The Next Home Run Energy Stock

By Dan Dzombak More Articles
Investors can make big money from misunderstood companies. Recently, I’ve zeroed in on a company that the market is unfairly punishing with a 40% drop in the share price in the past month -- compared to a 5.4% drop in the Dow Jones (INDEX: ^DJI) -- after two spinoffs, a joint venture announcement, and an earnings miss. The company’s strategy, management team, and assets have me excited that this stock could produce huge returns over the years ahead.
The company is SandRidge Energy (NYSE: SD  ) . Founded in 2006 by Tom Ward, a co-founder of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) with Aubrey McClendon, the company initially focused on natural gas before switching its focus to oil in 2009 and 2010 with the acquisitions of oil assets Forest Oil’s Permian Basin Assets and Arena Resources.
AssetsSandRidge is currently trading for $3 billion. It has preferred stock of $765 million and a large debt load of $2.9 billion but no maturities until 2014 ($350 million in 2014, $350 million in 2016, the rest not till 2018 and later). As of the end of 2010, SandRidge’s reserves had a net present value (PV-10) of $4.5 billion. Its reserves mainly come from two large assets, 900,000 acres in the Mississippian and 220,000 acres in the Permian Basin. SandRidge currently has 16 rigs operating in the Permian Basin and 14 rigs operating in the Mississippian, making it the third-largest operator of rigs in the U.S. dedicated to oil drilling, behind Chesapeake and EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG  ) .
StrategyThe company’s strategy has been to spend heavily on drilling its properties, so heavily, in fact, that capital expenditures have been significantly higher than cash flow for the past few years and are expected to continue to be higher until 2014. Earlier in the year, the company planned for $1.3 billion in capital spending for 2011 versus $400 million in cash flow last year, and $1.8 billion to $2 billion for 2012-2014.
However, in its second-quarter earnings announcement, SandRidge stated, "we have identified and established an acreage position in a new area that is similar in size, characteristics and cost to our first Mississippian play." As such, they increased this year’s CAPEX by $500 million to $1.8 billion, with $275 million for land acquisitions in the new play, an additional $200 million for drilling expenditures, and $25 million for oil-field services.
The market pummeled the stock, as it is wary of SandRidge’s debt load and would rather the company spend cash on drilling instead of acquiring land. However, if SandRidge has indeed found a promising new play and is buying land very inexpensively, it could prove to be a boon to shareholders in the next few years.
The large capital expenditures on drilling will lead to quickly expanding cash flow with EBITDA expected to be $730 million in 2011, $1 billion in 2012, and $1.35 billion in 2013. Until the company can fund all its drilling with cash flow, it plans on funding capex through debt and alternative financing (asset sales, joint ventures, and royalty trusts).
This year’s capex will be funded with $450 million in cash flows from operations, the cash from two spinoffs of royalty trusts -- the SandRidge Mississippian Trust I (NYSE: SDT  ) and the SandRidge Permian Trust (NYSE: PER  ) -- and asset sales of some smaller fields. For 2012 to 2014, the company plans on funding its capex with $3 billion in cash flow from operations, a joint venture with Atinum Partners, $1 billion in alternative financing, and $1.4 billion in debt.
The company’s huge capex spending should lead to comparable growth in cash flow from operations. By the end of 2014, Ward expects to achieve EBITDA of more than $2 billion, to grow production annually by double digits, to fund its capital expenditures with its cash flow, and to achieve a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of less than 2:1.
OpportunitySandRidge’s competitors trade at varying valuations, but as you can see below, they average roughly nine times EBITDA.

Assuming SandRidge is successful in hitting its goal of$2 billion in cash flow by 2014 and debt of $4 billion in debt, if it were to trade at a similar EV/EBITDA ratio as competitors, it would have an EV of $19 billion. Subtracting $4 billion in debt, $1 billion in alternative financing, and $1 billion in preferred stock, the company’s equity will be worth $13 billion, four times its current value!
This is obviously not without risks. A significant fall in oil prices or bad financial markets that keep SandRidge out of alternative financing markets could require the company to dilute shareholders. At this price, however, the risk-reward ratio is solid and definitely worth consideration.
Foolish bottom lineWhile I believe SandRidge provides a compelling opportunity, if you are looking for safer bets on oil and gas, The Motley Fool has created a new, special oil report, and you can download it today at no cost to you. In this report, Fool analysts cover three outstanding oil companies, including the stock Fool analyst David Lee Smith calls the "energy king." To get instant access to the names of the three oil stocks, click here -- it's free.

Stay-at-Home Dad: Profiting From Our Children

Wouldn’t it be nice if cash flowed both ways? 

As I may have maxed out my credit cards while doing the children’s back to school shopping, I started a small tally in my head: how much have I spent on my kids?
Then, a thought entered my mind: "What could I get my offspring to do to make money for me?" They are still pretty young, so hard labor won't do. I need to be pretty creative.
My youngest, who really enjoys giving my wife and me foot rubs for a buck, has amassed a small fortune. Maybe I could expand on that.  Maybe I could send him to a school that teaches massage therapy, and after he has mastered his craft, we could book him appointments.  How funny would it be to give him a portable heated table for his next birthday?
I don’t want to lose sight of what is really important, so only when he is done with his school homework will I allow him to finish memorizing his reflexology chart.
If his hands ever do fail him, I have another great idea how he could make some cash…for me. He has always had great phone skills, especially with older folks. I could set up a 976 phone number and create a call center for lonely old people. I could advertise the number in the back of "AARP Magazine" and "Good Housekeeping." My boy is so good, I don’t even need to make a script for him. He instinctively knows how to ask the right questions, gems such as, “How’s your back?” and “I wish that I were there with you. I would rub your bunions.”
This scheme would surely be a major success until his older brother haphazardly picked up the phone. Then I would need to have a scripted cheat sheet, or else we may have a lawsuit on our hands. “If I’m not in the will, I don’t love you.” Yes, another 30-second phone call that didn’t make any money.
My oldest is good with his hands, so maybe I could get him to start working at a local garage. He would be the perfect greasemonkey, and since he hasn’t hit a major growth spurt yet, they wouldn’t even need to put the cars up on lifts. He could just crawl under them and do some work. Maybe he could work with some repo men, although that may be too dangerous. If he gets tired of all this, I could have him make fake Gucci merchandise and then sell it downtown. Tourists will buy anything.
Until I can get these schemes up and running, it’s still up to me to pay for those school supplies, clothes, sports equipment and let's not forget that there are no free sports leagues. But please, make sure to keep on the lookout for 1-976-GRANDPA and 1-976-GRANDMA.
Source http://scarsdale.patch.com/

