Source: Realty Times

A new trend is on the rise in rentals: landlords are supplying the sofa.

The market for furnished rentals is on the rise despite business travel being down, the folks at CorporateHousingbyOwner.com say. It seems struggles to get unfurnished homes rented are being eased by comfortable furnishings. “When we were looking to purchase a home we saw the potential of the basement,” says landlord, Colleen Cameron. They bought a home several years ago, converted the basement and added a kitchen, turning it into a separate housing unit. Then they tried to rent it. The furnished rental was snatched up quickly.

“We found a renter within the week,” says Cameron.

“We had a lot of furniture that both my husband and I had doubles of from when we were single. So rather than sell that furniture, we used furniture that we already had to furnish the unit,” says Cameron.

It was a win-win situation. The couple didn’t want to sell their furniture or have to pay to store it; the furnished unit differentiated the rental from most.

“If the furnishings are done in good taste and are gender-neutral, I think that when someone walks in they already feel like it’s a home versus just an empty shell. And, especially, it’s attractive for the right type of renter who is looking for a furnished property,” says Cameron.

Perks Plus

Landlords across the U.S. are getting hip to the fact, too, that renters also want other perks in their buildings besides just a sofa and a lamp. In turn, many are offering things like coupons for area managed print services, cleaners, shoe repairs, etc. Others even provide onsite convenience sites for things like cheap office supplies.

However, their furnished rental serves another purpose. “We have showed our furnished properties to renters who have their own furniture and I think it just helps sell the space because … it’s staged,” says Cameron.

Cameron has found such success with the furnished rental that the couple doesn’t rent it unfurnished, although, they will make some minor exceptions. “We were able to move a couple of the items out. The issue is the cost to us to store the furniture. If we have no place to put it then it increases our cost,” says Cameron.

She adds, “There are plenty of renters who are looking for furnished units; we’re fine with walking away because [unfurnished rentals] are not really our niche.” Most of us think that furnished rentals would likely be very short-term leases. “We have been a landlord for five years. Our longest renter was two years,” says Cameron.

She also points out that whether renters have their own furniture or not, they are transitional; for instance they’re waiting to buy a house or they don’t know where they’ll be located next because of a job change or an upcoming marriage.

Cameron believes her furnished-rental market position narrows the competition. “I think the majority of the inventory out there is unfurnished and I don’t want to compete against that,” says Cameron. She believes that “we have a tighter niche and there’s less availability for furnished units and that’s why we’re able to get renters at the price we want.”

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My Take: I finally bought my first home a few years ago and frankly, sometimes I miss having the ability to put the pressures of the broken sinks and stopped up drains on my landlord. There’s something to be said for not having to worry about all those homeowners’ headaches, never mind the pressures of keeping up your property and having to work on weekends when renters out there are free to play.

On the other hand, I’m not too likely to have to deal with a landlord tenant lawyer as a homeowner. If you buy an existing home, there are not issues involving a construction lawyer, or a Bronx construction accidents lawyer, as the home is already built.

Speaking of lawyers, the government is offering low-cost loans for anyone who is unemployed and never finished their degrees. Thinking of becoming a wrongful death lawyer? How about joining the ranks of Portland Oregon bankruptcy attorneys. Do you know how much Portland Oregon personal injury attorneys make? You can study to become one. You can also become a Austin family law attorney. How about becoming an Austin TX divorce law attorney? Go here for some pointers.

Mom’s in particular are being asked to return to school. Click here for more info.

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Experienced Professionals

Good quality house painting can be used to increase the value of a home. You can easily clean the exterior of the house with the help of water. Usually, both a residential and commercial painter has the experience and skills to do a good job. They have the capability to give an effective value to the work they do. A professional painter, who is insured and licensed, can provide excellent Long Island painting services. These painting contractors do their work excellently. Professional painters will offer a cost-effective price and variety of designs and colors. Using good quality materials, they aim is to satisfying the customer needs.

Source: Associated Press

A new travel and adventure-based music show that seeks out the roots of popular music around the world is preparing for its debut. The upcoming TV series was shot by Denver-based Filament Productions.

