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Hitting the Road for the Holiday Weekend?
Here are 10 Places to Get Free Gas By Charles Leocha Travel columnist, Tripso RISMEDIA, May 26, 2006—(MSNBC.com)—With gasoline prices soaring over the past few months, several destinations and travel organizations that depend on automobile travel to prosper have begun offering gasoline voucher programs to encourage visitors. Some of these initiatives are dusted-off versions of promotions from last year, when the travel industry was faced with a similar fuel scenario as the summer travel season loomed. Others are new. The interesting thing is how infrequently programs like this are offered. It seems that most destination managers believe that the American public will keep on truckin’ despite higher fuel prices. And they’re probably right. If history is any guide, Americans can be expected to increase their travel, not curtail it. Go figure. The same seems to be true in Europe. During a recent trip to Italy, where gasoline averages more than $6 a gallon, I was stuck in massive traffic jams on the superhighways connecting Rome, Florence and Bologna. Similarly, in England, so many drivers want to get into London that the city has implemented a special toll program. It seems cars inspire free-spending devotion. Still, some destinations and organizations have created promotions offering gasoline rebates and vouchers to encourage travelers to pay them a visit. Each program has a different collection of requirements. If you follow the rules, the reward is free fuel and, in most cases, a bit more. 1. Branson, Missouri. Visitors presenting $40 worth of gas receipts dated within two days of arrival in Branson will be rewarded with a “Gas Buster” discount card. The card is worth $50 and is accepted at more than 50 Branson-area businesses. Just bring your gas receipts to the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center. 2. Aspen, Colorado. What could be better than free gas and free activities in this tony mountain town? Guests who book at least two nights at a participating property through Stay Aspen Snowmass will receive a voucher for up to $50 in free gas at The Aspen Store, two free passes for a scenic bus ride to the Maroon Bells (a $14 value), two free bicycle rentals for a day, free parking at your lodging property and a free pass to the Aspen Recreation Center. 3. Bedandbreakfast.com. This marketing organization has created a promotion that offers gasoline-based vouchers at 40 participating properties. For instance, the Inn at Harbor Hill Marina, in Niantic, Conn., near Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium, offers a gas rebate of $25 for midweek visitors who stay two nights or more. The Inn at Starlight Lake in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains offers $25-$50 as a gas rebate for visitors saying two to four nights, excluding holidays. Other B&Bs from California to New Hampshire have similar gas promotions, generally good for about $25 worth of fuel. 4. South Dakota. In South Dakota’s “Twenty Bucks for the Road” program, the state will give a $20 coupon for ethanol to drivers arriving from the nearby states of Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. The coupons are redeemable only in South Dakota. The state is one of the largest producers of ethanol, so this promotion benefits both tourism and one of South Dakota’s biggest industries. The initial response to this promotion has been overwhelming; the state was expecting to distribute no more than 3,000 vouchers and more than 12,000 vouchers have already been requested. 5. Hotels.com. This giant hotel booking site has launched a program rewarding travelers who book two nights or more online from May 1 to May 29 for stays through July 10. Travelers will receive up to $30 back by mail-in rebate, and the rebate form is right on the Web site. 6. Wintergreen Resort, Virginia. This luxury resort nestled on the slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains is offering a “Fuel Friendly” escape that will reimburse up to $75 in gasoline charges when travelers stay at the resort for three nights. To receive reimbursement, you much present gas receipts for purchases of gasoline used to drive to the resort. 7. Whistler, Canada. Whistleraccommodation.com, an online booking agent for this sprawling mountain resort in British Columbia, is offering C$50 of free gas to anyone booking three to six nights by the end of August and arriving before October 31. For those staying seven nights or more, the gas rebate is doubled. 8. Traverse City, Michigan. The Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau will give a $25 Speedway gas card to every visitor who calls to reserve a stay of four nights or longer at any of its 43 participating hotels, motels or resorts between now and Labor Day. The cards are redeemable for gas or other merchandise at Speedway service stations anywhere in the country. To qualify, travelers simply book their rooms through the Bureau’s toll-free “Pump Up Your Summer” reservations line, 1-800-714-0051. This gas card has the impact of reducing a $3-a-gallon gas price to $2 a gallon for a visitor who makes a 500-mile round trip to Traverse City in a car that averages 20 miles per gallon. 