Wine country close to home

By HANK DANISZEWSKI, The London Free Press 

It's a perfect summer day on the patio and the sun is warming my glass of Cabernet Merlot as it reflects the blue water before me and the expanse of vineyards on the shore.
But this isn't Bordeaux or Tuscany or even the Niagara peninsula.
It's Essex County, where the north shore of Lake Erie has become home to a fast-growing cluster of wineries that are working hard to gain recognition with both wine connoisseurs and casual travelers looking for a new destination.
Colio, Pelee Island and D'Angelo are well-established Essex wineries familiar to consumers.
But in recent years the number of wineries in Canada's southernmost peninsula has soared to 15 with several more set to open soon.
Most of the new wineries are small family operations where the people behind the counter are often the ones who pruned the vines and bottled the wine.
Although Niagara has been Ontario's dominant wine region for decades, Essex was Canada's first wine-growing region with the first commercial vineyard established on Pelee Island in 1866.
Now that the old industry is undergoing a revival in Essex, the wine makers are reaching out to draw more visitors from London, Sarnia and even the Greater Toronto Area.
"Our growing seasons and soils are different from Niagara. We want people to come down here, bring their kids and enjoy our great wines and the region," said Tom O'Brien, head of the Southwestern Ontario Vintners Association and owner of Cooper's Hawk, the latest winery to open in the county.
The new Essex wineries are far more than small shops. Many feature elegant tasting rooms, tours, indoor and outdoor venues for weddings and other events, playgrounds, ponds, patios and picnic grounds.
"You can't make money just selling wine. You have to be a destination. Making wine is fairly easy. Selling is the hard part," O'Brien said.
The south coast of Essex and Chatham Kent is on the same latitude as Europe's finest wine regions and all the extra heat and sun allow for an earlier harvest and give the wines a unique flavour.
From the London area, Highway #3, also known as Talbot Trail, provides a quiet, scenic route directly to Essex wineries with Smith and Wilson Estate Wines along the way near Blenhiem.
The Essex county roads are marked with Wine Route signs to help guide visitors. On Thursday the annual Shores of Erie International Wine Festival kicks off at Fort Malden in Amherstburg. The four-day festival features 18 wineries and 30 restaurants. Monthly bike tours of the wineries are available through the summer and fall through windsoreats.com. When you're not sipping wine Essex County boasts some great beaches, a bevy of roadside fruit and vegetable stands, the natural beauty of Point Pelee and Pelee Island and local attractions such as Colasanti's Tropical Gardens.
The county is dotted with more than a dozen B&Bs and historic inns such as Seacliffe Inn in Leamington and Kings Hotel Inn in Kingsville.
If you want a change of pace after a day in the country, Caesar's Windsor is just a short drive away offering Las Vegas gaming and glamour, world-class entertainment and sumptuous dining at Nero's Steakhouse.
The combination of attractions boost the confidence of people like Fabio Muscedere, who gave up a corporate career to help establish his family's winery.
He said Essex County has the right climate and the tradition to become a major wine-producing region and he believes it will continue to grow.
"It's coming along. If this region hits 25 wineries, that's a good number. Then people would say 'I've got to go check that out.'"

