving dinner.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Several months ago, when I began thinking about this year's Thanksgiving article, I carefully contemplated which angle I would take. I considered writing an editorial on how to roast a succulent bird or mixing it up a bit and showing you how to deep-fry a turkey. But that would have required most of you to purchase added equipment, and who wants to do that? Then, it hit me. Giving you great Thanksgiving advice didn't require me to think outside the box. I needed to think outside the bird!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are my opinions and advice regarding some of the more traditional accoutrements to a Thanksgiving meal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mashed Potatoes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Is there anyone who doesn't love mashed potatoes? I believe the answer to this question is the reason why most people have their own favorite method for making them. That being said, I've decided to bypass giving out my recipe. But that doesn't mean I don't have some mashed potato advice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Regardless of the type of potatoes you use, or your method for mashing them, I recommend giving careful thought to your choice of additional ingredients. While cheesy mashed potatoes are great, I don't think they're a good accompaniment to Thanksgiving dinner. It's a little too heavy for an already heavy meal. Opt instead for adding ingredients like roasted garlic or finely-chopped fresh herbs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;I also recommend making your mashed potatoes towards the end of your turkey's roasting time. Making them any earlier is not a great way to go, as they are at their best when served right away. Remember, your turkey has to rest for at least twenty minutes before carving. This should leave you plenty of time for tending to the taters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you make your mashed potatoes earlier than recommended, do not utilize a flame to keep them warm. This will either cause them to burn or get very oily. Instead, transfer your potatoes into a glass bowl placed over a large pot of lightly-simmering water and cover with aluminum foil. Do not allow the simmering water to touch the bottom of the bowl.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gravy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An important bit of gravy advice is to make plenty of it. There is almost nothing worse than running out of gravy halfway through your Thanksgiving meal. When it comes to the type of gravy you make, the variations are nearly endless, and most are pretty darn good. Gravy varies from region to region and can range from light and creamy, to dark and rich. It can include, or not include, wine or fresh herbs. My guess is that you will make your gravy similar to the version you grew up with. That's what I do.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;One tip I'd like to leave you with is what to do in case your gravy turns out lumpy. First, don't freak out. Second, don't tell anyone. Third, pass it through a sieve into another saucepot or straight into your gravy boat. No one will ever know.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Green Bean Casserole&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hate to say it, but I utterly despise this dish. Not only does the combination of overly cooked green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, and store-bought fried onions not sound good to me, it's an awfully heavy way to serve veggies next to some already heavy side dishes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Do yourself a favor and go with a fresh green vegetable like haricot vert (French-style green beans) or asparagus, simply prepared. Steam your veggies lightly, and toss them in unsalted butter or olive oil, kosher salt, and a little citrus zest. Top them off with lightly-toasted almond slices, and you've got a delicious, healthy, and easy side dish.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Candied Yams with Marshmallows&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While I like this dish far better than the green bean casserole, I do think we can do better than the traditional version.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;To serve 6 people, you will need 4 large sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into quarters. Place them into a baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine 1 to 1.5 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice, 1/2 C dark maple syrup, 2 tsp powdered ginger, a few grinds of fresh nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture over your sweet potatoes or yams, and dot with unsalted butter. Bake them in a 375 degree oven for 1 to 1.5 hours or until they are soft and golden. Make sure to baste your "tubers" every 15 minutes with the orange juice mixture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;I guarantee that my recipe for Candied Yams will be a home run. While they may not include marshmallows, they provide a sweet punch to the Thanksgiving dinner without utilizing candy. I'm sorry, but I truly feel that marshmallows have no place in a Thanksgiving meal. I look at their addition the same as I do the addition of pineapple to pizza. It's not that I won't eat it. I just find it to be a superfluous and heavy-handed ingredient for this dish.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cranberry Sauce and Corn Bread Stuffing&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are a few more great recipes to accompany your Thanksgiving turkey. First up is cranberry sauce. I highly urge you to make this as the difference between homemade and store-bought cranberry sauce is monumental. This recipe couldn't be simpler, and it can be made several days prior to Thanksgiving, giving you one less thing to do in the kitchen that day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Old-Fashioned Cranberry Sauce (Serves 4 to 6)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul type="disc"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 C freshly-squeezed orange juice (3 oranges if doing it from scratch)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1/4 C cold water&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 C sugar&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 12-oz. bag of fresh cranberries&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Zest of 1 orange&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 cinnamon stick&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1/2 Tsp ground ginger&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Freshly ground nutmeg&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a saucepot, bring orange juice, water, and sugar to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, orange zest, cinnamon stick, ground ginger, and nutmeg. Stir to incorporate, and reduce heat. Allow mixture to simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the cranberries have popped. Allow mixture to cool, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing (Serves 4 to 6)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul type="disc"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 box cornbread mix, prepared two days in advance and cut into small cubes&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 onion, chopped&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 red bell pepper, chopped&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;2 celery ribs, chopped&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;4 cloves garlic, chopped&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;3 Spanish chorizo or hot Italian sausages, removed from casings&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;2 eggs, beaten&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 - 1.5 C chicken stock&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;2 - 3 Tbsp fresh thyme, sage, or parsley, or a combination of all three&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Extra virgin olive oil&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat a Tbsp or so of olive oil until hot. Fry sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until fully browned. Transfer cooked sausage meat to a large bowl. In the same skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil until hot. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Season the veggies with salt and pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes. Transfer veggies to the same bowl with the sausage. To the bowl, add crumbled cornbread, beaten eggs, chicken stock, and herbs, and then season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix until fully incorporated. Grease a casserole dish with butter or non-stick spray, and transfer the stuffing mixture to the dish. Pack the stuffing loosely, and roast it in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. For an extra-crispy top, place casserole under the broiler for a few minutes. Serve.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;We've done it! We successfully focused on the periphery of our Thanksgiving meal without forgetting the importance of the turkey. I honestly feel it's just as important to focus on the spirit of this holiday without losing sight of the many reasons we have to be thankful. Doing so will not only set the tone of the day, it will also alleviate some of the pressure we feel to flawlessly execute our Thanksgiving meal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/celebration" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;celebration&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/health" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/thanksgiving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;thanksgiving&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/celebration" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;celebration&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/health" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/thanksgiving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;thanksgiving&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-1375755851131958589?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/1375755851131958589/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=1375755851131958589' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1375755851131958589'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1375755851131958589'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/11/think-outside-bird-trimmings-for-ideal.html' title='Think Outside the Bird - Trimmings for the Ideal Thanksgiving Meal'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-2332222525639529677</id><published>2010-10-05T14:14:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-10-05T14:14:14.017-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='north'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='dallas'/><title type='text'>North Dallas Homes</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: small" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Recent homes sold over a million have sold at 80% or less of list price!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: small" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;The two new homes on Wesgrove were sold at auction on 9/16!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: small" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Though showings are slow, sales are stronger under $700,000 and values have gone up! We are dealing with a pickier buyer these days who want a perfect house, low rates, and a low price if renovating is needed! INTEREST RATES ARE VERY VERY LOW NOW. Strong credit rating is required. Be sure to deal with a reputable, experienced Realtor and lender! Appraisals are tough with either LOW comparables!. Hopefully this burst of activity will last through the fall/winter this year........&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: small" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;If you need information on activity in your area I can help! Your referrals are sincerely appreciated. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/north" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;north&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/real+estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/north" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;north&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=north" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;north&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/north" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;north&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-2332222525639529677?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/2332222525639529677/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=2332222525639529677' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2332222525639529677'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2332222525639529677'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/10/north-dallas-homes.html' title='North Dallas Homes'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-2875194637662801385</id><published>2010-09-10T18:42:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-09-10T18:42:39.274-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='moving'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='organization'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mover'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='packing'/><title type='text'>Moving and the 5 to do list</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 2px; MARGIN: 5px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 7px; PADDING-RIGHT: 7px; FONT: 13px Arial; PADDING-TOP: 2px" class="article"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 13px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Moving is one of the most stressful activities of lifetime. It is very tiresome and chaotic process. It creates complete hustle and bustle in home. It is combination of many tasks - packing, moving, loading, unloading, unpacking and rearranging. Relocation is really a big undertaking. You must make plan and get prepared to organize your move. Apart from these pains, moving is an expensive task. You have to spend lots of money in various processes. You have to buy packing supplies and hire professional moving agency to accomplish the tasks. But the amount spent on moving can never be backed. It is unproductive investment. So, try to make your move cheaper. You can do it. Make organized plan and preparation. You will certainly find that you can move easily by investing small amount. You just need to open your five senses and work with conscience.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are some tips to make your move cheaper and organized:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Collect boxes at cheaper price or free of cost: You can get boxes and cartons at very cheap price from the local grocery shops. Shopkeepers can also give you some boxes free of cost as they are useless to them. You can even collect wooden boxes at cheap prices from the fruit vendors and the liquor shops. So, you need not to spend much money in buying packing boxes. However, you can buy some modular boxes if you need few of them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do not buy too much bubble wraps, peanuts and foams: You can use towels and blankets for cushioning. Buy small amount of bubble wraps and peanuts to pack fragile items only. You can use pillow, cushion, old pieces of clothes and wadded papers to fill the extra space. Do not waste money in buying foam for filling space.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Get organized: Decide you want to hire a professional mover or ready to accomplish the tasks yourself. Make a plan accordingly. Schedule the dates for packing and moving. Always work on your schedule and do not leave today's work on tomorrow. Always work on time. Follow room-wise packing plan for your move. Make a packing platform. Keep all packing supplies in that platform only. Make a utility box and keep all those items that you need constantly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consider packing yourself: Though packing is tough task but you can do it easily after learning some easy packing tips. You can ask for such tips from one of the Ahmedabad packers movers. They readily get agreed to provide useful tips free of cost. You can easily pack most of the items of your home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consider packing yourself: Rent a truck and seek help of your friends and relatives for loading goods in the truck. If possible drive yourself or ask one of your friends to drive the truck. If not, hire a driver to drive the truck.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These are the steps to make home move cheaper and organized. You can easily move with your entire household items economically. If you feel it hard to pack and move your entire belongings, hire one of the moving companies to accomplish the task. They charge very genuinely for the services they provide. They also provide customized services. You can get the required services within your budget.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class="Apple-interchange-newline"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/mover" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mover&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/organization" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;organization&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/mover" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mover&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/organization" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;organization&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=mover" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mover&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=organization" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;organization&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/mover" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mover&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/organization" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;organization&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-2875194637662801385?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/2875194637662801385/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=2875194637662801385' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2875194637662801385'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2875194637662801385'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/09/moving-and-5-to-do-list.html' title='Moving and the 5 to do list'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-3815764005712772905</id><published>2010-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-08-10T09:00:02.688-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Business'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='group'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='company'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='affordable'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='payroll'/><title type='text'>Moving to Dallas ?</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://idxpro.cisdata.net/AR18442/Search/custom_link/?ss_id=5033099" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/8809/dallasskyline.jpg" alt="dallasskyline.jpg" height="281" width="720"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(204,51,0); FONT-SIZE: 14pt"&gt;Moving to Dallas ?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(204,51,0); FONT-SIZE: 14pt"&gt;Click on the picture to search for homes in the Entire Dallas City Limits!!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/affordable" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;affordable&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/business" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;business&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/company" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;company&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/group" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;group&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/payroll" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;payroll&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/affordable" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;affordable&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/business" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;business&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/company" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;company&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/group" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;group&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/payroll" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;payroll&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=affordable" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;affordable&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=business" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;business&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=company" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;company&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=group" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;group&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=payroll" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;payroll&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/affordable" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;affordable&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/business" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;business&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/company" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;company&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/group" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;group&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/payroll" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;payroll&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-3815764005712772905?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/3815764005712772905/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=3815764005712772905' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3815764005712772905'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3815764005712772905'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/08/moving-to-dallas.html' title='Moving to Dallas ?'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-787099222487006841</id><published>2010-07-27T04:50:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-07-27T04:50:33.048-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='robert'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='russell'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Speaker'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='robertjrussell'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='REALTOR'/><title type='text'>Who is Robert J Russell</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-FAMILY: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-SIZE: 13px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Do you need a Speaker for your next event ?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-FAMILY: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-SIZE: 13px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Call Robert J Russell - check out his Speaking website:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://robertjrussellspeaker.weebly.com/speaker.html"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://robertjrussellspeaker.weebly.com/speaker.html&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-FAMILY: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-SIZE: 13px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Watch the video - Who is Robert J Russell &amp;gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcUlvMoPwyA"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcUlvMoPwyA&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/realtor" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;realtor&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/robert" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robert&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/russell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;russell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/speaker" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;speaker&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/realtor" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;realtor&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/robert" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robert&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/russell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;russell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/speaker" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;speaker&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=realtor" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;realtor&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=robert" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robert&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=russell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;russell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=speaker" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;speaker&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/realtor" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;realtor&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/robert" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robert&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/russell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;russell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/speaker" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;speaker&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-787099222487006841?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/787099222487006841/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=787099222487006841' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/787099222487006841'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/787099222487006841'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/07/who-is-robert-j-russell.html' title='Who is Robert J Russell'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-7650435349084031798</id><published>2010-07-22T03:53:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-07-22T03:53:23.345-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='moving'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Relocation'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='movers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='move'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='packing'/><title type='text'>The insanity of moving</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(153,153,153) 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(244,244,244); PADDING-LEFT: 7px; PADDING-RIGHT: 7px; PADDING-TOP: 7px; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial" class="title"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;* Are you moving or planning a move ? Here are my ideas of moving and how to prepare yourself.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 13px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Moving is never easy, and factoring in some useful moving tips might mean that you never have to say you are sorry. There can be a lot of trauma and heartbreak involved in leaving a familiar domestic environment and settling into a strange one. We tend to develop an attachment to familiar surroundings and people. However, when there is no other option but to move to a new home, there are two reasons for following some moving tips for the process:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Planning the move and streamlining the process in advance will save time, money and effort.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Following a plan will keep anxieties about moving and nagging feelings of regret at bay.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you have a sizeable household to move across the state, you will of course need the services of a moving company. You can contract such services or choose to do it yourself via the U-Haul option. Either option will entail involving other family members, as well as friends and neighbors. Once you have your volunteer list together, delegate specific tasks to them for moving day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you organize your household for moving, you will doubtlessly find yourself left with an amazing amount of stuff that has no real place in a new household. We tend to accumulate many things when we stay at any place for a long period. These things often fall into disuse as we buy new stuff. Such possessions include old books, carpets, furniture and kitchenware. Transporting such disused articles to the new home, where they will not be uses either, is not only expensive. The fact is that nobody really wants to start afresh with old accessories. However, sentimental attachment is a powerful force and no one would just leave such treasures of the past behind. Here are some moving tips related to such articles:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can get rid of many of such articles by holding a garage sale. There are many ingenious ways of having one nowadays. Posting notices around the neighborhood can be tedious and embarrassing. A traditional garage sale involves sorting the junk, categorizing it and displaying it to advantage in restricted space. Nobody really enjoys the process of physically haggling with bargain hunters. However, the traditional garage sale is a feasible option if you engage someone else to conduct it for you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For those who do not like the idea of a traditional garage sale, the Internet offers us the facility of virtual garage sales. You would be surprised at how fast some of your unwanted items can sell online. Your fascination for these articles may have worn off, but that does not mean that others will not find them useful or novel. You benefit in various ways from selling such articles online, but the most significant ones are:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;You don't get your hands dirty and sell things individually.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;You don't have a lot of strangers invading your territory at a time when you are probably at emotional ebb.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;You will generate a better price.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;You can launch a virtual garage sale by contacting online auction houses. Many are available on the Internet and they come in different formats, with different options. You should shop around until you find the most suitable one. Plan the online selling of your redundant stuff well ahead of the actual moving date. The process is worth it but can take a little time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After all redundant articles have been eliminated, allot a specific timeframe for the actual act of moving. One can shift smaller households in a single day, while larger ones may take two or even three days. Factor in unavoidable delays (road mishaps, vehicle breakdowns etc.) and finalize a period. Then organize the actual shift in such a way that you achieve everything on your within it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/move" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;move&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/movers" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;movers&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/relocation" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relocation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/move" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;move&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/movers" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;movers&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/relocation" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relocation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=move" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;move&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=movers" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;movers&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=relocation" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relocation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/move" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;move&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/movers" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;movers&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/moving" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;moving&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/packing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;packing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/relocation" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relocation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-7650435349084031798?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/7650435349084031798/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=7650435349084031798' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/7650435349084031798'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/7650435349084031798'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/07/insanity-of-moving.html' title='The insanity of moving'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-4052746037631442321</id><published>2010-07-16T03:41:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-07-16T03:41:59.796-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Relocation'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Home'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='stress'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='living'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Florida'/><title type='text'>Reduce Stress - Live in Florida</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font color="#373A30" face="Verdana"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana, arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(55,58,48); FONT-SIZE: 12px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Living in a big city doesn't always mean instant advantages. Traffic noise and pollution, deadlines set for yesterday, rising crime and insurance rates, and the cost of living index, to name a few: Stresses in today's cities can overwhelm the senses and well-being of even the strongest. The negative effects of city life can impact all facets of life.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Health&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Extended exposure to constant stress reduces one's ability to withstand disease and permanently damage one's physical health:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. High Blood Pressure&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. Heart Attacks&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. Strokes&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. Ulcers&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5. Natural Immunity&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6. Sleep&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7. Teeth and Gums&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8. And many more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;But the negative effects don't stop with just the body. One's mental health often suffers, as well:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Depression&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. Desperation&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. Night Sweats&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. Nightmares&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5. Road Rage&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6. And so much more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Friends, family, co-workers, bosses, customers, and even strangers can both affect and be affected by common stresses found in the city. Unless one completely sequesters him- or herself from exposure, there's really no way to avoid city life stress. But that presents its own stress factor list.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;What might be done to reduce those stresses? Move to a quiet, beautiful beach town in Florida!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Calmer Living&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Reduction or elimination of major stress factors plays a huge part in improving both physical well-being and mental and emotional outlook. Changing living locations to a slower, calmer, more pleasant environment, such as smaller beach towns on the Florida coastline can vastly improve physical and mental health.