9. Mount Bachelor Village Resort, Bend, Oregon. For travelers staying at least two nights, this all-season resort set on the banks of the Deschutes River is offering a “Free Fuel for Guests” program consisting of a $50 gas card. The resort offers spa packages and plenty of outdoor activities as well as a series of summer concerts ranging from rock to country and western. 10. Virginia Beach, Virginia. Gold Key Resorts in this vacation region has announced a $20 gasoline voucher redeemable in downtown Virginia Beach for anyone booking a vacation with an arrival date before May 25. Gold Key has a collection of packages that qualify, ranging from $49 to $319 based on three days and two nights. For more information about this promotion, call 1-800-492-9861. Travelers who can’t find free gas, or who aren’t interested in trading gas vouchers for hotel rooms, can always look for the best deal at the pump. Two Web sites will lead these travelers to the best places to spend the least for gasoline. • AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report lists average gasoline prices on a state-by-state basis. This site is perfect for a general idea of which states have the lowest prices. • Gasbuddy.com, a similar site, has reports from individuals across the United States and Canada. These reporters provide actual gas station prices together with names and locations of stations that have current gas deals. More gas deals may pop up as the summer goes by, and they might not be widely advertised. So, tell your reservations agent that you are driving in from a distance, and ask if the hotel is offering any sort of gas promotion to make the trip worthwhile. The question is sometimes all that is needed to shake something loose. Drive safe and enjoy the deal. Charles Leocha is nationally-recognized expert on saving money and the publisher of Tripso. He is also the Boston-based author of "SkiSnowboard America & Canada." E-mail him or visit his Web site. Source: www.msnbc.com
Friday, May 26, 2006
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
How Does My Realtor Work?
How Does My Realtor Work?
May 16, 2006
I have been in this business 7 years now and find the most important thing I can do is educate my clients. There are so many parts of my business that I think my clients already know and understand. I found that this was not the case and feel this is one of the most misunderstood aspects, but this is a very delicate topic as it speaks of how a Real Estate agent is paid. I am sure if we were speaking of your salary you would understand.
If you work at the average 9-5 job you are paid an hourly salary and your taxes are taken out for you by your payroll department. As a Realtor we are paid a commission. This commission is not paid to us until a home closes. So if you decide to work with 1 Realtor and you look at homes one day then say you go to an open house that weekend who would you work with? Well if you decided to go ahead and work with the Realtor at the open house because it was convenient, the other agent that you originally established a relationship with and showed you homes would not be paid.
For this reason there is a form called a buyers broker agreement that you would sign just like you would sign a contract to sell your home. This is very popular on the east coast and is gaining popularity here on the west coast. This agreement states that you agree to work with that 1 Realtor only for a specified period of time.
Now I am not saying that you should just work with anyone. You should be able to release yourself from the contract if that agent is not performing. I have often heard from clients as well as close friends “Why would I just want 1 Realtor looking if I could have 2 or 3”? Because the 1 Realtor you are working with has access to all the same information as Realtor #2 and 3. But they may not all work the same so find an agent that fits your needs and establish a relationship with them. I find when I do this and get to know my clients I can be without them and find a house and know it is a perfect fit for them. I have done this with many clients as well as my out of state clients.
I hope this has given you a better understanding to “How Your Realtor Works” and I welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
Bridget R Sturm
http://www.SellingNorthCounty.com/
www.HomePages.com/Oceanside
760 533 4551
Bridget@SellingNorthCounty.com
May 16, 2006
I have been in this business 7 years now and find the most important thing I can do is educate my clients. There are so many parts of my business that I think my clients already know and understand. I found that this was not the case and feel this is one of the most misunderstood aspects, but this is a very delicate topic as it speaks of how a Real Estate agent is paid. I am sure if we were speaking of your salary you would understand.
If you work at the average 9-5 job you are paid an hourly salary and your taxes are taken out for you by your payroll department. As a Realtor we are paid a commission. This commission is not paid to us until a home closes. So if you decide to work with 1 Realtor and you look at homes one day then say you go to an open house that weekend who would you work with? Well if you decided to go ahead and work with the Realtor at the open house because it was convenient, the other agent that you originally established a relationship with and showed you homes would not be paid.