Q&A: Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO, Tata Sky

Harit Nagpal, 50, must be a glutton for punishment. Late last year the former director marketing for Vodafone Group, UK, relocated to India to run a loss-making direct-to-home TV operator. As managing director and CEO of Tata-Sky, he has the unenviable task of figuring out how to make money in a very competitive market with six players, low average revenues per user (ARPU) and a regulatory tangle that foxes the best of minds. At 7 million out of the 35 million subscriber DTH market, Tata-Sky is not in a bad place. But it is the “how to achieve profits” question that is dogging the company. Over the five years since its launch, this 80:20 joint venture between the Tata Group and Star Group has sunk in Rs 5,000 crore or just over a billion dollars into the Indian DTH market. There are, however, no signs of a break even. One week before he completed a year at Tata-Sky, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar had a long chat with Nagpal on how he views this industry. Edited excerpts:
From telecom to media what are the big differences?
I am not feeling out of place. I have spent the early years of telecom, in telecom; saw the first five million telecom subs. This [the DTH business] reminds me of the early years of telecom. It has come farther in five years than telecom did. It has all the problems that go with scaling up. Both [telecom and DTH] are technology services, consumed by a fragmented and large customer base. There are elements of technology in the service and distribution. It is a new business so one has to understand the dynamics. But I have been part of nascent businesses earlier at Lakme, Pepsi and Marico. So the operations are easy to handle because all the variables are in our control.The problem is that after opening up this sector, growth is being held back. The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has allowed 700 channels into India, but my satellite capacity is only up to 300 channels. I am ready to buy that capacity, but am not getting that meeting with ISRO for a year. [It is mandatory for DTH operators to buy satellite capacity from the Indian Space Research Organisation. Capacity on foreign satellites can be bought only through ISRO. ISRO incidentally does not have enough KU-band capacity to meet the demands of the Indian market]. I have lost four satellites in the process [satellites that wanted to sell KU-band capacity over India and have moved on to other markets after waiting for ISRO]. And I am still stuck providing 300 channels. Just give me the freedom to go to the satellite operator that has bandwidth.
Why not lobby for a change in policy, there are six of you?
Who should we lobby with? Is there one person willing to or capable of taking a decision? We are meeting people constantly, but is there hope. I am not so sure. It will take longer. Tata-Sky has already put in Rs 5,000 crore. It will probably put in another Rs 5,000 crore over the next few years before we get a rupee. Break even could take 10 years. You could cut it down to six-seven years by giving a tax-holiday or tax breaks.
The bureaucratic hurdles around this business are very large. For example, this industry pays 30 per cent tax on revenues. Show me another fledgling industry paying those kind of taxes? DTH came in because of the under-declaration by cable operators. You are putting a 30 cent tax from day one on a sector from which you [the government] are making more money than cable. What is the intention of the government? Is it to allow addressable digitisation, get taxes, ensure broadcasters get a fair share and customers get interactivity? If that is the intention then either provide the infrastructure or let me buy it. Instead of focusing on creating infrastructural support we are focusing on the wrong things. This industry will make money for everyone in the long term. The government will get more in taxes, broadcasters in pay revenues and DTH operators in revenues.
There have been many product changes to Tata-Sky in the last six months. What is the logic?
We have done a lot of work to make the product as customer-friendly as possible. We are not selling metals but entertainment, so why were our packages called gold and silver. We have recreated our packages to make them easy to use. So if you say “I am in the mood for Hindi movies” you know what package to buy. There are packages for English entertainment, Hindi entertainment and so on.
That must be a nightmare at the backend.
It is complicated at the IT and installation level to create and execute.
Your comment on costs and revenues, both are problem areas for most DTH operators.
In the long term, the cost structures of the leading DTH operators tend to converge. I don’t see an opportunity for huge cost reductions in this industry. Don’t see mergers and acquisitions happening as easily as they did in telecom. Any DTH operator, who buys another operator, has to re-point all the subscribers to his satellite. Plus you have to re-price the new consumers and the chances are you will lose the consumer.
Source http://www.business-standard.com/

Ulrika Jonsson: ‘I’m passionate about human relationships...I’ve had quite a few myself’

As she launches her rather surprisingly good first novel, TV star Ulrika Jonsson talks to Hannah Stephenson about having four children by four different fathers
Fans of Ulrika Jonsson might expect her debut novel, The Importance Of Being Myrtle, to be a steamy ‘bonkbuster', featuring at least one lurid affair, a string of failed marriages and a handful of celebrity misdemeanours.
But then, as Jonsson explains at a hotel in Henley, Oxon, near her country home, she didn't want her first book to be an extension of her own life.
“People would be expecting me to write about the world of television or showbiz with lots of sex, drugs and rock ‘n' roll. That would be too predictable. I wanted to stretch myself.”
Today, looking painfully thin, which she puts down to her depression due to a four-year battle with a chronic back condition, Jonsson insists she's close to the weight she's supposed to be.
“There was talk thatI had anorexia, which I have never had and will never have because I love food too much. I've had a debilitating problem and the past year was particularly bad, when I became depressed and didn't eat.
“My condition won't be cured but it's better than it was. I've started swimming, that strengthens the muscles.”
She can't run or sit down for long periods but epidural and cortisone injections have given her some respite.
“I just have to live with it, as much as possible. The days when I was immobile have made me more determined to enjoy the days I'm mobile.”
One consequence of her degenerative disc is that she has had to write some of her novel standing up but it doesn't seem to have affected the result.
Unlike so many celeb books, The Importance Of Being Myrtle is notghost-written and is a surprisingly good read about a drab, dowdy 58-year-old woman whose life is thrown into turmoil when her husband dies suddenly. Hardly autobiographical, then, from the ex-weathergirl who was once cruelly nicknamed ‘4X4' (four children by four different men). She was tabloid fodder for years because of her roller -coaster private life, including a string of ill-fated marriages, a beating from one-time boyfriend Stan Collymore, an affair with Sven-Goran Eriksson and a 2002 autobiography in which she alleged she had been raped by an unnamed TV presenter (whom she has never identified).
The debut novel is less headline-grabbing. As the story unfolds, it emerges that for 40 years Myrtle, the put-upon heroine, was trapped in a loveless marriage by a control freak. There's no physical violence but the emotional abuse is palpable.
“I'm very passionate about human relationships, having experienced quite a few myself,” Jonsson (44) says with a smile. “I've been in relationships where someone's trying to control you and suppress your colourful character. For some men, I guess having a loud, outspoken partner is not for them.”
Jonsson and her third husband, advertising executive Brian Monet, and her four children aged between 16 and three, have recently moved into the five-bedroom home they have spent the last 18 months building and, while she's currently starring in the new Shooting Stars series, her focus is on her home life, rather than TV.
“Everybody has this weird view of what my family must be like, that there are four fathers standing at the
door and the kids are colour-coded to go with each one. But I live with one of the fathers, another is completely absent, we see my older son's dad every day and daughter Martha's dad every second weekend. We are a family. I don't think my children think it's weird, odd or disjointed. There is no feeling of animosity. I've not even had a great deal of issue in organising the family. We work hard at compromising, giving and taking.”
She's dispensed with her nanny, preferring to split the childcare with Monet who takes over when she has TV commitments.
Reuniting with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer was like slipping back into a pair of comfortable shoes. “I've known the boys for 18 years now and nothing much has changed. We all look a bit older. It's such an honour to sit there and get paid to laugh.”
However, she seems disillusioned with the world of TV which, she says, is now run by accountants who just want to make shows which make money. Jonsson wants to do more serious TV, such as documentaries, rather than what her pal Claudia Winkleman calls ‘shiny floor TV'.
“Shiny floor TV is the stuff that pays. I wanted to make a documentary about old people, not a game show where everyone gets their t*ts out. Everything's so commercial. I did Big Brother because it was big money. Yes, I’ve regrets not being able to do more serious stuff.”
Born in Sweden, Jonsson was eight when her mother left her to go and live with her new boyfriend. Jonsson was put in the care of her father but in reality she looked after him. At 12, she was reunited with her mother who had moved to the UK but it left Jonsson with deep feelings of anxiety. “I've always had a fear of being left. Then my father died when I was 27 and it made it hard for me to relax, as I was always anticipating the worst.”
While she doesn't resent her mother's desertion, she still can’t understand how she could have left her child. “As a mother, there’s no way in the world that a man would ever mean more to me than my child. I've tried to talk to my mother about it, but she won't discuss it.”
And she bristles slightly at the suggestion her taste in men hasn't always been the best: “Why is it about my choice? If a man lets me down, how is that my choice? A breakdown of any relationship has got to involve responsibility from both sides.
“I don't think my experiences are so different to those of other men and women. Mine have been grossly exaggerated because they've been in the public eye. I've been a tabloid dream for the past 23 years, less so nowadays and I have to say that's really quite lovely.”
Jonsson is one of a string of celebrities taking legal action against the News Of The World over alleged phone hacking. She says: “Whether you think people in showbiz or politicians are fair game, everybody is entitled to some aspect of private life.”
Jonsson recently told of her distress when she was contacted by police about being allegedly monitored.
“It's shocking but not surprising. Over the years the tabloids have done worse things, whether they're following you, turning up at your father's funeral, dressing up as doctors at the special care baby unit when your daughter’s fighting for her life ... there's not a level to which they won't stoop.”
Today, she doesn't have many showbiz friends, just a close circle of people she can trust. She hopes to write more books..
“I think I'd rather be out of the spotlight,” she says.
A novel career may be just the ticket.
The Importance Of Being Myrtle, Ulrika Jonsson, Michael Joseph, £6.99
Media, marriages and being a mum