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Commutes of minutes instead of hours, breathtaking scenery, and affordable living costs all present themselves in Florida beach towns. Sandy beaches, friendly neighbors and shop keepers embrace peaceful living and incorporate serenity into the way of life along Florida's coastlines.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;From Jupiter to Marlboro to Fort Meyers to Seaside and many more, Florida coastal beach towns offer the potential of reductions in virtually every category--except, of course, increases in peace of mind, relaxation, and overall satisfaction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Solution&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Close to major metropolitan areas or more isolated locations, Florida beach towns offer visitors and residents, old and new, new revised outlooks and reduced stress combined with a peaceful way of life!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class="Apple-interchange-newline"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. 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If you haven't yet, we invite you to&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,102,0); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://www.facebook.com/robertjrussellcompaniesfanpage" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1277865659_10" class="yshortcuts"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;join the group&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The tips we give out aren't paid for or sponsored in any way. We're extremely grateful to have our loyal readers, because as we've mentioned in the past, &lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1277865659_11" class="yshortcuts"&gt;our mission is to help people all over the world.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;However, when you think of Robert J Russell, we hope that you will visit our website first!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Visit us online at&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,102,0); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1277865659_12" class="yshortcuts"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;strong&gt;or by phone at 972-679-9029. Thanks!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/media" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;media&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/social" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;social&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/tips" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;tips&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/website" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/media" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;media&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/social" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;social&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/tips" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;tips&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/website" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-5434787677717009093?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/5434787677717009093/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=5434787677717009093' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5434787677717009093'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5434787677717009093'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/06/family-travel-tips-for-this-summer.html' title='Are you on Facebook - Check out our page'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-1104909801576176047</id><published>2010-06-19T07:58:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-06-19T07:58:00.525-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='repair'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Homes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Home'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='DFW'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='dallas'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='clutter'/><title type='text'>Make Sense Out of Projects</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, arial; FONT-SIZE: 11px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;It's not easy to admit that it's our own behavior that sets the tone in our home. We are just as responsible for the mess as we are for the good taste in decor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SPRAY PAINT FOR FABRICS&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;We all hate it when mats, lamp shades or throw pillows don't come in the colors we like. Upholstery Fabric Paint by Simply Spray is a non-toxic, non-flammable aerosol spray can that allows you to paint over couches, chairs, pillows, linens, lampshades and more. Eco-friendly and water-based, the paint is an alternative to other harsh-smelling indoor sprays. Another plus is that it remains soft to the touch and is fade resistant. (It won't rub off either.) Cost is $12.99 per can. Details: simplyspray.com.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;BAD HABITS LEAD TO CLUTTER&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;I know it seems that way, but clutter doesn't just happen. Most of the time, it's the direct result of a few bad habits that you may not realize lead to clutter, according to an article in the June edition of Good Housekeeping. The four habits mentioned are "Being afraid to let go of items," (in case you might need them later); "Not stepping up to tasks," (walking right by something that needs your attention); the worst of all, "Procrastination," (delaying a decision about what to do with your things); and "Buying too much stuff," (shocked?). Check out the mag on newstands now for solutions for each of these habits.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;HOME REPAIR PROJECTS THAT MAKE SENSE&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;It is not fun when you realize that a home repair project you just finished - and spent your savings and time on - either isn't going to save you money or wasn't even necessary to begin with. "Green Sense for the Home: Rating the Real Payoff From 50 Green Home Projects" (The Taunton Press; $21.95) by Eric Corey Freed and Kevin Daum examines the issue and helps homeowners determine what projects make financial sense. Covering 16 projects you can do today (changing light bulbs or using less toilet water), 21 you can do tomorrow (adding solar power or installing a whole-house fan) and 13 you can do when building a new home (reclaiming your water and building with reclaimed or recycled materials), the book offers two different and sometimes opposing perspectives on each. An in-depth analysis breaks projects down according to their impact on the environment and, of course, your wallet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/clutter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;clutter&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/dfw" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dfw&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/homes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;homes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/repair" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;repair&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/clutter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;clutter&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/dfw" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dfw&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/homes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;homes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/repair" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;repair&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-1104909801576176047?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/1104909801576176047/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=1104909801576176047' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1104909801576176047'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1104909801576176047'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/06/make-sense-out-of-projects.html' title='Make Sense Out of Projects'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-3871129771981924381</id><published>2010-05-09T04:29:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-05-09T04:29:00.747-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='States'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='electric'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='cash'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='car'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='government'/><title type='text'>CASH for Clunkers</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Cash rebates for clunker vehicles were such a smash hit,&lt;a href="http://www.energysavers.gov/financial/70022.html" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"&gt;the government is at it again&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; - this time offering you cash for your worn-out household appliances.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The $300-million federal program - administered through the states - will provide consumers with a cash rebate of up to 15% of the cost of each new Energy Star-rated refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, clothes washer, water heater and room air conditioner. Expect rebates to run from $100 to $250, depending on the cost of the appliance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;But wait - there's more.&lt;/strong&gt; The program also covers central AC/heating systems, providing rebates of up to $1,500 for Energy Star-rated replacement systems plus a federal income tax credit of up to $1,500 on purchases made by the end of this year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Though a few states - Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Rhode Island - have jumped the gun and already have the incentives in play, most other states will launch the program later this month. States' shares of the federal program are based on population. California will receive the top amount: $35.3 million; Wyoming, the smallest: $511,000.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Based on early results in the four front-runner states, the appliance program will be as wildly popular with consumers as the cash-for-clunker car program was.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Appliance manufacturers and retailers are excited, eager for the sales boost the program will provide. The rebates should push sales of appliances to $22 billion this year - up 10% over last year, when sales bottomed at around $20 billion - though that's still down 15% from the record hit during the housing boom in 2005.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;General Electric, Westinghouse, Whirlpool, Maytag, Trane, Carrier, Viking and other manufacturers, as well as national chain and independent retailers, hope that many consumers in need of one appliance will decide to spring for another as well, since the government is paying part of the tab. Many retailers are also planning discount tie-in promotions, offering big savings on related merchandise - such as outdoor gas grills and riding lawn mowers - that's not eligible for the federal rebates.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Is there a catch? Only a small one, but it shouldn't cause anyone any grief. Uncle Sam wants proof that an old appliance is being recycled before paying the rebate on the replacement. But reputable installers will be happy to haul your old appliance away for recycling at little or no charge after they set up your new one.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Reprinted with permission. All Contents © 2010 The Kiplinger Washington Editors.&lt;a href="http://www.kiplinger.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.kiplinger.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/car" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;car&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/cash" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;cash&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/electric" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;electric&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/government" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;government&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/states" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;states&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/car" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;car&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/cash" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;cash&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/electric" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;electric&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/government" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;government&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/states" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;states&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-3871129771981924381?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/3871129771981924381/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=3871129771981924381' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3871129771981924381'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3871129771981924381'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/05/cash-for-clunkers.html' title='CASH for Clunkers'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-9079625314094916267</id><published>2010-04-30T05:05:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-04-30T05:05:52.038-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='metro'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='city'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='dallas'/><title type='text'>Tomorrow Real Estate Trends</title><content type='html'>&lt;h1 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 5px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(218,116,5); FONT-SIZE: 25px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Where are the trouble spots in the U.S. ?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" id="yfi_pf_main_my_bar_container"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 886px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 2323px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" id="yfi_pf_main_my_bar_primary"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" id="yfi_pf_article"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="hd"&gt;&lt;cite style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(121,121,121); FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;by Francesca Levy&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wednesday, April 28, 2010&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;cite style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(121,121,121); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; PADDING-TOP: 5px" class="provider"&gt;provided by&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;a style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; COLOR: rgb(15,85,195); TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px" href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AuLD8x3haIG04_vtn2..ITAiBa1_;_ylu=X3oDMTBzdTBraWc4BHBvcwMxBHNlYwNhcnRpY2xlBHNsawNmb3JiZXM-/SIG=10re7fb8t/**http://www.forbes.com/" class="logo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/i/cz/legacy/forbes_170x33_logo.gif" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; WIDTH: 85px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 30px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" title="Forbes" height="30" width="67" alt="Forbes"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 885px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 2228px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="bd"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In these cities, the housing crisis is expected to worsen.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Since the late 1970s casino-rich Atlantic City, N.J., has been a beachfront escape for poker aficionados and Keno-loving retirees from Philadelphia, Northern New Jersey and New York.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="354" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 10px; WIDTH: 354px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; HEIGHT: 182px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="right"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More from &lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/" target="_blank"&gt;robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR18442/NEWS/Dallas+Metro+Area/1271125831.html" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;Real Estate Outlook: Signs of Recovery&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; COLOR: rgb(15,85,195); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AuTFEx0NveJg16_EI3KHnGQiBa1_;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZ201OWw0BHBvcwMzBHNlYwNhcnRpY2xlBHNsawNsaXN0dG9tb3Jyb3c-/SIG=1457ends3/**http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/27/housing-bust-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-foreclosure-homes-prices_slide_2.html?partner=yahoo"&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;a href="http://robertjrussellspeaker.weebly.com/robert-j-russell-show.html" target="_blank"&gt;Online Radio Show&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;• &lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/robertjrussellcompaniesfanpage" target="_blank"&gt;Join us on Facebook!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Today, buying a home in Atlantic City is a gamble. Of 315 cities measured by Local Market Monitor, a Cary, N.C.-based real estate research firm, the Atlantic City metro is expected to experience the largest drop in home value over the next 12 months. A pocket of Northwestern cities where restrictions on building have artificially inflated prices, and smaller metros whose housing markets have benefited from internal migration, join Atlantic City on our list of real estate trouble spots.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Like cities in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, Atlantic City saw a dramatic run-up in prices during the housing boom due, in part, to speculative purchases of second homes; Atlantic County includes popular beachfront spots such as Margate. But while those bubble markets have already burst, Atlantic City still has significant price depreciation ahead; Local Market Monitor predicts the metro's median home price will fall 9% in the next year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="40%" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 10px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; BORDER-TOP: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(215,222,238) 1px solid; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="right"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #d77b16"&gt;Popular Stories on Real Estate!:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;a href="http://idxpro.cisdata.net/AR18442/Search/quick/?IDXSESS=sfjtkp95curalvhkfugtral2c1" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;Dallas - Fort Worth MLS - Search Here&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; COLOR: rgb(15,85,195); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/109294/how-to-fight-the-irs;_ylt=Asg36mldmhdREDYrtj5fZ4YiBa1_;_ylu=X3oDMTBtbTlzZ2I5BHBvcwM3BHNlYwNhcnRpY2xlBHNsawM-"&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR18442/NEW_CONSTRUCTION/Dallas+Metro+Area/1271125831.html" target="_blank"&gt;International Properties for Sale&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR18442/SEARCH_MLS/Dallas+Metro+Area/1271125831.html?acnt=AR18442&amp;amp;ZKEY=&amp;amp;action=ACTIVATE_FRAMES&amp;amp;button=SEARCH_MLS&amp;amp;linkout=http://idxpro.cisdata.net/AR18442/index.html" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-converted-space"&gt;Foreclosures &amp;amp; Short Sales&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em" size="1"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"We have not seen the bottom in that market," says Jeffrey Otteau, president of East Brunswick, New Jersey-based Otteau Valuation Group, who says the city is still saddled with 12 months of unsold housing inventory.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;As the effects of the recession sink in, the market for second homes in the metro has all but dried up, delaying a local recovery. What's more, tumbling revenues for the gambling industry have cost casino workers jobs, damaging the area's employment base.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Behind the Numbers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;To put together our list of housing markets expected to drop, Local Market Monitor measured 315 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and selected the ones where it anticipated average home prices would fall most in the next 12 months. It then narrowed the list to cities where actual average home prices were at least 10% above their equilibrium price--that's where home prices should be based on economic fundamentals, and the price to which they will likely return. LMM calculates its equilibrium price and home value forecast based on trends in local jobs and income as well as the historic movement of home prices. Forbes relied on Local Market Monitor to rank each metro.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Cities in the Pacific Northwest appear on our list, in part, because some of the strictest land planning policies in the country have curbed sprawl and propped prices.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"It's very hard to overbuild in this region, because of urban growth boundaries and a fairly limited supply of developable property," says Randall Pozdena, managing director of ECONorthwest, a Eugene, Ore.-based consultancy. "Wages are 20 to 30% below what wages in the Bay Area are, but home prices are relatively high. We've created an artificial scarcity situation."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;In Portland, Ore., homes are overvalued by 31%; in Bellingham, Wash., housing is 22% overpriced and in Eugene, Ore. homes are 21% more than they should be. Local Market Monitor expects prices in Portland to fall 9% in the next year; Eugene prices to drop by 8%; and Bellingham to see a 9% fall.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Smaller metros like Glens Falls, N.Y., Flagstaff, Ariz., and Salisbury, Md., all of which have a population under 200,000, are expected to see home prices drop 11%, 13% and 8%, respectively in the next year. In these places, small shifts in the local economy can cause big ripples.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"If you have one or two large employers in a smaller metro, they will have a greater impact on the jobs and income situation," says Carolyn Beggs, Local Market Monitor COO. "In larger metros there are more employers, so each employer won't have as great an effect."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;All but two of the cities on our list saw above-average rates of population growth in the first half of the last decade. Some, like Provo, Utah, and Portland, Ore., saw their head counts rise by double-digit numbers (22% and 18%, respectively). Because in-migration typically boosts demand for housing, the national recession is due to take a particular toll on them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"During a recession internal migration within the U.S. drops sharply," says Ingo Wizner, president of Local Market Monitor, noting that relocating becomes less financially feasible in hard times."Home prices in these markets are likely to fall for several years, but will then recover as above-average population growth resumes." Both Provo, a college town, and trendy Portland have sustaining appeal to young movers, which will likely pick up along with economic recovery.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Pozdena's outlook about Portland and other Pacific Northwest cities is more measured. While he predicts a short-term softening in prices in Portland, Bellingham and Eugene, he believes that limits to growth and continued in-migration will keep demand high.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"I do think we've been buoyed by some unusual forces," he says. "But I see most of those continuing, rather than reversing."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;List: Tomorrow's Real Estate Trouble Spots&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;While metros like Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles have gained notoriety for plummeting home prices, it's not those markets that have the most to worry about now. These new housing trouble spots, most of which saw home prices peak after the national average, are set to see major price corrections in the next year. To identify them, Local Market Monitor, a Cary, N.C.-based real estate research firm found the Metropolitan Statistical Areas where it forecast the biggest average-home-price drops in the next 12 months, and where the actual average home price was 10% or more above what it would be without market volatility. Forbes relied on Local Market Monitor to rank each metro.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Metropolitan Statistical Area: Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="132" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="175" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px" height="123"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2010/04/ipt/1272476941.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="150" alt="car3.jpg" width="200"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;small style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Equilibrium Home Price: $159,117.00&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Overpriced: 54%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;12-month Price Forecast: -9%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;em&gt;*Forbes relied on Local Market Monitor to rank each metro.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Metropolitan Statistical Area: Provo-Orem, Utah&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="132" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="175" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px" height="123"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2010/04/ipt/1272477062.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="150" alt="car3.jpg" width="200"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;small style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;AP/George Frey&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Equilibrium Home Price: $136,247.00&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Overpriced: 44%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;12-month Price Forecast:-12%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;em&gt;*Forbes relied on Local Market Monitor to rank each metro.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Metropolitan Statistical Area: Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="132" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="175" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px" height="123"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2010/04/ipt/1272477388.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="150" alt="car3.jpg" width="200"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;small style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;Shutterstock&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Equilibrium Home Price: $189,818.00&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Overpriced: 31%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;12-month Price Forecast: -9%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;em&gt;*Forbes relied on Local Market Monitor to rank each metro.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Metropolitan Statistical Area: Glens Falls, N.Y.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="132" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="175" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px" height="123"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2010/04/ipt/1272477539.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="150" alt="car3.jpg" width="200"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;small style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;AP/Mike Groll&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Equilibrium Home Price: $177,003.00&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Overpriced: 22%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;12-month Price Forecast: -11%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;em&gt;*Forbes relied on Local Market Monitor to rank each metro.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5. Metropolitan Statistical Area: Bellingham, Wash.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="132" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="175" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px" height="123"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2010/04/ipt/1272477656.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="150" alt="car3.jpg" width="200"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;small style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;Cynthia Smith/iStock&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Equilibrium Home Price: $230,024.00&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Overpriced: 22%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;12-month Price Forecast: -9%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;em&gt;*Forbes relied on Local Market Monitor to rank each metro.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; COLOR: rgb(15,85,195); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AodCrQ.awESjBFaFBDyjCrUiBa1_;_ylu=X3oDMTEzMjFpaTg1BHBvcwMxMQRzZWMDYXJ0aWNsZQRzbGsDY2xpY2toZXJldG9z/SIG=1457ends3/**http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/27/housing-bust-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-foreclosure-homes-prices_slide_2.html?partner=yahoo"&gt;Click here to see the full list of Tomorrow's Real Estate Trouble Spots&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br class="Apple-interchange-newline"/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/city" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;city&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/metro" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;metro&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/real+estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/city" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;city&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/metro" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;metro&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=city" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;city&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=metro" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;metro&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/city" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;city&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/dallas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;dallas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/metro" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;metro&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-9079625314094916267?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/9079625314094916267/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=9079625314094916267' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/9079625314094916267'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/9079625314094916267'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/04/tomorrow-real-estate-trends.html' title='Tomorrow Real Estate Trends'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-3314781683532853000</id><published>2010-04-04T19:59:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-04-04T19:59:39.569-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Flower Mound'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='seller'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Buyer'/><title type='text'>Is now a time to sell or to buy or maybe both ?</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;RISMEDIA, April 1, 2010-The real estate brokerage industry is in the process of coming out of a significant storm that has wreaked havoc on a large percentage of firms. Some have failed, some are hanging on,&lt;span id="more-45424"/&gt; and yet others are reinventing themselves for the future. Regardless of your company's situation, it's time to assess where you want to be in the next few years and what it's going to take to get there. Doing nothing is simply not an option.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;For three years, innovation has been stifled due to the fact brokerages have been in "survival mode" and investments in the future, by necessity, have been largely ignored. Unfortunately, the expectation of agents and consumers has never been higher, thus forcing the industry to now start playing catch-up as the market begins to show signs of life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;Some brokerages see the next 24-36 months as a time of unprecedented opportunity to reinvent themselves and consolidate market share. Others, due to age or financial limitations, see quite a tough road ahead as it could take years to get back to earning levels that would allow for a reasonable exit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;If a brokerage does not have the time or capital to reinvent, what are its options today?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As 2010 continues to unfold, two camps exist:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sellers:&lt;/strong&gt;There are many reasons, personal and otherwise, why an owner decides to sell. Due to the circumstances that have led us to this point in time, several things are undeniable:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;- Brokerages must innovate and reinvent in order to be viable in the future.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- Most brokerages have lost most, if not all of the value they had three years ago.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- It will take several years for those valuations to return (if they ever do) and that is only if the innovation and re-invention mentioned above are successfully accomplished.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;If these brokers are not willing or able to invest the time, effort, and dollars necessary to adapt to the new real estate brokerage paradigm, their best option might be to consider an exit today and leave that task to others.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Buyers:&lt;/strong&gt; Over the past 12-24 months, with few exceptions, brokerages have been reluctant to do any sort of expansion. Brokerages with resources and vision are seeing 2010 and 2011 as opportunities to consolidate market share and, in the process, recruit solid talent. These opportunities exist for the following reasons:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;- Due to the reasons given above for those who might be sellers today, buyers have the opportunity to increase company dollars and consolidate market share while making investments necessary to reinvent.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;- Many local and regional markets are lacking in leadership and innovation. Those who are giving sellers a dignified exit strategy while creating the tools and systems to succeed in the future will be seen as leaders and great destinations for selling brokerages and agent recruits alike.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;As the industry continues to maneuver and gain solid ground in the midst of seismic changes, 2010 represents the year of reckoning regardless of which camp a brokerage falls into. Whether to sell or buy depends largely on one's desire or ability to invest in a wholesale reinvention.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;Jose Perez is the president of PCMS Consulting, a full service consulting, sales and management organization that specializes in real estate industry issues.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/buyer" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;buyer&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/flower+mound" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;flower mound&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/real+estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/seller" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;seller&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/buyer" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;buyer&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/flower%20mound" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;flower mound&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/seller" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;seller&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=buyer" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;buyer&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=flower%20mound" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;flower mound&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=seller" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;seller&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/buyer" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;buyer&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/flower%20mound" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;flower mound&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/seller" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;seller&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-3314781683532853000?