For this reason there is a form called a buyers broker agreement that you would sign just like you would sign a contract to sell your home. This is very popular on the east coast and is gaining popularity here on the west coast. This agreement states that you agree to work with that 1 Realtor only for a specified period of time.
Now I am not saying that you should just work with anyone. You should be able to release yourself from the contract if that agent is not performing. I have often heard from clients as well as close friends “Why would I just want 1 Realtor looking if I could have 2 or 3”? Because the 1 Realtor you are working with has access to all the same information as Realtor #2 and 3. But they may not all work the same so find an agent that fits your needs and establish a relationship with them. I find when I do this and get to know my clients I can be without them and find a house and know it is a perfect fit for them. I have done this with many clients as well as my out of state clients.
I hope this has given you a better understanding to “How Your Realtor Works” and I welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
Bridget R Sturm
http://www.SellingNorthCounty.com/
www.HomePages.com/Oceanside
760 533 4551
Bridget@SellingNorthCounty.com
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Economists Predict Soft Landing for Housing
Author: Beth Bresnahan
Publishing date: 05/01/06
RISMEDIA, May 2, 2006—After soaring to record levels for three consecutive years, the single-family housing market is gliding toward a “soft landing” in 2006, as rising interest rates, affordability issues and a reduced role for investors/speculators contribute to a softening in demand, according to economists at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Construction Forecast Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 27. “After topping out in the third quarter of last year, it is pretty clear that the housing sector is in a period of transition. Sales and starts are trending lower toward more sustainable levels,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. Even so, the slowing housing market is not likely to derail the expansion as housing yields its position as the economy’s major growth engine to other sectors, he added. Expressing a similar assessment, Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc., said: “The housing sector is going through an adjustment, not a collapse.” Taking a bullish view on the current economic and inflation outlook, Jim Glassman, managing director and senior policy strategist with JP Morgan Chase & Co., said these factors will bode well for housing. “Real estate is pricing itself back to reality and in the long-run it is reasonable to expect starts in the 1.8 million to 2 million range,” said Glassman. “Housing won't continue to make the same contribution to the economy that it has. But when I think about where the economy is, I think we're in the fifth inning with a good chance of going into extra innings. This expansion may prove to be the longest one ever seen. “Inflation is key to the longevity in the current economic expansion and to the underlying health of the building business,” he said, noting that Federal Reserve Board policymakers are doing an excellent job of keeping inflation in check. Economists agreed that the Fed will raise its benchmark short-term rate to 5 percent at its May 10 meeting, which would be the 16th consecutive quarter-percentage point increase since the Fed started lifting it from 1 percent in June of 2004. Both Seiders and Glassman believe the 5 percent mark should be enough to ease inflationary pressures in the months ahead and to keep the Fed from moving forward with additional rate hikes. However, citing higher energy prices and a low unemployment rate of 4.7 percent, Moran predicted that the central bank won’t stop until it raises the federal funds rate to 5.5 percent. Looking to the future, Seiders said that new home sales in the first quarter of this year were down 10 percent from the fourth quarter in 2005, and that he expects them to ease further in the coming months before leveling off in 2007. NAHB is forecasting that new home sales will hit 1.13 million units in 2006, down 12 percent from last year’s all-time high of 1.28 million units, and then move down slightly in 2007 to 1.09 million. “Hopefully, most of this decline will be due to investors and speculators stepping out of the market. What we don’t want to see is investors dumping homes on the market,” said Seiders. After posting a record 1.716 million single-family starts in 2005, NAHB is predicting that new home construction will level off to 1.595 million units in 2006 and 1.488 million in 2007, which would still rank high by historical standards. Commenting on the dramatic home price increases in many markets in recent years, Seiders said home price appreciation is expected to fall from an average 12 percent in 2005 to about 4 percent in 2007 and that mortgage rates should move up to 6.7 percent later this year. Seiders added that the multifamily market has remained “eerily stable” since the late 1990s, and is expected to continue the same pattern in 2006, with starts dropping slightly to 351,000 apartment units from 355,000 last year. The rental market has solidified, and Seiders said he expects it to regain some ground while the red-hot condo markets start to cool. Seiders is also predicting that residential remodeling expenditures will continue on an upward trajectory, in part because "an immense amount of home equity will continue to support this spending." The Regional Outlook Looking at housing on a more localized level, Bernard Markstein, NAHB’s Director of Forecasting, said that the forces driving housing demand vary significantly by region. Among the forces affecting demand are home prices, population growth, household formation, and growth in employment opportunities. Other factors that can greatly affect demand include immigration and migration, energy prices, large-scale natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and an area’s appeal as a second home location. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, said that “builders have done a pretty good job of matching supply and demand” and that “nationally, house prices and supply will go flat in 2006, 2007 and 2008.” This implies that there will be some price declines in key markets, he said, but the markets are going to “correct, not crash.” Markets where Zandi anticipates significant corrections—defined as more than a 10 percent peak-to-trough decline— are in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, Florida, California, parts of Arizona, and Las Vegas. “Any fundamental rise in interest rates will bite hard,” Zandi said. “The rise will lock out two key groups that are important to local/regional markets: first-time home buyers and investors (investors include second home buyers and other buyers in it for the long term, not just those in the market with the intent to flip and get out.) “The Bubble” Revisited Addressing a question that has generated endless speculation in recent years, Thomas Lawler, a housing and mortgage market consultant who worked for Fannie Mae for 22 years, said “Was there a national bubble? Nationwide, no, but in some regions, absolutely.” Lawler, who spoke on house prices and local dynamics, noted that in some areas, “all of the signs of a bubble were present: a surge in speculative investing; a surge in innovative financing; easy credit and loose underwriting; home inspection waivers; and home purchases sight unseen. You had to be ‘on something’ not to see a bubble in some areas,” he said. Housing Finance With interest rates on the rise, housing finance was a major topic at the conference. “Housing is the most interest rate sensitive industry in the country,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac. “Mortgage interest rates, home prices and family incomes – these are the three ingredients that families think about when deciding to buy a home. “We expect mortgage interest rates to rise slowly through the end of 2006, but they’ll still remain well below historical norms,” Nothaft said. “The affordability problem is a function of increases in home prices.” He pointed out that among families with prime mortgages, 87 percent of the loans are fixed-rate. “So even if the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates, most American families will be insulated because they have fixed-rate mortgages.” The major tailwinds that have driven loan originations in recent years have swung 180 degrees, and could be major headwinds in the coming years, said Scott Anderson, senior economist for Wells Fargo & Company. These include rising interest rates, weakening demographics, increasing housing inventories, and less investor demand – especially if the stock market picks up. “The federal reserve is doing its best to take away the punch bowl,” Anderson said. “It should be no surprise that the housing market is going to slow down.” The NAHB Construction Forecast Conference was sponsored by the National Council of the Housing Industry (NCHI), the Supplier 100 of NAHB, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Fannie Mae and Countrywide Home Loans.
Publishing date: 05/01/06
RISMEDIA, May 2, 2006—After soaring to record levels for three consecutive years, the single-family housing market is gliding toward a “soft landing” in 2006, as rising interest rates, affordability issues and a reduced role for investors/speculators contribute to a softening in demand, according to economists at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Construction Forecast Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 27. “After topping out in the third quarter of last year, it is pretty clear that the housing sector is in a period of transition. Sales and starts are trending lower toward more sustainable levels,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. Even so, the slowing housing market is not likely to derail the expansion as housing yields its position as the economy’s major growth engine to other sectors, he added. Expressing a similar assessment, Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc., said: “The housing sector is going through an adjustment, not a collapse.” Taking a bullish view on the current economic and inflation outlook, Jim Glassman, managing director and senior policy strategist with JP Morgan Chase & Co., said these factors will bode well for housing. “Real estate is pricing itself back to reality and in the long-run it is reasonable to expect starts in the 1.8 million to 2 million range,” said Glassman. “Housing won't continue to make the same contribution to the economy that it has. But when I think about where the economy is, I think we're in the fifth inning with a good chance of going into extra innings. This expansion may prove to be the longest one ever seen. “Inflation is key to the longevity in the current economic expansion and to the underlying health of the building business,” he said, noting that Federal Reserve Board policymakers are doing an excellent job of keeping inflation in check. Economists agreed that the Fed will raise its benchmark short-term rate to 5 percent at its May 10 meeting, which would be the 16th consecutive quarter-percentage point increase since the Fed started lifting it from 1 percent in June of 2004. Both Seiders and Glassman believe the 5 