Chance Gates' Blog

Today looks pretty tough however the LA  Dodgers are not hitting well and have trouble in the club house.  It is way to early in the season to be giving up those huge numbers.  So take the Pittsburgh Pirates in the huge underdog role.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  I can be reached by email at chance@ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

In February of 2010, the President announced additional help for homeowners living in areas deemed “hardest hit” by the fallout of the housing crisis. A new $1.5 billion funding initiative called the FHA Hardest-Hit Fund provides money for housing finance agencies or FHAs in Nevada, Michigan, California, Florida and Arizona.

The Hardest-Hit Fund was created to offer  “relief in direct proportion to the scale of each state’s housing challenges.” In plain English, that means housing finance agencies in the affected states will get government money based on the scale of declining home values, unemployment figures and the number of delinquent mortgages.

What does all this mean for someone with an FHA loan who is in danger of default and foreclosure? If you live in one of the affected states, when you go to your lender to negotiate forbearance, an altered payment schedule or other options designed to prevent foreclosure, the bank has more financial incentive from the government to help the borrower. The FHA Hardest-Hit program gives lenders in these five states more flexibility to create programs designed to prevent a mortgage from going into default or foreclosure including:

• Loan modification
• Mortgage forbearance
• Principal reduction for borrowers who are over-leveraged
• Loan principal reduction for borrowers with “severe negative equity”
  It’s very important to note that the Treasury Department has not mandated an across-the-board set of measures that must be taken with this funding; all programs a lender initiates with Hardest-Hit funds must be evaluated to insure it’s in compliance with rules put in place through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Your lender may choose to design an anti-foreclosure program not offered in other areas, or one that has features similar programs lack—as long as the program is in compliance with federal law.One such type of relief suggested by the creators of the FHA Hardest-Hit program as an “acceptable transaction” is the unemployment program concept. This could be offered in the form of some assistance to qualified FHA borrowers who are currently unemployed and in danger of foreclosure on their FHA home loan. Another type of relief considered an acceptable transaction is second lien reduction where the second lien is either modified or reduced. Is your FHA loan eligible? At press time there doesn’t seem to be specific guidance that includes or excludes FHA mortgage holders–check with your lender to see if there are plans to create a relief program with FHA Hardest-Hit funds that could include your FHA home loan.

  Under the new Hardest-Hit guidelines, lenders who create programs to help individual homeowners must target residences with unpaid principal equal to or less than the Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac conforming limit (up to $729,750 for single-unit homes, more for multi-unit buildings).

  If you are in danger of default or foreclosure in Nevada, Michigan, California, Florida and Arizona, ask your loan officer if your FHA home loan could benefit through the Hardest-Hit program. If your lender is still putting together a program to help individual homeowners, you may be able to work out an arrangement in the meantime to put off foreclosure or default until the lender’s relief program is approved. Don’t wait until the last moment to act—if you are struggling financially you may be able to save your home in the meantime simply by asking your lender for help.

From www.fha.com

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @ chance@ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.
Bill Gates

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
Bill Gates

DOS is ugly and interferes with users’ experience.
Bill Gates

I actually thought that it would be a little confusing during the same period of your life to be in one meeting when you’re trying to make money, and then go to another meeting where you’re giving it away.
Bill Gates

I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.
Bill Gates

I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot.
Bill Gates

I’m a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they’re interested in.
Bill Gates

I’m sorry that we have to have a Washington presence. We thrived during our first 16 years without any of this. I never made a political visit to Washington and we had no people here. It wasn’t on our radar screen. We were just making great software.
Bill Gates

If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG.
Bill Gates

If I’d had some set idea of a finish line, don’t you think I would have crossed it years ago?
Bill Gates

If you can’t make it good, at least make it look good.
Bill Gates

If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
Bill Gates

In this business, by the time you realize you’re in trouble, it’s too late to save yourself. Unless you’re running scared all the time, you’re gone.
Bill Gates

Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.
Bill Gates

It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
Bill Gates

You see, antiquated ideas of kindness and generosity are simply bugs that must be programmed out of our world. And these cold, unfeeling machines will show us the way.
Bill Gates

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
Bill Gates

Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself.
Bill Gates

Life is not fair; get used to it.
Bill Gates

People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn’t they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines… There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters.
Bill Gates

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted on this blog.  I can be reached by email at:   chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Construction of the $3 billion, 675-mile Ruby Pipeline, which has more than 350 miles of natural gas pipe running across three northern Nevada counties, is expected to employ more than 500 out-of work equipment operators from Operating Engineers Local No. 3 in Reno, says Steve Ingersoll, district representative.

More than 1,000 operators total are expected to work the Nevada section, which traverses Elko, Humboldt and Washoe counties. The job comes as a huge boon to northern Nevada equipment operators, many of whom have been out of work so long that their unemployment benefits and health insurance have expired, Ingersoll says.

“It’s probably four months worth of steady high-dollar wages and good hours,” he says. “It will be huge.”

Members of the Operating Engineers Local No. 3 will clear brush for right-of-way access, dig the trench for the underground pipe, run side booms to set pipe, and backfill once the pipe is welded in place.

Ingersoll says workers from northeastern Nevada, California and Utah also will be put to work on the project.

“It’s a huge boost to the operating engineers here and throughout our jurisdiction,” he says. “We will be able to contact a lot of other areas that are feeling the same lack of work and offer them some employment on this project.”

At peak the pipeline is expected to put approximately 4,500 workers total in the field, says Richard Wheatley, media relations manager for pipeline builder El Paso Corp. of Houston.

In addition to the pipeline, two compressor stations are proposed to be built in Nevada, one about 20 to 30 miles north of Elko, and another northwest of Winnemucca in the Desert Valley area. Compression stations are integral to keep gas moving throughout the length of the pipeline.

El Paso will use the pipeline to deliver natural gas to California customers or to supplement existing gas supplies in the Pacific Northwest. El Paso also will be able to deliver gas to new customers along the length of the Ruby route and soon will begin touting the availability of gas to potential northern Nevada customers.

The pipeline can move 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, and El Paso has commitments for 1.1 billion cubic feet.

“We have been in discussion with small communities in northern Nevada and continue to market gas,” Wheatley says. “We not only will provide gas for committed gas customers and shippers, but we also have the ability to provide for gas off-takes for potential customers that might need natural gas, such as industrial users or utility companies.”

El Paso already has secured nearly a dozen 10- to 15-year contracts with customers and shippers, Wheatley says. Securing those customer commitments was the first main hurdle for El Paso to overcome, and in June 2008 the company announced it had secured enough customers to advance the project.

Another hurdle was securing an equity partner, and El Paso recently announced that Global Infrastructure Partners will provide up to $700 million in capital for a 50 percent stake in the project.

El Paso still seeks approximately $1.5 billion in outside funding, Wheatley says. Currently, the company is absorbing 100 percent of the capital funding needed for the Ruby project.

Four companies have been hired to build the pipeline:

• U.S. Pipeline, of Houston

• Associated Pipeline Contractors Inc. of Houston

• Precision Pipeline LLC of Eau Clair, Wisconsin

• Rockford Corp. of Hillsboro, Ore.

Precision Pipeline will perform most of the pipeline construction in Nevada, and U.S Pipeline and Rockford Corp. will build small portions of the Nevada work near the state borders.

El Paso has split construction of the pipeline into approximately seven major segments, or pipeline spreads, with each spread employing between 600 to 700 workers.

El Paso also will build a camp to house workers 10 miles east of the California border near the ghost town of Vya in northern Washoe County. Teton Buildings of Wyoming will construct the facility of modular buildings that will include spaces for trailers and RVs.

Wheatley says the camp will include a mess hall, recreation and medical facilities.

“It will be a self-contained camp,” he says.

