http://ow.ly/aTRkD are we connected on F

http://ow.ly/aTRkD are we connected on FB ! Like my Fanpage its Great #HRVA Real estate news !

TIKI MAN

My husband went through a TIKI phase here are a few around our back yard.
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DO you have a backyard theme ? What is it ?

Relaxing in the backyard

We have a Great backyard. I wanted to share a few pics from this past weekend as we get all the flowers blooming  

Id love to see your backyard.

Consignment Bargains

Tour de Consignment
Oh my how in the world did I miss this great tour bus ? Seems it was a hot item and sold out pretty quickly.
Tickets were 75 per person for a luxury tour bus food goodies and a tour of this great shops

Boulevard treasures
Double take
Chic cheap resale boutique
Echoes of time costumes and vintage clothing
B. Original
The Knapsack Children consignment
Ditto Backatcha Boutique
VB repeats

The number of resale stores has grown by 7% the past 2 years. Studies show 15-18% of Us consumers will shop at a Thrift store annually and 12-15 % will patronize consignment reslae shops.

How do you feel about consignment stores ? Im the youngest of 4 so 2nd hand and hand me down was pretty much what I got most of my like anyway. As an adult with a good income I was able to start buying retail and for a while it was fun. Over time I would walk the mall or major department store and realize we all look like the maniquines dressed and there was nothing unique or exciting. I also realized the hefty price tag and thats when I started heading back to my old ways. Consignments and Thrift is not just for clothes, some people find it hard to dig through piles of stuff to find a treasure. I have found some amazing things at the stores like

Cashmere Sweaters
Real Silver Candle sticks
Beautiful basket
Art and stunning frames
Sewing material and art supplies
Pink Depression glass
Leather purses
Tons of Princess House
A lid for my crockpot that broke
I normally will buy clothes from stores like
Talbots
Ann Kline
Nordstrom’s
Sacks
Jones
Diana Buckman
Lilly Pultzer
Any more ! !!!!
It does take some time to look at things and you have to be patient but you can find some amazing home decor for your home and high end clothing for you !

2009 Jessica Lane – Short sale in Virginia Beach

Come visit our website to search for more great homes in Hampton Roads.
Http://www.BuyHamptonRoadsHomes.com
Keller Williams Realty Alison Creamer 757-652-8880

New program for Military member and Short sales.

New program for Military member and Short sales.

Are you in the Armed forces and have PCS orders over 50 miles from your current residences ? Is your local market in the dumps and everything around it short sales, distress, bank owned and bargain ? A new program has been announced by President Obama to help up to 3 million service members. The link below will take you to the official press release.

Hampton Roads is full of Military members who are in the middle of this crisis. If you are currently a homeowner and have PCS orders up to 50 miles out of the area PLEASE call me TODAY . I can help get your home sold and save your credit.

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
If you have a loan with Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citgroup Wells fargo or Ally Financial you may qualify under this new ruling.

The mortgage servicers who signed the settlement have agreed to review their files for violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). They will give monetary relief to those families who saw their homes taken from them in violation of the SCRA, or who did not receive the SCRA interest-rate reduction to which they were entitled. In one way the settlement goes farther than the SCRA: it protects from non-judicial foreclosure all military homeowners who are deployed to a combat zone, even if the mortgage was not obtained before the servicemember entered active duty. If you feel that your rights were violated by one of the mortgage servicers in the settlement you can call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743. But you don’t have to call in order to get the help offered by the settlement, and you shouldn’t give information or money to anyone who says they will help you get in on the settlement! If the banks in the settlement owe you money they will try to find you; you don’t need to fill out an application or file a claim.

The settlement also has provisions for military homeowners who get Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders. The banks will provide short-sale agreements and deficiency waivers to those servicemembers who were forced to sell their home at a loss due to a PCS and were not eligible for the military’s Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP). This will help servicemembers who were underwater on homes they bought between July 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008, or who received a PCS after October 1, 2010.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/03/06/help-military-homeowners

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/06/fact-sheet-president-o

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/03/06/what-you-need-know-about-todays-housing-announcement

• Providing Relief for Servicemembers Forced to Sell Their Home at a Loss
Due to a Permanent Change in Station: Under the Department of Defense’s
Homeowners’ Assistance Program (HAP), some servicemembers who are forced to
sell their home at a loss due to a Permanent Change in Station (PCS) may be
compensated for the loss in their home’s value. Under this settlement,
servicers will provide short sale agreements and deficiency waivers to those
servicemembers who were forced to sell their home for less than they owe on
their mortgage due to a PCS, but who are not eligible for HAP. This means
that the benefits of that program will finally be extended to servicemembers
who bought their homes between July 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008, or who
received a PCS after October 1, 2010.

