The Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball team has, to say the least, been struggling in their first season in OKC. They find themselves in the cellar of the league. It was to be expected that it would take some time to get in the groove with their move from Seattle, many young players, coaching problems and subsequent changes. For much of the first of the season, it was really almost painful to watch.
Of late, however, the Thunder have really started to turn the corner. They have had recent losses by only a couple of points to good teams, where they have played well and could just as easily have won. Last night they defeated the Chicago Bulls on their home court by a score of 109-98 in over time. They played with a good energy which had not been seen earlier in the season, rebounded exceptionally well, and did better in controlling the ball, an area that has caused them numerous losses.
Star Kevin Durant played well, achieving a double double. New Thunder recruit, Nenad Krstic, recently from Russia via the New York Nets, made a significant contribution to the victory on both ends of the court. This big man should certainly improve the Thunders' prospects. The future is definitely looking up for the Thunder!
In spite of their struggles, the OKC community has given the Thunder tremendous support, with most games at or near capacity attendance in the Thunderdome. Thunder games are televised, and we watch whenever possible, having seen most of their games. Last night was an exciting game that was fun to watch. Congratulations Thunder! We look forward to seeing more games of this caliber as the team continues to build.
Last night we attended our first Thunder game at the Ford Center. After a nice Mexican meal at La Luna, we joined over 18,000 other OKC fans on a beautiful, crisp fall evening at the newly refurbished Ford Center to watch the OKC Thunder take on the Orlando Magic. We had attended a number of Hornets games when the team called OKC home, and always loved the excitement, even when the Hornets were having less than a winning season. Once again, we found it exciting to be part of the crowd. But, you know it's a bad night for the home team when the crowd gets excited that the team is only down by sixteen, rather than the 32-point deficit held by the Thunder at one point in the game. When you dig a hole that deep, it's almost impossible to climb out of it. Give it to the OKC fans, they remained supportive to the end, cheering their team on in the face of being on the wrong end of the 109-92 final score.
We never expected the Thunder to be in play-off contention this year, nowhere near. They are a young team, they have just relocated here, and had a miserable final season in Seattle. We were not even expecting anything close to a winning season. However, last night the Thunder just could not seem to do anything right. To be fair, they were missing their star, former rookie of the year, Kevin Durant, due to an ankle injury. Their loss last night, however, cannot be attributed merely to Durant's absence. Also, to be fair, we have watched most of the Thunder games on TV, and they certainly have shown improvement and potential. Oftentimes, they have held leads, but have seemed somehow unable to close out the game.
Not last night. Last night they shot just over 37 percent, seemingly unable to get even uncontested easy lay-ups to fall. Rebounding was equally dismal, as often there seemed to be no Thunder players under the basket. They had headed back down the court before even seeing if a shot fell or not. And as for defense, you know it's going to be a bad night when the opposing team has scored 71 points by half-time. When the announcer came over the public address system saying that they were going to show replays from the first half, I really couldn't think of anything that I wanted to see again. Once was more than enough.
Will we return to the Thunderdome? Sure, we'll be back. We're willing to stick with the team while they're building and getting better. We like to be part of the Thunderdome excitement. But it sure will be more fun when our team at least makes a game of it.
Gorgeous custom home is available in the Meadows at Surrey Hills. Sits on an extra large greenbelt lot with lots of space for kids to play and you to garden and birdwatch. Location is city close and country quiet. Located only two miles from the Kilpatrick Turnpike, so you can be anywhere in the metro area in just minutes. Surrey Hills Elementary School is only a few blocks away.
This 3 bedroom, 2 full bath beauty has 2020 square feet, according to builder, and is only four years old--built in 2004. It has decorator colors, designer tile, and granite throughout. The spacious great room is filled with light and adjoins a huge kitchen with striking custom cabinetry, a breakfast bar, and room for dining. It also has a formal dining room just off the sunny entry way. Open and bright plan with high ceilings and deep crown moldings.
The master bedroom is spacious and has room for a sitting area. The master bath boasts separate shower and garden tub, beautiful black marble counter, and upscale basins. The large study with French doors could be a formal living room. Archways lead from the entry through a foyer and into the great room/family room.