Once the pipeline is built El Paso will remediate the camp area, Wheatley adds.

El Paso still is working through permitting for the project, a process ongoing since January of 2008. The company expects to begin construction in May or June and have the pipeline delivering gas by March 2011. The pipeline will be underground except where it rises above ground at compression stations.

First-year annual tax revenues from pipeline are estimated at $45.5 million, with $2.5 million first-year sales tax for Washoe County. Pam Borda, executive director of the Elko County Economic Diversification Authority, says construction of the pipeline and subsequent sales tax on food, lodging and fuel could make significant impact on county revenues and possibly alleviate any future budget cuts in the region.

“The economic impact easily could be into the millions and millions of dollars,” Borda says.

Charlie Myers, Elko County commission chair, says that the nearly 900 to 1,000 workers that are expected to work in Elko County throughout the construction could bring as much as $18 million to the county in food, lodging, fuel and entertainment.

“We are not hurting as as bad as the rest of state, but we still are down, and any economic boost is welcomed,” Myers says.

SIDEBAR

Where the pipeline will go in Nevada

The 675-mile Ruby Pipeline starts in Opal, Wyo., crosses northern Utah and enters Elko County. After traveling across Elko County, the pipeline crosses into Humboldt County near Winnemucca. The pipeline continues on through northern Washoe County before heading in a northwesterly direction into Oregon, where it terminates at Malin.

Compressor stations (right) will be built near Elko and Winnemucca. At Malin, pipeline builder El Paso Corp. will build a small lateral pipeline to transport gas to the existing Gas Transmission Northwest line, which runs from the British Columbia-Idaho border to the California-Oregon border. That connection allows El Paso to ship natural gas south into California for Pacific Gas and Electric customers, or north for use in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.nnbw.com/ArticleRead.aspx?storyID=15105

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted on this blog.  I can be reached by email at:   chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Your credit score will directly affect how much and at what rate you will be able to borrow from a lender.  Whether you’re looking to purchase a home or simply finance a car, you should always have an idea of what your score is and what factors may affect it.

A great way to start understanding your credit is to obtain an actual copy of your credit report.  According to the “Fair and Accurate Transactions Act” (FACT ACT), you are entitled to receive a free copy of your report from all three major credit companies.  Your actual scores will be missing from the report as you are only entitled to receive the report itself for free.  If you are interested in seeing your scores, you will have to pay.  Each company uses a slightly different format, but once you start to go through them you will get an idea of how things are being reported.

Some factors that will bring down your scores are as follows:

1. Maxing out your available credit.

2. Having few lines of credit with low use.

3. Applying for credit at many places within a short period of time.

4. Errors and multiple entries on your report.

5. Allowing unpaid bills to go into collection agencies.

Factors that will improve your scores:

1. Constantly using your credit

2. Paying your credit/bills back on time.

3. Multiple lines of credit in good standards.

A great way to enhance your credit is to obtain around 4 different lines of credit.  Use them to buy your big ticket items, and try to pay them down as fast as you can.  But be careful not to pay them down to zero.  Most lenders and other creditors want to see that you are using your credit often, but not over exhausting your limit.  If they don’t see enough activity, they don’t have much information to judge your amount of credit responsibility on.

When you review your credit report, be on the lookout for items that shouldn’t be there.  Most items are suppose to drop off after seven years (there are some exceptions), however sometimes you will see things that are still being reported that shouldn’t be.  Any accounts that you closed should state “closed by consumer.”  Many times you will find that these accounts are being reported as “closed by creditor.”  This type of reporting has a negative impact on your credit.  Sometimes you will also find the same account being reported multiple times.  If it’s an account in good standing, this isn’t really a problem.  However if a negative account is being reported twice, it may be impacting your credit more than it should.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted on this blog.  I can be reached by email at:   chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

The addition of a new Super Walmart in North Valleys, along with another long-planned retail center, will boost retail offerings to the tens of thousands of residents north of Reno who have had to drive farther into town to shop.