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/3314781683532853000/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=3314781683532853000' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3314781683532853000'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3314781683532853000'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-now-time-to-sell-or-to-buy-or-maybe.html' title='Is now a time to sell or to buy or maybe both ?'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-1055057094386736249</id><published>2010-03-23T05:37:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-03-23T05:37:53.590-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='insurance'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='health'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Texas'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='prices'/><title type='text'>Health Insurance Reform</title><content type='html'>&lt;center style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: block"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: ARIAL; COLOR: #808080; FONT-SIZE: 0.75em"&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" width="600" cellspacing="0" align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" cellpadding="0" border="0"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table-row; VERTICAL-ALIGN: inherit"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://content.mkt922.com/ra/2010/1636/03/2883271/aetna_logo2.gif" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="100" alt="" width="120"/&gt;&lt;img src="http://content.mkt922.com/ra/2010/1636/03/2883271/header_480[1]3.gif" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="100" width="480" alt="" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table-row; VERTICAL-ALIGN: inherit"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="120" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px" height="252" valign="top"&gt;&lt;img src="http://content.mkt922.com/ra/2010/1636/03/2883271/flag2.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="240" alt="" width="120"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="480" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px" valign="top"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" border="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; DISPLAY: table-row; VERTICAL-ALIGN: inherit"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 15px; PADDING-RIGHT: 15px; DISPLAY: table-cell; PADDING-TOP: 15px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px" valign="top"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: small"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(128,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;A weekly compilation from Aetna of health care-related developments in Washington, D.C. and state legislatures across the country&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;Week of March 22, 2010&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;em style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;Late in the night Sunday, the House of Representatives helped President Obama deliver what no other President has been able to do -- a significant reform of the nation's health care system. The process is complicated by the fact that the House first had to pass the Senate's version of health care reform, and then pass a package of fixes that the Senate will have to take up separately through a "reconciliation" procedure requiring only a simple majority vote. To help figure out what health care reform will look like if the reconciliation bill is adopted, a number of news organizations are offering their own summaries or guides to the changes, including: &lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,51,153); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://links.mkt2614.com/ctt?kn=6&amp;amp;m=2883271&amp;amp;r=MTI3NDM3MjYxOTQS1&amp;amp;b=0&amp;amp;j=MTc0NjE4NTc0S0&amp;amp;mt=1&amp;amp;rt=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1269347427_1" class="yshortcuts"&gt;The New York Times&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,51,153); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://links.mkt2614.com/ctt?kn=7&amp;amp;m=2883271&amp;amp;r=MTI3NDM3MjYxOTQS1&amp;amp;b=0&amp;amp;j=MTc0NjE4NTc0S0&amp;amp;mt=1&amp;amp;rt=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1269347427_2" class="yshortcuts"&gt;USA Today&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, and the &lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,51,153); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://links.mkt2614.com/ctt?kn=4&amp;amp;m=2883271&amp;amp;r=MTI3NDM3MjYxOTQS1&amp;amp;b=0&amp;amp;j=MTc0NjE4NTc0S0&amp;amp;mt=1&amp;amp;rt=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1269347427_3" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Chicago Tribune&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. Also, you can read online what the&lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,51,153); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://links.mkt2614.com/ctt?kn=5&amp;amp;m=2883271&amp;amp;r=MTI3NDM3MjYxOTQS1&amp;amp;b=0&amp;amp;j=MTc0NjE4NTc0S0&amp;amp;mt=1&amp;amp;rt=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1269347427_4" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Congressional Budget Office&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;had to say about the bill it estimates will cost $940 billion over the next decade.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;Federal&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;On Sunday, the House approved the previously passed Senate version (219 to 212) of health care reform, which sends this measure to the President for signature on Tuesday.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;The House also approved (220 to 211) the House-initiated "fix" to this Senate bill (called the Reconciliation bill) to revise items in the Senate bill that are repugnant to the House. This Reconciliation measure has to be approved by the Senate (scheduled for this week) to legally change the Senate bill. While Republicans in the Senate have more procedural tools at their disposal to derail the Reconciliation bill, the very nature of a reconciliation bill is that it only takes 51 votes, rather than the "normal" 60 filibuster-proof votes in the Senate on such major items as health care. Therefore, it seems likely that the Senate will indeed approve the changes, though perhaps not this week. If there are any changes on the Senate floor to the Reconciliation bill, even one word, it would have to go back to the House for yet another vote.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;Since the beginning of the year, Congress has extended for one month at a time two health-related items: &lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;1) suspension of imposition of a 21 percent cut in doctor reimbursements under Medicare; and 2) continuation of worker eligibility for a 65 percent subsidy to pay for COBRA coverage.&lt;/strong&gt; The end of March deadline will be extended yet again through April, once the Senate agrees with the extenders bill passed by the House last week. Both chambers have passed a lengthier extension of these two items (the "doc fix" would go through September and the COBRA item would go to the end of 2010) as part of a separate larger bill, but with no compromise in sight Congress may have to extend these two items yet again at the end of April.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;States&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;COLORADO: The bill requiring maternity and contraceptive coverage in individual policies and eliminating pregnancy as a pre-existing conclusion took a turn for the worse last week.&lt;/strong&gt;Originating in the House, the measure had been amended to only require that a coverage option be provided. The Senate, which was expected to accept the bill as amended, passed a version requiring that coverage for reproductive services be included in the majority of the individual plans marketed by a carrier. At the request of the governor, the bill has now been referred to a conference committee.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;CONNECTICUT&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;: The Insurance and Real Estate Committee reported out a number of bills of interest last week, including: &lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;An Act Concerning Rate Approvals For Individual Health Insurance Policies&lt;/strong&gt;-- the committee substituted language 1) removing the ability of AG and Health Care Advocate (HCA) to bill the plans for consultants, 2) removing the ability of the HCA and AG to appeal to the court, 3) narrowing the filing time frame for the approval to 120 days, and 4) starting to define terms and processes. The Committee's Republicans all voted no on the bill, indicating that they were concerned that the Committee hadn't gotten it right yet. &lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;An Act Concerning Appeals of Health insurance Benefits Denials&lt;/strong&gt; -- the bill currently requires that upon the request of a member that a health plan provide all specific documents and information that were NOT provided by the enrollee or their provider that were considered in the denial. &lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;An Act Concerning Standards in Health Care Provider Contracts&lt;/strong&gt;-- although a "standards in contracting" bill was enacted into law last session, providers continue to push for even greater limitations on contracting, including prohibitions on down-coding of claims. Other bills reported out include bleeding disorder coverage bill, a bill that would require hospitals to charge uninsured patients no more than 110 percent of Medicare, and a bill that would raise the medical malpractice threshold requirements for various providers.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;GEORGIA: The legislation imposing limitations on the use of rental networks was deferred after Aetna helped educate legislators about the need for further amendments to the bill.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;Most importantly, the bill still does not contain an exemption for the requirements of ERISA plans and non-ERISA self-funded plans. Aetna continues to work with the legislators on this issue and anticipates the bill may be heard next week. No further action has been taken on the House bill imposing a 1.6 percent tax on the premiums of health plans. Indications from the Governor's office are that it may decide not to pursue this bill. However, we are watching the issue closely.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;INDIANA: The legislature adjourned March 13 with no resolution to the major issues in Indiana.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;Specifically, the Republicans were unable to move a bill to delay imposition of new taxes to support the unemployment compensation fund or authorize a ballot initiative to permanently cap property taxes, and the Democrats were unable to move their agenda on education funding, creating jobs and providing greater assistance to the unemployed. With the exception of a bill dealing with emergency medical treatment of employees covered by workers' compensation, no insurance bills survived. Bills defeated included a push by the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) to allow providers to pick and choose the plans offered by an insurer that they would participate in and an initiative that would have required health insurers to provide extensive data to Indiana DOI regarding premiums and loss ratios. In addition mandatory recognition of assignment of benefits for out-of-network providers and the Indiana Dental Association's initiative to prohibit dental plans from imposing or negotiating fee schedules on non-covered services were defeated. Of note is that ethics legislation did pass both houses, and it is expected that the Governor will sign the bill impacting lobbying registration and reporting; it also limits who may serve as a lobbyist.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;MISSOURI&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;: With eight weeks to go in the legislative session, &lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;the House overwhelmingly approved the "Freedom of Health Care Act," which would send voters a constitutional amendment to prevent them being compelled to participate in any federal health care plan.&lt;/strong&gt; The "yes" votes included all House Republicans and more than a third of Democrats. The Senate gave final approval to a bill requiring health plans to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. On the budget front, Governor Nixon cut another $126 million in state spending, which means he has now vetoed or withheld almost $850 million from the budget the General Assembly approved last May. Because falling revenues show no immediate signs of improving, further cuts appear certain before the fiscal year ends on June 30. Analysts are projecting a $500 million shortfall in the budget blueprint the Governor proposed in January, prompting serious talk about restructuring state government and broad promises of bone-nicking budget cuts. One large target is the Medicaid program, and a preliminary draft of the appropriations bill is holding $100 million for physician services contingent upon a $300 million windfall that might come Missouri's way if the U.S. Congress extends the federal budget stimulus package.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;NEW JERSEY: The governor recently gave his fiscal year 2011 budget address to a joint session of the legislature, outlining his plan for addressing a $10.7 billion state deficit.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;The proposed budget calls for drastic cuts across all sectors of government including: schools districts, FamilyCare (the state health program for the uninsured), the earned income tax credit, and the elimination property tax rebates. In contrast to past years, there were no new proposed tax increases. However, some cost shifting is anticipated in the form of increased assessments on individuals and businesses. Of note is a $2 million expenditure increase at the Department of Banking &amp;amp; Insurance, which will be borne by insurers in the state. In his effort to stimulate the state economy, the governor proposed discontinuing a 4 percent corporate business tax surcharge as well as allowing the surtax on high income earners to sunset. Further analysis will be done in the coming months, as the legislature begins its deliberation of the budget, to determine what, if any, impact the budget could have on Aetna. The budget must be signed by into law by June 30. The Senate unanimously confirmed Tom Considine as the next commissioner of the Department of Banking &amp;amp; Insurance. &lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;During his testimony before the senate judiciary committee, Considine advised that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey application to convert to a for-profit entity has been put on indefinite hold at the request of Horizon.&lt;/strong&gt; In addition to Considine, the senate confirmed Dr. Poonam Alaigh as commissioner for the Department of Health and Senior Services.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;NEW YORK: According to data recently released by the Department of Insurance to bolster the Governor's demand for prior approval of insurance rates, New York HMOs had premium increases of 17 percent on average this year, with some increases as high as 51 percent.&lt;/strong&gt; The data showed that premium changes varied widely between companies and between counties. The state continues to claim that reinstating prior approval will save $70 million. A coalition of insurers, business groups and providers strongly opposed the prior approval proposal as a measure that would impose price controls on insurance. In both press statements and full-page ads, the coalition underscored that reinstating prior approval ignores the real reason for rising health insurance premiums-increases in the underlying cost of health care services-and does nothing to address those costs. Real reform is needed that addresses the underlying costs of care, reduces the hidden taxes and ensures that health plans can continue to provide coverage to New Yorkers. The prior approval opposition group includes the Health Plan Association, the Employer Alliance, the hospital associations HANYS &amp;amp; GNYHA, the Business Council of New York State, the National Federation of Independent Business and several upstate business alliances.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;OKLAHOMA: Two bills seeking to streamline state employee health insurance benefits, in an effort to improve choice and lower costs, passed the House last week.&lt;/strong&gt; The bills are based on recommendations made in a report by Milliman Inc. to the Oklahoma State Employee Health Insurance Review Working Group, which met during the interim last year. The report was requested to examine the functions of the Employees Benefit Council (EBC) and the Oklahoma State Education and Employees Group Insurance Board (OSEEGIB) and to determine if a duplication of efforts existed between the two agencies. The report concluded that the functions of the two groups should be integrated to form a new organization focused not only on the payment of health and other insurance claims but also on the wellness of the covered individuals; one oversight board should be created that would include members from backgrounds that include medical and employee benefits, as well as those from legal and fiscal backgrounds; the new organization should include a stronger wellness component; the state employee benefit allowance is artificially inflated and should be recalculated; and more choice is needed in rural areas of the state. The bills now move to the Senate for consideration.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;WASHINGTON: Legislation authored by Democrat Eileen Cody to allow health insurance consumers the opportunity to purchase health insurance across state lines failed to gain traction in the legislature, despite support from the small business community and an endorsement from the chair of the health committee.&lt;/strong&gt;Although some regional insurance carriers had expressed concerns, the main opposition came from chiropractors and mental health providers who believed that provider protection laws would be uncut by the legislation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;Resources&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-SIZE: x-small"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,51,153); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" name="hrw1" href="http://links.mkt2614.com/ctt?kn=1&amp;amp;m=2883271&amp;amp;r=MTI3NDM3MjYxOTQS1&amp;amp;b=0&amp;amp;j=MTc0NjE4NTc0S0&amp;amp;mt=1&amp;amp;rt=0" rel="nofollow" id="hrw1" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1269347427_5" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Transforming Health Care in America&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(0,51,153); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" name="hrw2" href="http://links.mkt2614.com/ctt?kn=2&amp;amp;m=2883271&amp;amp;r=MTI3NDM3MjYxOTQS1&amp;amp;b=0&amp;amp;j=MTc0NjE4NTc0S0&amp;amp;mt=1&amp;amp;rt=0" rel="nofollow" id="hrw2" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none" id="lw_1269347427_6" class="yshortcuts"&gt;America's Health Insurance Plans&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; OUTLINE-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.insurancepricedright.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Insurance Available Online&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/health" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/prices" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;prices&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/health" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/prices" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;prices&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=health" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=prices" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;prices&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/health" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/prices" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;prices&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-1055057094386736249?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/1055057094386736249/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=1055057094386736249' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1055057094386736249'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1055057094386736249'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/03/health-insurance-reform.html' title='Health Insurance Reform'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-4320602290620096652</id><published>2010-03-05T18:55:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-03-05T18:55:08.258-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Housing'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='market'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='united states'/><title type='text'>The Ten Strongest Housing Markets in the U.S.</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Here are the top 10 strongest housing markets in the U.S.:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;1. Metro: Boulder (Colo.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="162" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="154" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fi/24/11/53.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="110" alt="camry.jpg" width="150"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt; 59.39%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $347,200&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt; 2.12%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt;3.86%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Boulder, about 35 miles northwest of Denver, has had a relatively stable housing market, in part, because it is home to strong employers, including the University of Colorado, as well as a base of affluent residents. The supply of homes is limited in Boulder by the mountains to the west and its tens of thousands of acres of protected open space.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;2. Metro: Spartanburg (S.C.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt; 56.81%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $106,900&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt; 1.81%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt;2.15%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Spartanburg, about 75 miles west of Charlotte, is home to the world headquarters of Denny's restaurant chain and three colleges-Converse College, Spartanburg Methodist College, and Wofford College. It has the state's highest per capita college student population. College towns such as Boulder, Colo., and Spartenburg have been somewhat buffered from the downturn because the schools provide solid jobs and a steady flow of apartment and home renters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;3. Metro: New Orleans&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="162" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="154" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2009/09/ipt/1251939641.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="110" alt="camry.jpg" width="150"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt; 53.62%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $148,000&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt;-0.61%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt;0.66%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;New Orleans' market is unique because of the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Construction is booming in the area thanks to federal incentives, insurance money, and private investment. Louisiana also benefits from having a strong energy sector and a limited number of the risky loans that were popular in the states with the biggest housing bubbles.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;4. Metro: Binghamton (N.Y.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt; 53.61%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $112,300&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt; 4.45%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt; 1.54%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Binghamton has had a relatively stable housing market. It didn't reach great heights during the boom and hasn't crashed either. The city in upstate New York is home to Binghamton University, one of the nation's highest-ranked public universities. The area also has an opera company, minor league baseball, and nearby hiking and fishing opportunities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;5. Metro: Fayetteville (N.C.) &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="162" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="154" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2009/09/ipt/1251939764.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="110" alt="camry.jpg" width="150"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt;53.23%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $119,800&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt; 13.12%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt; 2.22%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;The economy in Fayetteville, located near Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, is heavily dependent on the military. It also has seven museums, three colleges and universities, golf courses, and a historic downtown.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;6. Metro: Pittsburgh&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt; 48.80%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $108,700&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt; -2.89%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt; 0.12%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Pittsburgh, once a thriving steel town, now has a more diversified economy that includes biomedical, health, and education. Major employers include the University of Pittsburgh and Alcoa.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;7. Metro: Little Rock&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="162" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="154" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fi/24/44/13.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="110" alt="littlerock.jpg" width="150"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt; 46.96%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt;$121,200&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt;0.04%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt; 2.55%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Little Rock, the state capital, is a strong economy. The area has university, health-care, and government jobs and has a growing wind energy industry. Little Rock did not participate in the housing bubble and has remained steady since it burst elsewhere.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;8. Metro: Gainesville (Ga.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt; 46.63%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $139,100&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt; 4.18%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt; 4.50%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Gainesville, located on the shores of Lake Lanier about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta and 40 miles northwest of Athens, is known as the chicken capital of the world and even has a statue of a chicken topping an obelisk in the downtown. The area also has jobs in higher education, medicine, and retail.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;9. Metro: Burlington (N.C.) &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="162" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px" align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td width="154" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fi/24/44/14.jpg" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="110" alt="burlington.jpg" width="150"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt;45.41%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt; $125,200&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt;4.61%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt;0.33%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Burlington, a couple of hours northeast of Charlotte and a few hours from the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, was once a thriving textile town. Today its large employers include LabCorp, a major clinical laboratory company. Honda plans to build a plant in Burlington, where it will manufacture light commercial jets.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;10. Metro: Oklahoma&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Share of homes with increasing values:&lt;/strong&gt;40.20%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Median value:&lt;/strong&gt;$119,600&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Annual change:&lt;/strong&gt;4.94%&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Quarterly change:&lt;/strong&gt; 1.85%&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;The Oklahoma City metro area, which includes the state capital, is one of the nation's most affordable metros. The area is home to Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy and has strong oil and natural gas sectors.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/housing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;housing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/market" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;market&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/united+states" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;united states&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/housing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;housing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/market" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;market&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/united%20states" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;united states&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=housing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;housing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=market" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;market&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=united%20states" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;united states&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/housing" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;housing&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/market" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;market&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/united%20states" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;united states&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-4320602290620096652?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/4320602290620096652/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=4320602290620096652' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/4320602290620096652'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/4320602290620096652'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/03/ten-strongest-housing-markets-in-us.html' title='The Ten Strongest Housing Markets in the U.S.'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-6182496498061641603</id><published>2010-03-02T19:46:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-03-02T19:46:26.221-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Facebook'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='robertjrussell'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Twitter'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='public'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='company'/><title type='text'>How companies are using your Social Media Data....You Need to Know</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Companies are mining the social web to build dossiers on you. Information posted publicly on blogs, &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://mashable.com/social-media/facebook"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://mashable.com/social-media/twitter"&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt;, forums and other sites is fair game. It is yet another reminder that people need to be aware of what they are posting on social networking sites and to whom they're connected.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Jules Polonetsky, director and co-chair of the &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.futureofprivacy.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Future of Privacy Forum&lt;/a&gt;, said online users have no clue that a comment they made on a blog is being added to a database for some unknown use.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"I don't think users expect that," he said, and if consumers think idle chatter and casual conversation can be used against them by institutions, it's almost certain to create a backlash, according to Polonetsky. He said the Federal Trade Commission is right now re-examining the current privacy structure in the U.S.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;But at the same time, he said consumers are always very comfortable with Amazon using data to recommend books they might like. "When users are in control of it, it's a win-win - if they feel empowered."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;How Data is Being Used&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Polonetsky said aggregators like &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.rapleaf.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Rapleaf Inc.&lt;/a&gt; will collate information about individuals and sell it to companies that want to learn about those customers and what they do online.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Personal finance reporter &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.ericasandberg.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Erica Sandberg&lt;/a&gt;, who covered the issue of social media datamining in a &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/social-networking-social-graphs-credit-1282.php" target="_blank"&gt;story for CreditCards.com&lt;/a&gt;, said that if a data mining company turns your chatter and network into a behavioral pattern, and if they can prove it has some worth, then it's valuable to companies. Sandberg said this is just more information anyone can use to help them make a decision.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"I don't think there's anything scary about it," she said. "Why wouldn't they look at it? It's public." She said she is not aware of any specific examples of those who have been negatively impacted because of it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Entities such as airlines, politicians, and even non-profits can use this data for finding new customers or targeting products to existing ones. Financial services companies such as banks and lenders are also using the same datamining services for marketing purposes and to make lending decisions. For instance, certain types of credit products, which fit your personality, could be marketed specifically to you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"It's a helpful tool to identify the right customers, the best customers," Sandberg said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;She said the immediate fear is the misconception that it affects your credit report. She stressed that companies that do social media datamining do not have access to your credit report, and the act of collecting the publicly available data has no effect on your credit score.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;However, she said, "it can affect the credit you're offered, and the credit you receive."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Social media contacts play a role in behavioral profiles as well. "I think what's most interesting is how those in your network have an impact," she said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Do you know if your &lt;span style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="blippr-nobr"&gt;Facebook&lt;span style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="blippr-nobr"&gt;&lt;a style="WIDTH: 12px; COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none !important" href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336650-Facebook" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336650-Facebook.whtml" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://netdna.