Chance Gates' Blog

RENO, Nev. – The University of Nevada has completed its 2012 non-conference football schedule with the addition of a home game against the University of South Florida, a member of the Big East Conference, the school announced Tuesday. The matchup is part of a two-game series between the teams as Nevada will play at South Florida in 2015.

Nevada will travel to face California on Sept. 1 to open the season and the Wolf Pack will then come home to Mackay Stadium to play host to South Florida (Sept. and Northwestern State (Sept. 15). After a bye week, Nevada will play at Texas State (Sept. 29) before beginning the Pack’s first ever Mountain West slate.

“USF has an outstanding football team that will present us with some unique challenges,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said. “They are well coached and have some quality players.  This is a game our fans won’t want to miss.”

This marks the sixth time since 2005 that Nevada has played host to a BCS conference school. Nevada has four wins against BCS school since the inception of the series in 1998.

This will be the first meeting between Nevada and USF. The Bulls went 5-7 in 2011 — their first non-winning season since 2004 — and are 13-12 under head coach Skip Holtz, who will be entering his third season in 2012.

“Nevada offers a difficult test for us,” Holtz said. “Offensively, they’ve been very productive under Coach Ault and they’ve had a lot of success as a team over the last few years. Going on the road and playing in a tough environment early in the season will give us an opportunity to see where we are and could help us as we move deeper into the schedule.”

The trip to Reno in 2012 will mark the third time in USF program history that it will play west of the Rocky Mountains. The Bulls traveled to San Diego to take on San Diego St. in 1999 and they also visited Utah in 2001.

The Mountain West portion of the schedule will be released in the coming months. Nevada will have four home games in league play as Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Wyoming will come to Mackay Stadium. The Wolf Pack’s conference road games will be against Air Force, Hawaii, New Mexico and UNLV.

Nevada Wolf Pack Football

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As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

The U.S. Congress recently passed a two-month payroll tax cut extension. The $33 billion package is funded by a 10-year increase in the Guaranty Fees that Fannie Mae (Fannie) and Freddie Mac (Freddie) charge lenders to guarantee home loans.

This change is effective for all loans delivered to Fannie and Freddie at the beginning of the second quarter of 2012. For example, the cost of a $200,000 mortgage will go up about $11 per month. Over the life of the loan, these costs are anticipated to be about $4,000.

These changes will also increase the cost of FHA and VA loans. However, the government has not released information as to the timing of these changes.

All lenders — by law — will be adding this increase to their pricing. Some lenders are adjusting their rates with a one-time increase.

Thanks to my friends at Prospect Mtg

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

A world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us.
Margaret Thatcher

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.
Margaret Thatcher

Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.
Margaret Thatcher

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.
Margaret Thatcher

Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.
Margaret Thatcher

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.
Margaret Thatcher

I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.
Margaret Thatcher

I don’t mind how much my Ministers talk, so long as they do what I say.
Margaret Thatcher

I love argument, I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that’s not their job.
Margaret Thatcher

I owe nothing to Women’s Lib.
Margaret Thatcher

I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air.
Margaret Thatcher

I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.
Margaret Thatcher

Retail sales rose 0.1% to $400.6 billion in December after an upwardly revised 0.4% increase in November. It was the seventh straight monthly gain and the first $400 billion month for retail sales. Total retail sales for 2011 had the largest percentage increase since 1999, up 7.7% to a record $4.691 trillion.

Wholesalers increased their inventories 0.1% to $468.9 billion in November. This followed a revised 1.2% rise in October. Sales at the wholesale level rose 0.6% to $407.9 billion in November. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 11.3% higher since November 2010.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending January 6 rose 4.5%. Refinancing applications increased 3.3%. Purchase volume rose 8.1%.

Total business inventories rose 0.3% in November to $1.55 trillion, up 8.5% from a year ago. Total business sales also increased 0.3% to $1.22 trillion in November, up 9.6% from a year ago. The total business inventories/sales ratio in November was 1.27.

The trade deficit increased to $47.8 billion in November from a downwardly revised $43.3 billion in October. Exports fell 0.9% to $177.8 billion. Imports increased 1.3% to $225.6 billion.

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for January’s preliminary reading rose to 74 from 69.9 in December. It was the fifth monthly gain in a row for the index and the highest reading since May.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 24,000 to 399,000 for the week ending January 7. Continuing claims for the week ending December 31 rose by 19,000 to 3.629 million.

Thanks to my friends at Prospect Mtg

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

I’ll put you through hell, but at the end of it all we’ll be champions.
Bear Bryant

I’m happy with the coach we have. I think any one of the ones I asked them to consider would’ve been good.
Bear Bryant

I’ve had many a player tell me all through high school and right up until signing day that they were coming to Alabama, then they signed with somebody else.
Bear Bryant

If I miss coaching that much, I could go to some little school where they didn’t recruit, where all the kids wanted to go. I believe I could find somewhere to coach.
Bear Bryant

It’s been years since I’ve had a real input in the game anyway. For this game, I’ve just tried to keep all the other stuff away from the players and coaches.
Bear Bryant

Nearly every coach I’ve talked with tells me that the attention you get from media and other people is the thing you miss most. I don’t know if that’s right.
Bear Bryant

Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don’t quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don’t quit until you reach it. Never quit.
Bear Bryant

The fun never goes out, but it changes with the years, with winning and losing.
Bear Bryant

Factory orders rose 1.8% in November to a seasonally adjusted $459.2 billion, following a revised 0.2% decrease in October. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders rose 0.3% in November.