Walmart will begin construction in the first quarter of 2011 on a 150,000-square-foot store, its sixth Super Walmart in the Truckee Meadows, says Delia Garcia, senior manager of public affairs and government relations.

The new store on Sky Vista Way will serve residents of North Valleys, Lemmon, Golden and Sun valleys, Stead, Red Rock, Cold Springs, and the California towns of Portola, Quincy, Graeagle, Herlong and Doyle.

The store also redraws service areas for Walmart shoppers in those communities, many of whom shop at the company’s Northtowne Lane store for general merchandise, or its Seventh Street Supercenter in west Reno.

“In this part of Nevada, folks are underserved for groceries and general merchandise, and this gives Walmart an opportunity to serve customers closer to home and reach more customers,” Garcia says.

The North Valley’s Walmart, which has yet to go to bid, should be open by the end of 2011, Garcia adds. Walmart expects to employ about 300 full- and part-time workers at the store, and hiring will start about three months before the store opens.

Jobseekers can apply online at job-center kiosks at existing Walmart locations. In addition to the 16.5-acre site being readied for Walmart, an investment group is preparing three acres of addition retail space in the area, says Kelly Bland, senior vice president of the retail properties group with NAI Alliance.

Depending on interest, the space could be developed into individual pads or line-shop space, Bland says. The high-volume traffic generated by Walmart makes a perfect fit for mid-size anchor tenants such as Kohl’s, Ross, or Office Depot, he adds.

“The dynamic is changing. Walmart is a wider draw than the immediate neighborhoods, and any type of tenant that will be there will be very well received,” Bland says. “Walmart will be able to draw more people into that center than the other three (centers in the area) are attracting right now.”

Despite high vacancy rates throughout submarkets in Reno and Sparks, Bland says retailers and residents have been clamoring for additional shopping choices in the North Valleys for a long time.

“Walmart has been looking at North Valleys for several years, and we finally were able to work out a deal with them that made sense for everybody. They have been wanting to open up out there for a while now.”

After more than two years of delay, construction of the 33,000-square-foot Three Flags Center between Lemmon and Golden valleys also is expected to break ground next week, says Brendan Egan, co-owner of 6 Development with partner Jack Dolan.

The development company already has leases signed with Dollar Tree, Big-O Tires and an independently branded sports bar, and 6 Development is in final negotiations with a national fast-food franchise. The Three Flags Center will open to 100 percent occupancy — a rarity for any retail center in northern Nevada.

“On a brand-new project that is pretty good,” Egan says. “That speaks to the quality of the North Valleys. The tenants we are dealing with have wanted to be in that area for two years now and think it is a great location. It has been an underserved market for a long time.”

Ken Mattison, vice president with the retail division of Grubb & Ellis NCG, says the North Valleys will experience the region’s next big explosion of new housing similar to that in Spanish Springs/Sparks in the early part of the decade.

There are 12,000 houses mapped for construction in the greater North Valley’s area, Mattison says. The current population is about 40,000. “It’s only been two years since you could get your oil changed there,” Mattison says.

“There is no major clothery, no family restaurant. There are huge needs up there. Vacancy is very slim in North Valleys, and the reason is that demand is good.”

Dennis Banks Construction is readying two other sites in the area, one at the corners of Silver Lake Boulevard and Red Rock Road, the other at North Hills Boulevard and Golden Valley Road.