Call Henry at 405-642-3632 or Ruth Ann at 405-255-6770 for your showing of this lovely home. Sellers are licensed real estate agents.
With most if not all of the conventional very-low or no down payment programs having evaporated with the sub-prime mortgage mess, how do first-time buyers with reasonable credit who can make payments but have very little up-front cash get into a home? The answer may, or may not be the FHA Down Payment Assistance Program.
We recently had experience with this program working with two buyers. Both had good credit, but did not have much money to make a down payment and pay for closing costs. One story had a happy ending, one did not.
The first buyer found a well-cared for home in an established desirable neighborhood. He wanted to finance the required 3% FHA down payment with a loan from a down payment assistance company. This was to be added to the purchase price of the house, and to be paid back at closing by the seller. The seller was also asked to pay for a few thousand dollars of the buyer's closing costs, allowing the seller to still net about 97 to 98 per cent of the list price of the home. This worked out well, and we have a very happy buyer, and seller too, I think.
In the second case, our buyer found a wonderful little house which had been professionally updated in a neighborhood of lower-cost homes in a good area of town. The homes in this area had been generally well kept, but the home our buyer wanted to purchase was really an exceptional home for the area. We proposed the same type of financing as with buyer one. Unfortunately, different result. We could not make the transaction work.
What made the difference? In the first case, the home had no difficulty in appraising for the amount of the purchase price with the down payment added. In fact, it appraised for more. In the second instance, because the home was so atypical for the area, we could not find comps to support the higher purchase price.
It seems the FHA DPA may work well for some situations, but not for others. Having a good understanding of what the house will appraise for seems critical to knowing whether this type of financing will work for your buyer with a given purchase. What have you been finding with this program?
CNNMoney.com offers a feature which allows you to search for your Best Place to Live based on several criteria, including Housing Affordability, Plentiful Leisure Activities, Plentiful Cultural Options, Job Growth, Sunny Weather, Short Commute Time, and Good Health Care Access.
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The Oklahoma Suprmeme Court recently ruled unconstitutional a tax break which has been enjoyed by land developers and home builders in Oklahoma. This tax break has allowed builders and land developers to freeze the taxable market value of land purchased for development to its value at the time it was purchased, thus saving developers and builders money. The Court stated that the value of the land must be reassessed annually, as is the land owned by other types of property owners. This will result in builders and developers paying higher property taxes.
Builders will likely pass their increased costs on to home buyers by raising the prices of their homes. However, Oklahoma remains one of the most affordable housing markets in the country. Also, according to state law, property tax increases are capped at 5% per year, so the price increases should not be too large. A positive side to the situation is that Oklahoma Schools will receive more funding due to the increase in collection of property taxes.
For two seasons, Oklahoma City was the temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets NBA basketball team due to the damage sustained by New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. During their time in OKC, the city embraced them, and sold-out games were the rule, rather than the exception. (GO HORNETS!) Now that the Hornets have returned to New Orleans, OKC looks to be the likely new home for the current Seattle Supersonics, as they have been purchased by investors from the metro area. If Seattle continues to refuse to build a new state-of-the-art arena for the team, it will apply to relocate to Oklahoma City.
With this opportunity to have our own permanent NBA team, rather than one "on loan" for a while, the city and its citizens are faced with a decision. We are being asked to finance improvements to our own arena, the Ford Center, to make it more attractive to the NBA. It is proposed that the improvements be financed through a temporary sales tax of 1%, which would, of course, be paid by all citizens, whether they attend basketball games or not.
Those that oppose the financing arrangement cite the fact that the money could be used for other purposes, such as upgrading of streets and transportation, which would be of greater benefit to the citizenry in general. They also feel it is unfair for those who do not attend the games or have interest in them to be asked to help finance a private business enterprise for wealthy club owners, and think it places a financial burden on those with limited incomes. There is also the concern that in another ten years, we too would be facing building of a new arena or losing our team to yet some new venue eager for NBA status. Those with these concerns favor private financing or possibly charging a sur-tax on tickets so that those who reap the benefits of the improvements are the ones who pay for them.