Retail sales rose 1.2% for the week ending December 31, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 5.3%.

The Institute for Supply Management reported that the monthly composite index of manufacturing activity rose to 53.9 in December after a reading of 52.7 in November. A reading above 50 signals expansion. It was the 29th straight month of expansion.

Total construction spending rose 1.2% to $807.1 billion in November, following a 0.2% decrease in October. Economists had anticipated an increase of 0.5% in November. Compared to a year ago, construction spending rose 0.5%.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending December 30 fell 3.7%. Refinancing applications decreased 1.9%. Purchase volume fell 9.7%.

The Institute for Supply Management reported that the monthly composite index of non-manufacturing activity rose to 52.6 in December from 52 in November. A reading above 50 signals expansion. It was the 25th straight month of expansion in the services sector.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 15,000 to 372,000 for the week ending December 31. Continuing claims for the week ending December 24 fell by 22,000 to 3.595 million. The monthly unemployment rate fell to 8.5% in December from a revised 8.7% in November and 9% in October.

Thanks to my friends at Prospect Mtg

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

From Mike Janela in New York, USA http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com

One of America’s greatest sports traditions is “Bowl Season” – that wonderful time each year marking the end of the American college football season end. More than 30 games match some of the nation’s best and most prestigious programs in battles to end their years on high notes.

Of all the bowls played, one of the most prestigious is the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, which this year sees the No. 3 Oklahoma State Cowboys take on the No. 4-ranked Stanford Cardinal, as part of the Bowl Championship Series. But while many eyes will turn to the game itself on Jan. 2 in Glendale, Arizona, USA, the spotlight on this game starting shining back on 16 December, when I adjudicated an attempt for the “most people to make an American football field goal in six hours” at the Tostitos Fiesta in the Square celebration.

With temperatures low, winds high, and former football stars in abundance, participants from around the world lined up in the middle of Times Square in New York to attempt their chance at history in the temporary football field assembled by Tostitos.

Requiring 100 different people to successfully make a field goal of at least 20 yards, the Fiesta in the Square saw a total of 181 different participants put one through the uprights and into Guinness World Records lore.

What struck me most while adjudicating the event was the wide range of participation. An event like this truly brought a huge variety of people together, running the gamut from foreigners to locals and football professionals to those who had never even put toe to pigskin before.

Former football stars who attempted (and all converted) field goals included Jim Kelly, Eddie George, Antonio Pierce, Rodney Peete, and Bill and Martin Gramatica. Other participants included visiting tourists from Turkey, Australia, Mexico, and the UK. In total, 965 attempts were made by countless hundreds of people throughout the day, with the aforementioned 181 finding success.

The teamwork resulted in more than just a Guinness World Records achievement, too. As a result of the final record total, Tostitos donated $200,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters charity. This was aided in part by Big Brothers Big Sisters advocate and entertainment personality Nick Lachey stepping up and drilling a successful field goal of his own.

In all, a great exhibition was put on for sport, for charity, and, of course, for record-breaking history. The Fiesta Bowl itself already has a lot to live up to!

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Market Report Commentary

Summary
– “November sales are up 22% over last year and year-to-date unit sales have exceeded 2010 by 10%,” said Kevin Sigstad,
2011 president-elect of the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS and a REALTOR with Re/Max Premier Properties. “We have also seen relative stable prices for the past seven months. These are positive indicators for the residential housing market.”

Median Sales Price
– November 2011 median price was up less than 1% to $149,506 compared to $149,000 in October 2011.
– Median price is defined as the mid-point, where, for the time period identified, the price for one-half of the sales are higher and
one-half are lower.

Price per Square Foot Solds
– Price per square foot is at $88.30.
– Price per square foot by area groups, as provided in the Detailed Report, is a good way to compare similar homes for current
value.

Number of Units Sold
– November ended the month with 488 sold transactions, down 1% from the prior month.
– Sales are up 22.3% from the same period last year. November 2011 is the second month of comparing year-over-year figures
without the influence of tax incentives.

Average Days on Market
– The average days on market are 146 days, slightly down from October 2011.

Days on Market (DOM) by Special Conditions
– Short sales continue to influence the average days on market at 222 DOM.
– Properties with no special conditions, and Other are comparatively close at 117 and 113 DOM respectively.
– REO properties average days on market remain level at 96.

New Listings
– 499 new listings were taken in November compared to 516 in October, a 3.3% decrease and an 8% decrease from November
2010.

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/tennessee_ernie_ford.html#ixzz1iKipqwsK

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, rose 7.3% in November after a 10.4% increase in October. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales are up 5.9%. The number of pending home sales in November was the highest level in 19 months.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index — on a non-seasonally adjusted basis — fell 1.2% in October after a revised 0.7% decrease in September. On a year-over-year basis, prices fell 3.4% compared with October 2010.

Retail sales rose 0.9% for the week ending December 24, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 4.5%.

The consumer confidence index rose to 64.5 in December from a revised 55.2 in November. It was the highest level since April. The index was benchmarked at 100 in 1985, a year chosen because it was neither a peak nor a trough in consumer confidence. Economists consider a reading of 90 to be the threshold for a healthy economy.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 to 381,000 for the week ending December 24. However, the four-week moving average for initial claims — considered a less volatile measure — fell to 375,000, the lowest level since June 2008. Continuing claims for the week ending December 17 rose by 34,000 to 3.6 million.

Thanks to my friends at Prospect Mtg

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.