Chance Gates' Blog

Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, fell 0.5% in February after a 2% increase in January. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales are up 9.2%.

Retail sales fell 0.5% for the week ending March 24, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 2.7%.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index — on a non-seasonally adjusted basis — fell 0.8% in January after a 1.1% decrease in December. On a year-over-year basis, prices fell 3.8% compared with January 2011.

Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose $4.5 billion or 2.2% to $211.8 billion in February. This follows a revised 3.6% decrease in January. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly increase of 1.6%.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending March 23 fell 2.7%. Refinancing applications decreased 4.6%. Purchase volume rose 3.3%.

The Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 3% in the fourth quarter of 2011. This follows a 1.8% pace of growth in the third quarter of 2011. On a year-over-year basis, the economy expanded 1.6%.

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for March’s final reading rose to 76.2 from 75.3 in February. On a year-over-year basis, consumer sentiment is up 12.9%.

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.

CommRow is an urban adventure destination in Reno, Nevada, that opened on October 1, 2011. It was previously Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel, until closing in 2008. CommRow has no casino, and is centered around extreme sports, with a 164-foot outdoor rock climbing wall and an indoor bouldering park.^[1]

The hotel portion of CommRow is planned to reopen starting in spring of 2012 as HANG Hotel.

CommRow is a series of individual, private enterprise businesses under one roof. The 1st floor is “TheROW”, a series of food outlets and bars, including Italian Beefs, TarTars, Mediterranean, and more. Bars and lounges are also part of this mix. Part of theROW is Centric Cabarat, a 150 person entertainment venue. On the 2nd floor is BaseCamp, home to the 164′ climbing wall affixed to the exterior, east facing facade and rising 16 stories to the building’s crest. Leal said the building’s construction was solid, and firm enough to support such a venture. The wall was built by International leaders Entre-Prises Climbing Walls and built to cater to a variety of climbers. Inside guests find two 15′ boulders to climb on. Two extended balconies would be constructed attached to the facades, one being for the platform of the climbing wall and the other for “V15″ a bar. The 2nd floor also includes an all natural juice bar called UP.

The third floor contains Cargo, a 350 person entertainment venue hosting concerts. CommRow plans to open in three phases, the first being the first three floors of the building, which opened on October 1st, 2011. The 2nd phase is the addition of a hotel, using the Fitzgeralds’ former rooms, renovations would cover floors 4-8. About 136 rooms will open on April 1, 2012 for “HANG” Hotel, the hotel component. The final phase is “The Adventure Deck” taking the top floor of the CommRow parking garage (across the street) and adding outdoor bouldering, BMX and skate parks, and a seasonal restaurant along with a potential Zip line down to the RETRAC trench. Planning and development for this is underway but a completion could come before Fall 2012.

Follow them on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/commrow

Read full Story

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.

Fences should not be considered an indication of property boundaries. Legal property boundaries are demarcated by surveyor pins or stakes. These are typically 1/2″ to 3/4″ round iron pipes flush or buried slightly below land surface. Newer pins might have yellow or orange caps that indicate the surveyor’s license number.

Locating property lines can be challenging. Older surveyor pins tend to erode. Older property markers could be metal posts, rebar, pipes or car axles. Those having difficulty locating their surveyor pins, also called corner pins, should contact their city or county government and get a copy of their plat map.

A plat map will identify each specific lot located in a subdivision — as well as the shape and dimension of the lot — and where the surveyor pins are located.

If a plat map is not available, or no pins are found, the next step is to contact a registered land surveyor to locate the property lines and set new surveyor pins. The boundary surveyor will thoroughly research city and county records relating to the land and all adjacent property. After research, the field work begins, reconciling the research with the onsite analysis on the property to determine the final boundary lines.

Boundary surveys might also include property improvements, fences, power lines and any encroachments crossing the property lines. Costs of a boundary survey can vary depending on property size, terrain, vegetation, location and season.

A survey is strongly recommended before subdividing, improving or building on land. Building beyond property lines could result in being forced to alter or remove a structure, fines and lawsuits.

Special thanks to my friends over at Prospect Mtg. http://www.myprospectmortgage.com/yfoster

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

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. 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.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  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.

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time / Result
11/09/11	Notre Dame De	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
11/13/11	vs. Saint Martin’s	Reno, Nev.	2:00 p.m. PT
Subway Classic
11/19/11	vs. North Dakota State	Minneapolis, Minn	1:00 p.m. PT
11/20/11	Consolation	Minneapolis, Minn	1:00 p.m. PT
	Championship	Minneapolis, Minn	3:00 p.m. PT
Nugget Classic
11/25/11	vs. Butler	Reno, Nev.	2:00 p.m. PT
	Penn State vs. Iowa State	Reno, Nev.	4:00 p.m. PT
11/26/11	Consolation	Reno, Nev.	5:00 p.m. PT
	Championship	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
11/30/11	vs. Pacific	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
12/03/11	at Portland State	Portland, Ore.	2:00 p.m. PT
12/08/11	at Long Beach State	Long Beach, Calif.	7:00 p.m. PT
12/10/11	at Cal St Fullerton	Fullerton, Calif.	3:00 p.m. PT
12/14/11	vs. Oregon	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
12/22/11	at BYU	Provo, Utah	12:00 p.m. PT
Reno-Tahoe Classic
12/29/11	vs. Long Island	Reno, Nev.	2:00 p.m. PT
	Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi State	Reno, Nev.	4:00 p.m. PT
12/30/11	Consolation	Reno, Nev.	5:00 p.m. PT
	Championship	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
01/02/12	vs. UNLV	Reno, Nev.	6:00 p.m. PT
01/10/12	at Cal State Bakersfield	Bakersfield, Calif	7:00 p.m. PT
01/14/12	at Fresno State *	Fresno, Calif.	2:00 p.m. PT
01/19/12	at Idaho *	Moscow, Idaho	6:00 p.m. PT
01/21/12	at Utah State *	Logan, Utah	6:00 p.m. PT
01/26/12	vs. Hawai’i *	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
01/28/12	vs. San Jose State *	Reno, Nev.	2:00 p.m. PT
02/02/12	at Louisiana Tech *	Ruston, La.	TBA
02/04/12	at New Mexico State *	Las Cruces, N.M.	TBA
02/11/12	Fresno State *	Reno, Nev.	2:00 p.m. PT
02/16/12	vs. Utah State *	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
02/18/12	vs. Idaho *	Reno, Nev.	7:00 p.m. PT
02/23/12	at San Jose State *	San Jose, Calif.	7:00 p.m. PT
02/25/12	at Hawai’i *	Honolulu, Hawaii	10:00 p.m. PT
03/01/12	vs. New Mexico State *	Reno, Nev.	TBA
03/03/12	vs. Louisiana Tech *	Reno, Nev.	2:00 p.m. PT
WAC Tournament
03/07/12	WAC Tournament

www.nevadawolfpack.com

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

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. 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.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  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.

Property management is hard,  finding good tenants is even harder.  So once you find one, here is a couple of ways to keep him.  Long term leases up  that include longevity-based discounts and bonuses on rent can help keep good tenets staying long term and inspire better behavior.

After 12 months is a good time to give residents a small discount on their 13th or 14th month of rent if the resident lives violation-free and have no late payments.

After 24 consecutive months with no rental agreement violations and no late payments.  Give residents  a slightly larger discount on their 25th month of rent or for the month of December if it is close.  This is also a good time to get them to re-sign into another long term lease.

http://www.almanac.com/gardening/jobs/August

Compost should be watered during dry periods so that it remains active.

Prune only to retain the shape. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons.

Mid-August through September is a good time to transplant any shrubs that you’ve purchased with root balls wrapped in burlap. Make sure you get them in the ground two to three days after purchase. Do not fertilize until the second year, when the feeding roots have become established.

Lawns or bare spots reseeded with grass now will have a chance to get established before winter sets in. Water often and mulch with hay.

In colder regions, houseplants that have been outside for the summer should be brought in at the end of this month. A sudden cold spell will be too much of a shock for them to survive. This is also a good time to take cuttings.

You can still enjoy garden flowers indoors. Sow these annuals inside: sweet alyssum, dwarf marigold, browallia, ageratum, and nasturtium. Grow them in a moderately cool (60 degrees F), sunny window.

Plant fall-flowering bulbs now.

Two or three leaves should be left when cutting gladiolus, so that the bulbs can ripen.

This is the month for transplanting Oriental poppies.

Rock-garden plants should be checked to see if they need thinning. Overcrowded plants will not stay healthy or attractive.

Sow these perennials outdoors for next spring: aquilegia, Phlox paniculata, digitalis, centaurea, and primrose.