• After a brief stint as a secretary, she began her TV career on TV-am in 1989 where she worked as a weather presenter. Her name was linked to Prince Andrew.

• In the Nineties, she moved to Saturday night TV with hit show Gladiators. She also became a team captain on Shooting Stars

• In 2009, Ulrika won Celebrity Big Brother, despite having been repeatedly nominated for eviction by her fellow celebs

• She has a son Cameron from her first marriage to a TV cameraman, a daughter Bo from her relationship with Markus Kempen, a daughter Martha from her marriage to Lance Gerrard-Wright and son Malcolm from her current marriage to Brian Monet.
• Source http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/

Regions takes Bolze home

by DEREK HODGES

 SEVIERVILLE — A dozen or so times Walt Winchester has stood alone on the steps of the Sevier County Courthouse announcing the auction of Ponzi schemer Dennis Bolze’s old home was canceled. Thursday was different: He finally had an actual sale, a crowd and even a buyer.
Still, it was just Winchester’s client, Regions Bank, that ended up with the deed after the sale, with a bid of $1.8 million, far less than the home is valued at and an even smaller number than was bid during another auction in May.
When that deal fell through, Winchester, the substitute trustee hired in early 2009 to represent the financial institution, sent out notice the home was finally going to be foreclosed on, nearly three years after Bolze fled the county and quit paying. Winchester announced Regions’ bid to the crowd, apparently composed mostly of curious onlookers, and waited to hear a higher offer. He repeated the number several times and asked for another one, to the point where he almost seemed to be pleading.
“I will sell this property quickly if there aren’t any other bids,” he said.
A bank buying a property at foreclosure auction isn’t unusual; in fact, it’s standard practice. Still, it seemed a bit unusual for the Bolze home, given the interest in the property and the bid far below the likely value, of which estimates range from $4 million to more than $10 million.
“The auction of the Bolze property went as we expected,” Regions Bank spokesman Mel Campbell said. “We have already
heard from some parties interested in it, and we look forward to having a contact on it in the near future.”
It seems those in the crowd who were considering a buy were put off by some issues related to the property. There are a couple junior liens that haven’t been resolved, the bank has allowed $60,000-$65,000 in back taxes accrue according to Winchester and bids were required to be in $25,000 increments. It appears the pile of taxes may have accumulated because one of Bolze’s shell companies still technically owned the home until Thursday.
“There are too many issues, legal and otherwise, with this property,” said Buddy McLean, who conceded the property is worth far more than the amount bid but said no one wants to deal with the hassles that come along with Bolze’s home.
McLean certainly had an interest in the property. He owns The Lodge at Buckberry Creek, an upscale inn and restaurant directly adjacent to the 835 Campbell Lead Road tract Bolze owned. Beyond that, he was actually one of the developers who offered all the land Bolze built on as Highgate Estates before the jailed scammer bought the whole subdivision for his mountainside mansion.
McLean said he wasn’t surprised by the way things went and never expected to make a bid, but was just there to see what happened. So too was Gatlinburg Vice Mayor Jerry Hays, who came out in hopes of seeing an end to a story that has tied negative headlines to his city.
“It really doesn’t affect the city that much, but the publicity is tough. Every time there’s a story about this, it reminds people Dennis Bolze lived in Gatlinburg,” Hays said. “This needs to be resolved.”
Like McLean, Hays wasn’t at all surprised the home stayed with the bank, which held the main note on the property long before it bought the deed.
“Given the economy, it’s not really a surprise at all,” he said. “People are scared to bid on anything these days.”
Jim Hedrick, a principal in Fee Hedrick Family Entertainment, said he had no qualms about making a purchase Thursday morning until Winchester divulged the situation, including the outstanding taxes and the bank’s bid.
“I did not know the bank was going to have an opening bid of that amount,” Hedrick said. “I was hoping to get in on a fire sale today. I had hoped to get a deal and flip this property in a few months.
“The amount of back taxes was a bit of a surprise to me. On top of that, you’ve got the fact that they had a minimum $25,000 bid. Add all that to the equation and you’re near $1.9 million with the first bid. I was thinking something more around $1 million, but I would have gone to $1.5 million. They beat me by $300,000.”
Though he didn’t get the chance to resell the property that he hoped for, Hedrick said he believes the bank will likely find success in its effort to do just that.
“Will they find a buyer for about $2 million? Potentially,” he said. “In the meantime, they’ve got to keep that on their books and continue to pay for the security guards and all that.”
McLean agreed the property will sell, though he, like Hedrick, had an eye on the dangers of it remaining in limbo.
“I think they will unload it because it’s a beautiful piece of property, but if it goes a lot longer it’s going to need some serious maintenance,” he said.
The home has already been sitting empty since Bolze abandoned it and his family here in December 2008, as his Ponzi scheme was falling apart around him. During recent open houses the property was already showing some of the wear of sitting empty, with a broken window held together by packing tape and weed vines overtaking the once well-manicured gardens.
Sale of the property has been delayed multiple times, not just because of the May deal that fell through when the would-be buyers failed to come forward with money to cover their $1.93 million bid. The home has been part of the legal fight in a bankruptcy proceeding dividing Bolze’s assets, with his victims and Regions fighting over who should get funds from the sale. In the end, after arguing any cash paid would likely be far less than the $5.1 million or so in liens against the home, Regions won the right to sell and claim the money for itself and the junior lien holders. Those lesser loans were from two couples who invested with Bolze, including one local pair.
dhodges@themountainpress.com