Set to debut in the U.S. early 2010, The Music Voyager takes viewers on a journey to unique destinations around the world to discover the culture, uncover popular local music and understand its contemporary significance — all while showing adventures the location has to offer. The show will be broadcast on American Public Television/PBS affiliate stations throughout the U.S., on National Geographic Channels International’s Nat Geo Music and Nat Geo Adventure channels (internationally for the first season), as well as on other local broadcast partners (CVM Jamaica, etc.) and online. Kelly Magelky is the Director and Chief Editor. Rod Blackhurst and Oliver Cheneval served as director of photographers for the India and Jamaica shoots respectively.

Initial episodes, shot earlier this year with AG-HVX200 P2 HD handheld camcorders, feature the Northern regions of India, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Jaipur, and Jodphur. Upon availability of the HPX300 camera, the production crew jumped at the chance to take the P2 HD camcorder to Jamaica for an 11-day shoot documenting the roots of reggae music in the homeland of world-renowned music legend Bob Marley.

“I had many concerns after reading our schedule for Jamaica, as it seemed most shoots were going to be at night, and most likely in areas difficult to find lighting,” said Director Magelky. “I did some tests at home in Colorado and found that the HPX300 had an amazing capability to handle low lighting. I kept checking the shutter speed, gain, etc. and was truly amazed at what I was seeing.”

“Fast forward to Jamaica – we were, indeed, in many locations where lighting would be an issue, but the camera delivered great results,” he added. “I was amazed at the footage, even while in the edit.”

“A large part of why our show is being received well by our broadcast partners is that we capture great imagery, we absolutely pride ourselves on the fact that every single frame is a knock-out. The HPX300 delivers such a wide dynamic range and color palette that the show sells itself,” said Magelky. “Consistent responses that we hear are that the colors are amazing (pre-color correction). The camcorder does a great job of capturing blacks and reds. Our DP was able to make gamma corrections on the fly very easily and we were able to get the image and color we wanted.”

World Beats

Think of rhythms of world music and it’s easy to be swept away by your imagination. Drum beats of Africa conjure images of safari sunsets and game watching, while the sounds of Spanish guitars transport us to the beaches of Malaga, where stately Andalucia properties overlook the Costa del Sol. This show will not only attempt to transport you to a day in the life of those lucky enough own Costa del Sol properties, but will explore the roots of the music the locals call their own.

The segments were shot in 720p/30PN in AVC-Intra 100. “We created scene files for day, night, overcrank (60fps) and undercrank (12fps),” said Magelky. “We shot a large amount of scenics at 60fps and sunsets/sunrises at 12fps. For me, the big benefit of AVC-Intra is in post-production. I’m finding that the footage handles effects and web compression really well, and general picture quality is definitely impressive.”

“There were many bonuses to shooting with the HPX300,” he said. “The camera’s ability to handle dark situations without gaining was excellent — we didn’t have to up the gain at all. Also, because the camera was shoulder-mounted and not too heavy, we were able to shoot a lot of moving interviews. I personally thought the ease of viewing clips on location was great.”

Magelky continued, “I was very surprised at how quickly the camera was able to switch to the viewing mode, and back to camera mode. This was a huge time saver, and it made me feel comfortable asking to see certain scenes on the fly. As for battery life – we never had to worry about it – that’s priceless!”

“We needed a variety of focal lengths when dealing with this show and the lens we used (17x HD Fujinon lens) worked really well. The quality of the viewfinder was incredible; it was nice to know we had focus during the shoots.”

The crew utilized twelve 8GB P2 cards. “While we could have used larger cards, the capability to hot swap cards kept us from any real issues. Each night, or even between shoots, I would manage the media by offloading through my computer.”

“The quality of the footage is great, but more importantly, the integrity of the footage during and after post-production is superior; it holds up very well,” Magelky said. “This is a great codec – especially as so much footage is online these days. Even if it’s on air, it usually ends up being streamed online as well and this codec is great to work with overall.”

The Music Voyager is being edited in Final Cut Studio Pro 7. For more information about The Music Voyager, visit http://www.tantraww.com.

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My Take: I don’t know about you, but right now, with half the East Coast at a standstill due to extreme winter weather conditions, I’d give anything to be transported to the beaches of southern Spain. I’m sure the folks who bought South Nyack real estate last fall are counting the days until they can dig out from under the snow and enjoy their beach-front property. Not that all Piermont real estate is under snow, but the winter has hit the area hard and no telling when it’s going to let up.