Each site will be prepped for approximately 10,000 to 14,000 square feet of retail development. Grubb and Ellis will handle leasing at the sites.

http://www.nnbw.com/ArticleRead.aspx?storyID=15106

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted on this blog.  I can be reached by email at:  chance@ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, April 23, 2010—Buyers responding to the home buyer tax credit and favorable affordability conditions boosted existing-home sales in March 2010, marking the beginning of an expected spring surge, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 6.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units in March from 5.01 million in February, and are 16.1% above the 4.61 million-unit level in March 2009.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it is encouraging to see a broad home sales recovery in nearly every part of the country, with two important underlying trends. “Sales have been above year-ago levels for nine straight months, and inventory has trended down from year-ago levels for 20 months running,” he said. “The home buyer tax credit has been a resounding success as these underlying trends point to a broad stabilization in home prices. This is preserving perhaps $1 trillion in largely middle class housing wealth that may have been wiped out without the housing stimulus measure.”

Total housing inventory at the end of March rose 1.5% to 3.58 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.0-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 8.5-month supply in February. Raw unsold inventory is 1.8% below a year ago, and is 21.7% below the record of 4.58 million in July 2008.

“Foreclosures have been feeding into the inventory pipeline at a fairly steady pace and are being absorbed manageably,” Yun said. “In fact, foreclosures are selling quickly, especially in the lower price ranges that are attractive to first-time home buyers.”

A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 44% of homes in March, up from 42% in February. Investors accounted for 19% of transactions in March, unchanged from February; the remaining sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales remain elevated at 27% in March, the same as in February.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $170,700 in March, up 0.4% from March 2009. Distressed homes, typically sold at a 15% discount, accounted for 35% of sales last month – unchanged from February.

“With home values stabilizing, a revival in home buying confidence will likely help the housing market get back on its feet even as the tax credit impact disappears,” Yun said.

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said buying conditions are in near-perfect alignment. “Even with tougher loan standards, historically low mortgage interest rates with affordable prices and a sense that the market is turning have created optimal conditions in much of the country,” she said.

“With the fast approaching April 30 deadline to get a contract in place for the tax credit, Realtors are working harder than ever to negotiate transactions, arrange services and complete paperwork,” Golder said. “Because many repeat buyers need to sell their current home first, many will be purchasing later without the tax credit but now have the benefit of a more buoyant housing market.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 4.97% in March from 4.99% in February; the rate was 5.00% in March 2009.

Single-family home sales rose 7.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in March from a level of 4.36 million in February, and are 13.3% above the 4.13 million level a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $170,700 in March, up 0.6% from March 2009.

Single-family median prices rose in 14 out of 20 metropolitan statistical areas reported in March in comparison with a year earlier. Five metro areas experienced double-digit increases, including San Diego, St. Louis and Boston.

Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 670,000 in March from 650,000 in February, and are 39.3% higher than the 481,000-unit level in March 2009. The median existing condo price was $170,600 in March, which is 0.7% below a year ago.

Northeast
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast increased 6.0% to an annual level of 890,000 in March and are 25.4% higher than a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $249,800, up 8.9% from March 2009.

Midwest
Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 7.2% in March to a pace of 1.19 million and are 15.5% above March 2009. The median price in the Midwest was $139,300, up 0.2% from a year ago.

South
In the South, existing-home sales increased 7.1% to an annual level of 1.97 million in March and are 13.9% higher than a year ago. The median price in the South was $154,800, up 5.2% from March 2009.

West
Existing-home sales in the West rose 6.6% to an annual rate of 1.30 million in March and are 14.0% above March 2009. The median price in the West was $209,400, down 7.9% from a year ago.

For more information, visit www.realtor.org.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

One thing you can pretty much guarantee about having boys is they will always challenge their father at one time or another.  Knowing this I always wrestle with mine, saying I have 50lbs on the oldest every match is one sided.  Most of the time I end up pinning him pretty quick.  However there is one time where I actually have to say he won.  As usually I had him down where he pretty much couldn’t move.  So as a last grasp effort he kicks the wall trying to get some extra leverage.  Well the clock mounted on that wall fell, you guessed it, and hit me right between the eyes.  After, the blood stopped oozing from my head.  The oldest declares he won the “first blood” match.  The youngest decided to mention that I officially got “clocked”.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, April 20, 2010—(MCT)—Fresh data on new construction of U.S. housing units revealed an upward trend in place since the beginning of the year, with an initial report of February 2010 weakness revised away.