Can Digital Art Make Money?

It would be easy to make the mistake of defining new media art as an entirely different beast from "old media" formats like painting and sculpture. After all, digital file-based works are, in their basic state, infinitely replicable, able to be seen by any audience on earth at any time, and without any physical form. But what's so intriguing about the burgeoning field of new media art is that it challenges the status quo of traditional artistic media, while at the same time adopting some of the same norms to become viable in the contemporary art market. The demand and collector base for new media art is small as of yet, but artists still must find ways to both control the dissemination of their work and make it saleable. But the paradox of new media art remains — how is it possible to sell something that it is impossible to own?
The strategies that are developing to monetize new media art are surprising mainly in their familiarity. Among them are creating an artificial scarcity for the files themselves, adopting a patronage system in which the collector is inextricably associated with the work, and turning the digital files into physical objects more immediately accessible to a traditional collector base.
A flash point in the commodification of new media art occurred earlier this year at one of New York's most recognizable venues for commercial art work — the Armory Fair. Lauren Cornell, director of new media-oriented online publication Rhizome, set up a booth selling digital work, as displayed on a 27-inch iMac screen. Hrag Vartanian, editor of art blog Hyperallergic, interviewed Cornell about the challenges of selling such non-traditional pieces of art (the full video of the interview can be seen here) [Full disclosure: I was until recently staff writer at Hyperallergic, and was present when Hrag first approached Cornell about the interview]. Pointing out Sara Ludy's "City Inverse" on the screen, Cornell notes that, "you can sell digital work in different ways but in Sara's case we're going to take it offline for the collector so they can just have it locally." This means that Ludy's GIF file would no longer be hosted live on the artist's Web site in an "official" capacity, and the collector would be able to possess the file on their own drive space, much like a painting going in to private hands. The work would be inaccessible — that is, if other artists, writers, and bloggers had not already re-published Ludy's file elsewhere, disrupting the possibility of true unique ownership. Ludy's work has already disseminated through the Internet, and is likely possessed locally (on home hard drives) by more than a few viewers.
Cornell's statement touched off a heated comment thread and dialogue on Hyperallergic and off. The reason for the controversy is that being "online" is often seen as integral to new media work. The question becomes, if a digital file is not live on the Internet, is it still a work of Internet art? Artists Jeremiah Johnson (Nullsleep) and No Carrier embarked on a new project in response to Cornell's statement. The mission of the resulting Web site, 0-DAY, is to keep works of Internet art online at any costs. With a lo-fi hacker aesthetic and a punchy attitude, the people behind 0-DAY are the free-data pirates of the new media world. 
Respected GIF artist and omnipresent Internet commentator Tom Moody wrote, "No director of a new media website should be promoting work in those terms." Ludy responded, "It was my decision to take the GIFs offline, not [Cornell's]." Taking a work wholly offline, or turning it into a consumable object editioned in a limited quantity, imposes a false scarcity on the art that works much like the limited edition of a photographic print would — a decreased supply leads to an increased demand. Other artists, however, are pursuing strategies that allow the work to remain online while it is still collected and owned by an individual.
Source http://www.artinfo.com/

