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December 2007 Newsletter NOW Available -- Get Started for 2008!

By Social Media, Email Marketing & Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Services for Real Estate Pros with PCS Online Solutions

November 27, 2007 02:48 AM

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- Real Estate Update - Buyers & Seller's Corner - Home Improvement - Trivia Challenge - Upcoming Movie Releases - Travel Tips - Technology Corner - Cool/Free/Fun/Trendy - Unsubscribe	December 2007 2 -- Mars Landing Day 4 -- Hanukkah 7 -- Pearl Harbor Day 7 -- Letter Writing Day 22 -- Winter Solstice 24 -- Full Moon Day 25 -- Christmas Day 31 -- New Year's Eve


In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip. -- Daniel L. Reardon	Median Home Prices Show Modest Gains According to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors®, the vast majority of metropolitan areas showed rising or stable home prices in the third quarter with most experiencing modest gains compared with a year ago, despite a decline in existing-home sales. The survey reported 93 of 150 metropolitan statistical areas indicated increases in median existing single-family home prices from 2006, including six areas with double-digit annual gains and another 21 metro areas showing increases of 6 percent or more. The survey also showed 54 metro areas had price declines and three were unchanged. Regionally, prices rose in both the Northeast and Midwest, as did national condo prices. “Some metro areas are hot while others are experiencing localized problems,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The report also shows that home prices in the vast midsection of America, from the Appalachians to the Rockies, are affordable and, perhaps, even undervalued." NAR President Richard Gaylord said consumers need to understand what’s going on in their own area. “There is no such thing as a national housing market – it doesn’t perform like the equities markets,” said Gaylord. “What’s really important for consumers is to make informed decisions based on individual needs, desires and timelines in a given area. Most people plan to stay in a home for 10 years, and for buyers with a long-term view, housing is an excellent investment.” According to Freddie Mac, the national average-commitment rate on a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage was 6.55 percent in the third quarter, up from 6.37 percent in the second quarter; the rate was 6.56 percent in the third quarter of 2006. TOP


There are people who have money and people who are rich. -- Coco Chanel	Mortgage Banker vs. Mortgage Broker Many consumers think mortgage companies are simply banks that lend their own money. In fact, the company that you work with may be either a mortgage banker or a mortgage broker. So, what's the difference? A mortgage banker is a direct lender, meaning it lends you its own money, although it often sells the loan to the secondary market. Mortgage bankers are often referred to as "direct lenders” and occasionally retain servicing rights as well. A mortgage broker, on the other hand, is a middleman that does the loan shopping and analysis for the borrower, and brings the lender and borrower together. Many of the lenders a broker uses do not deal directly with the public and are known as “wholesale lenders." A mortgage banker may be able to charge you less in fees and approve your loan quicker, but they also are limited in what they can offer (which is essentially their own product). A mortgage banker can give you direct loan approval, whereas a broker gives you information second-hand. In addition, if you present your loan application in a poor light, you’ve already made a bad impression. A mortgage broker charges a fee for his service, but has access to a wide variety of loan programs. He should also have knowledge of how to package your loan application to different lenders for approval. Note that mortgage brokering is an unlicensed profession in many states, so check their references before you do business with them. TOP

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. -- Harry S. Truman	Create a Kitchen Work Triangle Just like most things, having an efficient setup makes work easier. Creating a "work triangle" in you kitchen will cut down on excess movement by centering your work space. For an efficient kitchen, set up three main work spaces. Preparation area Cook & serve area Clean-up area The "kitchen triangle" connects these three areas with your refrigerator, sink and stove at each point. No one side of the triangle should be greater than nine feet or less than four feet. In addition, the triangle should not be interrupted by traffic or cabinetry. Organizing your most important tools and ingredients around these key kitchen zones will help you take fewer steps to get to the items you need for preparation and cooking. Try keeping useful items in each zone. For example, storing your dishes and silverware between your cook & serve and clean-up areas will help you get dinner to the table faster and dishes put away after washing more efficiently. TOP