Starts rose 1.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 annualized units, the Commerce Department recently reported. This was stronger than the 610,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Even more surprising, February starts were revised higher to a 616,000 pace from the 570,000 previously reported. This was up 1.1% from the prior month. The initial estimate had been a 5.9% drop.

As a result of the revisions, starts have risen for three straight months and are now at their highest level since November 2008. “The bottom line is that there is an upward trend and construction will be moving higher provided that new-home sales improve as well,” said Michelle Meyer, economist at Barclays Capital. Meyer cautioned that one should not get carried away with the improvement as it comes from “an incredibly low level of activity.”

Treasury prices and the dollar added to recent gains after the report. The government cautioned that its monthly housing data are volatile and subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. In most months, the government can’t be sure even whether starts increased or decreased. In March, for instance, the standard error for starts was plus or minus 15.2%. Large revisions are common, but rarely have they been in such a positive direction during this recession.

In March, strength came from multifamily starts. There was a slight decrease in starts of single-family homes. Starts of single-family homes fell 0.9% to a 531,000 rate in March, while starts of multifamily units surged 39.7% to 88,000.

The strength was concentrated in the South; all other regions declined in March.

“This was a modestly positive report. It is nice that construction is improving, but it would be better if the gains were more widespread,” wrote Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisers.

In the past year, starts are down 20.2%. Starts of single-family homes are up 47.1%, while starts of apartments and condominium units have plunged 31.8%.

Building permits rose 7.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 in March.

Building permits for single-family homes increased 5.6% to a 543,000 rate—the highest level since August 2008. Many economists consider single-family permits to be the most important number in the government’s release. Permits for apartments rose 15.4% to 142,000.

The National Association of Home Builders recently said its members were more encouraged about their business in April. The builder’s sentiment index rose to 19 in April from 15 in March. “We may be seeing some modest improvement in the fundamentals for new housing construction,” wrote the RDQ economic team in a note to clients.

A tax subsidy for buyers expires at the end of April, and “we will need to see data for May and June before we can put too much weight on this conjecture,” the RDQ note said.

It can take four months for a new trend in housing starts to emerge from the data. In the past four months, housing starts have averaged 606,000 annualized, up from 594,000 in the four months ending in February.

The industry has slashed production of new homes to work off a massive amount of unsold inventory. The number of homes under construction fell 1.4% to a seasonally adjusted 489,000, the lowest on record, dating back to 1970. “Any pickup in demand,” Meyer said, “will warrant an increase in new construction.”

(c) 2010, MarketWatch.com Inc.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at chance@ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.
Frank Sinatra

Basically, I’m for anything that gets you through the night – be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.
Frank Sinatra

Cock your hat – angles are attitudes.
Frank Sinatra

Don’t get even, get mad.
Frank Sinatra

Hell hath no fury like a hustler with a literary agent.
Frank Sinatra

I like intelligent women. When you go out, it shouldn’t be a staring contest.
Frank Sinatra

I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living life, a man who had good friends, fine family – and I don’t think I could ask for anything more than that, actually.
Frank Sinatra

I’m gonna live till I die.
Frank Sinatra

I’m not one of those complicated, mixed-up cats. I’m not looking for the secret to life… I just go on from day to day, taking what comes.
Frank Sinatra

I’m supposed to have a Ph.D. on the subject of women. But the truth is I’ve flunked more often than not. I’m very fond of women; I admire them. But, like all men, I don’t understand them.
Frank Sinatra

May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine.
Frank Sinatra

People often remark that I’m pretty lucky. Luck is only important in so far as getting the chance to sell yourself at the right moment. After that, you’ve got to have talent and know how to use it.
Frank Sinatra

Rock ‘n Roll: The most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear.
Frank Sinatra

The best revenge is massive success.
Frank Sinatra

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached be email at chance@ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates