4/23/08 Newsletter

In BOICE MAIL this week...

"Pic" of the week:





Some people just don’t like to get their picture taken.

http://photowebs.blogspot.com/2008/03/natures-best-photo-awards-by-national.html

Best Nature Photo Awards by NG (National Geographic)

Headline Mortgage News:

* “Burning down the house”; A correlation between foreclosure activity and questionable home fires. This LA Times article is entitled “Arson to avoid foreclosure?”: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-arson21apr21,0,3776892.story


* Will Congress make things worse? Mortgage bailout plans might actually lengthen the housing decline. Read this article from CNNMoney.com – “Many problems with mortgage bailouts”: http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/22/news/economy/housing_rescue/?postversion=2008042211


* The Mortgage Bankers Association says mortgage loan applications were down 14.2% last week (from the week before): http://www.mortgagebankers.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/62116.htm

* Remember the “S & L Crisis” 20 years ago? What if Fannie and Freddie needed a government bail-out? Some think this is possible and would be 2-4 time more expensive. Read about it in this CNN Money article entitled “The trillion-dollar mortgage time bomb” : http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/21/news/economy/fannie_freddie/?postversion=2008042217


* Another Acronym-HVCC: Appraisers, you’ve head about it…Have you read it? The following link is known as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. This document is one of the results of the 03/03/2008 agreement between several other Acronyms: FNMA, FHLMC, OFHEO and the attorney general of New York: http://www.ofheo.gov/media/agreements/3308HomeValuationCodeofConduct.pdf


Thought for the Week:

I haven't failed. I've found 10,000 ways that won't work. -Benjamin Franklin








Is it real or is it Photoshop? This photo has been bounced around the internet as an example of a very creative paint job on a bathroom floor. You might hesitate before walking into this room, right? Actually it’s not a real bathroom at all. Just an entry to a Worth 1000 photo contest in 2005.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/bathroom-painted-floor.shtml

http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/bathroom.asp

And finally, Appraise That!



Forget trying to appraise it…where is it and what is it? We’ve received this photo from several people during the past few weeks. According to Snopes, this is not a “Redneck Mansion”. It is actually “an outdoor theater set, one used by the Theater het Amsterdam Bos for a 2005 production of the Anton Chekhov play Ivanov”….so now you know.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/redneck.asp

http://www.sonnyradio.com/redneckmansion.htm


Brought to you by:
BOICE APPRAISALS

885 Woodstock Road, Suite 430-305
Roswell, GA 30075
Office# 770-926-5284
Fax# 866-870-0930
http://www.boiceappraisals.com/

Love our new "Boice Mail" more than life itself? You can subscribe to the blog below and receive it each week in your email box automatically!

3/23/07 Newsletter

"Pic" of the week:


Are you artistic? The U.S. Open Sandcastle Competion will take place this year on July 29, 2007. Top prize in the "Masters Category" will be $5000. See more sandcastle photos at the bottom of this newsletter.

Headline Mortgage News:

U.S. Housing Starts drop 28.6% in February. See this U.S. Census Bureau report:
http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst_200702.pdf

Builder Confidence Declines in March as subprime concerns fester:
http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?newsID=4258&print=false

Are Landlords back in the “driver’s seat”? Realty Times article says maybe so:
http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20070323_landlords.htm

Senator Dodd says FED was a “spectator for far too long” and should have seen the “perfect storm” coming in the subprime market – The Standard:
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=22&art_id=40780&sid=12796780&con_type=1

“America’s Most Dangerous States” – According to this CNN News article, Nevada is the most dangerous state in America. See this article for the complete list:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/22/real_estate/dangerous_states/index.htm?postversion=2007032212

Thought for the Week:

"We are each of us angels with only one wing, ans we can only fly by embracing each other"
Luciano de Crescenzo

Rare photo taken yesterday of a national SubPrime lender

How to keep more of your own paycheck

Best Buy is in some really hot water these days, you might have heard. There are now civil and criminal investigations going into practices at Best Buy, according to the Hartford Courant, which broke the story. It’s being reported that Best Buy had a fake Web site in its stores that was charging much higher prices than those found on the Web site accessed from a home computer. Both sites have the name bestbuy.com, but the in-store site was a bait and switch ploy, according to the Courant. When people came in and asked about the lower price they saw on their computer, they were told that the sale ended yesterday. At the worst, this was a criminal act. At the least, it was an extremely foolish move.

The Government Accountability Office has found out that 401k plans are ripping off workers investing in them by swiping massive fees from you each year. Some of them are taking as much as 5 percent a year off the top. Under law, there is no requirement that you be told what you’re being charged for “maintenance and fees.” So, it’s allowed insurance companies to take advantage of investors. If you own a business, you need to ask point blank exactly what you’re being charged. If you’re an employee and you think your account isn’t increasing as much as it should, you want to ask your human resources department what the fee schedule is. If it turns out that the plan is a rip off, you should consider moving your money into a Roth IRA. The best way for business owner to tell if they are getting taken is if your plan is from either an insurance company or stock brokerage company. You may want to consider setting up with Fidelity and Vanguard, the two biggest 401k administrators in the country. You can’t go wrong with either one, but Vanguard is definitely the least expensive. You should always save for your own retirement.