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1265851550" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px !important; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 1px !important; PADDING-RIGHT: 1px !important; DISPLAY: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-TOP: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-TOP: 1px !important; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial" height="14" width="14" alt="Facebook" class="wp-smiley"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; friends have good credit histories? Likely not, but if you associate with people who are a good credit risk, than you'll probably be a good credit risk, according to Sandberg. "The whole idea [is] like follows like," she said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Learning About Customers to Tailor Experience&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;img src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/data-chart.jpg" style="BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 114px; DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: left; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 56px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="30" width="114" alt="data chart image" class="alignleft"/&gt;According to a counter on their website, Rapleaf Inc. has mined social data about more than 389 million customers. They do that by crawling the Internet just like &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://mashable.com/tag/google"&gt;Google&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="blippr-nobr"&gt;&lt;a style="WIDTH: 12px; COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none !important" href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336661-Google" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336661-Google.whtml" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://netdna.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1265851550" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px !important; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 1px !important; PADDING-RIGHT: 1px !important; DISPLAY: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-TOP: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-TOP: 1px !important; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial" height="14" width="14" alt="Google" class="wp-smiley"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; or &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://mashable.com/tag/bing"&gt;Bing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="blippr-nobr"&gt;&lt;a style="WIDTH: 12px; COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none !important" href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/393174-Bing" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-03" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/393174-Bing.whtml" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://netdna.blippr.com/images/inline-face_03.png?1265851550" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px !important; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 1px !important; PADDING-RIGHT: 1px !important; DISPLAY: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-TOP: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-TOP: 1px !important; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial" height="14" width="14" alt="Bing" class="wp-smiley"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; does, said CEO Auren Hoffman, but that they only crawl sites such as forums, social networks, review sites, newsgroups, and blogs - where information is publicly available.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;He said clients they work with include car companies, airlines, hotels, banks, retailers, non-profits and politicians. If they can learn more about their customer, then they can personalize an experience for that customer, according to Hoffman. He said consumers are already expecting this high level of service, and that it's all about the product, service, and experience that you would prefer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"The power to personalize things is much greater," he said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Rapleaf's blog links to a &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://blog.rapleaf.com/fact-tweeting-does-not-affect-your-credit-score/" target="_blank"&gt;SmartMoney story&lt;/a&gt; about how banks and financial services firms limit their use of social media data to marketing departments, and not those "charged with making credit and lending decisions," according to the post.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Sandberg said it's up to businesses to use the information from datamining companies as they please. "This is public information. They can use it any way they want."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Social Data Helps to Prevent Fraud&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.lendingclub.com/home.action" target="_blank"&gt;Lending Club&lt;/a&gt;, a peer-to-peer lending service that matches borrowers with investors, has been using a variety of tools and software to help them gather social media information for six months, according to Rob Garcia, the company's senior director.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;He said Lending Club uses social media data for marketing and operational purposes and stressed that Lending Club does not use any social media data for credit decisions and that it does not affect whether an applicant can get a loan. "We use this information to benefit our customers - to prevent fraud," he said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;For operational purposes, Lending Club makes sure the user's information checks out to try to protect his or her identity, according to Garcia. So they will compare application information from a credit file against information that's publicly available. He said that if there's a mismatch, it gives them more reason to go to more strict identification procedures.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"We have found a way to use this information in a positive way," he said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Credit Card Companies Turn to Social Media&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;img src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/credit-card.jpg" style="BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; WIDTH: 116px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 68px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px" height="30" alt="credit card image" width="116"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Consumers might soon be seeing more credit card offers in their mailboxes. In the last quarter of 2009, the number of credit card offers mailed were up 46% from the third quarter of 2009, according to a &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.synovate.com/news/article/2010/02/credit-card-offers-make-a-comeback-to-us-households-says-synovate-mail-monitor.html" target="_blank"&gt;news release&lt;/a&gt; on the direct mail tracking service Synovate Mail Monitor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Anuj Shahani, director of competitive tracking services for Synovate's Financial Services Group, told me that the number of credit card mailings is still down 40% from the fourth quarter of 2008. He said the &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Fact-Sheet-Reforms-to-Protect-American-Credit-Card-Holders/" target="_blank"&gt;CARD Act&lt;/a&gt;, which is a new federal law aimed at better disclosure and banning unfair rate hikes, and the economy were reasons for the decrease in mailings of credit card offers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;He said that because of the CARD Act, there are restrictions on spending for credit card companies. Credit card companies will have to come up with targeting models, and data companies can help them figure out those models, according to Shahani.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;"Issuers will have to come up with smarter ways to target the right audience because it is so much more expensive to extend credit," he said. "I think one of them will be social media."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Credit card companies are already using social media to launch new products. Shahani pointed out that the&lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.citiforward.com/usc/forward/acq/default.htm" target="_blank"&gt;CitiForward credit card&lt;/a&gt; launched in March 2009 on &lt;span style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="blippr-nobr"&gt;MySpace&lt;span style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="blippr-nobr"&gt;&lt;a style="WIDTH: 12px; COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none !important" href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336652-MySpace" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336652-MySpace.whtml" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://netdna.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1265851550" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px !important; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 1px !important; PADDING-RIGHT: 1px !important; DISPLAY: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-TOP: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(201,214,221) 0px solid; PADDING-TOP: 1px !important; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial" height="14" width="14" alt="MySpace" class="wp-smiley"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;. He said that in December 2009, American Express launched its new &lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(34,102,187); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="https://www217.americanexpress.com/cards/npz.do" target="_blank"&gt;Zync&lt;/a&gt; card on social media sites.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Shahani said the credit card issuer's goal is to find the right audience and go to the right people and that's where he expects social media would come in.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Social Media Usage Tips&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h2 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2em; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif; FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;Here are some tips from Erica Sandberg on the types of content to avoid posting on the social web and handling network connections.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;1. &lt;strong&gt;Determine whether you want to go public or private with your social media profiles.&lt;/strong&gt; If the profiles are set to be public, then be consistent with information you are posting. "The caution lies in what you say. Be truthful," she said. For example, don't post a status update joking that you're filing for bankruptcy when you're not. "It's the off-the-cuff remarks you're going to want to be aware of," she warned.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;2. &lt;strong&gt;Eliminate people and sites from your social networks that you don't need.&lt;/strong&gt; "Make sure people who are around you are reflective of you as a wonderful person," Sandberg said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;3. &lt;strong&gt;Pay attention to your friend, invite, and connection requests.&lt;/strong&gt; "You don't want random associations," she said. Sandberg recommends first checking out that person's profile before accepting it. "I get flooded with friend requests of people I don't know," she said. "You have no idea who these people are. It's a risky thing to do."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;What if opting out of being on social media is not an option? Sandberg said she's on there for business purposes and can't really go private. In that case, be careful what you write. "It underscores the importance of being honest and projecting yourself in a positive way," she said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/company" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;company&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/public" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;public&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/twitter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;twitter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/company" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;company&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/public" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;public&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/twitter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;twitter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-6182496498061641603?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/6182496498061641603/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=6182496498061641603' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/6182496498061641603'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/6182496498061641603'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-companies-are-using-your-social.html' title='How companies are using your Social Media Data....You Need to Know'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-7690018003184639965</id><published>2010-02-23T19:11:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-23T19:11:54.026-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='social'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Facebook'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='google'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Media'/><title type='text'>Google's New Aardvark - Move aside Facebook</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;After&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,204); TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://blog.ineedhits.com/search-news/hype-builds-around-new-google-release-08057321.html"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;launching Buzz &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;last week, Google have continued on the social track by now acquiring social search service Aardvark.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The deal, rumoured to be worth around $50 million, could see Google use the social search engine as an answer to, well, Yahoo! Answers. Through IM, Twitter and e-mail, Aardvark lets you ask full-text questions and then takes your social connections and attempts to identify the best person within your network (or extended network - friends and family) who might be able to assist in giving that answer.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Here is how Wired explains the concept behind Aardvark:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(247,247,247); MARGIN: 10px auto 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; WIDTH: 524px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 50px; PADDING-RIGHT: 50px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Users who sign up give (Aard)Vark access to one of their social networks - Facebook, LinkedIn or the e-mails in their contact list. Users then say what things they are confident answering questions about (e.g. chess, cooking, country music). Vark then routes future questions - such as what's the best country band out of the south from the 1970s or where's a good sushi restaurant near Santa Monica - to the right person. A series of algorithms keeps tuning the targeting by watching if a user's answers are quick and useful, deciding whether their friends are also experts, and checking if a user is online or has been asked to answer too many questions recently.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The news was confirmed by Aardvark CEO (and ex-Googler) Max Ventilla who emailed TechCrunch with the following: &lt;em&gt;"We can confirm that Google has signed a deal to acquire us but have no further comment."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;So I'm afraid that's all the news we have so far folks, but if we hear anything more, we will be sure to let you know.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/google" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;google&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/media" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;media&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/social" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;social&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/google" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;google&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/media" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;media&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/social" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;social&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=google" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;google&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=media" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;media&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=social" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;social&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/facebook" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/google" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;google&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/media" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;media&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/social" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;social&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-7690018003184639965?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/7690018003184639965/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=7690018003184639965' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/7690018003184639965'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/7690018003184639965'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/02/google-new-aardvark-move-aside-facebook.html' title='Google&amp;#39;s New Aardvark - Move aside Facebook'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-2586398792240730562</id><published>2010-02-16T19:21:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-16T19:21:26.373-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Homes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='International'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Home'/><title type='text'>International Listings from your computer at home</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;RISMEDIA, February 16, 2010-Marty Van Diest lists and sells homes in the Malanuga-Susitina Borough of Alaska through his Valley Market Real Estate office located in Wasilla, Alaska. It's an area bigger than North Carolina. He lives in Palmer and his office is in Sarah Palin's hometown of Wasilla. He's been a real estate agent for 19 years. Despite having his office in Wasilla, he can't see Russia from there, but he sees success on the Internet every day.&lt;span id="more-44125"/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When you are in a place as unforgiving as Alaska in winter, organization and efficiency are essential&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you ever read Jack London's great stories earlier in your life, you know that Alaska in winter can be an unforgiving place. If you saw the movie &lt;em&gt;Into the Wild&lt;/em&gt;, you also know it's no place for beginners at any time of year. If you had to earn your living in an area the size of North Carolina, you'd do whatever you could to make your job easier and your performance stronger. Marty started trying to make the Internet work for him about three years ago: "When I started my blog about 3 years ago, I started really trying to make something happen online. Nothing happened. Then I wanted an additional lead generating website so I tried another product last summer that didn't work out. Then I found you guys. As you can imagine, it costs a fortune to advertise across a geographic area as big as North Carolina. I ran my last ad in printed media last March and decided to go online completely, and I have been happy with my decision. My Internet presence covers everywhere and over 120 real inquiries have come into me from my Compass PROLeadS™ site in the past six months; real Alaskans asking me for what they want. I sold 45 houses last year and five so far this year (things are slow in Alaska in the winter). I get more than 60% of all my leads from Compass. Most people start their research for property on the Internet, and if you are easy to find, you will be with them from the start. Many of them take many months before they actually buy, so you are helping them from the beginning. Because I have my PROLeadS™ site, I don't have to advertise, don't have to worry if I am reaching my territory, and don't have to worry where my next sale is coming from.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It took a while for Van Diest to get lead follow-up right&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I received 45 leads while I was moose hunting in September and did not get a good chance to follow-up on those initial leads. I had just subscribed in August and figured it would take a while for things to kick in. I won't make that mistake again! I had a long learning curve on responding to the leads: it took me longer than it should have to understand that immediate response is required for Internet buyers. I realized that people who find me online want answers now. They expect immediate response and whenever possible, I give it to them. I have more success with the leads I get now because I call them right away. If possible, I call the lead within 1-2 minutes of receiving it. The lead is texted to my iPhone so I can just touch the telephone number to call them. If I am in a meeting and can't call, or if they only leave an e-mail message, I e-mail them as soon as possible: The sooner the better. The telephone calls are best because they establish a real personal touch and sometimes you can set up a face-to-face appointment. After I find more details about them, I set them up for a search for their particular real estate needs. I then follow-up with them after they start receiving emailed listings. The goal is always to set up a face-to-face appointment."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;Whether you're in Alaska, Alabama, or anywhere else, the speed of your personal response to the prospect's inquiry is the single biggest factor in your success cultivating Internet leads (once you get real leads). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently published a study showing that Internet leads degrade within an hour to less than half the value they had when received. For that reason, have your leads put through on SMS text to your cell phone, as well as emailed to you. It only takes a moment to begin building a great client relationship. You'll be amazed when prospects greet you warmly with "Wow! That was fast!" It gets the entire relationship off on the right foot, plus, studies show that 81% of the time, an Internet lead sticks with the first agent they contact if that agent responds to them immediately.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It's also about the quality of the leads&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I did try another company, but they didn't build me a dedicated branded website. I think they were one of those 'lead aggregators.' I don't know where their "leads" came from; they would just send me some every month. When I called the supposed 'leads,' they did not know how I got their name and in most cases, they were not interested in finding real estate. I could have generated better leads by cold calling out of the phone book. My PROLeadS™, on the other hand, are from real people who have visited my site and who want more information about something they saw there. These real leads include the person's name, phone number and/or e-mail address, and most of the time, a personal comment. The leads are from people who are really interested in talking to me. As long as I have people to talk about houses with, I will sell houses.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It's tough in Alaska, but it is tough in your neighborhood, too&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are 444 listings for Realtors in Wasilla, Alaska. How many are there in your town? You may not have to know a market as vast as Marty's, but yours is a handful, too. How much easier would your job be if you had 8 or 10 truly interested people who know who you are and what you sell write you each month and ask you for more information about something?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;It's for that reason that Professionally Managed Lead Sites (PMLS) are making themselves a name in real estate: Unless you have millions of dollars to spend and countless days to learn by trial and error what works, you can't compete with them as a prospecting tool. Hundreds-if not thousands-of agents are moving to these sites, sites where experts do everything for you and generate leads exclusively for you from people who know who you are. The average agent just can't do that themselves, especially for the $235 a month such a site costs*. Agents have realized that their frustration at being unable to succeed online can be eradicated for a fraction of what their time and effort are worth, and the new technology of combining organic with paid search and all the success practices learned in online marketing is beyond their ability or desire to try to duplicate. You see, succeeding online is not a mystery to online marketing services companies anymore. It's utilizing a set of practices, whether you're in Wasilla or Washington, D.C.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;Life is so much more fun with prospects to call on, no matter where you sell and list real estate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"&gt;*multiple options exist, this is offered for budget purposes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/homes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;homes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/international" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;international&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/real+estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/homes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;homes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/international" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;international&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-2586398792240730562?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/2586398792240730562/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=2586398792240730562' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2586398792240730562'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2586398792240730562'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/02/international-listings-from-your.html' title='International Listings from your computer at home'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-7758899296004068876</id><published>2010-02-11T19:29:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-11T19:29:48.209-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bank'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='foreclosure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='auction'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='reo'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pre-foreclosure'/><title type='text'>Foreclosures and Short Sales - Which one would you like ?</title><content type='html'>&lt;h1 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 22px; OVERFLOW-X: hidden; OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 619px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(242,101,33); CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 18px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="page-title-bar"&gt;&lt;span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Calibri; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Find Foreclosures Across the Country&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BACKGROUND: rgb(222,236,253) 0px 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial" id="re-subnav"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; OVERFLOW-X: hidden; OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; CLEAR: both; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="block"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="squeeze"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(8,82,161); CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="title"&gt;Foreclosures: What Are They?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="body"&gt;Foreclosure occurs when a bank repossesses a property because the owner fails to pay the mortgage. Foreclosure is not a quick process, however. Usually, foreclosure occurs when the homeowner, or borrower, misses several payments. This is called a default and starts the foreclosure process. Banks and homeowners have several options when faced with foreclosure. The home can be sold in a pre-foreclosure sale or short sale, can go to auction, or can be taken over by the financial institution and become a bank owned property (REO).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; OVERFLOW-X: hidden; OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; CLEAR: both; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="block"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="squeeze"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(8,82,161); CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="title"&gt;How Do Foreclosure Sales Work?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="body"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; OVERFLOW-X: hidden; OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; CLEAR: both; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="block"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="squeeze"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(204,204,204) 1px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 11px; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="title"&gt;Pre-Foreclosure Sales&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="body"&gt;In a pre-foreclosure sale, a property may be bought from the homeowner of the financial institution holding the mortgage prior to the start of the foreclosure process. Generally, the seller is relieved of financial liability and the buyer is able to obtain a house at or below market value.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; OVERFLOW-X: hidden; OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; CLEAR: both; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="block"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="squeeze"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(204,204,204) 1px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 11px; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="title"&gt;Auction&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="body"&gt;Some banks may place a foreclosed property into an auction to try and regain the lost amount on the defaulted property. The price for an auctioned house may begin at the outstanding amount of the mortgage, and any buyer of an auctioned property will often have to take possession of the property in an "as is" state.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; OVERFLOW-X: hidden; OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; CLEAR: both; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="block"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="squeeze"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(204,204,204) 1px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 11px; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="title"&gt;REO (Bank Owned Property)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="body"&gt;If the auction fails to attract any bids, the property may be assumed by the bank and become an REO property. If this happens, the bank will list the REO property with a brokerage, like RealEstate.com, REALTORS®, and attempt to sell the bank owned property as a normal real estate transaction. However, the bank may be willing to simple recoup the loss on the foreclosed loan.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; OVERFLOW-X: hidden; OVERFLOW-Y: hidden; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; CLEAR: both; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="block"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="squeeze"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(204,204,204) 1px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 11px; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="title"&gt;How Can Buyers Benefit?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="body"&gt;Buyers can obviously benefit from buying foreclosures at deep discounts off market value. Buyers may also look at foreclosed properties as investment opportunities. Buying a foreclosed property often means the buyer must be able to pay with cash and it is important that the buyer understand the local laws surrounding foreclosures and REOs. To find out more about Foreclosures, Pre-Foreclosures - visit &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="body"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/auction" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;auction&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/bank" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;bank&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/pre-foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pre-foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/reo" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;reo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/auction" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;auction&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/bank" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;bank&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/pre-foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pre-foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/reo" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;reo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=auction" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;auction&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=bank" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;bank&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=pre-foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pre-foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=reo" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;reo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/auction" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;auction&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/bank" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;bank&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/pre-foreclosure" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pre-foreclosure&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/reo" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;reo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-7758899296004068876?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/7758899296004068876/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=7758899296004068876' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/7758899296004068876'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/7758899296004068876'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/02/foreclosures-and-short-sales-which-one.html' title='Foreclosures and Short Sales - Which one would you like ?'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-5914156899393903991</id><published>2010-02-11T10:27:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-11T10:27:49.492-08:00</updated><title type='text'>On the verge of foreclosure - just stay for another six months</title><content type='html'>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;WASHINGTON – Citigroup Inc. plans to let homeowners on the verge of foreclosure stay in their homes for six months — if they turn over the deed to their property.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Citi said Thursday it is launching the pilot program, dubbed &amp;quot;Foreclosure Alternatives,&amp;quot; this week in Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio. Initially, about 1,000 homeowners are expected to participate. Citi may expand the program nationwide.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;In a normal foreclosure, a lender assumes legal control of the property and evicts the homeowner. But Citi's program, like other &amp;quot;deed in lieu of foreclosure&amp;quot; efforts, allows the homeowner to avoid a completed foreclosure. While the owner must still leave the home after six months, the program results in a less severe hit to the borrower's credit score.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;The policy is an attempt to deal with what lenders see as a growing phenomenon: borrowers who choose to default on their mortgages. Close to one in every three U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to Moody'sEconomy.com.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Many housing analysts say these borrowers — particularly those who owe at least 20 percent more than their home's current value — are choosing to walk away because they see little chance that home prices will come back.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Also, many states have lengthened the time it takes to complete a foreclosure, making the process more time-consuming and expensive for the lending industry.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;&amp;quot;Why should we all go through the foreclosure process and evict people?&amp;quot; said Sanjiv Das, Citi's top mortgage executive. Avoiding foreclosure, Das said, is &amp;quot;less painful for our borrowers as well as for us.&amp;quot;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Borrowers in Citi's program will still need to pay their utility bills. But Citi will pay at least $1,000 in relocation costs and will consider helping out with other expenses. Citi also plans to provide relocation counseling.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;The program is intended to help borrowers who don't qualify for a mortgage modification or a short sale — one in which the lender agrees to sell a home for less than the total mortgage amount.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Citi's policy is similar to one announced in November by Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage finance company. Fannie is allowing homeowners to hand back the deed to their properties, then rent them back at market rates.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;For more information visit: &lt;A href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;robertjrussell.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-5914156899393903991?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/5914156899393903991/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=5914156899393903991' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5914156899393903991'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5914156899393903991'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/02/on-verge-of-foreclosure-just-stay-for.html' title='On the verge of foreclosure - just stay for another six months'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-5729868518689482082</id><published>2010-02-11T08:49:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-11T08:49:16.958-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Citi to let distressed homeowners stay for 6 months</title><content type='html'>&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;WASHINGTON – Citigroup Inc. plans to let homeowners on the verge of foreclosure stay in their homes for six months — if they turn over the deed to their property.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Citi said Thursday it is launching the pilot program, dubbed &amp;quot;Foreclosure Alternatives,&amp;quot; this week in Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio. Initially, about 1,000 homeowners are expected to participate. Citi may expand the program nationwide.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;In a normal foreclosure, a lender assumes legal control of the property and evicts the homeowner. But Citi's program, like other &amp;quot;deed in lieu of foreclosure&amp;quot; efforts, allows the homeowner to avoid a completed foreclosure. While the owner must still leave the home after six months, the program results in a less severe hit to the borrower's credit score.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;The policy is an attempt to deal with what lenders see as a growing phenomenon: borrowers who choose to default on their mortgages. Close to one in every three U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to Moody'sEconomy.com.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Many housing analysts say these borrowers — particularly those who owe at least 20 percent more than their home's current value — are choosing to walk away because they see little chance that home prices will come back.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Also, many states have lengthened the time it takes to complete a foreclosure, making the process more time-consuming and expensive for the lending industry.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;&amp;quot;Why should we all go through the foreclosure process and evict people?&amp;quot; said Sanjiv Das, Citi's top mortgage executive. Avoiding foreclosure, Das said, is &amp;quot;less painful for our borrowers as well as for us.&amp;quot;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Borrowers in Citi's program will still need to pay their utility bills. But Citi will pay at least $1,000 in relocation costs and will consider helping out with other expenses. Citi also plans to provide relocation counseling.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;The program is intended to help borrowers who don't qualify for a mortgage modification or a short sale — one in which the lender agrees to sell a home for less than the total mortgage amount.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;Citi's policy is similar to one announced in November by Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage finance company. Fannie is allowing homeowners to hand back the deed to their properties, then rent them back at market rates.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT face="Calibri"&gt;For more information visit: &lt;A href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;robertjrussell.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left" &gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left" &gt;&lt;font face="sans-serif" size="1" color="#000000"&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;If you do not wish to receive future emails, please click the link to Unsubscribe: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.topproduceronline.com/obsu.asp?p={2C32BCDE-70F3-4ED0-AFC1-F64895F96BC4}&amp;c={870CB432-70FD-42C3-BC61-5C673BB782D2}"&gt;Unsubscribe&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-5729868518689482082?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/5729868518689482082/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=5729868518689482082' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5729868518689482082'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5729868518689482082'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/02/citi-to-let-distressed-homeowners-stay.html' title='Citi to let distressed homeowners stay for 6 months'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-1913773580016747103</id><published>2010-02-06T17:40:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-06T17:40:00.297-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='For Sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Houses'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='dallas'/><title type='text'>Search the MLS!</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 18px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Are you looking for a house?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 18px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span id="MissionStatement"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Complete MLS Search Engine FREE to you. 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Lucky for us, the New Year provides an opportunity to press the reset button and get back to business. But, before you start diligently counting fat grams or cutting carbs, I suggest focusing your efforts on eating more food...more home-cooked food that is.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Diet plans are hideous! There, I said it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;It's one thing if a preexisting health issue has you under a doctor's care and following a strict eating regimen. But, if you are a relatively healthy adult who's looking to control your weight by eating healthier, formal diets aren't necessarily the way to do it. Here are my thoughts on the matter.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The majority of diet plans are built around either greatly reducing your intake of a particular component of food, or cutting it out altogether. Doing so will most likely result in weight loss, but there's a problem. After about three or four months of eating this way, most people get bored with their available food choices. Feeling unfulfilled, they will slip and ultimately return to their old ways. The weight eventually returns and the cycle of yo-yo weight loss begins.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Phooey to all of it, I say. I've been following my own diet regimen for the last five years and it's worked out quite well. It's a little something I like to call, "The 80/20 Plan."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Eighty percent of the time I concentrate on consuming whole foods I've prepared myself, paying attention to the fat and sugar content, as well as portion size. The remaining 20 percent of the time, I give absolutely no thought to what I eat, enjoying either more decadent foods or larger quantities of healthy food. This regimen not only helps me stay healthy and lean, it also keeps me from feeling deprived. Along with daily exercise, it is a plan I intend to follow for the rest of my life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;What I'm about to share with you is a typical weekday of eating for me. My goal is to show you that the key to good health is not about depriving yourself of food. It's about committing to the process of preparing it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Breakfast&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mornings are always busy, right? Between getting my son to school, and getting myself to work on time, it always feels like a rush. That's why the key for me to eat a healthy breakfast is speedy preparation. One of my favorite quick and healthy breakfasts is steel cut Irish oatmeal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;For those unfamiliar, steel-cut oats differ from rolled or old-fashioned oats by how they are processed. Both start with the removal of the oat's inedible outer husk. With rolled oats, the inner grain (or groat) is lightly steamed and then rolled flat. With steel cut oats, the groat is kept raw and cut into smaller pieces.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Nutritionally, both types of oats are virtually the same. The difference for me lies with the nuttier taste and chewier texture of steel cut oatmeal, as well as its ability to satisfy. A bowl of this stuff gives me tons of energy and keeps me plenty full until lunch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Before we get cooking, please know that regular steel-cut oats take about 25 minutes to cook. This is why I suggest using McCann's Quick and Easy Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal for busy weekday mornings. They are available in the cereal aisle of most supermarkets and can be prepared in 5 minutes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Steal Cut Oatmeal with Fruit and Spice (makes 1 serving)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1/4 C McCann's Quick and Easy Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;3/4 C water&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;A pinch of Kosher salt&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 Tbsp dark brown sugar&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1/4 Tsp cinnamon&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;A pinch of ground nutmeg&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;For the toppings:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Low-fat milk&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Sliced banana&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Fresh blueberries&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Sliced almonds&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;To a small saucepot, add the water and bring to a boil. Add oats and a pinch of salt, and mix well. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cook for 5 minutes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;To the oatmeal, add brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well, cover and turn off the heat. Allow the oatmeal to sit for 1 minute.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Spoon the oatmeal into a bowl and top with milk, fruit and nuts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lunch&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For about the last three years, I've been bringing my lunch to work nearly every day. Prior to this I was purchasing it from various restaurants and eateries. But even though I was staying away from typical fast food, I found myself slowly putting on weight. It was also costing me a lot of money. Once I committed to bringing my lunch to work, however, two things happened. I got thinner and my wallet got fatter. Not a bad combo, right?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Speaking of combos, one of favorites is soup and sandwich. While I love both items on their own, together they make for the perfect weekday lunch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In terms of the soup, I have a sizeable repertoire of easy recipes that I can whip up in roughly 30 minutes. What I like to do is take a half hour out of my Sunday to make one of them. Doing so provides me with soup for the week. All that's left is to portion it into containers and reheat it in the microwave at work. Here's one of my favorites.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quick and Easy Vegetable Soup (4-6 servings)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;4 C chicken or vegetable stock&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 C water&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 14-15oz can chopped tomatoes in puree&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1/2 onion, chopped&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;2 cloves garlic, chopped&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 large carrot, peeled and chopped&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 celery rib, chopped&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 cup fresh green beans, chopped into 1-inch long pieces&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 ear of corn, kernels removed&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 14-ounce can white cannellini beans, drained&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 Tsp Herbs d' Provence, or Italian seasoning&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Extra-virgin olive oil&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a soup pot, heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium flame. Add onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Season with salt and pepper and allow the vegetables to cook until the onions just start to soften (3 to 4 minutes).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;To the vegetables, add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock, water and herbs. Season with salt and pepper, mix well and bring just to the boil.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Add green beans, corn, and canned beans. Reduce to a very low simmer and allow the soup to cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the green beans soften, but remain slightly al dente.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;I normally put together a simple sandwich the night before I go to work. Along with the soup, I'm set to enjoy a tasty and healthy lunch, less expensive than I could get at any restaurant.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dinner&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Weekday dinner making can be challenging for all sorts of reasons. The challenges, however, don't negate your need to eat. Aside from choosing to cook, dinner options typically include dining out, ordering in, or popping a frozen dinner in the microwave.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;So, what if told you by preparing a home cooked meal you'd be spending a lot less money than if you dined out or ordered in? And what if I told you that it would also be much healthier for you? Throw in the fact I'm about to give you an outstanding dish that's foolproof and can be prepared in less than 45 minutes, and there's really no excuse not to cook.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Thai Chicken Thighs&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1.5 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken thighs&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;2 garlic cloves, minced fine or crushed&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1.5 Tbsp. Asian fish sauce (found in the Asian foods aisle of most grocery stores)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1 Tsp. brown sugar&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1/2 Tsp. chili powder&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;1/4 Tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Fresh basil and/or mint, finely chopped&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;3 Tbsp. vegetable oil&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Salt and pepper to taste&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Lime wedges for serving&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Season the chicken with salt and pepper.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a mixing bowl, combine garlic, cilantro, fish sauce, brown sugar, chili powder and red pepper. Rub the mixture on both sides of the chicken thighs and let stand for as little as 15 minutes, or up to 24 hours.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over a medium-high flame. Add chicken and cook for 3.5 to 4 minutes per side.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cut each thigh crosswise into three or four pieces and serve over steamed rice. Garnish with herbs and lime wedges. A simple salad or a vegetable is all you need to make this a complete dinner.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;So there you go - a whole day's worth of quick and easy meals that are healthy, delicious, and guaranteed to not break the bank. My job here is complete. Your job, on the other hand, has just begun. It's time to get cooking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/cooking" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;cooking&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/diet" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;diet&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/cooking" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;cooking&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/diet" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;diet&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=cooking" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;cooking&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=diet" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;diet&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/cooking" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;cooking&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/diet" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;diet&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/home" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-1850176148498463204?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/1850176148498463204/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=1850176148498463204' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1850176148498463204'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1850176148498463204'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/01/most-important-meals-of-day.html' title='The Most Important Meals of the Day'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-5857371728978820748</id><published>2010-01-20T06:22:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2010-01-20T06:22:00.471-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='success'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='motivation'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='energy'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='wellness'/><title type='text'>How do you Motivate Yourself ?</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;A long time ago, my exercise routine consisted of walking daily. I felt that my body was ready to kick it up a notch. The gym was suggested to me. I wasn't crazy about it initially, but decided to give a try. I realized after a couple of visits that I actually liked it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I knew that one of my initial challenges would be to commit going to the gym regularly. How would I go about doing this? I knew that I wanted to motivate myself … or perhaps coach myself. So I defined goals and incentives (e.g. rewards) for achieving those goals. For instance, one reward was that for each week I would go the gym, I would purchase songs from iTunes. Listening to the new songs on my iPod, while exercising, not only felt great, but also motivated me to continue my exercise commitment.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What are some ways that you motivate yourself? I would be interested to get your feedback, thanks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. 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That provision is in the House-passed measure, but was omitted from the bill that the Senate passed on Christmas Eve.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;They also want the final measure to include a House-passed proposal for a &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_4" class="yshortcuts"&gt;nationwide insurance exchange&lt;/span&gt;, to be regulated by the federal government, where consumers could shop for private coverage. The Senate bill calls for a state-based system of exchanges.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Additionally, House Democrats want to require insurers to spend a minimum amount of premium income on benefits, thereby limiting what is available for salaries, bonuses, advertising and other items. The House bill sets the floor at 85 percent; the Senate-passed measure lowers it to 80 percent for policies sold to small groups and individuals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The maneuvering comes as the &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_5" class="yshortcuts"&gt;White House&lt;/span&gt; and majority Democrats intensify efforts to agree on a final measure, possibly before Obama delivers his &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_6" class="yshortcuts"&gt;State of the Union&lt;/span&gt; address late this month or early in February.&lt;span id="lw_1263089615_7" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Government intervention&lt;/span&gt; into the insurance market is one of the most contentious issues to be settled. Others include the fate of a Senate-passed tax on high-cost insurance plans, bitterly opposed by some labor unions; the extent to which abortions could be covered by insurance to be sold in the new exchanges; and the amount of money available to help lower-income families purchase coverage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Liberals long have pressed to include a government-run insurance option in the legislation, arguing it would create competition for private companies and place a brake on costs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;House Democrats included it in their legislation. In the Senate, it drew opposition from Democratic moderates whose votes are essential to the bill's fate. Even attempts to include an expansion of Medicare for uninsured individuals as young as age 55 - widely viewed as a face-saving proposal for liberals - had to be jettisoned.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Given the opposition in the Senate, Pelosi, D-Calif., signaled late last year she did not view a public option as a requirement for a final compromise. Asked in an interview Dec. 16 whether she could support legislation without it, she said, "It depends what else is in the bill."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;More recently, she listed her goals for a House-Senate compromise without mentioning the provision she long has backed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"We are optimistic that there is much that we have in common in both of our bills and that we will resolve or reconcile this legislation in a way that is a triple A rating: affordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance companies, and accessibility to many more people in our country to quality, affordable health care," she said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;While Obama favors a government option, he has said repeatedly it is only a small part of his overall effort to remake the &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_8" class="yshortcuts"&gt;health care system&lt;/span&gt;, and is not essential.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pelosi and &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_9" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid&lt;/span&gt;, D-Nev., have expressed optimism about chances for a swift agreement, but there appears to be relatively little maneuvering room. That is particularly true in the Senate, where 60 votes will be needed to overcome a Republican filibuster, and any change carries the risk of alienating a Democrat whose vote is crucial.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The bill's future is further complicated by a scheduled Jan. 19 election in &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_10" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Massachusetts&lt;/span&gt;. Some polls show &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_11" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Democrat Martha Coakley&lt;/span&gt; in a closer-than-expected race against Republican Scott Brown and an independent contender. The winner will replace Sen. Paul Kirk, who became the 60th member of the Democratic caucus when he was named to his seat as successor to the late &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_12" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Sen. Edward M. Kennedy&lt;/span&gt;.A Republican upset would deprive Democrats of their 60th vote.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Some House Democrats say the proposed government insurance option remains alive, although they speak publicly of its possible demise as long as insurance companies aren't let off the hook.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="lw_1263089615_13" class="yshortcuts"&gt;California Rep. Xavier Becerra&lt;/span&gt;, who's on the leadership team, said House members would only be willing to abandon the public plan if they were certain the final bill achieves the goals they want, as Pelosi described.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"We're willing to give up what's good for America as long as we get something good back," he said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="lw_1263089615_14" class="yshortcuts"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="lw_1263089615_14" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Rep. Chris Van Hollen&lt;/span&gt; of Maryland, also a member of the leadership, agreed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"I think the House is very much of a view that before they'd consider dropping the public option" they have to be assured of a bill that achieves the goals they wanted the public option to meet.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;But officials said little if any time has been spent in &lt;span id="lw_1263089615_15" class="yshortcuts"&gt;White House&lt;/span&gt; meetings on the issue, and there was scant discussion of it during a conference call for members of the Democratic rank and file earlier this week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="byline"&gt;&lt;cite class="vcard"&gt;By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent &lt;span class="fn org"&gt;David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-1269921598607750939?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/1269921598607750939/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=1269921598607750939' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1269921598607750939'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1269921598607750939'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/01/government-health-insurance-option.html' title='Government health insurance option appears doomed'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-2214260603888462708</id><published>2010-01-07T19:54:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-01-07T19:54:22.077-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Myspace'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Facebook'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='LinkedIn'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='robertjrussell'/><title type='text'>Start your own Social Network</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Many people ask me how I get so much business....and it is a very simple answer but you may not believe it but I have my own Social Network.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Some people use Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace etc - I use the Robert J Russell Social Network&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you would like to join the Robert J Russell Social Network - simply click on this link:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://robertjrussellsocialnetwork.ning.com/profiles/members/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://robertjrussellsocialnetwork.ning.com/profiles/members/&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Come Join us today !!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Robert J Russell - 972-679-9029&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-2214260603888462708?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/2214260603888462708/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=2214260603888462708' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2214260603888462708'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2214260603888462708'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/01/start-your-own-social-network.html' title='Start your own Social Network'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-4280517193464901415</id><published>2010-01-06T19:28:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-01-06T19:28:10.276-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Nevada'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Indiana'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Virginia'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tennessee'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Kentucky'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Maryland'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Texas'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Ohio'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='North Carolina.'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Oklahoma'/><title type='text'>Obama backs high-end health plan tax</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON - &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_0" class="yshortcuts"&gt;President Barack Obama&lt;/span&gt; signaled to House Democratic leaders Wednesday that they'll have to drop their opposition to taxing high-end health &lt;a href="http://www.insurancepricedright.com/" target="_blank"&gt;insurance&lt;/a&gt; plans to pay for &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_1" class="yshortcuts"&gt;health coverage&lt;/span&gt; for millions of &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_2" class="yshortcuts"&gt;uninsured Americans&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a meeting at the White House, Obama expressed his preference for the &lt;a href="http://www.insurancepricedright.com/" target="_blank"&gt;insurance&lt;/a&gt; tax contained in the Senate's health overhaul bill, but largely opposed by House Democrats and organized labor, Democratic aides said. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;House Democrats want to raise &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_3" class="yshortcuts"&gt;income taxes&lt;/span&gt; on high-income individuals instead and are reluctant to abandon that approach, while recognizing that they will likely have to bend on that and other issues so that &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_4" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid&lt;/span&gt;, D-Nev., can maintain his fragile 60-vote majority support for the bill.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="lw_1262832358_5" class="yshortcuts"&gt;House Speaker Nancy Pelosi&lt;/span&gt; and four committee chairmen met with the president Wednesday as they scrambled to resolve differences between sweeping bills passed by the House and Senate. The aim is to finalize legislation revamping the &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_6" class="yshortcuts"&gt;nation's health care system&lt;/span&gt; in time for Obama's &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_7" class="yshortcuts"&gt;State of the Union&lt;/span&gt; address early next month.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Despite the dispute over the payment approach, Pelosi, D-Calif., emerged from the meeting expressing optimism.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"We've had a very intense couple of days," Pelosi said. "After our leadership meeting this morning, our staff engaged with the Senate and the administration staff to review the legislation, suggest legislative language. I think we're very close to reconciliation."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Congressional staff members stayed at the White House into the evening to continue work, and a conference call of the &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_8" class="yshortcuts"&gt;full House Democratic caucus&lt;/span&gt; was scheduled for Thursday. Obama is taking a more direct role than ever, convening &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_9" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Oval Office meetings&lt;/span&gt; Tuesday and Wednesday of House Democratic leaders.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The House and Senate bills are alike in many ways. Both impose first-time requirements for almost all Americans to purchase health &lt;a href="http://www.insurancepricedright.com/" target="_blank"&gt;insurance,&lt;/a&gt; providing subsidies for lower- and middle-income people to help them do so, though the subsidies in the House bill are more generous. Both establish new marketplaces called exchanges where people can go to shop for and compare health&lt;a href="http://www.insurancepricedright.com/" target="_blank"&gt;insurance&lt;/a&gt; plans. Both would ban unpopular &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_10" class="yshortcuts"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.insurancepricedright.com/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span id="lw_1262832358_10" class="yshortcuts"&gt;insurance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; company practices&lt;/span&gt; including denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Differences include whom to tax, how many people to cover, how to restrict taxpayer funding for abortion and whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to buy coverage in the new markets with their own money. The House bill covers about 36 million &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_11" class="yshortcuts"&gt;uninsured Americans&lt;/span&gt; over 10 years, costing more than $1 trillion, while the cheaper Senate bill covers about 31 million.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;House Democrats are steeling themselves to abandon establishment of a new government insurance plan opposed by moderates in the Senate, but in return hope to get the Senate to rescind insurers' &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_12" class="yshortcuts"&gt;antitrust exemption&lt;/span&gt;, make subsidies more affordable and agree to establishment of national rather than &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_13" class="yshortcuts"&gt;state health insurance&lt;/span&gt; exchanges, among other things. Obama has signaled his support for the House position on the subsidies and other areas, aides said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The difference in how the bills are paid for is emerging as among the toughest disputes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The House wants to increase &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_14" class="yshortcuts"&gt;income taxes&lt;/span&gt; on individuals making more than $500,000 and couples over $1 million, which would raise $460 billion over 10 years to pay for the bill. &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_15" class="yshortcuts"&gt;The Senate&lt;/span&gt; wants to &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_16" class="yshortcuts"&gt;tax insurance companies&lt;/span&gt; on plans valued at over $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for couples, raising $150 billion. Most analysts say the insurance tax would be passed on to consumers, and organized labor is strongly opposed, as are House Democrats, some of whom contend that the tax would violate Obama's campaign pledge not to tax the middle class.