percent mark should be enough to ease inflationary pressures in the months ahead and to keep the Fed from moving forward with additional rate hikes. However, citing higher energy prices and a low unemployment rate of 4.7 percent, Moran predicted that the central bank won’t stop until it raises the federal funds rate to 5.5 percent. Looking to the future, Seiders said that new home sales in the first quarter of this year were down 10 percent from the fourth quarter in 2005, and that he expects them to ease further in the coming months before leveling off in 2007. NAHB is forecasting that new home sales will hit 1.13 million units in 2006, down 12 percent from last year’s all-time high of 1.28 million units, and then move down slightly in 2007 to 1.09 million. “Hopefully, most of this decline will be due to investors and speculators stepping out of the market. What we don’t want to see is investors dumping homes on the market,” said Seiders. After posting a record 1.716 million single-family starts in 2005, NAHB is predicting that new home construction will level off to 1.595 million units in 2006 and 1.488 million in 2007, which would still rank high by historical standards. Commenting on the dramatic home price increases in many markets in recent years, Seiders said home price appreciation is expected to fall from an average 12 percent in 2005 to about 4 percent in 2007 and that mortgage rates should move up to 6.7 percent later this year. Seiders added that the multifamily market has remained “eerily stable” since the late 1990s, and is expected to continue the same pattern in 2006, with starts dropping slightly to 351,000 apartment units from 355,000 last year. The rental market has solidified, and Seiders said he expects it to regain some ground while the red-hot condo markets start to cool. Seiders is also predicting that residential remodeling expenditures will continue on an upward trajectory, in part because "an immense amount of home equity will continue to support this spending." The Regional Outlook Looking at housing on a more localized level, Bernard Markstein, NAHB’s Director of Forecasting, said that the forces driving housing demand vary significantly by region. Among the forces affecting demand are home prices, population growth, household formation, and growth in employment opportunities. Other factors that can greatly affect demand include immigration and migration, energy prices, large-scale natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and an area’s appeal as a second home location. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, said that “builders have done a pretty good job of matching supply and demand” and that “nationally, house prices and supply will go flat in 2006, 2007 and 2008.” This implies that there will be some price declines in key markets, he said, but the markets are going to “correct, not crash.” Markets where Zandi anticipates significant corrections—defined as more than a 10 percent peak-to-trough decline— are in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, Florida, California, parts of Arizona, and Las Vegas. “Any fundamental rise in interest rates will bite hard,” Zandi said. “The rise will lock out two key groups that are important to local/regional markets: first-time home buyers and investors (investors include second home buyers and other buyers in it for the long term, not just those in the market with the intent to flip and get out.) “The Bubble” Revisited Addressing a question that has generated endless speculation in recent years, Thomas Lawler, a housing and mortgage market consultant who worked for Fannie Mae for 22 years, said “Was there a national bubble? Nationwide, no, but in some regions, absolutely.” Lawler, who spoke on house prices and local dynamics, noted that in some areas, “all of the signs of a bubble were present: a surge in speculative investing; a surge in innovative financing; easy credit and loose underwriting; home inspection waivers; and home purchases sight unseen. You had to be ‘on something’ not to see a bubble in some areas,” he said. Housing Finance With interest rates on the rise, housing finance was a major topic at the conference. “Housing is the most interest rate sensitive industry in the country,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac. “Mortgage interest rates, home prices and family incomes – these are the three ingredients that families think about when deciding to buy a home. “We expect mortgage interest rates to rise slowly through the end of 2006, but they’ll still remain well below historical norms,” Nothaft said. “The affordability problem is a function of increases in home prices.” He pointed out that among families with prime mortgages, 87 percent of the loans are fixed-rate. “So even if the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates, most American families will be insulated because they have fixed-rate mortgages.” The major tailwinds that have driven loan originations in recent years have swung 180 degrees, and could be major headwinds in the coming years, said Scott Anderson, senior economist for Wells Fargo & Company. These include rising interest rates, weakening demographics, increasing housing inventories, and less investor demand – especially if the stock market picks up. “The federal reserve is doing its best to take away the punch bowl,” Anderson said. “It should be no surprise that the housing market is going to slow down.” The NAHB Construction Forecast Conference was sponsored by the National Council of the Housing Industry (NCHI), the Supplier 100 of NAHB, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Fannie Mae and Countrywide Home Loans.
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