If I owned any one of the homes along the eastern seaboard right now I’d be seriously considering hiring a solid property management company to rent out my house while I wait out winter somewhere where the ice doesn’t stick to my shoes and I can wear flip flops to the fanciest restaurant in town.

By the way, if you’re planning on moving to the east coast, specifically New York, you might want to check into a class that will help you learn to drive NY style, because the rules of the road are quite different there. Even if you’ve mastered truck driving school on the west coast, you’d benefit from some driving tips for moving those big 18-wheelers across East coast highways and byways.

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Many people like the idea of investment property but really do not like the many headaches that come with it. They do not want to have to worry about water leaks, collecting rent, or tenant issues that sometimes arise. They simply do not want the “dirty work” of hassling with the tenant and property-management issues inherent to real estate investing.

Nobody ever said that investing in real estate was going to be a bed of roses. There are a lot of thorns you have to deal with. However, there is one resolution for many investors. The hiring of property management companies can help trim those thorns. If you have townhomes for rent, a property management company can deal directly with the unpleasant and tiresome details associated with that rental property.

Even with the cost of professional property management, it is still worth considering. With the proper research, you can locate a trusted local property management company that can keep your units rented as well as vacant as little as possible. A good property manager can also control the expenses by following the budget you have set up.

A good property manager will remove the thorns from that bed of roses. Even more importantly, they will do the dirty work while you spend extra time with your family. So if you have ever thought about investing in property now is your chance.

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Life Over 50

Senior financial planning can be problematic, but is something we all need to do. We may find ourselves having more time to read, to volunteer, to travel or to spend time with our grandchildren. We also have time to plan for  retirement. And those of us who are over 50, we can remember the idealism of the 60’s with tears of joy and party, but we still have hope. At this point in our lives where some of us have more time to spend on activities of leisure, others are looking for a change of career, perhaps seeking out a more rewarding form of work or concern ourselves with green issues.

Exercises That Relax You

Students of the Alexander Technique learn to release excess tension allowing the spine to lengthen, the joints to open up, the bones to float away from each other and the muscles to lengthen. This creates a more coordinated body with graceful movement and improved posture. The Alexander Technique and pregnancy go together like bread and butter with benefits that provide optimal functional mobility, decreased pain and a greater sense of well being. Even Pilates workouts can fit into busy schedules. Try a Pilates DVD in the Strong, Svelte and Savvy series. If you have been hesitant to take a Pilates class because you are not sure of your level, then starting a Pilates training routine with is a great way to begin! Pilates exercise is fitness that accommodates your schedule, your lifestyle and your needs with Pilates equipment.

Preventing VA Roof Repair

A qualified roofing contractor can stop black mold at the source. It is so important to call a Virginia roofing repairs contractor as soon as you spot leaks, and invest in an annual roof inspection to prevent or catch leaks and cracks before they even become noticeable. However, it is crucial to understand just what black mold is and what it does to people. Basically, toxic molds like black mold are a form of fungus that can easily spread under the right conditions, which can unfortunately be found in many homes today. Black mold tends to trigger health problems in most of the population, some people with more sensitive systems have severe problems.

Manor House Doors has established themselves, in a short time, as a quality importer of wood products. For this distinction, they strive to continue to educate the public on the merits of wood.

Drive down any street in your town and is your eye automatically caught by a beautiful residence? It is usually the front door and it usually is a wood door entryway. Wood surpasses the likes of fiberglass and steel in the application of entry doors, as it truly brings out the earthy side of the experience. In this modern age, we have enough high tech cold and starkness! Wood products offer calmness, warmth, richness, and just a better look!

If you have the required roof overhang in your house, make it wood doors. You will start a fad in your neighborhood that will exhibit grandness and excellence. Keep Manor House Doors in mind when you are thinking of changing the look of your house. Think beautiful wood entry doors.

They also import wooden doors that you can choose from. Importing wood doors is an affordable alternative to buying doors domestically, without sacrificing the quality you would expect from high-end exterior wooden doors.

Many species of wood are available for your choosing. These would include, but are not limited to, mahogany doors, oak doors, fir doors, and knotty alder doors. They may be brought in prefinished or unfinished. Doors are compliant with FSC (Forward Stewardship Council) standards. The Forward Stewardship Council is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests. The exterior doors come with engineered stiles and rails, which assure a stable product that, will not warp and last much longer than wood doors made with solid wood. The doors can be imported in a variety of shapes, styles, and dimensions. You can get your standard 80″ and 96″ high wood doors in rectangular straight top doors, round top doors, and arched top doors. You can get a variety of widths, 36″ is most common, but 42″ and 32″, as well as other sizes are also available. You can get panel doors, open doors, doors with glass, which would include doors glazed with decorative glass, TDL (True Divided Lite) doors with clear beveled glass.