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"We did in our house bill something that protects &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_17" class="yshortcuts"&gt;middle class Americans&lt;/span&gt; from having to pay more for health insurance," &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_18" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Rep. Xavier Becerra&lt;/span&gt;, D-Calif., a member of the House leadership, said Wednesday. "So far we want to stay to that principle."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;House members "have been very clear on that issue and working with the president to stick to what he said when he was campaigning for president, we're trying to make sure this does not affect middle class Americans," Becerra said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Obama has defended the tax as a way to drive down health costs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"I'm on record as saying that taxing Cadillac plans that don't make people healthier but just take more money out of their pockets because they're paying more for insurance than they need to, that's actually a good idea, and that helps bend the cost curve," the president said in an interview with &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_19" class="yshortcuts"&gt;National Public Radio&lt;/span&gt; just before Christmas. "That helps to reduce the cost of health care over the long term. I think that's a smart thing to do."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the end the House likely will have to accept the insurance plan tax at some level - say starting with plans valued at $25,000 or more, with carve-outs for certain union professions - but it might not happen without a fight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;A provision in the Senate bill to increase the Medicare payroll tax on high-earners could provide some middle ground, although that measure would raise only $87 billion over a decade.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Write&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;(This version CORRECTS that Obama's &lt;span id="lw_1262832358_20" class="yshortcuts"&gt;State of the Union&lt;/span&gt; address to be early next month.)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-4280517193464901415?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/4280517193464901415/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=4280517193464901415' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/4280517193464901415'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/4280517193464901415'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/01/obama-backs-high-end-health-plan-tax.html' title='Obama backs high-end health plan tax'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-8741737031974628635</id><published>2010-01-05T14:14:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-01-05T14:14:27.505-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='frozen'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='winter'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='insurance'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pipes'/><title type='text'>Avoid Home Damage from Frozen Pipes</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Texas Department of Insurance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"&gt;AUSTIN&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; - Texas weather can change quickly, especially in the winter. A fast-moving cold front can cause temperatures to drop below freezing within hours. Outdoor pipes, pipes in unheated areas, and pipes that run along uninsulated exterior walls can burst if the water in them freezes and expands. This can shatter pipe seals or the pipes themselves, sending water pouring through your house. You can avoid thousands of dollars of damage to your walls, ceilings, carpets, and furniture by taking a few simple measures to protect your home.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Before the Freeze&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Protect faucets, outdoor pipes, and exposed pipes in unheated areas by wrapping them with rags, newspaper, trash bags, or plastic foam.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Insulate your outdoor water meter box and be sure its lid is on tight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Cover any vents around your home's foundation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Drain and store water hoses indoors.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Protect outdoor electrical pumps.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Drain swimming pool circulation systems or keep the pump motor running. (Run the pump motor only in a short freeze. Running the motor for long periods could damage it.)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Drain water sprinkler supply lines.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Open the cabinets under sinks in your kitchen and bathrooms to allow heated indoor air to circulate around the water pipes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Set your thermostat at a minimum temperature of 55 degrees, especially when you're gone for the day or away for an extended period.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Let indoor faucets drip; it isn't necessary to run a stream of water.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Make sure you know where your home's shut-off valve is and how to turn it on and off.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;If you leave town, consider turning off your water at the shut-off valve while faucets are running to drain your pipes. Make sure you turn the faucets off before you turn the shut-off valve back on.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;If you drain your pipes, contact your electric or gas utility company for instructions on protecting your water heater.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;If Your Pipes Freeze&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;If a pipe bursts and floods your home, turn the water off at the shut-off valve. Call a plumber for help if you can't find the broken pipe or if it's inaccessible. Don't turn the water back on until the pipe has been repaired.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;If the pipe hasn't burst, thaw it out with an electric heating pad, hair dryer, portable space heater, or towel soaked with hot water. Apply heat by slowly moving the heat source toward the coldest spot on the pipe. Never concentrate heat in one spot because cracking ice can shatter a pipe. Turn the faucet on and let it run until the pipe is thawed and water pressure returns to normal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Don't use a blowtorch or other open-flame device. They are fire risks and carbon monoxide exposure risks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 0.9em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;If You Have a Loss&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Contact your insurance agent or company promptly. Follow up as soon as possible with a written claim to protect your rights under Texas ' prompt-payment law.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Review your coverage. Most homeowners and renters policies pay for property repair. In addition, most policies pay for debris removal and for additional living expenses if you have to move temporarily because of damage to your home. If you can't find your policy, ask your agent or company for a copy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Home owner's policies may require you to make temporary repairs to protect your property from further damage. Your policy covers the cost of these repairs. Keep all receipts and damaged property for the adjuster to inspect. If possible, take photos or videos of the damage before making repairs. Don't make permanent repairs. An insurance company may deny a claim if you make permanent repairs before an adjuster inspects the damage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 0.6em"&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Most home owner's policies do not cover loss caused by freezing pipes while your house is unoccupied unless you used reasonable care to maintain heat in the building; shut off the water supply; and drain water from plumbing, heating, and air conditioning systems.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;* Visit &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt; for any Real Estate related questions&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;* Visit &lt;a href="http://www.InsurancePricedRight.com"&gt;http://www.InsurancePricedRight.com&lt;/a&gt; for any Insurance related questions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.45in" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/frozen" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;frozen&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/pipes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pipes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/winter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;winter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/Insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/frozen" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;frozen&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/pipes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pipes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/winter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;winter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=Insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=frozen" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;frozen&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=pipes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pipes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=winter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;winter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/Insurance" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Insurance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/frozen" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;frozen&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/pipes" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;pipes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/winter" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;winter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-8741737031974628635?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/8741737031974628635/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=8741737031974628635' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/8741737031974628635'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/8741737031974628635'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2010/01/avoid-home-damage-from-frozen-pipes.html' title='Avoid Home Damage from Frozen Pipes'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-8986862331217916045</id><published>2009-12-29T19:24:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-12-29T19:24:22.864-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hispanic'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Texas'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='relationship'/><title type='text'>Texas study confirms lower autism rate in Hispanics</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Hispanic kids are less likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to be diagnosed with &lt;span style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous" id="lw_1262110694_0" class="yshortcuts"&gt;autism&lt;/span&gt;, and &lt;span style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous" id="lw_1262110694_1" class="yshortcuts"&gt;socioeconomic factors&lt;/span&gt; don't seem to explain the difference, according to a new study in Texas schoolchildren.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"These findings raise questions: Is autism under diagnosed among Hispanics? Are there protective factors associated with Hispanic ethnicity?" Dr. Raymond F. Palmer of &lt;span id="lw_1262110694_2" class="yshortcuts"&gt;the University of Texas Health Science Center&lt;/span&gt; in San Antonio and his colleagues write in the &lt;span style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous" id="lw_1262110694_3" class="yshortcuts"&gt;American Journal of Public Health&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Other research has shown a lower risk of autism among Hispanic individuals, while one study found that Hispanics with autism were typically diagnosed later than &lt;span style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed; CURSOR: pointer" id="lw_1262110694_4" class="yshortcuts"&gt;autistic children&lt;/span&gt; of other ethnic backgrounds. Autism could be under diagnosed among Hispanics, Palmer and his team note, given that these children are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to have trouble accessing medical care.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;To investigate the factors behind the difference in prevalence, the researchers looked at data on 1,184 schools in 254 Texas counties, calculating the number of children in kindergarten through 12th grade in each district who had been diagnosed with autism.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;For every 10 percent increase in Hispanic schoolchildren in a given district, the researchers found, the &lt;span style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous" id="lw_1262110694_5" class="yshortcuts"&gt;prevalence of autism&lt;/span&gt; decreased by 11 percent, while the prevalence of kids with &lt;span id="lw_1262110694_6" class="yshortcuts"&gt;intellectual disabilities&lt;/span&gt; or &lt;span style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous" id="lw_1262110694_7" class="yshortcuts"&gt;learning disabilities&lt;/span&gt; increased by 8 percent and 2 percent, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The reverse was seen as the percentage of non-Hispanic white children in a district increased, with the prevalence of autism rising by 9 percent and the prevalence of intellectual and learning disabilities falling by 11 percent and 2 percent.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The observed relationships remained for Hispanic children after the researchers accounted for key socioeconomic and &lt;span id="lw_1262110694_8" class="yshortcuts"&gt;health care provider&lt;/span&gt; factors, although "urbanicity" of a district, &lt;span id="lw_1262110694_9" class="yshortcuts"&gt;median household income&lt;/span&gt;, and number of &lt;span id="lw_1262110694_10" class="yshortcuts"&gt;health care professionals&lt;/span&gt; did explain the increased percentage of autism among districts with more non-Hispanic white kids -- a finding the researchers call "curious."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whether lower autism prevalence in Hispanics is attributable to other, still-unexamined socioeconomic, &lt;span id="lw_1262110694_11" class="yshortcuts"&gt;health care delivery&lt;/span&gt; or biological factors "remains a crucial area for further research," Palmer and colleagues conclude.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;SOURCE: &lt;span id="lw_1262110694_12" class="yshortcuts"&gt;American Journal of Public Health&lt;/span&gt;, December 2009.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/hispanic" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;hispanic&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/relationship" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relationship&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/hispanic" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;hispanic&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/relationship" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relationship&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=hispanic" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;hispanic&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=relationship" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relationship&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/hispanic" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;hispanic&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/relationship" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;relationship&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/texas" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;texas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-8986862331217916045?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/8986862331217916045/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=8986862331217916045' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/8986862331217916045'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/8986862331217916045'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2009/12/texas-study-confirms-lower-autism-rate.html' title='Texas study confirms lower autism rate in Hispanics'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-1981382728299660954</id><published>2009-12-21T19:26:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-12-21T19:26:13.934-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='files'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='robertjrussell'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='jpeg'/><title type='text'>How to hide files in .JPEG Pictures</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;If you're looking to &lt;strong&gt;hide files on your &lt;a style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" target="undefined" class="kLink" href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-file-in-picture/#" id="KonaLink12" name="KonaLink12"&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #ffa500"&gt;&lt;span style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: verdana,'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; COLOR: orange !important; FONT-SIZE: 12px" class="kLink"&gt;PC&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; hard drive&lt;/strong&gt;, you may have read about ways to encrypt folders or change the attributes on a file so that they cannot be accessed by prying eyes. However, a lot of times hiding files or folders in that way requires that you install some sort of &lt;a style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" target="undefined" class="kLink" href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-file-in-picture/#" id="KonaLink1" name="KonaLink1"&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #ffa500"&gt;&lt;span style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: verdana,'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; COLOR: orange !important; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: 400" class="kLink"&gt;software&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; on your computer, which could then be spotted by someone else.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;I've actually written quite a few articles on how you can hide files and folders in Windows XP and &lt;a style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" target="undefined" class="kLink" href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-file-in-picture/#" id="KonaLink2" name="KonaLink2"&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #ffa500"&gt;&lt;span style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: verdana,'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; COLOR: orange !important; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: 400" class="kLink"&gt;Vista&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; before, but here I'm going to show you a new way to hide files that is very counter-intuitive and therefore pretty safe! Using a simple trick in Windows, you can actually &lt;strong&gt;hide a file inside of the JPG picture file&lt;/strong&gt;!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;You can actually hide any type of file inside of an image file, including txt, exe, &lt;a style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" target="undefined" class="kLink" href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-file-in-picture/#" id="KonaLink3" name="KonaLink3"&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #ffa500"&gt;&lt;span style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: verdana,'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; COLOR: orange !important; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: 400" class="kLink"&gt;mp3&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, avi, or whatever else. Not only that, you can actually store many files inside of single JPG file, not just one! This can come in very handy if you need to hide files and don't want to bother with encryption and all that other technical stuff.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h4&gt;Hide File in Picture&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;In order to accomplish this task, you will need to have either WinZip or WinRAR installed on your computer. You can download either of these two off the Internet and use them without having to pay anything. Here are the steps for creating your hidden stash:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Create a folder on your hard drive, i.e. &lt;strong&gt;C:\Test&lt;/strong&gt; and put in all of the files that you want to hide into that folder. Also, place the image that you will be using to hide the files in.&lt;a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hide-file-in-jpg.png"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hide-file-in-jpg-thumb.png" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" height="123" width="369" alt="hide file in jpg" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Now select all of the files that you want to hide, right-click on them, and choose the option to add them to a &lt;strong&gt;compressed ZIP or RAR file&lt;/strong&gt;. Only select the files you want to hide, not the picture. Name it whatever you want, i,e. "Hidden.rar".&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/add-to-archive.png"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/add-to-archive-thumb.png" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" height="253" width="527" alt="add to archive" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Now you should have a folder that looks something like this with files, a JPG image, and a compressed archive:&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hidden-rar.png"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hidden-rar-thumb.png" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" height="117" width="483" alt="hidden rar" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #3f3f3f"&gt;Now here's the fun part! Click on &lt;strong&gt;Start&lt;/strong&gt;, and then click on &lt;strong&gt;Run&lt;/strong&gt;. Type in "&lt;strong&gt;CMD&lt;/strong&gt;" without the &lt;a style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" target="undefined" class="kLink" href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-file-in-picture/#" id="KonaLink4" name="KonaLink4"&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #ffa500"&gt;&lt;span style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: verdana,'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; COLOR: orange !important; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: 400" class="kLink"&gt;quotes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and press &lt;strong&gt;Enter&lt;/strong&gt;. You should now see the command prompt window open. Type in "&lt;strong&gt;CD \"&lt;/strong&gt; to get to the root &lt;a style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" target="undefined" class="kLink" href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-file-in-picture/#" id="KonaLink5" name="KonaLink5"&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #ffa500"&gt;&lt;span style="BORDER-BOTTOM: orange 1px solid; POSITION: static; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; FONT-FAMILY: verdana,'Trebuchet MS',Arial,sans-serif; COLOR: orange !important; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: 400" class="kLink"&gt;directory&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style="POSITION: relative" id="preLoadWrap5" class="preLoadWrap"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="Z-INDEX: 4000; POSITION: absolute; DISPLAY: none; TOP: -32px; LEFT: -18px" id="preLoadLayer5"&gt;&lt;img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" height="30" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;. Then type &lt;strong&gt;CD&lt;/strong&gt; and the directory name that you created, i.e. "&lt;strong&gt;CD Test&lt;/strong&gt;".&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/cd-test.png"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/cd-test-thumb.png" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" height="142" width="328" alt="cd test" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: #3f3f3f"&gt;Now type in the following line: &lt;strong&gt;"copy /b DSC06578.JPG + Hidden.rar DSC06578.jpg"&lt;/strong&gt; and press &lt;strong&gt;Enter&lt;/strong&gt;. Do not use the quotes. You should get a response like below:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hide-files-in-jpg.png"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hide-files-in-jpg-thumb.png" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" height="76" width="441" alt="hide files in jpg" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Just make sure that you check the file extension on the compressed file, whether it is .ZIP or .RAR as you have to type out the entire file name with extension in the command. I have heard that some people say that they have had problems doing this with a .ZIP extension, so if that doesn't work, make sure to compress to a .RAR file.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;And that's it! The picture file will have been updated with the compressed archive inside! You can actually check the file size of the picture and see that it has increased by the same amount as the size of the archive.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;You can access your hidden file in two ways. Firstly, simply change the extension to .RAR and open the file using WinRAR. Secondly, you can just right-click on the JPG image and choose &lt;strong&gt;Open With&lt;/strong&gt; and then scroll down to WinRAR. Either way, you'll see your hidden files show up that you can then extract out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/winrar.png"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/winrar-thumb.png" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" height="217" width="219" alt="winrar" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;That's it! That is all it takes to hide files inside JPG picture files! It's a great way simply because not many people know it's possible and no one even thinks about a picture as having to the ability to "hide" files. Enjoy!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;For information: Visit &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/files" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;files&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/jpeg" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;jpeg&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/files" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;files&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/jpeg" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;jpeg&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=files" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;files&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=jpeg" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;jpeg&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/files" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;files&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/jpeg" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;jpeg&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/robertjrussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;robertjrussell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-1981382728299660954?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/1981382728299660954/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=1981382728299660954' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1981382728299660954'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/1981382728299660954'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-to-hide-files-in-jpeg-pictures.html' title='How to hide files in .JPEG Pictures'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-8882278876557867926</id><published>2009-12-08T17:16:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-12-08T17:16:07.791-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Loser'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='BiggestLoser'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='robertjrussell'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Danny'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Weight'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Loss'/><title type='text'>If Danny Cahill Wins the Biggest Loser, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation ® Will Donate up to $25,000 Worth of Coffee Brewers to Charity</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;BUNN, a leader in beverage equipment, is pleased to announce that if Danny Cahill is named The Biggest Loser champion, they will donate a home coffee brewer for every pound he loses to a non-profit hunger relief organization. Danny owns a BUNN home coffee brewer and the company wants to show their support for his inspirational weight loss journey.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Springfield, IL (&lt;a href="http://www.prweb.com/"&gt;PRWEB&lt;/a&gt;) December 6, 2009 -- BUNN, a leader in beverage equipment, is pleased to announce that if Danny Cahill is named The Biggest Loser champion, they will donate a home coffee brewer for every pound he loses to a non-profit hunger relief organization.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; WIDTH: 187px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 160px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;img src="http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2009/12/05/2464644/gI_0_GRXB.jpg" style="MARGIN: 10px 5px; WIDTH: 203px; HEIGHT: 144px" align="right" height="30" width="203" alt="BUNN GRX-B Home Coffee Brewer" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 1px 10px; CLEAR: both; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;BUNN GRX-B Home Coffee Brewer&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;But why Danny and not one of the other contestants?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table width="250" style="Z-INDEX: -1; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(198,213,223) 4px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(198,213,223) 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN: 5px 12px 5px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; BACKGROUND: rgb(255,255,255); FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 100%; COLOR: rgb(116,141,167); FONT-SIZE: 16px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(198,213,223) 4px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(198,213,223) 4px; PADDING-TOP: 10px; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.prweb.com/images_v4/quote_left.gif" alt="" height="30" width="28"/&gt; &lt;a style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(116,141,167); FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.bunn.com/" title="http://www.bunn.com"&gt;BUNN is committed to our customers and wants to recognize Danny as an inspiration of what is possible when you are committed to a goal&lt;/a&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.prweb.com/images_v4/quote_right.gif" style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom" height="30" alt="" width="28"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Contact:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lisa McCloud, Director of Marketing, Retail Division&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bunn-O-Matic Corporation&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;800-352-2866&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.bunn.com/" target="_blank" onclick="linkClick( this.href );"&gt;http://www.bunn.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lisa McCloud, Director of Marketing, is a fan of the show and has been following Danny's weight loss progress throughout Season 8. During episode 812, she saw that Danny has a BUNN coffee brewer in his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. "As a fan and a BUNN employee, I was very excited to see that Danny owns one of our coffee brewers!" commented Ms. McCloud. "His success this season has been a true testament to hard work and dedication. These are qualities that we admire and that represent the products and services that we provide to our customers. We want to do something to support Danny in his final push to the finale and are guessing that he will lose between 225 - 250 pounds. That equates to up to $25,000 worth of coffee brewers that could be donated."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"BUNN is committed to our customers and wants to recognize Danny as an inspiration of what is possible when you are committed to a goal" said Aimee Markelz Tracy, Senior VP Retail Division. "We're excited to see the finale and wish Danny the best of luck."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;About BUNN&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bunn-O-Matic Corporation (BUNN) is a pioneer in the beverage equipment industry. BUNN was founded in 1957 and built on innovations including the first flat-bottom paper coffee filter for commercial use and the first pourover coffee brewer. Today, BUNN continues to innovate commercial beverage equipment and home coffee brewers from its global headquarters in Springfield, Illinois and provides comprehensive service to customers throughout the world. For more information, please visit &lt;a href="http://www.bunn.com/" target="_blank" onclick="linkClick( this.href );"&gt;www.bunn.com&lt;/a&gt; or call 1-800-637-8606 or +1-217-529-6601. Find us on Facebook at &lt;a href="http://facebook.com/BUNN" target="_blank" onclick="linkClick( this.href );"&gt;http://facebook.com/BUNN&lt;/a&gt; or follow our news on Twitter at &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/BUNN" target="_blank" onclick="linkClick( this.href );"&gt;http://twitter.com/BUNN&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;To find out about Real Estate or Insurance visit: &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/BiggestLoser" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;BiggestLoser&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Danny" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Danny&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Loser" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Loser&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Loss" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Loss&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/RobertJRussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;RobertJRussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Weight" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Weight&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/BiggestLoser" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;BiggestLoser&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/Danny" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Danny&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/Loser" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Loser&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/Loss" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Loss&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/RobertJRussell" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;RobertJRussell&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/Weight" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;Weight&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-8882278876557867926?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/8882278876557867926/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=8882278876557867926' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/8882278876557867926'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/8882278876557867926'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2009/12/if-danny-cahill-wins-biggest-loser-bunn.html' title='If Danny Cahill Wins the Biggest Loser, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation ® Will Donate up to $25,000 Worth of Coffee Brewers to Charity'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-6253253257641133513</id><published>2009-12-01T18:39:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-12-01T18:39:00.586-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='tiger'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='carolina'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='golf'/><title type='text'>Tiger Woods Design Golf Course</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cliffscommunities.com/?as=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.icliffs.com/ecomm/images/image.aspx?i=1164&amp;amp;u=286988&amp;amp;e=3261" height="1200" width="800" usemap="#imgMap" alt="Sneak Peek at Tiger Woods Design Golf Course" border="0"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. 