Hardy lily bulbs may be planted in the ground and left to overwinter outdoors.

Cut back the flower stalks of perennials that have finished blooming. Cut delphinium flower stalks to the ground, and a new, though smaller, flower stalk will develop. The flower will survive the coming cold days and even light frosts.

Lift, divide, and replant Japanese and Siberian irises soon after bloom. Transplant them to places where they will have “wet feet but dry knees.”

If you notice a gap in your perennial bed between spring and fall blooms, visit a local nursery to see what’s in bloom there and ask the experts for advice on what to plant.

The vegetable garden is likely to require daily harvesting now. Cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers should be picked as soon as the fruits are ready. This not only captures the best flavor, but it also makes way for new fruits.

Maximum flavor of herbs for drying is achieved by cutting them just before their flowers open.

Make sure that potatoes are not escaping into the sunlight. Hill or mulch them if they are.

Trenches of new asparagus beds should receive their final filling in this month.

Remove dead pea vines, bolted lettuce, and other plants that have gone by and add them to the compost pile. If they show signs of disease, however, burn them.

Separate melons from the ground with a thin board to prevent decay or damage from wireworms.

Cut out raspberry and blackberry canes that have just finished fruiting.

Most perennials outgrow their containers and require repotting every two or three years.

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

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. 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.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  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

$100 Down Payment Rules & Regulations

Where Do I Find HUD Homes?

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/money/home-buying/articles/28618.aspx#ixzz1S7MIJO5b

Every NSP2 home for sale includes a $5000 Cash grant to be used for closing costs and a $15,000 interest free forgivable loan.   Applicants may also qualify for a WISH grant, which could provided up to an additional $15,000 forgivable loan.  Applicants can also purchase a Mortgage Credit Certificate through the Home at Last MCC Program offered by Neveda Rural Housing Authority

NSP2 targeted income groups

NSP2 activities are targeted towards two groups of people. Potential homeowners will be people making between 50% and 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI), and potential renters will be people making less than 50% of AMI. The AMI chart for Washoe County is as follows(FY 2011 Income Limits):

Area Median Income (AMI)

http://www.renoha.org/index.php?id=purchase

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

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. 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.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  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

Image via Wikipedia

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/desi_arnaz.html#ixzz1GEmKiofY

A single prop that does not look real to an audience can louse you up. The same is true of the smallest flaw in setting up the motivation in a story line.
Al Jolson was one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived.

American people have the ability to laugh at themselves. It is one of the things that makes this country the great country that it is.

An actor who is good at comedy can also be very good at drama, but not necessarily vice versa.

An audience is so important. I would never have had the guts to dub in that big a laugh.

At times we were criticized for doing too much slapstick. I don’t believe in mild comedy, and neither does Lucy.

Drinking intensifies all your pressures and your needs.
Desi Arnaz

Everyone seemed to be doing well except me and my career. And my accent was no helping me any.

Failure is the most terrible thing in our business. When we fail, the whole world knows about it.

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. 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.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  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 think that the U.S. does have this very much more open attitude, and I admire it very much and I think it’s very important to the world. But the information and the discussion sometimes come too late, after the effective decision has been made.

I think you will find scientists that think like you in Germany and Britain, and you will find politicians that think like Weinberger. I think the most bellicose ruling group in the Western world at the moment is the British.

I will hear no talk that there are no intermediate-range weapons on the NATO side.

The missiles come first, and the justifications come second.

The readings of Soviet society are as many as the experts you speak to. In my view, it’s a society that is overdue for measures of democratization and organization.
E. P. Thompson

The talk about balance, nuclear balance, seems to me to be metaphysical and doesn’t seem to be real at all.

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. 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.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  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.

Daily Real Estate News  | March 4, 2011  |
For the third straight week, long-term mortgage rates inched down, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.87 percent for the week, down from last week’s 4.95 percent. The rate was 4.97 percent at this time last year.

The 15-year mortgage rate also dipped for the week, averaging 4.15 percent, down from last week’s 4.22 percent.

The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.72 percent, which is a drop from last week’s 3.8 percent average.

“Mortgage rates saw an overall improvement this week,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages were almost 0.2 percentage points below this year’s high set just three weeks ago.” This means that home buyers can now expect to pay $263 less per year on a $200,000 loan, Nothaft adds.

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. 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.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  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.

Source: “30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Drops for Third Consecutive Week,” Freddie Mac (March 3, 2011)