All the accessories needed to complete your wood entryway can be imported as well. These would include the jamb material needed to pre-hang your door with material that will match your door, transoms that would go over your door, decorative insulated glass, sometimes referred to as leaded glass, in a variety of calming colors, and ornamental wrought iron accessories, including clavos, corner straps, and grills. Many doors can be ordered with speakeasies, operable and inoperable. Sidelights come in a variety of widths and are available to complete your entryway.

Granite slabs are used for kitchen counters, bathroom counters, vanity counters, fireplaces, mantles and a variety of other items. It is a beautiful and durable rock that is formed from intense heat and pressure in volcanoes over a period of time. Granite is a metamorphic rock. Nevertheless, where does Granite come from.

Well, the majority of granite is imported to the United States from India, Brazil, Italy, China and some parts of Africa. It is excavated from quarries in blocks that are from 10 to 20 feet square. Some blocks are even larger. From these blocks granite slabs are cut.

The sophisticated and modern state of art machinery that is used to cut wholesale granite slabs once the blocks are in the stockyards make it easier to transport. The slabs are then checked for imperfections such as fissures and surface pits with a resin process. Then they are polished with abrasives and diamond wheels that brings out the beauty of the texture, pattern and color in the granite. A good example of this is the mascarella granite.

The granite is then categorized based on its color and thickness and is then sent to the importers or local warehouses that have ordered it. Then you go down to the local vendor and pick out your granite tile countertops.

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Guaranteed Safety

These iron doors are a quality product that meets a stringent building codes set forth by the Florida Building Code Department, the toughest in the country! They will withstand a Florida hurricane and beat any burglar. A burglar will not be able to insert tools between 2 door panels to pry doors open nor be able to kick doors open because the door panels and door frame are made from 12-gauge steel. The wrought iron doors also carry with it the longest transferable warranty in the industry, 5-year warranty on finishes with a 10-year warranty on parts.

Travertine Consistency

All of these products originate from the same quarry at the same location in Turkey and have for many years. This will ensure that you will receive a product matching in design and color, whether you place an additional order in one month or 2 years. The consistency in travertine tile products makes replacement and/or additions to your natural stone designs impossible to recognize from the original product purchased. Turkey is well known as one of the premium providers in the world for high quality natural stone. In their quarries they cull the best stone pieces, manufacture them into premium products in the factory and are shipped directly to Tampa for your next project.

If you have not joined a real estate networking group for women in your area, you should. If there is not one, start one. The advantages of being part of a networking group and meeting regularly are immense.

Women realtors networking can be a powerful tool for all involved. It can help you develop that dream team that will help you work your deals. That dream team will consist of not only real estate agents but also lenders, maintenance personnel, contractors, property managers and lawyers.

Networking for women can offer benefits to others of their experience and knowledge. This can save you a lot of time and frustration. This is where you realize that working alone does not help you.

Another benefit is that women in real estate who group together can flip deals in one to another. Someone in your group may have what you are looking for and you may have something they are looking for. This makes for a perfect match.

Many networking groups offer ongoing education for their particular field. That could be a formal lecture from an expert or one of the members. This could include changes in laws and ordinances as well as sales protocol or interest rates of lenders. It does mean that you will learn about your market and the experiences of others.

Being part of a networking group will allow you to learn from the experiences of others and get first-hand knowledge from others by watching what they are doing and it will give you the knowledge and competence to go forward with your own business.

Louisville Kentucky mortgage refinancing is when you change your mortgage to a new mortgage with a lower interest rate and possibly a different term length. The majority of people usually do this when interest rates drop by about 1%. This also gives people with an adjustable interest rate the opportunity to get a fixed rate mortgage.

Locking into a fixed rate mortgage with a set term length when you have, at present, an adjustable rate mortgage is a wise decision. This is true even more so when rates are beginning to rise. It will also lower your monthly payments. It is recommended that you only use this option when you are planning to stay in your home for the next few years.