The mayor and those who support the idea of public financing cite the fact that the NBA presence would have a significant impact on the way others perceive our city, attracting more new businesses and improving the economy for all of us.
Good arguments on both sides! Do any of you have experience with similar situations in your locales? What is your opinion?
I don't know about you, but Indian food is some of our favorite! When we can't wait any longer for some wonderful Indian cuisine, we make a bee line for Taj India Cuisine at 5801 Northwest Expressway. They have a wonderful fresh buffet, offering many vegetarian choices like Vegetable Korma, as well as some great old stand-bys, such as Chicken Tika Masala, Spinach Pakora, and Vegetable Samosa. You can also order from the menu, and we strongly suggest the Chicken Badami Pasanda, and well as the Chili Chicken, this last one if you like things spicy! Of course, the chef will prepare any item to your taste, from mild to extra hot.
We ate at two five-star Indian restaurants when we visited New York City, and neither compared to the cuisine at the Taj! In addition to wonderful food, the owners, Mani and Shantha Raju, make you feel like special guests in their own home. You will want to return again and again for their food and for their hospitality. They also have great special buffets for holidays, such as Valentine's Day, New Year's, and the Indian Festival of Lights.
According to David L. May, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at Oklahoma City University, the Oklahoma City metropolitan area economy should continue to outperform the nation as a whole for a number of reasons. Dr. May cites the following reasons for the robust local economy:
1. The Oklahoma City housing market has remained stable, and prices have not become overinflated as in some areas of the country. Therefore, the current problems with sub-prime mortgages afflicting some parts of the nation are not really too significant here.
2. Natural gas and oil are extremely important to our economy. Energy prices are expected to remain high for most of the coming year, helping to keep our economy strong.
3. Native American gaming casinos continue to grow and support increased tourism to our area.
As well, the Oklahoma City metro area has a very low cost of living. All of these factors should contribute to a strong and stable economic picture for Oklahoma City in the near future.
The severe ice storm experienced in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in November of 2007 contributed to a slower housing market. Many businesses were closed due to power outages, and prospective buyers did not get out in the difficult weather conditions to look at homes. As well, many sellers decided not to put their homes on the market, but to wait till Spring instead. Because of this, and a slow-down in new building starts, the area had a 5.5 month supply of homes at the end of 2008, down just slightly from November (The Daily Oklahoman, January 26, 2008). This compares to a 10 month housing supply nationally at the end of the year according to the same source. The Oklahoma City metro market has essentially remained stable, and avoided the steep declines seen in some areas. In fact, 2007 was the fifth most active year for home building here in the last ten years (op. cit.).
According to statistics compiled by the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors, total home sales closed in December of 2007 were down just over 18% from December 2006. However, the average sales price rose over 5%, with an average price of $156,089 last December compared to $148,312 the previous year. With Spring not too far away, a clear increase in buying interest is taking place. We both had excellent turnout for open houses held last weekend. If Spring comes, can buyers be far behind?!
Information about real estate in northwest Oklahoma City and Edmond, as well as the west OKC area, including Deer Creek, Piedmont, and Yukon. News and other helpful info about Oklahoma City, as well as general comment and discussion about issues in the field of real estate.
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The Oklahoma Suprmeme Court recently ruled unconstitutional a tax break which has been enjoyed by land developers and home builders in Oklahoma. This tax break has allowed builders and land developers to freeze the taxable market value of land purchased for development to its value at the time it was purchased, thus saving developers and builders money. The Court stated that the value of the land must be reassessed annually, as is the land owned by other types of property owners. This will result in builders and developers paying higher property taxes.
image courtesy of 
I don't know about you, but Indian food is some of our favorite! When we can't wait any longer for some wonderful Indian cuisine, we make a bee line for Taj India Cuisine at 5801 Northwest Expressway. They have a wonderful fresh buffet, offering many vegetarian choices like Vegetable Korma, as well as some great old stand-bys, such as Chicken Tika Masala, Spinach Pakora, and Vegetable Samosa. You can also order from the menu, and we strongly suggest the Chicken Badami Pasanda, and well as the Chili Chicken, this last one if you like things spicy! Of course, the chef will prepare any item to your taste, from mild to extra hot.
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