Sunday, 25 November 2012

Renting Recent VA Refi - Zillow Mortgage Advice

We have just completed a VA?refi on our current home.? We've lived here for 4 years.? Its feeling kind of small though and we want to purchase a new construction here in town with an FHA loan.
1) Will we be able to do this?
2) will it affect our interest rate on our VA?

Monthly income: 7500, current obligations (including current mort/tax/ins) 1890.

TIA

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Renting-Recent-VA-Refi/469345/

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End nears for shot boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho

Former world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, of Puerto Rico, is taken by paramedics inside a medical center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Camacho, 50, was shot in the face as he sat in a car at his hometown of Bayamon, one of the cities that make up the San Juan metropolitan area and doctors said he was in critical but stable condition, expected to survive. (AP Photo/GFR Media, Primera Hora/El Nuevo Dia, Sebastian Perez)

Former world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, of Puerto Rico, is taken by paramedics inside a medical center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Camacho, 50, was shot in the face as he sat in a car at his hometown of Bayamon, one of the cities that make up the San Juan metropolitan area and doctors said he was in critical but stable condition, expected to survive. (AP Photo/GFR Media, Primera Hora/El Nuevo Dia, Sebastian Perez)

Maria Matias, mother of former world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, speaks with reporters outside Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. Camacho, who has been unconscious since he was shot in the face last Tuesday and declared brain dead by doctors, will be taken off life support on Saturday, his mother said in the brief news conference, a decision that the former championship boxer's eldest son opposes. (AP Photo/Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)

Hector Camacho Jr., the eldest son of former world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, speaks with reporters outside Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. Camacho, who has been unconscious since he was shot in the face last Tuesday and declared brain dead by doctors, will be taken off life support on Saturday, his mother Maria Matias said in the brief news conference, a decision that Camacho Jr. opposes. (AP Photo/Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)

Maria Matias, center, mother of former world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, and her grandson Hector Jr. walk together after holding a news conference at Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. Camacho, who has been unconscious since he was shot in the face last Tuesday and declared brain dead by doctors, will be taken off life support on Saturday, his mother said in the brief news conference, a decision that her grandson, Hector Jr. opposes. (AP Photo/Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)

(AP) ? The mother of Hector "Macho" Camacho says she has decided to have doctors cut off life support for the former world champion boxer Saturday once three more of his sons get a last chance to see him.

Though opposed by Camacho's eldest son, Maria Matias, the boxer's mother, said she had decided it was time for doctors to disconnect the machines that have kept him alive since he was shot in the face earlier in the week.

"I lost my son three days ago. He's alive only because of a machine," Matias said. "My son is not alive. My son is only alive for the people who love him," she added.

She said at a news conference Friday night that she was waiting only for Camacho's three other sons, who were expected to arrive from the U.S. mainland early Saturday. "Until they arrive, we will not disconnect the machine," Matias said.

Another news conference was scheduled for Saturday morning at Centro Medico, the main trauma center for San Juan.

The former champion's mother has the final say in the matter, but his eldest son, Hector Camacho Jr., said he wanted to keep his father alive.

"He's going to fight until the end. My father is a boxer," the son said.

Although doctors had said Camacho was clinically brain dead from a shooting Tuesday night in his hometown of Bayamon, relatives and friends told The Associated Press they were still wrestling with the idea of removing him from life support.

"It is a very difficult decision, a very delicate decision," former pro boxer Victor "Luvi" Callejas, a longtime friend, said in a phone interview. "The last thing we lose is hope and faith. If there is still hope and faith, why not wait a little more?"

Aida Camacho, one of the boxer's aunts, said in an interview that the family could decide by late Friday whether to donate his organs.

As some relatives and friends continued to pray for a miracle, condolences flowed in for Camacho's family and preparations were being made for memorials and a funeral Mass.

Gov. Luis Fortuno lamented what he called a sudden loss. "'Macho' will always be remembered for his spontaneity and charisma in and out of the ring," he said.

Also offering condolences was governor-elect Alejandro Garcia Padilla, who defeated Fortuno in November.

"The life of Macho Camacho, like other great athletes of ours, united the country," he said. "We celebrated his triumphs in the streets and we applauded him with noble sportsmanship when he didn't prevail."

Camacho was shot as he sat in a car with a friend, 49-year-old Adrian Mojica Moreno, who was killed in the attack. Police spokesman Alex Diaz said officers found nine small bags of cocaine in the friend's pocket and a 10th bag open inside the car.

Police reported no arrests and said investigators continued to look for potential witnesses. Capt. Rafael Rosa told reporters Friday that they were following several leads, but declined to say whether police had identified any suspects. He said very few witnesses were cooperating.

