January 23, 2010 will bring a new and exciting social media event/convention to Virginia Beach. Social Media @ the Beach will be held at Peabody's and will feature a day packed with great information for both the social media novice and expert alike.
Keynote speaker Jeff Turner will headline the event. Jeff is an internationally known social media educator and we are so fortunate to have him coming from California for our event.
Of course, in the spirit of other notable social media events and conventions, we have a designated charity: Mothers Fighting for Others (MFFO).
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
The Class of 2009 in Portsmouth received recognition that school officials would probably prefer to not see; they had the 2nd highest dropout rate in the State of Virginia.
The City had a 20.1% drop out rate. That is almost 3 times the State average of 7.9%.
In more promising news, the Portsmouth City Public Schools are all now fully accredited by the State. Also, the on-time graduation rate has continued to increase.
All of the Hampton Roads area school districts have at least one high school that has dropout rates higher than the State average. Virginia Beach City still has the lowest in the area at 6%, followed by Chesapeake. Suffolk and Norfolk both have dropout rates higher than the state average.
Portsmouth School officials say that reducing the number of required electives will help curb the dropout rate. Really? Seems to me that with over a fifth of the system's students dropping out, more serious measures need to be put into place. High dropout rates correlate with higher crime rates and lower community incomes. Students who dropout will cost the City more in services over the long term.
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
Thanks to Google maps, there is now a handy map that will show Virginia residents where they need to go to vote this Election Day. Simply enter your street address and your polling place will pop up along with directions you can print out, download, etc. as well as a list of the candidates who are running.
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
This community is full of people who are always looking to make a difference to the people who hire us to provide real estate services, in our communities or to those special people in our lives.
This idea was shared with my 11 year old daughter (Sarah) from a teacher in her school. My daughter has been actively looking for ways to get involved with more community service and this is one way she felt she could make a difference in someone's life.
If you're looking for another way to extend your help, especially this winter ~ another way you can make a difference to someone in your community, we hope you'll join us in making a difference!.
A simple gesture can make a difference, and you'll see how at the end of this short video.
If it's not evident to you by now, consumers are very knowledgeable and computer savvy and are using the Internet to not only search for homes but for real estate agents and real estate professionals who they feel are like minded and can lead them to the results they are looking for.
As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
Good News for First Time or Second Time Home Buyers in Bend, Oregon - Updates on Extending the $8,000 tax credit for First Time Home Buyers
According to CNBC, the extension of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is making progress. The most recent update has the $8000 tax credit extended through the end of April. In addition, the Bill will included a credit for repeat buyers (those who have lived in thier home three of the last five years) of a primary residence. Repeat buyers would recieve a $6500 credit. According to CNBC, "Senate Banking Committee Chariman Christoperh Dodd stated that a deal has been reached." Additional specifics on the "deal" have not yet been reported and the "deal" still has to pass a vote.
Stay tunned for addittional updates on the Bend, Oregon real estate market and the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit.
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
Isle of Wight County is about to lose a major employer. International Paper announced the closure of their plant in Franklin.
The layoffs will begin November 7th and continue through spring until the plant is permanently closed. The closure will effect 1100 employees.
Virginia is seeking aid for the workers under the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Program. In addition to the 1100 workers, it is estimated that another 2400 workers could be hurt. Those workers include truckers, loggers, mechanics and other support service workers.
The current unemployment rate in Isle of Wight County is 7%. With the loss of these jobs, the rate may climb to 12% or higher, depending on the far reaching effects of the closure on the area's economy.
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
A father opened up a savings account for his son at a local bank. The son was leaving for college and the father wanted to be able to deposit funds for his son. The account was in the names of both father and son with the father's good intention of providing spending money to his son when needed.
The son got mixed up with a bad kid. The kid opened up a checking account at another local bank. The kid wrote a bunch of checks on the checking account (which didn't have any money to cover the checks). The son deposited them into his savings account and the two of them immediately withdrew as much cash as they could.
Now, the father must file charges against his son to protect himself from being held responsible for the bad checks. The father's credit will be damaged and it will be a lot of work to get it fixed.
We always hear of nightmare stories where a parent has co-signed on a loan for a child. This story shows it can also be risky to even have a joint bank account with a child or anyone else for that matter.
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
Educating Real Estate Agents On How To Use Modern Technologies To Better Their Business Will Never Be The Same!
On November 17th, 2009 dozens of the most respected educators in the real estate industry converge to host the first of its kind, Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.
Virtual Real Estate BarCamp is a 1-Day Learning Extravaganza.
From 9am until 4pm PST, three concurrent webinar "rooms" will each host 9 different sessions, for a total of 27 different presentations.
There is something for everyone and everything for someone, and best of all, IT IS FREE and attendance is unlimited!
Attendance is projected to be at least 1000 agents, nationwide.
Do not miss out on being part of this ground-breaking event.
Session topics include:
Social Media Risk Management
Flickr for Real Estate
Developing Your Brand
Online Advertising Secrets
Facebook for Real Estate
WordPress Training
Daily Goal Tracking
Starting a Real Estate Blog
...and much more, with new sessions being added every day.
And if that wasn\'t cool enough, individuals from around the country are volunteering to host In-Real-Life MeetUps for after the event.
Learn all day, and then meet to have a beer with local participants. This is going to be a blast!
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
The Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority oversees the HOME Investors Partnership Program. This program assists qualified residents in the City of Chesapeake with the following:
Down payment/closing cost assistance to qualified homebuyers for the purchase of affordable single family residences.
Low interest/deferred loans, to qualified homeowners, for improvements to residential structures to correct violations of applicable housing codes and standards
Low interest loans to qualified residential rental property owners for improvements to correct violations of applicable housing codes and standards
Provide homeownership and credit counseling services to homeowners who participate in the Authority’s rehabilitation loan and homeownership programs
Provided financial assistance to local Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO’s) through a 15% set aside of the Authority’s annual HOME fund allocation
For more information on this program, contact the Community Development Loan/Fair Housing Officer at CRHA. 757-523-0401 or online: www.crhava.org.
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
Effective October 19, 2009, unsupervised minors are no longer permitted in the MacArthur Center Mall in Downtown Norfolk after 5pm.
Yes, ID's will be checked and extra security is on hand to enforce the new regulation. Teens found in the mall unsupervised after 5pm will be escorted to their "accompanying adult" or escorted out of the mall.
According to mall officials, the new rule is to help keep shoppers safe and kids out of trouble. In recent years, the number of minors "hanging out" in the mall has grown.
Some of the businesses are not happy about the new rule. Both Nordstrom and Dillards said they will continue to allow teenagers to shop in their stores after 5pm.
Click HERE to read the new "Adult Supervision Policy" for MacArthur Center.
Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
January 23, 2010 will bring a new and exciting social media event/convention to Virginia Beach. 
The Class of 2009 in Portsmouth received recognition that school officials would probably prefer to not see; they had the 2nd highest dropout rate in the State of Virginia.
credit for First Time Home Buyers 
Isle of Wight County is about to lose a major employer. International Paper announced the closure of their plant in Franklin.
I heard a very sad story earlier this week. 
The Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority oversees the HOME Investors Partnership Program. This program assists qualified residents in the City of Chesapeake with the following:
Effective October 19, 2009, unsupervised minors are no longer permitted in the MacArthur Center Mall in Downtown Norfolk after 5pm.
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