The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend. -- Aristotle	Trivia Challenge Question 1.) What popular song was requested (and denied by the musician's family) to use in a hemorrhoid relief commercial? a) Hurts So Good b) Ring of Fire c) Spinning Wheel (what goes up must come down) d) Love Hurts Question 2.) The mixed race animals, such as the mule, hinny, and zebra, all share what abnormality? a) Deafness b) Unusually short neck c) Sterility d) Short life expectancy Question 3.) Approximately how much blood does the human heart pump in one day? a) 1,000 gallons b) 1,500 gallons c) 2,000 gallons d) 2,500 gallons Question 4.) What profession was listed on Al Capone's business card? a) Used furniture dealer b) Appliance sales c) Restaurateur d) Licensed broker Question 5.) What is a pregnant goldfish called? a) Dufis b) Stufis c) Stit d) Twit TOP \| ANSWERS

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. -- Benjamin Franklin	December Movie Releases Dec. 7 Atonement Dec. 12 The Perfect Holiday Dec. 14 Alvin and the Chipmunks I Am Legend Dec. 21 National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets P.S. I Love You Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Dec. 25 Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem Charlie Wilson's War The Great Debaters The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep *Wide releases only. Opening dates subject to change. TOP
If God had really intended men to fly, he'd make it easier to get to the airport. -- George Winters	Taxi Tips to Get You Where You're Going Sometimes when you travel, renting a car is not an option or a preference. But you still need a way to get around. Following are some taxi tips to keep in mind. If possible, pick your own taxi. Have the address of your destination and hotel written in the local language. If you call a taxi, wait for it indoors. Compare the face of the taxi driver with the posted license. Make sure the meter is activated in a metered taxi so you aren't over-charged. Keep an eye on the loading and unloading of your baggage, especially if you are sharing a taxi which makes intermediate stops (don't want to lose your luggage). Postcards are helpful if there's a language barrier. Buy postcards of the places you want to see and show them to the taxi driver -- and he or she will take you there. Carry exact change or small denominations, as taxi drivers in many countries do not offer change. TOP
If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. -- Bob Hope	RSS Feeds: What Are They? Have you noticed more and more websites and blogs are offering "RSS feeds." You see them everywhere. Just what are they and who are they for? In short, RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication, an XML-based format for content distribution.RSS takes the latest headlines and summaries from different web sites and pushes the information directly to your computer for quick scanning. The purpose is to have web sites of your choice deliver their latest news directly to your monitor. So instead of having to visit dozens of different websites and blogs to get your weather, sports, favorite photos, financial news, latest gossip and other information, you just go to one screen and view it in a single window. This is particularly helpful if you need up-to-the-minute information, such as a hurricane watch or stock market data. To get started, you need a RSS reader. Most are free and easy to setup and learn. Just search for "free RSS reader" in your favorite search engine and download. Then, set up your screen and load the RSS feeds into your reader tool. There are several ways to do this, but visiting the website that provides the RSS feed is probably the easiest. Once you're setup, you simply log in to your RSS reader page and scan the headlines and summaries. If you want the full story, simply click the link. You can arrange the RSS feeds into folders, just like email, and you can even set alerts and sounds for when a particular web feed is updated. TOP
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary. -- Pablo Picasso	Cool/Free/Fun/Trendy: Color Cop If you've ever done any desktop publishing or web design, or simply tried to personalize some letterhead or email with custom colors, you've probably had to guess because you didn't have the exact hex codes for your logo or website colors. Well, you don't have to guess anymore. Color Cop is a small application that helps you easily determine the colors of a website, graphic file or other document. Just drag the eyedropper tool over the color in question and Color Cop will determine the color values. Now your emails and other marketing collaterals can exactly match your logo and website colors. And it's free. Learn more or download at: http://colorcop.net/download. TOP
	You Can Add Your Own Message Too ... Add a personal message, home listings, product spotlights, feature stories, testimonials, coupons, articles or other personal content to "personalize" your newsletter. Click here to see how some of our customers personalized their newsletter: No Content Content at Top Content Distributed Content at Bottom Each content submission is limited to approximately 50 words and 1 picture -- provided by you each month via email or online form. If you are too busy to provide content you may choose extra pre-written material or have nothing at all. You can have up to 12 content submissions for an additional $6 per content/picture combination. Get started now! TOP
	Trivia Answers #1. b.) Ring of Fire; #2. c.) Sterility; #3. c.) 2,000 gallons; #4. a.) Used furniture dealer; #5. d.) Twit
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