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President Obama signed a bill that extends the up to $8,000 tax credit for first-time &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/" target="_blank"&gt;homebuyers&lt;/a&gt; for seven months. An additional incentive for the housing industry is for &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/" target="_blank"&gt;homeowners&lt;/a&gt;. The $6,500 tax credit will benefit some existing &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/" target="_blank"&gt;homeowners&lt;/a&gt; who are also buyers and whose primary residence has been owned, used, sold, or being sold within at least five consecutive years of the previous eight years. The legislation is part of a bill that also extends unemployment benefits.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bruce Walker, Director of Marketing, RealEstate.com Reportedly, the credit would be available for people earning up to $125,000 a year and couples making up to $225,000 per year. This is an increase from the current income limits of $75,000 and $150,000, respectively. The extension of the first-time &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR18442/TIP/VIEW/BS1/1257292316.html" target="_blank"&gt;homebuyer&lt;/a&gt; credit lasts through June of next year. Buyers must sign a contract by the end of April 2010.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The incentives come at a good time for the housing industry. "We're getting into a historically slow time of year. You have the holidays and folks just aren't in the market to &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR18442/TIP/VIEW/BS1/1257292316.html" target="_blank"&gt;buy a home&lt;/a&gt;. I think now, you're going see a little bit more interest and we may see some upticks through the end of the year that could carry some momentum into the first part of the year which is traditionally the heaviest homebuying season," says Walker.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;He believes these incentives will not only cause more homes to sell but will also have an impact on related industries. "I think one of the areas that will get a secondary benefit is going to be the home improvement industry. When someone buys a home they will often put additional work into it to make it their own. They'll paint, put up wallpaper, and hang current rods. They may clean floors -- so that home improvement sector is going to see, I believe, a secondary lift as well," explains Walker. What this means to consumers? "When they see that home prices have dropped, there's going to be fear in the market and people are going to wait to see other people get involved -- get back into the market. So, as consumers are pushed off the fence with these incentives I think we will see a strengthening of the housing market as a direct result and people are going to get re-engaged," says Walker.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;But some wonder are the incentives a risk that will cause &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR18442/TIP/VIEW/BS1/1257292316.html" target="_blank"&gt;homeowners&lt;/a&gt; to later default? "People have been skeptical of the economy for the last year or longer," says Walker.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Economists with the National Association of Realtors estimate that approximately 2 million people will take advantage of the tax credit this year. &lt;!-- End --&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;!-- End Body --&gt;&lt;!-- Attributions &amp; Copyright --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. 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More than 40% of the top 50 major metros across the U.S. are experiencing price reduction levels above 30%, significantly higher than the national average. The average discount for price-reduced homes continues to hold steady at 10% off of the original listing price.&lt;a name='more'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northeast Continues with Most Homes Reduced&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Northeast continues to see the highest level of price reductions, with 29% of current listings experiencing at least one price cut - Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are all seeing over 30% of listings with price reductions. (Regions according to the U.S. Census Bureau)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;-Northeast - 29% of listings with price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Midwest - 28% of listings with price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-West - 25% of listings with price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-South - 24% of listings with price reductions&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;"With mortgage rates still low and the expansion of the tax credit to trade-up buyers, we could see significant inventory - both new and 'shadow inventory' - hit the market during the next four-to-six months," said Pete Flint, Trulia co-founder and CEO. "Inventory levels this quarter are poised to be atypical of a normal real estate market, which could create tremendous pressure on sellers to price their homes competitively and move their property before the tax credit expires on April 30th."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cities experiencing significant increases in percentage of listings with price reductions from June 2009 to November 2009 include:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;-Kansas City, MO - 59% increase in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Colorado Springs, CO - 43% increase in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Omaha, NE - 39% increase in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Louisville, KY - 37% increase in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Milwaukee, WI - 30% increase in price reductions&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cities showing signs of the highest percentage of declines for listings with price reductions from June 2009 to November 2009 include:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;-Las Vegas, NV - 34% decrease in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-San Jose, CA - 25% decrease in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-San Antonio, TX - 18% decrease in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Los Angeles, CA - 16% decrease in price reductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Oakland, CA - 16% decrease in price reductions&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Luxury Market Still Hardest Hit&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Luxury homes (those listed at two million dollars and above) continue to bear the brunt of discounts being offered with an average of 14% being slashed from the original asking price compared to the national average of 10%. Additionally, luxury homes represent less than 2% of all current listings on Trulia, but are responsible for 25% of the $28.1 billion in home price reductions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;For more information, visit &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-2485960633893666975?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/2485960633893666975/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=2485960633893666975' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2485960633893666975'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/2485960633893666975'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2009/11/more-than-1-in-4-homes-for-sale-in.html' title='More Than 1 in 4 Homes for Sale in Price Reduction Report Have Seen Reduction'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-908300930360553680</id><published>2009-11-15T19:58:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-11-15T19:58:24.616-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='developments'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mls'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Worldwide'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mls properties'/><title type='text'>The World's Top Developments by Robert J Russell</title><content type='html'>&lt;table cellpadding="5" style="WIDTH: 735px; HEIGHT: 6549px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Alinari at Rosemary Place &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Sarasota, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=/6mW8Jyn0zA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=/6mW8Jyn0zA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_31.jpg" height="137" border="0" width="142"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;An eclectic enclave in the center of the arts, on the edge of the bay, in an unbeatable location, Sarasota is fast becoming one of the most desirable destinations on Florida's Gulf Coast. The appeal of this vibrant city and its intimate neighborhoods is hard to resist. In this artistic setting, nature provides the ultimate brushstroke, giving Alinari residents a private showing of brilliant emerald hues in the sparkling waters of Sarasota Bay and, from the top floors, the Gulf of Mexico.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Altura &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Asheville, North Carolina ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=/KZXZKYJyok=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=/KZXZKYJyok=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_44.jpg" height="137" border="0" width="142"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;With a focus on Wellness and Environmental Sustainability, our 240 acre development is located just seven (7) minutes from Downtown Asheville, NC, offering Grand Estate Homes, Condos, Villas, and Cottages - 85% have views! Amenities such as a proposed spa hotel, 24 hour concierge service, "Pathways to Peace" nature trails, park, garden area, swimming pools, restaurants and retail all add to hip urban living in the Mountains of North Carolina.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Aqua &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Naples, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=yygHpfjt3Ro=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=yygHpfjt3Ro=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_18.jpg" height="137" border="0" width="142"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;With prices starting in the $2 Millions; Aqua, Naples' most elegant new address, offers a unique and private waterfront lifestyle for refined sensibilities, with amenities that include concierge services, a private yacht harbor with direct access and membership to Naples' most exclusive yacht club.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Ara Macao &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Placencia, Placencia Peninsula ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Fq4POirjFx8=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Fq4POirjFx8=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_50.jpg" height="135" border="0" width="140"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Ara Macao Resort &amp;amp; Marina, a master planned, residential resort community and marina, is located on the Placencia Peninsula on the southern coast of Belize, a sunny region highly prized for its great weather, turquoise water and beautiful sand beaches. The community is being developed on a 600+ -acre waterfront estate containing approximately one mile of Belize beachfront real estate on the Caribbean Sea. Contact us today to learn more about this rare opportunity&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Barker Block &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Los Angeles, CA ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Rq+VEs7PIQI=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Rq+VEs7PIQI=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_51.jpg" style="WIDTH: 144px; HEIGHT: 99px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Barker Block is a new living concept by The Kor Group, the creators behind some of the most contemporary and sought after hotels, destinations and designer residences. And now you can own this signature style in a home that showcases our obsession with design and detail, as well as our ability to create intriguing settings, social areas and gathering spaces. The Barker Block has been crafted to offer inspired homes and a true neighborhood living experience.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Bell Tower Park &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Fort Myers, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=H1KCK1I1BqA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=H1KCK1I1BqA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_54.jpg" style="WIDTH: 144px; HEIGHT: 104px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bell Tower Park is an Award winning private gated community located in the heart of south Fort Myers. Minutes from fine dining, shopping and other retail shops. A park like setting of stylish carriage and courtyard homes, surrounding lakes and nature preserves. Residents enjoy an array of amenities including a 2 resort pools, tiki bar, 6,000 sf clubhouse, fitness center, social area, tennis courts and sport court, play area and miles of shaded nature trails. Attention to detail, included features, and architecal attention to details make this an outstanding community.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Bleu Claire &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Longboat Key, FL&lt;/strong&gt; :: &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=xa69PLpwuEI=" target="_blank"&gt;View Details&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=xa69PLpwuEI=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_23.jpg" style="WIDTH: 144px; HEIGHT: 101px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nestled along the pristine coastline of Longboat Key is a new level of exclusivity to define beachfront living, the taste of luxury, the reward for a lifetime of accomplishment: Your inspiration. Your dream. Your Bleu Claire. Designed to evoke the feeling of a retreat from the everyday, Bleu Claire on Longboat Key is inspired by the villas of the French Riviera. The community's understated elegance reflects the beauty of its natural surroundings and the enchanting views of the Gulf of Mexico.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Bonita Bay Highrises &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Naples, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=CvV74yfgCjg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=CvV74yfgCjg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_33.jpg" style="WIDTH: 148px; HEIGHT: 105px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Three waterfront parks; 12 miles of biking and walking paths; 90 holes of golf; private beach park on the Gulf of Mexico; tennis and swim center; fitness center; marina club with storage for more than 400 boats, fuel and service, a ship's store and restaurant; wine club; Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary for demonstrated excellence in environmental planning, wildlife-habitat management, resource conservation, waste management, and outreach and education. Four additional high-rises are in development.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Bridlegate Ranch &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Bandera, Texas ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=DQOUEeOVStY=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=DQOUEeOVStY=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_36.jpg" style="WIDTH: 152px; HEIGHT: 119px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bridlegate is conveniently located near the bustling community of Bandera yet poised amidst the Hill Country's scenic beauty along the gentle Medina River, Bridlegate features nearly 4 miles of Medina River frontage, 2 to 5 Acre homesites with premier riverfront homesites available, tremendous Hill Country views, majestic Live Oaks, quality covenants to protect the integrity of the land, clubhouse with pool, tennis court, fitness center, guest suites, equestrian facilities with riding trails and a private property owners' park on the river for tubing, fishing, and relaxing. Buyers can purchase now and build when ready as well as choose their own custom builder. Bridlegate is being developed by Southerland Communities, a premier developer of Hill Country acreage communities.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Brookfield Homes Hawaii &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Honolulu, HI ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Pj32ASPqvkA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Pj32ASPqvkA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_55.jpg" style="WIDTH: 152px; HEIGHT: 113px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Brookfield Homes Hawai'i offers three exclusive resort communities on two of the Hawaiian islands; each of them are adjacent to gorgeous beaches, championship golf courses, tennis clubs, fine dining, and rejuvenating spas. Our communities also offer their own luxurious recreation villages designed for outdoor gatherings, swimming, and fitness. On the Island of Kaua'i we offer you Nihilani at Princeville and PiliMai at Po'ipu, resorts of unparalleled natural beauty. On the Big Island we offer you KaMilo at Mauna Lani, one of the most renowned resorts in the world. These three resort communities define what it means to feel at home in Hawai'i.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Chinquapin &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Cashiers, North Carolina ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=fen76FKMe1Y=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=fen76FKMe1Y=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_25.jpg" style="WIDTH: 154px; HEIGHT: 93px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nestled contentedly in a rolling expanse of the Cashiers area of the Blue Ridge Mountains, there exists a place where home settings and amenities emerge naturally from the land-as if they always have been. It's a place surrounded by pristine national wilderness, so you know it always will be. It's a place where new beginnings and new discoveries spring naturally from every moment out of the spectacular beauty that is Chinquapin&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Citrus Square &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Sarasota, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=hD9NzyBR3Lk=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=hD9NzyBR3Lk=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_26.jpg" style="WIDTH: 154px; HEIGHT: 137px" height="137" border="0" width="142"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A new concept on in-town living is coming to a neighborhood set apart by a new pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined streetscape with quaint open square and distinctive lampposts. Great city location on Orange Avenue just three blocks to Main Street. Walk to your favorite downtown Sarasota restaurants, shopping, and cultural arts.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Cliffs Communities &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Asheville,NC and upstate SC, North and South Carolina ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=q5BSwAkSpDg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=q5BSwAkSpDg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_24.jpg" style="WIDTH: 155px; HEIGHT: 107px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Named CNBC's 2007 World's Best International Development, The Cliffs Communities include eight private, residential mountain-lake communities located between Asheville, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina, bordered by hundreds of thousands of acres of protected forests, crystal lakes, streams, and waterfalls. Members enjoy eight championship golf courses, spectacular clubhouses, restaurants, wellness centers and spa facilities. Plus, access to The Cliffs international vacation properties in British Columbia, Chile and the Bahamas.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Copper Ridge &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;New Braunfels, Texas ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=cvjEKv1lneg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=cvjEKv1lneg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_35.jpg" style="WIDTH: 158px; HEIGHT: 128px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Located just five miles west of New Braunfels on Highway 46 in the New Braunefels school district, Copper Ridge is a distinctive acreage community with homesites available on a ridgeline that offer spectacular long distance views with level building sites as well as homesites with large trees and open meadows. This community of 1+ acre tracts will also be secured with a gated and guarded entrance and will have curbed streets, high quality covenants and a homeowners' park with resort-style pool, pavilion, sports courts and walking trails. Buyers can purchase now and build when ready as well as choose their own custom builder or use one of Copper Ridge's designated showcase builders. Copper Ridge is being developed by Southerland Communities, a premier developer of Hill Country acreage communities.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Cristal Beach Resort &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Cabrera, Dominican Republic ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=8d7h879s8Go=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=8d7h879s8Go=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_10.jpg" style="WIDTH: 161px; HEIGHT: 84px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cristal Beach is a luxury residential condo resort on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic with the utmost attention to natural beauty and detail. We offer 2 and 3 bedroom units with the highest finishes along with all ocean views, direct beach access, resort style pool, jacuzzi and many more amenities for you and your guests.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Firefly Cove At Lake Lure &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Lake Lure, NC ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=MEKXVjOKNLk=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=MEKXVjOKNLk=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_22.jpg" height="137" border="0" width="142"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Set within the natural beauty of Lake Lure and the surrounding grandeur of Chimney Rock State Park, Firefly Cove, with its rich historical past, offers its residents an unparalleled waterfront and mountain lifestyle. Residents will enjoy the Village Commons area which includes the Community Lodge with Billiards and Fireplace Gathering Lounge, Heated Swimming Pool and Outdoor Amphitheater. Also, all residents have direct lake access and may enjoy the Boathouse, Canoe and Kayak Area and Lakeside Docks for fishing, swimming or boating.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Florida Lifestyle Homes &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Fort Myers, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=XtzEe/DCNro=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=XtzEe/DCNro=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_19.jpg" style="WIDTH: 161px; HEIGHT: 113px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Florida Lifestyle Homes can provide one-stop shopping for your custom home in the most prestigious areas of Southwest Florida. We have used our financial strength and experience to inventory a substantial portfolio of spectacular home sites in Lee County's luxury home communities of Cape Harbour, Renaissance, Verandah, as well as, Collier County in Quail West, a Ginn Club community. If you are already an owner of a home site or if you have a home site in mind that is not in our inventory, we would be happy to build your dream home where ever you choose. We are proud to have been selected as a preferred builder in the most exclusive waterfront and golfing communities in Southwest Florida.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Hacienda &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Placida, Florida ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=8RGr0DbwkJ4=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=8RGr0DbwkJ4=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_28.jpg" style="WIDTH: 164px; HEIGHT: 91px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Located between the tranquility of the sunrise over Charlotte Harbor and the fiery sunset on the Gulf of Mexico is a magical stretch of Florida's Intracoastal Waterway. Here lies Hacienda, the perfect Waterfront community Nestled among the oldest and most unique tropical destinations on Florida's Gulf Coast.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Hampton Lake &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Bluffton, South Carolina ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=rmXsf2d8jVA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=rmXsf2d8jVA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_40.jpg" style="WIDTH: 166px; HEIGHT: 106px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Located in Bluffton, South Carolina, Hampton Lake is true lakefront living located minutes from Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Savannah. The 165-acre freshwater lake with fifteen miles of shoreline, is surrounded by a 340 acre nature preserve, offering a total of over 500 acres of open space in this community of just over 900 acres. Lakeside Amenity Village was recently honored with the "Best Community in America" Award by The National Association of Homebuilders and Professional Builder Magazine.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Hermosa del Mar &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Playa Hermosa, ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=oAoWzVsHQ6w=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=oAoWzVsHQ6w=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_48.jpg" style="WIDTH: 169px; HEIGHT: 101px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and only 20 minutes away from Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Hermosa del Mar is nestled along the sparkling sands of Playa Hermosa with crystal clear waters flowing across the exotic tropical scenery...soothing ocean breezes await you in what will without a doubt become your private refuge.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Hidden Harbor &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Fort Myers, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=u1gBnTODHfU=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=u1gBnTODHfU=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_47.jpg" style="WIDTH: 173px; HEIGHT: 100px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Unprecedented, Unparalleled, Unbelievable...All these words have been used to describe Hidden Harbor. Yet there are no words that fully do justice to the beauty, serenity and uniqueness of this one-of-a-kind residential community, conveniently located midway between Fort Myers and Naples. Come, experience Hidden Harbor's Unspeakable perfection yourself&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Jade Condo Hotel Residences &amp;amp; Beach Club &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: Manuel Antonio, :: &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=HRWPwK/s/FU=" target="_blank"&gt;View Details&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=HRWPwK/s/FU=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_43.jpg" style="WIDTH: 176px; HEIGHT: 92px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;From its stunning perch overlooking the best of Manuel Antonio, Jade Resort Residences &amp;amp; Beach Club will become your personal connection to "Paradise on the Pacific". Jade (Wyndham) Condo Hotel Residences and Beach Club features 190 spectacular designer suites and a private beach club that rivals everything else in Costa Rica.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;KaMilo at Mauna Lani &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Kohala Coast, HI ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=iFvRrVGISBY=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=iFvRrVGISBY=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_58.jpg" style="WIDTH: 175px; HEIGHT: 113px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KaMilo at Mauna Lani a luxurious resort lifestyle with open spaces, outdoor living, awe-inspiring landscapes, and a true sense of community. Located within the world famous Mauna Lani Resort on the sun drenched Kohala Coast of the Big Island, Brookfield Homes Hawai′i is proud to offer KaMilo, a private, gated enclave containing a mix of single-family and paired homes ranging in size from 2,599 to 3,781 square feet. Our residences are configured with 2-4 bedrooms and up to 4.5 baths and all with 2-car garages.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Laguna at Riviera Dunes &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Palmetto, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=hKh7GZD2lZM=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=hKh7GZD2lZM=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_27.jpg" style="WIDTH: 177px; HEIGHT: 128px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Laguna at Riviera Dunes, situated directly on the beautiful Manatee River, offers a laid-back escape from downtown condominium living at an extraordinary price. Begin and end your day with breath-taking views of the Manatee River or the magnificent Riviera Dunes Yacht Basin. Enjoy relaxing by the pool and private clubhouse. And while you'll savor the casual Florida lifestyle, a short drive places you in the midst of fine dining, exquisite shopping and exciting cultural activities, making Laguna at Riviera Dunes the perfect seasonal or year round home.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Lely Resort &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Naples, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=O6UOkmkxsTc=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=O6UOkmkxsTc=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_12.jpg" style="WIDTH: 183px; HEIGHT: 102px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A close-to-everything Naples location, three championship golf courses and a cosmopolitan atmosphere amid lush natural surroundings has made Lely Resort one of the most sought after addresses in Naples. Lely Resort offers 13 spectacular unique neighborhoods.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;LifeSmart Homes at Hampton Lake &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: Bluffton, South Carolina :: &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=q5h02mory5A=" target="_blank"&gt;View Details&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=q5h02mory5A=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_49.jpg" style="WIDTH: 186px; HEIGHT: 107px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introducing the Cottage Imagination Collection, the first single family homes in the LifeSmart Series, starting at $315,000. These efficiently designed, simpler, more environmentally conscious homes actually live larger while creating financial freedom by reducing living costs. You'll enjoy all the award-winning - newly completed - amenities offered at Hampton Lake, only now at prices nearly half of what you're used to seeing.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Mercato &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Naples, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=WvgyAxUhTCg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=WvgyAxUhTCg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_32.jpg" style="WIDTH: 185px; HEIGHT: 124px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mercato is a main street community located on 53 acres designed to provide ultra-convenient, pedestrian friendly environment to those who reside there as well as the Naples community. Consisting of 92 units of residential over retail The Strada is reinventing urban living. 300,000 square feet of retail and boutiques space including a 50,000 square foot Whole Foods Market; renowned restaurants including Capital Grille; luxurious multiplex movie theatre and just minutes from the Gulf of Mexico.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Naples | 701 &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Naples, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=b0OLLh+sUQ4=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=b0OLLh+sUQ4=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_4.jpg" height="137" border="0" width="142"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Naples | 701 has a distinct tucked-away feeling that hits as soon as you enter the property. Every square foot of space is engineered for optimum use - from closet room to kitchen appliance placement, with sleek fixtures and bright spaces. It's everything you need, and nothing you don't.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Nihilani at Princeville Resort &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Princeville, HI ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=RlrErkH7D30=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=RlrErkH7D30=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_56.jpg" style="WIDTH: 189px; HEIGHT: 116px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Find your home on Kaua'i's majestic North Shore, in this rare opportunity to live in highly acclaimed Princeville Resort. Nihilani comprises 100 thoughtfully crafted homes with golf course and Bali Hai views on this magnificent bluff between the mountains and the sea. These award-winning townhomes are beautifully designed in the plantation style to reflect indoor-outdoor living, while featuring current home innovations. Enjoy spacious lanais, two-car garages and a private outdoor recreation center situated within beautifully landscaped gardens.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Oasis &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Fort Myers, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=cc5nWMYvjGo=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=cc5nWMYvjGo=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_39.jpg" style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 145px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;At The Related Group we believe that the Oasis experience is made of moments. As your private luxury resort, Oasis is designed to capture those moments. Brilliantly placed on 17 acres of tropical paradise overlooking the Caloosahatchee River and surrounded by intriguing landscapes and breathtaking waterscapes, Oasis offers an unparalleled experience in luxury Gulf Coast Living. Whether taking a dip in your beach-entry swimming pool, boating on the Gulf of Mexico or calling the valet to bring your car for an evening of dining and theatre, each moment at Oasis will be filled with luxury touches and special experiences.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Ocean Springs Place &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Biloxi, Mississippi ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=4JVIBQK/1M4=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=4JVIBQK/1M4=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_34.jpg" style="WIDTH: 191px; HEIGHT: 148px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Located in the #1 Emerging Market in the United States and eleigeible for GO Zone bonus depreciation benefits. A turn key operation for investors including property managment, forgiveable loans ( up to $73,000 )administered by SRAP through HUD. Our Ocean Springs development is sitting on 260 acres that is owned and designed by a local Ocean Springs developer and resident. The development is built with the end user in mind. Of the 779 total lots available, only 330 will be available to investors. 218 of which are luxury duplexes and 112 are brick single family homes with various floor plans and designs.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Pacifico &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Playas del Coco, Guanacaste ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=6rayHlc/eoA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=6rayHlc/eoA=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_30.jpg" style="WIDTH: 191px; HEIGHT: 131px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pacifico. A reflection of all the good life has to offer. A place for the adventurer and the romantic. Well-planned for practical living with an exotic flair. A new place but not unfamiliar. Fresh ideas and possibilities surrounded comfort and quality. Careful consideration of the environment, the natural surroundings, the village neighbors and the sea ensure a harmonious existence will all that makes this place such a special place to live. Pacifico is a place to be discovered. Its amenities to be experienced. Its essence unable to be captured in words or in art. It's not natural. It's supernatural.