Hector Camacho Jr. decried the violence that grips Puerto Rico, a U.S. island territory of nearly 4 million people that reported a record 1,117 homicides last year.

"Death, jail, drugs, killings," he said. "That's what the streets are now."

Camacho's sisters have said they would like to fly Camacho's body to New York and bury him there. Camacho grew up mostly in Harlem, earning the nickname the "Harlem Heckler."

He won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s and fought high-profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard while compiling a career record of 79-6-3. He knocked out Leonard in 1997, ending the former champ's final comeback attempt.

Camacho battled drug, alcohol and other problems throughout his life. He was sentenced in 2007 to seven years in prison on burglary charges, but a judge eventually suspended all but one year of the sentence and gave Camacho probation. He wound up serving two weeks in jail after violating that probation. A wife also filed domestic abuse complaints against him twice before their divorce.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-11-24-Puerto%20Rico-Boxer%20Shot/id-7619bd5f8f8443249db98019a5b21db2

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Saturday, 24 November 2012

Galaxy Of Lights Organizers Address Traffic Concerns | WHNT.com ...

Posted on: 5:50 pm, November 23, 2012, by Matt Kroschel, updated on: 10:38pm, November 23, 2012

HUNTSVIILE, Ala. (WHNT) ? Thousands of people drive through the Galaxy of Lights show at the Huntsville botanical gardens each year but traffic backups in the past forced organizers to relocate the entrance to the exhibit.

Drivers this year will enter through the US Space and Rocket Center Aviation Challenge instead of the?entrance?to the gardens.

Galaxy of Lights is the Huntsville Botanical Garden?s ?mile-long holiday light extravaganza featuring larger-than-life animated light displays. ?Organizers say Galaxy of Lights was ?recognized by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top 20 Event in the Southeast.

Member Walking nights ? Nov. 10-14 from 5:00-7:30 pm ($5 adult; $2.50 children)

Member Walk Your Dog-Nov. 14 ($1 per dog on a leash)

Public Walking nights ? Nov. 18-22 from 5:00-7:30 pm ($6 adult; $3 children)

Public Walk Your Dog-Nov. 21 ($1 per dog on a leash) Driving nights ? Thanksgiving through New Year?s Eve from 5:30-9:00 pm ($20 per car or van up to 10 people, $3 per additional person.

Walking nights ? $6 adults; $3 children;

Driving nights ? $20 per carload up to 10 people.

?Galaxy of Lights Fun Facts:

* Over 5 miles of extension cords are used to power more than 500 display pieces.

* Over 2000 luminaries are used.

* The Galaxy uses about the amount of power that 3 houses use in a year.

* 2010 marks the 22nd anniversary of the Botanical Garden.

Source: http://whnt.com/2012/11/23/galaxy-of-lights-organizers-address-traffic-concerns/

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Read of the Day: Baby booming into real estate investing ? 8 Charts ...

The rush into investment real estate has largely been dominated by big pools of money and?foreign investment.? I?m intrigued by seeing the Wall Street machine suddenly finding blue collar rental real estate as an attractive investment.? However there has been another group of potential real estate investors that has largely been hidden from view.? Are baby boomers diving into the real estate investment game?? The prospect of buying investment real estate has never been a popular one.? Most Americans own their own home but that is largely it.? Real estate in the form of investment properties is largely an active venture.? Sure, some can pay a property manager to manage their asset but this will then require a diligent process in selecting a trustworthy team.? The big dive by?Wall Street funds?into residential real estate is interesting because this is not a quick buck industry.? Baby boomers with low yields on fixed income might be looking into buying other real estate as an investment or hedge.? Instead of speculating on this I decided to dig deep on what baby boomers are doing when it comes to other real estate outside of their primary residence.

Owning other property

One study that I found was conducted by the National Association of Realtors.? We will also compare this data with a more comprehensive survey conducted by the Fed.? The NAR survey contacted 2,000 Americans born between 1946 and 1964 regarding their real estate plans (not exactly a giant pool but we will measure this with other data):

baby boomer real estate investment properties ownership rates

One of the first items that came out was that baby boomers have a much higher home ownership rate than the overall figure.? Baby boomer home ownership is close to 70 percent.? Another item that came out in the survey was that 10 percent were planning on buying real estate in the next 12 months.? This isn?t exactly what some were saying that a large number of boomers were going to?shift the investment market game.? One interesting figure is the satisfaction with current home.? This figure will likely push more homes onto the market as many will sell to move to a more desirable place.

Baby boomer and ownership rates

So how many baby boomers own other real estate outside of their primary residence?? The survey found that 25 percent of baby boomers that own their primary residence own other real estate:

baby boomer real estate ownership

The largest segment came from land.? Rental investments are at 8 percent and vacation homes came in at 7 percent.? In other words, this is a small segment of the market.? It is hard to see how baby boomers will suddenly find a desire later in life to dive into the?landlord game.? These figures have been steady over the past decade.? Given the volatility in the housing market will baby boomers be lured back in once again to risk their money at a time when?time?is not on their side?