The VA compromise sales has been the way to help the Veteran in the past here is link to help you understand that option. http://www.valoans.com/va_article.cfm?id=103

I feel bad for Portsmouth

I feel bad for Portsmouth

DISLCAIMER- this is just an opinion about what I read and see in the local paper and not to offend any resident of the city.

This poor city seems to be fighting for its life. Weekly I see stores about business failures, taxes, mis management , tolls . The most recent story I read today is about property values dropping. Normally I would say this is helpful for the long term resident who plan on staying in there home. If you look deeper dropping property values does nothing for them. Its only going to burden the city with more revenue loss and not a assessment rates might have to increased to balance the difference. Maybe Im simple minded but all this did was take the home sale values and drop them even more so when you do sell you have to take less.

Local business are footing the bill on the in crease of taxes. I can see this as a hit to any new business and growth in the city. Its so sad its a cycle that keeps them suppressed. How is Portsmouth going to fix there issues ? I don’t know that answer to that I know know maybe they need better leadership or people with better vision for the resolution

There are some positive notes for the city.
Foreclosure decreased annually from 585 to 495
Real Estate transfers increased from 2866 from 2649
Average days on the market dropped from 119 to 101
Median sale price dropped from 178300 to 166,00

Home values dropping dropping dropping

Dropping dropping dropping

Assessments are dropping like dead flies on a summer day in every city in hampton roads. This is a great for those of us who plan on never moving. For the poor souls who need to sell this could be a fatal blow to the sale.
Chesapeake values have declined by 3.8%. This is the 4th straight year in a row theses declines have happened the assessment year of 2009-2010 it had dropped 5.5%.
The good news for Chesapeake the city manager said there will not recommend a tax rate increase to make up to for the lost revenue
Some areas did get an increase in value areas like Plantation lakes and Western Branch subdivisions.
Stats
Foreclosure decrease from 1003 to 772
Average home price $338,27.00 for a new home & $284,195.00 for an existing home

Gun safety rant

Kids and Gun safety !

WTF !!!!! Amazing how people can be so stupid. Im not someone who thinks guns are bad or they need to be banned. I think people do need the right to bear arms, with in measure. Thats an entirely different blog topic. What Im up in arms about today is SB389 that got killed when it reached the house of delegates.
David Marsten’s bill that would have banned “look a like” guns at school was killed with a 4-1 vote and no discussion.
REALLY !!!!! Wow I cannot imagine what they are thinking. So banning pneumatic guns that fire bb’s or similar pellets from gas cylinders from schools and buses is not a good idea ?
When one of the types of guns was shown as an example its clear they look very real. I would think any law enforcement officer faced with this would think there life is in danger and would shoot in defense. OMG Im ranting but these people are flipping stupid ! WHy in the heck would they think its okay to take something like that to school or on buses ?
Okay parent when your kid gets blown to bits because they point a toy gun at an officer but the officer could not tell it was a toy don’t be upset !

Bookers Brew and Cafe

Bookers Brew and Cafe

I love this !!! booker T Washington high is teaching real life skills to the students. Special Education students will get the opportunity to know what is in store for them once High School is complete. When they come to the cafe its a real job. These students get to understand customer service, business skills and relationship skills be tween the customer and employee. I think this is an amazing opportunity for them. the coffee shop is located in the former book room and is open for business on the 1&2 period of the day. The cafe serves, hot beverages, oatmeal, and snacks to the teachers.
This is an amazing collaboration with in the educational system. The Cafe employees are learning a valuable skill and the main stream students now have a different connection with them as well. This has also been profitable and the Students divid the tips. Can you imagine he sense of accomplishment these students feel ? Its a wonderful and amazing program I would love to see more schools take advantage of. Go BOOKER T WASHINGTON for seeing the value in this program !