Neugebauer visits VA hospital, state home during Big Spring stop

By Greg Kendall-Ball
BIG SPRING — U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer enjoyed two things about Thursday's lunch at the Texas State Veterans Home — chatting with some "real American heroes" and eating real West Texas barbecue.
"In Washington, I don't know what it is they call barbecue, but it's nothing like the real thing," he told his tablemates. "Whenever I come back home, I always try to get my fill of brisket."
Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, was here to visit two veterans facilities along with U.S. Reps. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, and Jeff Miller, R-Florida, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
The morning was spent at the VA Medical Center, but at noon, Neugebauer headed to the Lamun-Lusk-Sanchez Texas State Veterans Home.
Following a brief meeting with the state home leadership, Neugebauer and his staff took their place in line behind about 30 veterans. About 150 men and women currently live at the home.
After loading up his plate with brisket, beans and potatoes, Neugebauer took a seat at a table with three veterans.
Conversation topics ranged from barbecue to budget cuts.
Neugebauer said he agreed with comments Miller made earlier at the VA Medical Center that veterans programs should be taken off the table as much as possible when Congress considers funding cuts. The VA is the second-largest department within the federal government, with more than 300,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $100 billion. Only the Department of Defense is larger.
"I think what the chairman said is right: to the greatest extent possible, we're trying to preserve that funding," Neugebauer said.
"It's not just how much money you spend, many times it's how you spend it. What we want to do is take advantage of technology and new techniques. We want to make sure we have good, relevant, available health care for our veterans. We may deliver it in different ways, but the bottom line is we make sure we deliver it."
Neugebauer said he also recognized the need to address spending within the agency.
"We owe the American taxpayers the responsibility of delivering (veterans' health care) in a responsible, cost-effective way," he said.
It will be challenging, he said, especially since the current budget calls for "unsustainable" borrowing of 42 cents of every dollar spent.
"Families can't do that, businesses can't do that, and our government cannot continue to do that. What we're going to have to do is prioritize how we spend that money in the future, and certainly our veterans are going to be one of our priorities," he said.
Walter Durham, 83, a World War II veteran, has lived at the veterans home for about a year. He said he draws a little more than $1,200 a month in Social Security and VA benefits, and if cuts were made to the VA budget, he would have significant financial worries.
"If it wasn't for the VA, I couldn't live in this home, afford the medications I need, or get the care I need here. And I got nowhere else to go," he said.
"The government promised us, when we came out of the service, that they'd take care of us when we needed it. Veteran funding should be 100 percent off-limits," he said.
Bob Kerr, administrator of the home, said the funding picture may be cloudy, but the ongoing need for veterans services is clear.
"We're starting to see the end of the World War II and Korea generations, and seeing more and more referrals from the Vietnam era. I anticipate we'll be seeing more clients from the current wars. We're currently retooling how we serve those populations, because they're vastly different. They're not going to just want to sit around and play Bingo," he said. "They'll have higher expectations in terms of the care provided and what options are available to them."

Real estate fraudsters get creative

By Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com
As real estate fraud cases increase throughout region, Glendale police say thieves are becoming more sophisticated in their approach to defrauding the real estate owners.
From falsifying documents to paying off people to use their credit to buy a home, detectives say criminals will do just about anything during the recession to make money — even if it means selling a sibling’s home without their knowledge.
Gregor Tevan was sentenced on Aug. 9 to two years in prison for doing just that to his brother, according to police.
Tevan’s brother, who declined to use his name, said he didn’t know that his rental property on Allen Avenue, where their mother lived, had been sold until Tevan confessed to another sibling about what he had done.
“I was just shocked on how easy it is to manipulate the system,” he said.
Tevan, who was a real estate agent, concocted a scheme to sell his brother’s property to pay off his gambling debts, police said.
Since Tevan helped his brother acquire three properties, he kept a record of all housing documents, his brother said.
Glendale Police Det. Daniel Suttles said Tevan forged documents by cutting and pasting critical information and using a notarized stamp to make it appear that he was the true owner of the Allen Avenue home.
Tevan sold the property for $50,000 to a buyer who he said obtained a title insurance policy. The buyer believed he could sell it to make a profit, Suttles said.
While the buyer didn’t lose any money, and while Tevan’s brother eventually regained title to the property, the title company, First American Bank, did lose money.
Tevan’s brothers notified police about the fraud after he fled the country to live with another brother in Australia, Suttles said.
Meanwhile, detectives continued to investigate the case.
Investigators typically take up to 18 months to build a real estate fraud case. They use the time to request, and then go through, hundreds of documents, Suttles said.
“[Real estate fraud] is not made to make sense,” he said.
When Tevan returned to the U.S. in August 2009, he was arrested and charged in the fraud.
He pleaded no contest last August to two felony counts of forgery, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
He was given a year to pay restitution, but did not do so, according to Suttles.
Los Angeles County Superior Judge Janice Croft sentenced Tevan to serve time behind bars and ordered him to pay $47,500 to the title company, Robison said.
The experience has opened Tevan’s brother’s eyes to the world of real estate fraud. He said he now frequently checks property records.
“I hope no one goes through it,” he said. “He broke down a whole family.”

Home Video - Subscription Movie Scheme In New Test

Subscription Movie Scheme In New Test 

MoviePass, the company that wants to be to theaters what Netflix is to home video, is back in business again. The company had planned to launch a test of its subscription-based ticketing service in San Francisco last June, and it reportedly signed up about 30,000 people willing to pay $50 a month to watch an unlimited number of movies in theaters. All it needed was the co-operation of the city's theater chains -- and that was not forthcoming. MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes told today's (Thursday) San Francisco Chronicle that the action of the chains "caught everyone off guard." Now, MoviePass has a new partner, Hollywood Movie Money, a company that has been handling discount vouchers for movie theaters for 25 years. The plan is to allow MoviePass subscribers to print out Hollywood Movie Money vouchers on their computers and bring them to the theater. The announcement of the deal between MoviePass and Hollywood Movie Money failed to spell out an important detail If most of the subscribers are frequent moviegoers, how will the partnered companies make money? Source http://www.contactmusic.com/

Your Stars - Sept. 2

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Salma Hayek, 45; Keanu Reeves, 47; Mark Harmon, 60; Terry Bradshaw, 63.