Comprehensive Fed Survey ? Percent of Families with Other Real Estate

One of the more comprehensive surveys on household financial health comes from the Fed?s Consumer Survey. This survey comes out every three years and has some interesting data.? First, let us see how many families actually own other real estate outside their primary residence:

percent of families with other real estate

This is interesting.? There was a jump from 2001 to 2010 in terms of how many families own real estate outside of their primary residence.? From 1989 to 2000 the figure ranged from 11.5 to 13 percent.? In 2010 it went above 14 percent.? Much of this was pulled in from the mania and easy money but from the more recent survey we examined, it looks like baby boomers in terms of rental real estate didn?t dive in fully.

Real Estate by Age

The best way to look at this is to pull data on other real estate by head of household:

real estate holdings by age

From 2000, it does look like baby boomers increased their holding in other real estate yet it doesn?t seem like it was in the form of rental property.? Maybe it came from land and also vacation homes yet that isn?t necessarily an investment more than a luxury purchase.? Short of renting the vacation home out, this is like adding a spa to your home expecting it to yield a net-net return on investment.

Younger Americans, those less than 35 do not have a big holding in other real estate and that is to be expected. ?The pent up flood of baby boomers isn?t likely to be in the form of rental real estate buying but more on them selling their current homes to move up or to move out.

Investment Property Data ? Value

The one group that seemed to ride out the real estate bubble in a better position is the 55 to 64 age group:

median value of real estate holdings

Every other category saw the median value of their other real estate holdings fall except the 55 to 64 age group.? This could be that this group did not heavily invest during the boom times and probably bought before the?bubble ran up.? Those in the 45 to 54 range saw a dip from over $150,000 to nearly $100,000.? Those less than 35 saw virtually no gain dating back to the early 2000s.? Those claiming that a flood of investors will come from the boomer ranks are simply speculating since the data does not back this up.? The current investment demand is coming from big money and?foreign funds.? The action is also coming from?flippers in boom and bust?markets looking for a quick profit.? I?m not sure if I see boomers rushing in to suddenly become flippers at this stage in their lives.

Families Owning Stocks

Americans have been hit hard in this real estate bust because most derive their wealth from real estate holdings largely from their primary residence.? Home prices although moving up when looked at the median price, largely distort the current trend.? What is happening is that the mix of distressed properties is falling in terms of the number of sales.? If we look at the Case Shiller home prices are up but maybe not to the levels being reflected in median home prices:

case shiller

The current standing?? Home prices are still off by 30 percent from the peak and are now up by 4 percent from the trough.? So households have a long way to go when it comes to repairing the damage from the bust.? Yet the stock market is now getting close to the previous peak.? Why are households not benefitting from this?
families with stocks
I?ve discussed this before and US households do not hold stocks in large numbers.? Those that do, may hold them through pensions (a dwindling segment) and it is nothing in comparison to the amount held in residential real estate.? That is why the recent stock market recovery has done very little for US households.? Only about 15 percent of Americans have direct investments with stocks (off from 21 percent in 2001).

Household Income

median income

Yet the most important figure to look at is?household income.? This is important whether we are looking at California housing or nationwide housing.? Household income adjusted for inflation is back to levels last seen in the 1990s.? So with less discretionary funds, will more baby boomers dive into investment real estate especially seeing how volatile real estate can be?? I?m sure many realize that rental property is largely an active investment.? Do boomers have the desire to take on this new avenue of investing?? It doesn?t seem like this is happening in large numbers.? One thing that can change the market dynamics is if boomers begin selling their homes to move out and transition.? This will likely add more inventory to the market and is a more likely scenario that lies ahead.

From the overall data it doesn?t seem like boomers are going full force into the investment property market.? Even if they enter in today, they are?competing with big pocket Wall Street?and foreign money that is willing to over pay.? With 10,000 hitting retirement age per day, this is a segment we need to keep our eyes on.

Source: http://woodonfire.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/read-of-the-day-baby-booming-into-real-estate-investing-8-charts-highlighting-the-real-estate-plans-of-baby-boomers/

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Sun Sniper ?The Strap Surfer? review

Sun Sniper?is a company out of Germany that specializes in innovative camera holders and straps. Their?Strap Surfer?is designed to integrate ?with your messenger-style camera bag to give you a quick and secure solution for safely storing your camera while keeping it quickly ready for use. ?How well does it work ? ?Read on. The Strap [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/11/23/sun-sniper-the-strap-surfer-review/

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Parrots imitate individuals when addressing them

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Whether living with pirates or in the wild, parrots have exceptional abilities to mimic the sounds they hear. One species, the orange-fronted conure, may have evolved this ability in order to communicate with specific individuals in other flocks, according to research published November 21 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Thorsten Balsby from the University of Aarhus, Denmark and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen.