Citigroup, the country’s biggest credit card issuer, has initiated two customer-friendly initiatives. You may have heard about credit card companies raising rates whenever they want for any reason. It may have even happened to you personally. Credit card terms of service usually include a clause saying the bank can do that anytime. Well, Citigroup, which now goes by Citi, is doing away with that practice. Secondly, the company is no longer going to use what’s called “universal default” to boost your rate. Under a universal default clause, a company can jack up your interest rate significantly if your credit report shows any late payments. That means you could pay your electric bill a few days late and your credit card company increases your rate because that late payment is on your credit report. Citi is eliminating its universal default clause, which is great for the consumer. YAY!

And now, for this week's fun freebies!


No cost after rebate keyboard
http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-441747-10440897?

Free smoke alarms for seniors
http://www.ucan.org/forum/forums/san_diego_freebies/smoke_alarms_for_seniors

Free $5 Calling Card from DialBug.com
http://www.dialbug.com/couponcode.html

No cost after rebate Ipod case/cover/skin
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BV7ZPG/freelancebyuc/obidos/ASIN/B000BV7ZPG/freelancebyu

Free sample of BodiHead terapeutic self heating pads
http://www.beyondbodiheat.com/htmls/pre_free_sample_new.asp

And finally, Appraise That!

How much value does this exterior art work add

(or subtract)?

Brought to you by:

885 Woodstock Road, Suite 430-305
Roswell, GA 30075
Office# 770-926-5284
Fax# 866-870-0930
order at: http://www.hotlynk.net/
http://www.highspeedhighstandards.com/

Love our new "Boice Mail" more than life itself? Then sign up to be placed on our weekly newsletter distribution list at trinaboice@adelphia.net We'd love to hear from YOU too! We know you like being informed and even entertained a bit in between working all those big deals! See ya next week!

2/20/07 Newsletter

"Pic" of the week:

Parking garage of the future? This is a 20 story storage facility for newly manufactured cars in Wolfsburg, Germany. Read more about it via this link: http://www.snopes.com/photos/automobiles/parkade.asp

Headline Mortgage News:

Home price trends in your area – This CNN Money article compares value trends in 149 markets
http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/15/real_estate/latest_prices_q4/index.htm?postversion=2007021514

Sticker shock – a list of 8 of the most valuable “homes” in America (according to CNN & Zillow)
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0702/gallery.Famous_Zestimates.fortune/index.html
RealtyTrac article – U.S. Foreclosures Increase 19 Percent in January
http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=1907&accnt=64847

Senator says US mortgage lending practices are “Out of Balance”
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2007-02-07T162840Z_01_N07432719_RTRIDST_0_USA-ECONOMY-MORTGAGE.XML

Inman News: “Builder confidence highest since June ‘06”
http://www.inman.com/inmannews.aspx?ID=62249

MBA Report – Mortgage loan applications up 1.5 % for week ending Jan 9
http://www.mortgagebankers.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/48508.htm

Thought for the Week:

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Mark Twain

The Four Stages of Life:

How to keep more of your own paycheck

The flu has been going around in our neck of the woods lately, so we wanted to share some health and wellness tips with you this week. Always use good judgment when going online to address medical needs. An interesting web site where you can order your own medical tests instead of paying whatever the doctor or hospital charges is www.directlabs.com/index.php There are a number of prescription programs that will save you money as well. To find the Rx program for your state go to http://www.pparx.org/ Low-income seniors who qualify can get the "Eli Lilly" card and really save on their medications. Call 1-877-RX-LILLY. For a $10 fee, Rxaminer will permit users to enter all current prescriptions and returns a list of available generic or other suggested brands for less money. Go to www.rxaminer.com/consult/index.asp

And now, for this week's fun freebies!

Almost free (with rebate) 2 Kingston USB 2.0 Data Traveler 1GB flash drives
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204134643&adid=17070&dcaid=17070

Here's a free mouth wash sample:
http://walmart.triaddigital.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid11366.aspx

Click on here and you'll get a coupon for free veggies from Green Giant:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/Products/Green-Giant/green-giant-offers.htm

Free skincare samples from Chamonix:
http://www.betterskintoday.com/requestsample.htm

Free sample of Palmer's Cocoa butter formula with vitamin E lotion. Go to "Like Some?"
http://skinisfashion.com/


And finally, Appraise That!
Appraisers need to look at a house from "all possible angles".

Brought to you by:
Boice & Associates, Inc. Real Estate Appraisers
885 Woodstock Road, Suite 430-305
Roswell, GA 30075
Office# 770-926-5284
Fax# 866-870-0930
order at: http://www.hotlynk.net/
http://www.highspeedhighstandards.com/