Happy Birthday: Travel, socializing and making your home the perfect spot for you should be high on your list of things to do. You can make money through worthwhile investments or selling off possessions, as well as through offering your skills at a price. Helping others will lead to greater involvement with people who share your vision or need your help. Love is in the stars, and discussing your personal plans will pay off. Your numbers are 9, 14, 20, 33, 36, 38, 47.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don't limit the possibilities. If someone pressures you, be prepared to reciprocate. Concentrate on honing your skills and using what you have to offer in a unique manner. There is no time to bicker over something you cannot change. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A partnership will open doors to bigger and better opportunities. Love is in the stars, and planning something special will enhance your current relationship or, if single, lead to an interesting encounter. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do your best to take care of any pressing matters at home before you go out with friends or get involved in social events. Avoid emotional discussions. A personal problem will develop if you are flirtatious. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Interact with friends, neighbors and relatives. You should enjoy getting involved in a hobby or interest that makes you feel like you are accomplishing something. Shopping for bargains should be scheduled. Love is in the stars. 5 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Do your best to finish what you start, especially if it has to do with a promise you made to someone special. You can change your home or plan to visit a place you've never been before. The change will do you good. 2 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You'll have a clear-cut vision regarding how you can help friends, family or someone in need. Your kindness will impress the people you encounter throughout the day. Visit familiar places or touch base with someone from your past with whom you would like to reconnect. 4 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You have to pay more attention to how you can work toward greater financial freedom. Use your insight and creative ideas to come up with a prosperous venture. Using emotional tactics, you will have no trouble persuading the right people to support your plans. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It's time to have a little fun. Whether you are single or in a relationship, it's important to interact with people who interest you. Much can be accomplished if you are upfront about your feelings and intentions. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Accept the inevitable and keep on moving. Not everyone will agree with what you are doing or planning, but as long as you don't mislead anyone, you should be able to make the changes required to reach your goals. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Added responsibilities may be a burden, but if you do what's being asked, it will become clear that good results will materialize. Changes at home will pay off and bring you greater respect, coupled with a promise from someone who is important to you. 4 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don't let emotional matters escalate. You have to stay in control and call the shots. Listen and observe, and it will help you avoid trouble and make a wise choice. 2 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Touch base with yesteryear. People, places and old ideas will surface, allowing you to revisit some goals that got left by the wayside. Don't be afraid to contact someone from your past who can help you with a goal you want to pursue. 5 stars

Birthday Baby: You are intense, persistent, detail-oriented, creative and worldly.

COPYRIGHT 2011 UNIVERSAL UCLICK
Source http://www.theday.com/

Work-at-home company is hiring and part of growing trend

By Connie Thompson

 SEATTLE -- We've all seen employment offers that promise hundreds of dollars a day from the comfort of your home. Most, if not all, such offers are merely scams that can end up costing you money you can't afford to lose.
But this work-at-home offer is legit and it's part of a growing trend.
More and more major businesses are trading brick and mortar customer service departments for outside customer care professionals who work from home in what are called virtual call centers.
It's bad news for customer care workers who get laid off when their employer decides to close its call center. But the trend is good news for people looking for a full or part-time job they can do from home.
Anthony McKeever of Seattle started working from home as a customer care professional nearly three years ago for a virtual call service provider called Alpine Access -- a company we first told you about in March of 2009.
"I actually started with Alpine Access thinking it was gonna be something temporary until I found a better job," said McKeever.
His entry-level customer service job soon led to a string of promotions and pay raises. Now he's a lead trainer for the company and he's helping get the word out that Alpine Access is looking for more people to work from home.
"We are currently looking to hire 1,000 employees nationwide. And we are definitely looking for people in Seattle, and the surrounding area of Seattle. It doesn't matter where you live, what we're looking for is your skills and how you would take the calls as a customer service agent," McKeever explained.
Here's what you need to know:

* You must have a Windows-based computer with wired internet capability- DSL or cable. You must have a wired telephone.
* You must have strong speaking and writing skills.
* You must have good interpersonal skills.
* You must apply online.
* You'll have to pass a test.
* And don't expect to get rich. Try minimum wage during training.
"After you've graduated from training and you're on the production line so you're taking your calls, you’re going to make typically $9 an hour depending on the program," McKeever continued, explaining the typical wage, including raises, runs from about $9-to$12 an hour.
Working at home for Alpine Access also means you have a set schedule. And there are strict guidelines about noise. Your work environment must be noise free: No televisions, music, kids, or pets in the background.
Unlike other virtual call center companies jobs that hire you on a contract and base your pay on the number of calls you handle, Alpine Access offers benefits after 90 days of employment.
"You can get medical, you can get dental, vision, we have a 401(k) plan," McKeever said.
It's a work at home option that really does let you work from home. But if you're looking for a cushy job where you can set your own hours and come and go as you please- forget it.
The company closely monitors your time, allowing for breaks and meals, and conducts regular performance evaluations. It's just like going to work at a brick and mortar office, except there's no commute.
"We call it the 'bunny slipper' commute," said McKeever. "You can work in your pajamas. You just get up and log into our virtual private network. It takes maybe five minutes at max. And then you are ready to work."
Alpine Access says it has about 100 people working from home in our state. The company plans to hire 1,000 full and part-time workers nationwide by the end of 2011, for corporate clients ranging from cell phone companies, medical companies -- even hotels.
Alpine says its at-home employees include college students, senior citizens and people with disabilities who have the skills needed for interacting with customers and conducting other technical customer service duties.
Just remember, it's a call center job. Typical annual earnings range from about $20,00 to $28,000 depending on the position and length of employment.
For More Information:
alpineaccess.com

Make money on stuff you already own

By Dana Dean
St. Louis (KSDK) -- Make money on stuff you already own. The idea is called collaborative consumption.
There are a growing number of websites allowing people to rent their stuff. Items like cameras and camping gear, even that empty parking spot in your garage can now earn you money.
Anyone with space can post www.parkatmyhouse.com. Maybe you don't own a car or just have an extra spot. One person in Creve Coeur hopes to make $65 bucks a month off of 2 spaces in their private garage.
With www.storeatmyhouse.com, you can rent out your closet for someone's storage or your driveway for a parking spot. You sign an agreement with the space owner to make sure items are safe, and you can also see the reputation of the owner through reviews.
Then there's www.airbnb.com. This site lets you rent out a room in your own home for people to spend the night, similar to a bed and breakfast. It's geared for anyone who thinks they'd make a great host.
So maybe you don't have space, but you have stuff. That's what www.snapgoods.com is for. It's a website being used in major cities, and just opened to people in St. Louis. SnapGoods helps people earn money by renting out their stuff people may not be using everyday. The site verifies identity, contact information, and even guarantees transactions.