In the wild, orange-fronted conures live in dynamic flocks where individuals flit in and out, so each parrot encounters many different individuals every day. Each animal also has its own unique call. Both in the wild and in the researcher's experiments, parrots that heard an imitation of their own calls responded more frequently and faster to the calling individual than parrots that did not hear this imitation. Based on these observations, the authors suggest that the parrots may have evolved their abilities as mimics so they could 'begin a conversation' with a specific individual by mimicking their call.

###

Balsby TJS, Momberg JV, Dabelsteen T (2012) Vocal Imitation in Parrots Allows Addressing of Specific Individuals in a Dynamic Communication Network. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49747. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049747

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125437/Parrots_imitate_individuals_when_addressing_them_

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Friday, 23 November 2012

Euro, shares gain on Greek deal hopes, German data

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro hit a three-week high on Friday on signs of progress in negotiations to get fresh aid cash to Greece and after an influential German survey found business sentiment had improved.

The euro climbed 0.2 percent to $1.2906, on course for its second week of gains against the dollar.

Equity markets saw a more muted reaction, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> steady at around 1,105 points, but on track for its best week in about 10 months.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to modest gains when Wall Street opens for a short post-Thanksgiving trading day, with the retail sector in focus as the holiday shopping season begins.

Optimism on a deal to help Greece, hopes that United States lawmakers can agree steps to avoid a fiscal crisis, and data showing an improving global economic outlook have fuelled a rally across riskier asset markets this week.

MSCI's world equity index <.miwd00000pus> was up 0.15 percent on Friday at 326.75 points, for a gain of nearly 3 percent since Monday. That will be its best weekly performance since mid-September.

Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> rose 0.7 percent for a weekly gain of 2.6 percent, also its best week for two months.

With the end of the year approaching, analysts say the gain could continue.

"From a seasonal perspective, December and January have been quite decent months in the past, so I would not be too surprised if we see a good development in equities over the next couple of weeks," said Gerhard Schwarz, head of equity strategy at Baader Bank.

Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 index has risen in December for 12 of the last 15 years.

EUROPEAN HOPES

The economic optimism got a small boost from the latest survey of German companies by the Munich-based Ifo think-tank, which found firms were becoming more upbeat about the outlook despite the euro zone crisis.

"Export expectations rose strongly and are back in the positive area now. The orders situation and demand are stabilizing. Exports to the United States and Asia seem to be going well," Ifo economist Klaus Wohlrabe said.

The survey followed data on purchasing manager's intentions around the world this week, which signaled improving activity in China and the United States, while finding conditions in Europe had broadly stabilized at weak levels.

The hopes that Greece will get the money it needs to avoid bankruptcy were linked to reports the International Monetary Fund and the European Union had narrowed their differences over the target for Greek debt reduction by 2020.

Agreement on a new debt target and how it can be reached is a key stumbling block in agreeing the release of 44 billion euros ($57 billion) of funds from the Greek bailout package.

"It's not the first time we have this type of news," said ING rate strategist Alessandro Giansanti. "Until there is an official statement, detailing what they want to do, especially in terms of a debt restructuring, we're not going to see so much of a reaction."

Euro zone finance ministers, the IMF and the European Central Bank are due to meet again on Monday to agree the deal.

Ten-year German government bonds, a barometer of investor sentiment on the euro zone crisis were 2 basis points lower at 1.42 percent.

Greek government bond yields, however, were 5 basis points higher at 16.49 percent - a relatively small move for the volatile paper, which remains close to its lowest level since the country's debt was restructured in March.

COMMODITIES MIXED

The positive German data and hopes for a Greek deal lifted gold 0.3 percent to $1,733.34 an ounce. After gains of around 1 percent this week, the precious metal is set to post its best weekly rise in nearly two months.

Brent crude futures were down 22 cents at $110.33 a barrel and U.S. crude was down 27 cents against Wednesday's settlement to $87.11, as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Gaza held, easing supply concerns.

On Thursday Israel began withdrawing its army, which had been poised to invade the Gaza Strip in pursuit of militants firing rockets into Israel.

"Oil prices will probably be under pressure as long as the ceasefire holds," said Filip Petersson, a commodity strategist at SEB Commodity Research.

($1 = 0.7761 euros)

(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag, Claire Milhench and Kirsten Donovan; Editing by Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/global-shares-set-weekly-gain-outlook-improves-003752786--sector.html

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