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Paseo &lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;:: &lt;strong&gt;Fort Myers, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=YR1V+2me+LU=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=YR1V+2me+LU=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_6.jpg" style="WIDTH: 191px; HEIGHT: 92px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Paseo. The way to say "journey". Our way of saying a wonderful place to live. Stock Development presents an exciting new Ft. Myers community designed with a blend of inspired residences, all a stroll away from the Paseo Village Center. With plenty of places and spaces for family and friends to meet and celebrate life. Priced to move you!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Perrone Construction&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Sarasota, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=ANmmmn+UwTg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=ANmmmn+UwTg=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_45.jpg" style="WIDTH: 191px; HEIGHT: 110px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As Sarasota's premier builder of luxury waterfront residences since 1980, Perrone Construction's reputation for unparalleled excellence is widely acknowledged throughout the community. Our dedication to quality and our commitment to our client remain as strong today as ever. Repeat clients and referrals from former clients account for a good deal of our business, and to our company, this is the highest compliment that we could receive.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Pili Mai at Po'ipu&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Koloa, HI ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=T3TzlgIS+OQ=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=T3TzlgIS+OQ=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_57.jpg" style="WIDTH: 189px; HEIGHT: 141px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Experience ocean, golf course or mountain views at Po'ipu's newest neighborhood. Nestled amidst the fairways and greens of Kiahuna Golf Club, PiliMai offers the comfort and casual luxury of plantation-style architecture coupled with state-of-the-art amenities and a convenient location. Choose from seven inviting floor plans designed to maximize views and privacy, with a private recreational village to include pools, spa, exercise center and gathering pavilion. Discover the experience of island living on Kaua'i's sunny South Shore.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Roco Ki&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=K35cM859Rs8=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=K35cM859Rs8=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_20.jpg" style="WIDTH: 190px; HEIGHT: 101px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Set along the dramatic headlands and pearl white beaches of the Dominican Republic's fabled eastern shore is a world that offers rich culture, awe-inspiring scenery and a wealth of adventure. This is the place that will redefine luxury living for a new generation. Here is a world where the past is honored; the present is celebrated; the future is boldly envisioned. Welcome to Roco Ki.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Savannah Preserve At University Place&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: University Park, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=U7QmyKptKvc=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=U7QmyKptKvc=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_29.jpg" style="WIDTH: 195px; HEIGHT: 127px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Touch remarkable quality, enjoy spectacular design. Come exclaim over upgrade upon upgrade - acres of granite in kitchens and baths, glass block garden showers, lanais with incredible views from these brand new carriage-style condominium homes. Come hear yourself say the unheard of. "Finally. Now this is worth it." Not to mention, "What a terrific University Park location." Situated near Lakewood Ranch and the new University Town Center Mall.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Shadow Lakes&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Wills Point, Texas ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=G/R06DElAAI=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=G/R06DElAAI=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_37.jpg" style="WIDTH: 196px; HEIGHT: 168px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Shadow Lakes offers a relaxed country lifestyle just 35 minutes from Dallas. Shadow Lakes' offers choice 1-5 acre homesites on open meadows, in secluded woodlands, or private lakesides. Shadow Lakes was designed to preserve the peaceful, natural setting of the Texas countryside. An unobtrusive infrastructure of underground utilities, a central water supply, and sensible covenants will help preserve the country experience. The community features two stocked lakes, community pool with pavilion, sports fields and walking trails in a private 200 acre property owners' park. Buyers can purchase now and build when ready as well as choose their own custom builder or use one of Shadow Lakes's designated showcase builders. Shadow Lakes is being developed by Southerland Communities, a premier developer of acreage communities.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Summer Cove on Siesta&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Siesta Key, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=RBPTTrrAGmk=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=RBPTTrrAGmk=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_21.jpg" style="WIDTH: 196px; HEIGHT: 117px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Only Summer Cove on Siesta offers sophisticated, modern, island living on Siesta Key that's move-in ready with a 100% money-back guarantee. While most high-end island communities in the area are selling ideas and pictures, Summer Cove offers buyers the real thing. And by real thing, we mean gorgeous landscapes, luxurious interiors, private elevators, exceptional water views, and the finest in modern, upscale amenities from the low $1 millions.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Sunset Falls at Bald Creek&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Waynesville, North Carolina ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=VjonVurwCao=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=VjonVurwCao=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_52.jpg" style="WIDTH: 195px; HEIGHT: 137px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A 300 acre gated community ideally located between Asheville and Waynesville, Western North Carolina. Greeters cottage, gated entrance, paved roads, and underground utilities are in place. Elevations from 3,200 feet to 4,300 feet. Long range mountains views, gentle topography. Lots from 1.3 acres to 4.55 acres. Hiking trails are complete, crystal clear steams, and a planned clubhouse with fitness center, swimming pool, outdoor pavilion &amp;amp; BBQ area. The first two homes are under construction at this time, both over 3,000 square feet.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Tarpon Point Marina&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Cape Coral, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=iT7Wys+8hOo=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=iT7Wys+8hOo=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_53.jpg" style="WIDTH: 193px; HEIGHT: 212px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tarpon Point Marina is a resort-style community featuring five unique residential villages of single family estate homes, coach homes, and condominium towers. These distinct neighborhoods are sculpted within the community's waterways, preserves and canals, taking full advantage of its spectacular setting at the southern tip of Cape Coral where the waters of the Caloosahatchee River and Glovers Bight empty into San Carlos Bay and the Gulf o f Mexico beyond. The focal point is an existing deep water marina offering direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. Tarpon Point Marina also features The Resort at MarinaVillage Residents Club, a waterfront retail village with a 19 story luxury Residents Club, offering 1/12 fractional ownership and with resort and hotel services featuring waterfront restaurants, shopping, Esterra Spa and Salon. Daily boat shuttle to Fort Myers Beach, boat and Kayak rentals, charter fishing services, ship store and Harbor Master, Captains lounge.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;TerraMont&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: San Antonio, Texas ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=LEXSdPHFVsQ=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=LEXSdPHFVsQ=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_38.jpg" style="WIDTH: 194px; HEIGHT: 201px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;TerraMont is a hill country estate acreage community located in the vibrant and growing city of San Antonio. Poised on the ridgeline of the hills near La Cantera, most of TerraMont estates share a view of the spacious interior nature park and distant hills, while others have coveted views of the city skyline - especially dazzling at night. This is truly a unique opportunity to possess Hill Country property located within the city of San Antonio at great pre-development pricing. The community features a gated and guarded entrance, community pool with pavilion, sports courts and walking trails in a private property owners' park. Buyers can purchase now and build when ready as well as choose their own custom builder or use one of TerraMont's designated showcase builders. TerraMont is being developed by Southerland Communities, a premier developer of Hill Country acreage communities.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;The Cove at Celo Mountain&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Burnsville, North Carolina ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Vofw+jC1n8g=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Vofw+jC1n8g=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_16.jpg" style="WIDTH: 194px; HEIGHT: 187px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Cove at Celo Mountain elevates the North Carolina mountain living experience to the peak of quality, beauty and enjoyment. Tucked in the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains approximately 35 minutes from Asheville, NC this dynamic, engaging, boutique community of luxury home sites, lots, villas and cottages is a property that wholly reflects its exquisite natural landscape. Located near historic Burnsville in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Cove at Celo Mountain offers a fully rewarding lifestyle and a grounded sense of community deeply rooted in regional values and traditions. Rediscover an America you thought was long gone; Discover a lifestyle where natural beauty meets simple elegance; Discover The Cove at Celo Mountain. Start making your "memories for a lifetime" today.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;The Fairways at Savannah Quarters&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Pooler, GA ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=3IADRk6vvps=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=3IADRk6vvps=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_46.jpg" style="WIDTH: 195px; HEIGHT: 107px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Epcon maintenance free , lock and leave community in Westbrook at Savannah Quarters. A private gated community on a Greg Norman signature golf course. Townhome's for active adults, young professionals, single again adults.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;The Fitzgerald&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Asheville, NC ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=j1Dld0aLyks=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=j1Dld0aLyks=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_59.jpg" style="WIDTH: 199px; HEIGHT: 117px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Fitzgerald sits on storied grounds. A hallowed mountain setting that caught the eye of E.W. Grove nearly a century ago. This land became the inspiration and foundation for the legendary Grove Park Inn that still entices and charms visitors today as it has for generations. It is here, on this historic site, that The Fitzgerald living experience offers itself to a limited few fortunate enough to make this dream location their home.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;The Ivy Naples Grande&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Naples, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=KYCza+rfzQ0=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=KYCza+rfzQ0=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_13.jpg" style="WIDTH: 197px; HEIGHT: 103px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;For those who want Naples' exclusivity, championship golf and oceanfront elegance, there is The Ivy. Offering more than 3,000 square feet of living, the spacious homes feature the finest interior appointments and grand architectural details. While the private clubhouse provides the residents with the perfect place to meet and socialize with family and friends.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Vivante&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Punta Gorda, FL ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Z8nisyzja9s=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=Z8nisyzja9s=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_11.jpg" style="WIDTH: 201px; HEIGHT: 87px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Set in the heart of the tranquil coastal town of Punta Gorda, this luxury community features gorgeous condominium residences, a Grand Clubhouse, beautiful walking paths and magnificent views of Charlotte Harbor.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td colspan="2" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Western North Carolina Homes and Land&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;:: Whittier, North Carolina ::&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=PblwPVDokNY=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;View Details&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-TOP: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(0,0,0) 1px solid"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/AgentShieldRedirect.aspx?AgentCode=zwX6MEnFSty6w/oanT4e9A==&amp;amp;DevCode=PblwPVDokNY=" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.agentshield.com/Images/DevelopmentPictures/Dev_42.jpg" style="WIDTH: 203px; HEIGHT: 99px" height="30" border="0" width="28"/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;td style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;All our developments and lots have mountain views and or water views. One of our developments has direct river front lots. All lots have access to the Tuckasseeggee River via a 600' private recreational area. Our lots are the best around at great prices!!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.agentshield.com/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-RIGHT: 20px; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-SIZE: 8pt"/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/developments" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;developments&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/mls" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/mls+properties" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls properties&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/worldwide" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;worldwide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/developments" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;developments&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/mls" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/mls%20properties" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls properties&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/worldwide" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;worldwide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=developments" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;developments&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=mls" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=mls%20properties" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls properties&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=worldwide" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;worldwide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/developments" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;developments&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/mls" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/mls%20properties" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;mls properties&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/worldwide" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;worldwide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-908300930360553680?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/908300930360553680/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=908300930360553680' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/908300930360553680'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/908300930360553680'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2009/11/world-top-developments-by-robert-j.html' title='The World&amp;#39;s Top Developments by Robert J Russell'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-5036059325860190430</id><published>2009-11-15T04:00:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-11-15T04:00:35.527-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='exercise'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='almonds'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='food'/><title type='text'>8 fat fighting foods</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Combat fat! Your allies in battling bulge? Foods that do the work for you. These edibles have proven lipid-melting powers that help you slim. That's a win.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; By Veronica Byrd&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Almonds&lt;/strong&gt; Almond joy! Dieters who ate 3 ounces of these nuts every day reduced their weight and body-mass index by a solid 18 percent compared with an 11 percent drop in the no-nut group, a study in the International Journal of Obesity found. Almonds are high in alpha-linolenic acid, which can speed the metabolism of fats. Stick to 12 per serving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Berries&lt;/strong&gt; Vitamin C-loaded fruit such as strawberries and raspberries can help you sizzle up to 30 percent more fat during exercise, suggests research from Arizona State University at Mesa. Blend a vinaigrette of 1 cup berries and ¼ cup balsamic vinegar.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;See our tips about Real Estate: &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cinnamon&lt;/strong&gt; This spice could make your waistline nice. Sprinkling ¼ teaspoon on your food may prevent a postmeal insulin spike-this increase normally occurs after you eat and "signals the body that it should store fat rather than burn it," explains Lauren Slayton, R.D., of New York City. Add a dash to your oatmeal, yogurt or coffee.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mustard&lt;/strong&gt; Hello, yellow. The spice that gives mustard its color, turmeric, may slow the growth of fat tissues, a study in the journal Endocrinology notes. Eighty-six mayo in favor of any mustard; sprinkle turmeric on cauliflower and roast for a tangy side.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Oranges&lt;/strong&gt; Prevent pound creep with this citrus star: It contains fat-torching compounds called flavones. Women who ate the most flavones had a significantly lower increase in body fat over a 14-year period, a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds. Snack on slices or drink freshly squeezed OJ (with pulp!) for the biggest payback.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Soybeans&lt;/strong&gt; These green gems are rich in choline, a compound that blocks fat absorption and breaks down fatty deposits. Add ½ cup edamame to a salad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sweet potatoes&lt;/strong&gt; Trade up to sweet taters. They're high in fiber, which means no drastic insulin jumps and thus less fat packed onto your hips. Bake a small sweet potato-think of two bars of soap as a portion size-and top with a dollop of lowfat or nonfat cottage cheese.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Swiss cheese&lt;/strong&gt; Holy cow: "Calcium-rich foods reduce fat-producing enzymes and increase fat breakdown," says Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Put toe to toe with some of its cheesy counterparts, Swiss is a heavy hitter in the calcium department; layer a slice on a lunchtime sandwich, or stack some on high-fiber crackers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;See our tps about Insurance:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.InsurancePricedRight.com"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://www.InsurancePricedRight.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/almonds" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;almonds&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/exercise" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;exercise&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/real+estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/almonds" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;almonds&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/exercise" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;exercise&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Zooomr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=almonds" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;almonds&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=exercise" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;exercise&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.zooomr.com/search/photos/?q=real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Flickr&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/almonds" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;almonds&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/exercise" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;exercise&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/food" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;food&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/real%20estate" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-5036059325860190430?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/5036059325860190430/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=5036059325860190430' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5036059325860190430'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/5036059325860190430'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2009/11/8-fat-fighting-foods.html' title='8 fat fighting foods'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-3100961881058518798</id><published>2009-11-13T21:11:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-11-13T21:11:47.437-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='developments'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Luxury'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='success'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='living'/><title type='text'>Are you avoiding the detours on the road to success ?</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;RISMEDIA, November 10, 2009-Here at &lt;a href="http://www.buffiniandcompany.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;span id="lw_1258174808_1" class="yshortcuts"&gt;Buffini &amp;amp; Company&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; we've coached over 50,000 people in a one-on-one capacity, and have dedicated ourselves to studying, researching and supporting people through the growth process. One thing I've noticed recently is that people are taking a step back and beginning to examine some of the practices they employ in their business.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;When the market is flying high and sticking a sign in the yard brings in multiple offers it can be easy to think you're doing better than you necessarily are. The harsh reality is, however, a tougher market always exposes the real truth behind how you're actually doing. And some of us have gotten off track. Below, I detail "The Five Detours on the Road to Success."&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;1. Lack of Accountability&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;Every human being does better with accountability because we truly cannot see our own shortcomings; outside perspective is the best way to gain clarity on our patterns.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;2. Loss of Motivation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;Motivation, by its very nature, is designed to dissipate so we need to seek it out continually. As my friend and mentor, Zig Ziglar, says: "Motivation is like bathing. You have to do it on a daily basis!"&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;3. In Need of Direction&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;Once you get things moving and gain some momentum you actually need more direction than you did when you were just starting out. This is borne out by countless people who work their whole life and have nothing to show for it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;4. Isolation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;All you have to do is watch the "Animal Planet" documentary on predators in the wild to know how detrimental isolation can be: Predators never attack the pack; they always look for the isolated, hurt, wounded, and lost, the ones who've stopped moving forward. Self-employed people are more predisposed to this isolation than anyone else.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;5. Drift&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;While "isolation" is a predator, "drift" is a killer; it's the "silent assassin" because we don't know how far and how fast we've drifted until something catastrophic happens.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;As you can see, the "Five Detours" are things we all face and it can be easy to get off track in both business and our personal lives. But let's examine the solution side of things. If there are detours, then rest assured there are also rules of the road to get you back on track.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;Stay on Track with These Rules of the Road&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;1. Stay Accountable&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;While it may not be natural to seek out accountability, let's just have a look at what happens in its absence. Tiger Woods - the greatest golfer in the world - recently missed the cut at the British Open. Just so happens it was the first time in five years he didn't bring his coach to a tournament.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;2. Brainstorm and Network with Others&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;We humans do much better when we mastermind together, which is why we facilitate networking at our events, as well as in our Coaching programs and Small Groups. Surround yourself with positive, resourceful, successful people, because they'll lift you up rather than drag you down.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;3. Plan Daily Doses of Motivation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;Just think of your daily motivation like an essential vitamin, with nothing but positive, good-for-you side effects. Plan daily doses by listening to affirming CDs in your car or by reading good books - just a few lines here or there will go a long way.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;4. Follow the System&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;You know you're in need of direction - everybody is. And we've developed a system that works. Now, I know that few people ever follow the system 100%, but what if that means you're missing out on a 30% jump in your income?! Would that be worth increasing your commitment to the lead-generation activities by just 10%? The Referral Systems work; but only if you do!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="COLOR: black"&gt;5. Work with a Coach&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;A Coach has the expertise, tools and strategies to help you get your business cranking. That accountability and direction will help you avoid drift - the deadly killer.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;This much I do know…there's a reason our Coaching Members averaged $192,000 in income in one of the worst markets we've seen…&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;The fact that you're still in business means you have weathered the storm and, as I've said before, a recession is a terrible thing to waste. Follow the rules of the road and you'll be launching a great new year.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"&gt;For more information: Visit &lt;a href="http://www.robertjrussell.com"&gt;http://www.robertjrussell.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p xmlns="" class="zoundry_raven_tags"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;!-- Tag links generated by Zoundry Raven. Do not manually edit. http://www.zoundryraven.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Technorati&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/developments" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;developments&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/living" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;living&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/luxury" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;luxury&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/success" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;success&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="ztags"&gt;&lt;span class="ztagspace"&gt;Del.icio.us&lt;/span&gt; : &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/developments" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;developments&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/living" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;living&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/luxury" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;luxury&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/success" class="ztag" rel="tag"&gt;success&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; 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&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/321933312417531442-3100961881058518798?l=dfwrelocation.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/feeds/3100961881058518798/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=321933312417531442&amp;postID=3100961881058518798' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3100961881058518798'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/321933312417531442/posts/default/3100961881058518798'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dfwrelocation.blogspot.com/2009/11/are-you-avoiding-detours-on-road-to.html' title='Are you avoiding the detours on the road to success ?'/><author><name>Robert J Russell, IRES, REALTOR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05758932530214392597</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='28' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-q6JmdgPQB4/SKwIyjqqzaI/AAAAAAAAANQ/NAAeUBcXPCU/S220/RJR.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321933312417531442.post-8199023010446884293</id><published>2009-11-09T03:16:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-11-09T03:29:43.985-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Robert J Russell'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Homes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Dallas Homes'/><title type='text'>Obama Signs Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;RISMEDIA, -President Barack Obama has approved the first-time homebuyer tax credit extension which will extend the tax credit until April 30, 2010.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The extension is part of a $24 billion economic stimulus bill that will extend the $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers who are purchasing their first home from the current November 30 deadline&lt;span id="more-41674"/&gt; and expands the program to offer a credit of $6,500 to homeowners who have lived in their current home for at least five years and are seeking to relocate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The following details apply to the homebuyer tax credit expansion:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Who is Eligible&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-First-time homebuyers, who are defined by the law as buyers who have not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase, may be eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Existing homeowners who have been residing in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight and are purchasing a home to be their principal residence ("repeat buyer"), may be eligible for up to a $6,500 tax credit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Income Limits&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Homebuyers who file as single or head-of-household taxpayers can claim the full credit ($8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers) if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $125,000.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-For married couples filing a joint return, the combined income limit is $225,000.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-Single or head-of-household taxpayers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000, and married couples who earn between $225,000 and $245,000 are eligible to receive a partial credit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-The credit is not available for single taxpayers whose MAGI is greater than $145,000 and married couples with a MAGI that exceeds $245,000.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Effective Dates&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;-The eligibility period for the tax credit is for homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009, and before May 1, 2010. However, home purchases subject to a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010, will qualify for the tax credit provided closing occurs prior to July 1, 2010.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Types of Homes that Qualify&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;-All homes with a purchase price of less than $800,000 qualify, including newly-constructed or resale, and single-family detached, townhomes or condominiums, provided that the home will be used as their principal residence. Vacation home and rental property purchases do NOT qualify.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tax Credit is Refundable&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;-A refundable credit means that if the amount of income taxes you owe is less than the credit amount you qualify for, the government will send you a check for the difference.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="PADDING-LEFT: 30px"&gt;-For example:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-A first-time buyer who qualifies for the full $8,000 credit who owes $5,000 in federal income taxes would pay nothing to the IRS and receive a $3,000 payment from the government. If you are due to receive a $1,000 refund, you would receive $9,000 ($1,000 plus the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-A repeat buyer who owes $5,000 would pay nothing to the IRS and receive $1,500 back from the government. If you are due to get a $1,000 refund, you would get $7,500 ($1,000 plus the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credit).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-All qualified homebuyers can take the tax credit on their 2009 or 2010 income tax return.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Payback Provisions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"&gt;The tax credit is a true credit. It does not have to be repaid unless the home owner sells or stops using the home as their principal residence within three years after the purchase.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com site is being updated. Check the site next week for more detailed information on the new tax credit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-ALIGN: left; TEXT-DECORATION: none" id="TixyyLink"&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Read more: &lt;a href="http://rismedia.com/2009-11-08/obama-signs-homebuyer-tax-credit-extension/#ixzz0WMMfDdTl"&gt;http://rismedia.com/2009-11-08/obama-signs-homebuyer-tax-credit-extension/#ixzz0WMMfDdTl&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div 
