Skip the gym and bust out the broom: These household activities torch up to 200 calories in just 30 minutes—nearly double the amount you’d burn pumping iron in the gym. Keep the routine up on a weekly basis and you’re bound to banish both extra clutter and inches. Read on to find out which projects will put a dent in your to-do list and prep your body for spring’s skin-baring clothing.
read more…
http://healthyliving.msn.com/fitness/spring-clean-your-way-to-fit
Real estate is considered by most investors one of the best long-term bets, with stocks trailing slightly as the market enters a sixth bull year and many have been nervous about how long the run will go.
Indeed, Gallup said recent volatility in the stock market may have tarnished stocks’ image as the best long-term investment option, according to the survey, conducted April 3-6, which published April 17.
Gallup said rising house prices are just one reason why Americans are putting their bucks back into houses. In 2002, during the real estate boom that came ahead of the mortgage crisis and before gold was offered as an option, half of Americans polled gave real estate the best-investment nod. Sales trends for new homes are at historically low levels, while prices have run up more than 13% over the past year.
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Leading overseas real estate expert Andrew Batt has told Singapore TV there is a lot of money being invested in foreign property and it will go to those countries that make it easy for investors.
Batt, international group editor of the Singapore-based PropertyGuru website, was interviewed on the Real Deal slot on Channel NewsAsia about global regulation and managing foreign investment.
He talked about property regulations for overseas buyers in Singapore and Malaysia and how changes in the U.K. market would affect Asian investors.
Batt, who is a regular guest, told presenter Annalisa Burgos, “There is a lot of money out there right now looking for investments in property, so the countries where it becomes easier to invest, where there are less tax regulations, the money is going to go to those kinds of places.”Looking at Singapore, he pointed out that the government had raised the buyer’s stamp duty by an extra 15 percent to try to deter overseas investors.
“I know there are suggestions that foreign property buyers had driven up prices, so it makes sense if you want to curb that particular sector of the buying community then you need to target it specifically.
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/16/skyrocketing-real-estate-prices-trigger-backlash-against-foreign-buyers/?utm_source=20140416&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.qKKGskFt.dpuf
Karen Swanson’s historic Manchester, Massachusetts, home was built in 1850 by a prosperous local sea captain named John Carter, and although most of the house has the architectural detail of that period, the kitchen was a relic of the 1950s (or thereabouts). Swanson, owner of New England Design Works and an award-winning kitchen designer whose personal tastes are more modern, made a kitchen that straddles the line between traditional and contemporary, with a small nod to the home’s original owner.
Kitchen at a Glance Location: Manchester, Massachusetts Size: 280 square feet (26 square meters) Photography by Evan White
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| Hudson River Apiaries + Potted Flowering Plants in Ossining; Indian Chutneys, Olive Oil, Pasta in Mamaroneck + MORE April 10-16th, 2014 Down to Earth Markets | ||||||
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Click on a Market to see all vendor and event details…
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| Mamaroneck – Now OUTDOORS – Music & More This Saturday help us welcome Brian Vegh with his Celtic fiddle tunes. He’ll add music to the market’s lively outdoor atmosphere from 10 am to noon! Also, April is Fair Housing Month, and in its honor, we’re happy to host Westchester Housing Opportunities. They will distribute information about local fair housing laws, answer community questions, and more. Hosting for Passover? Flourish Baking Company has you covered. Place your Passover order with them by tomorrow (4/11) at 11am, and then pick it up from 9 am to 1 pm at the Mamaroneck Farmers Market on Saturday. Find their full menu here. [Warning: You WILL get hungry upon reading it.] Give them a call at 914-725-1026 or email info@flourishbakingcompany.com to order. ENJOY! Stay tuned to all market happenings via our Down to Earth Markets Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @DowntoEarthMarkets
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Mortgage applications dropped 1.6% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey of mortgages for the week ending April 4, 2014.
The MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume fell 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, the fourth decline in four weeks after a spike of almost 10% at the start of March.
The refinance index decreased 5% from the previous week and is at its lowest level since the end of 2013.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 3% from one week earlier.\
“Despite a drop in overall applications from the week before, purchase activity is still climbing as rates remain low and spring selling season is starting to ramp up. With home values back at healthy levels, look for inventory to increase in the coming weeks, which will continue to drive this trend of rising purchase activity,” said Quicken Loans vice president Bill Banfield.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 51% of total applications from 53% the previous week and is at its lowest level since July 2009.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained unchanged at 8% of total applications.
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29608-mortgage-apps-drop-for-4th-consecutive-week
It must be like bowling a perfect game, pitching a no-hitter or scoring a hole-in-one. You want to tell everyone, take pictures and put your name in lights. Achieving a perfect FICO credit score of 850 was such a big deal to one man, he issued a press release.
SubscriberWise announced today that company founder David Howe has obtained a perfect credit score of 850. The FICO score, the most commonly accepted credit measurement among U.S. lenders, ranges from a low of 300 to a high of 850 – the higher the better.
The Senate Finance Committee has passed a two-year retroactive extension of a law that allowed homeowners to avoid being taxed on debt forgiven in a short sale or through a principal reduction, Realtor Magazine reported.
The extension still needs to be passed by the full Senate and by the House of Representatives. The federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 expired on Dec. 31, 2013, despite strong bipartisan support.
In addition to mortgage debt relief, there are some promising signs that Congress may pass extensions of other popular housing-related tax benefits sometime this spring, including write-offs for energy-saving improvements and mortgage insurance premiums.
Source: realtormag.realtor.org
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/mortgage-debt-relief-extension-closer-to-reality/?utm_source=20140404&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.rEHB52Ud.dpuf