You should ask your lender about the amortization schedule when you are considering KY refinancing. Your amortization tells you how many years you still have left to pay on your mortgage. If your original mortgage was a 30-year loan and you have been paying on it for 15 years, you do not want to start over again at year one. You want to make sure that you still have those 15 years left to pay off your home.

If you are planning on staying in your current home, for 3 years or more, you could save thousands of dollars by refinancing your original Louisville KY purchase mortgage, when interest rates drop.  Shortening the term from 30 to 20 or even 15 years will save you even more money. Talk to your lender or a refinancing professional to discuss your options and discuss what is best for you.

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Experienced Property Management

Be careful not to entrust your investment assets to a defunct real estate or mortgage broker who has no property management experience. One Orange County CA property management company will explain that currently an influx of unqualified and inexperienced property management companies has entering the market for the first time. These companies are easily identified as their name has recently changed. For example, XYZ Mortgage or Real Estate to XYZ Property Management. They also see real estate agents entering this arena with essentially no experience. To combat this problem they have a list of questions on their website to ask when interviewing property management companies.

What is a Watergarden?

Watergardens, also known as aquatic gardens, are a type of man-made water feature. A watergarden is defined as any interior or exterior landscape or architectural element whose primary purpose is to house, display or propagate a particular species or variety of aquatic plant. Although a watergarden’s primary focus is on plants, they will sometimes also house ornamental fish, in which case the feature will be a fish pond. To keep your pond in good shape you will need watergarden supplies. If you have a fish pond, you will need Koi food to feed your fish. Whatever you have, pond supplies are easily gotten over the Internet.

Wisconsin Home Rentals Information

Wisconsin property management offers tenant placement services with a thorough tenant screening process as well as full property management services. Their goal is to find quality tenants for homeowners. They will care for your property as if it were their own, giving you freedom and peace of mind. If the tenant renting your property breaks the lease within 6 months, for any reason, they will waive their fees and find you a replacement tenant, guarantee! No other property management company will re-market your property and find new renters at no additional cost. Check it out for yourself.

I recently read several real estate market updates on the Rockland County and Hudson River areas for 2008. Along the Hudson River are a collection of small towns and villages that are commonly referred to as river towns. These river towns are the hotspots of the lower Hudson Valley in Rockland County. They include Palisades, Piermont, South Nyack, Central Nyack and upper Nyack communities. Not only are these communities located only 15 minutes north of Manhattan, they are fantastic for anyone looking to live in a beautiful and diverse area with easy access to Connecticut and Westchester.

These real estate updates indicated that the number of homes on the market have decreased by about 1% as well as a decrease of about 35% in sales in 2008. To top it off the average sale price decreased about 15%. That means that in the Rockland County River village single-family home sales were down by about 10% of those sold in 2007. This means that Nyack NY real estate will be a bit harder to sell and will probably sell at a lower price.

Single-family homes were not the only real estate to go down. The number of condominiums on the market has also decreased by about 8%. The sale of condominiums also decreased by about 30% and the average price compared to 2007 went down by about 5%.

What I have learned from these reports is that homes in Rockland NY are still selling because they are in an area that people like. This tells me that people are still buying Piermont real estate as well because they like what they see. No figures in the world can stop someone from buying a home if they like that home and they have the ability to purchase it. That means that the Palisades real estate you just put on the market will still sell. It just might be on the market a little bit longer than you expect.

Most people, when they move, look for a particular type of neighborhood. That may be a family neighborhood or a luxury neighbor. Whatever neighborhood you are looking for, you want it to be a friendly and nice one. You want it to be crime free and safe for your family.

Some people, who do not mind a long commute to the city, may look for Danville California homes for sale. These neighborhoods are perfect for families who do not mind that commute. Then again, if you are not interested in Danville CA homes you might look closer to the city.

You might look closer to the Bay with its exclusive and expensive areas to live. Many professionals and well-to-do families live in that area. If you are sure that Danville real estate is not what you are looking for, then maybe the downtown area of the Bay is more to your taste. It is family orientated and upscale.

The Bay area is considered a beautiful and interesting area to live as well as to visit. Because it is a well visited area, you also need to consider putting up with a lot of tourists. If you are looking to start your search for Danville CA homes contact Sue Smith. She has 29 years of solid experience and knowledge of the real estate market that she will use to work for you.