 

American Dream about freedom

Is the American Dream dead?
Some say that to own a home is the American Dream. I submit to you that the dream is not ownership, but the right to home ownership.
There is an oft used saying that your home is the largest financial decision of your life. For most of us that is very true. However, that does not mean that it should be the only financial decision in which all of your future rests.
I heard a home builder the other day mention that the American Dream was to make money from your home. That the government had interfered to a point with risky mortgages that people were losing faith in the American Dream. This caused me to cringe.
The American Dream is rooted in freedom. The right to home ownership and private property rights are fundamental to freedom. In many cases throughout history, real estate was not used as advanced retirement planning, rather it was a secure holding that was passed on to future generations.
Real estate is the surest path to wealth, no doubt. In fact it is such a secure long-term investment, people will line up to loan you money with your real estate as security. This is not, however, a riskless investment. There are no guaranteed outcomes.
Let's not forget that our forefathers fought for our freedom, not to guarantee double-digit appreciation. Home ownership is so much more than an investment. Plant your flag in your own backyard and join me in celebrating freedom.
Chris Story 
Source http://homernews.com/

Wellington residents may have new option for getting home

By Aaron Norton

Wellington Daily News

Wellington, Kan. —

 A staple in larger cities and on college campuses, safe ride programs are designed to make sure people who have had too much to drink get home in one piece. Now, Wellington resident Andy Shimer is trying to bring the idea to small-town Kansas.
With five—- soon to be six—- bars in Wellington, Shimer saw a growing need for a secure way that people could get home after a night out. Well-Ride was his answer.
If Shimer’s existing plan were put into action, anyone who goes to a bar in Wellington would pay a small cover at the door. They would then receive a ticket good for one ride home at the end of the night. The person gets home, and the money they spent on the ticket would go towards funding Well-Ride. “I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible,” said Shimer.
The University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Wichita State University all have similar safe ride services, though each is funded through the schools themselves by tuition subsidies.
Generating funding for the program has been somewhat of an obstacle. Shimer had his first victory in a $600 from Anheuser-Busch to put towards the program. He is also working with Wellington City Manager Gus Collins on getting a retired police cruiser donated by the city. But between driver salaries, fuel costs, and insurance prices Well-Ride still has a long way to go.
Since their businesses would be most affected by the program, Shimer would ideally like to see all of the city’s bar owners and managers come together and form an official group that oversees Well-Ride. They would set schedules and make the long-term decisions about the service. In return, once the program is firmly up and running, each member of the bar association would take a certain percentage of Well-Ride’s profits.
The bar owners in town have had a mixed response to Shimer’s plan. Since there are different policies and regulations for different types of bars, a lot of consideration has to go into covering everyone’s best interests. What works for places like Barefoot Jerry’s may not work for places like the VFW and the American Legion, which are technically members-only establishments.
Kip Etter, general manager of the recently opened The Dore Tavern and Grill, is a supporter of a transportation serivce. “We would all benefit from it…I think it’s something that needs to be put together. But, as far as funding, I’m not sure what the best route to go is.”
Along with finding a way to keep Well-Ride going financially, Shimer admittedly has several other hurdles to cross. At the top of the list is figuring out ways to ensure driver and passenger safety. Other programs have measures such as security cameras and plastic dividers between the front and back seats of the vehicles. Nothing has officially been decided for Well-Ride. “We are still looking at a lot of ideas,” said Shimer.
Distance is a concern, as well. Shimer believes all rides will have to be within Wellington city limits, at least until the program gets established enough to buy more vehicles. “Practically, we just can’t go too far.”   Currently, Shimer is at somewhat of a standstill. He continues to search for outside funding for the service while waiting to get an official answer from the bar owners concerning just how involved they want to be. Until some sort of financial agreement can be reached, the Well-Ride initiative sits in wait.
“Really, this isn’t about people looking good or making money. It’s all about keeping people who have had some to drink from making a mistake and just getting them home,” said Shimer.

Tips on avoiding post-hurricane scams

By Press-Register staff
Storm season is well under way and there are some common problems associated with these storms. I thought that you might need to look at some of the issues associated with our hurricane season in case one hits our Gulf Coast.

 After a major storm, many people are left dazed when they see the damage to their home and land. For most people, their home represents stability. When the home is compromised, so is the stability of the family. This will usually lead to varying degrees of shock and dismay. At this point, the family may feel overwhelmed and become easy prey to a construction fraud scheme.
When the news media shows the nation various pictures of the storm damage, contractors from across the nation see a chance to relocate to the damaged area to work and make money. Some of these contractors are legitimate building contractors, but in many cases, they may not be contractors at all. Con artists watch the news also, and they too will relocate to the damaged area; not to work, but to steal people’s insurance money.
In Alabama, if home repairs go over $10,000, contractors are required to be licensed by the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. This requires the contractor to take and pass a test before they can be licensed. This proves to the public that the contractor knows the standards of building practices and the Building Codes of the State of Alabama. Anyone can go to the city or county and buy a business license. There is no test required; therefore the business license does not guarantee any level of expertise in building or knowledge of the state’s building codes.
After the last hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, there were hundreds of homeowners who lost all or part of their insurance proceeds to out-of-state contractors who started work, but did not finish the home repair. They literally "took the money and ran." These con artists usually insist on the money up front, before they begin the job. They prey on the homeowner’s desire to restore their home for their family as soon as possible. If the homeowner gets in a hurry, the con artist wins. As a general rule, professional contractors do not go door to door to solicit business like the con artist does.
The following steps will aid the homeowner and help them not become a victim:
1. Do not give anyone all the money for the repairs up front.
2. Do business by a contract, and get legal counsel before signing.
3. Tie the payments made to the contractor to inspection approval from the local building inspectors to insure the repairs are up to the code’s standard.
4. Set a start and end time for the construction project in the contract with penalties for non-compliance.
5. Have the contractor furnish you with proof of workers compensation, insurance, liability insurance, Alabama Contractors License from the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board.
6. Call the Licensure Board 1-800-304-0853 and the Better Business Bureau to check up on the contractor for complaints.
7. Ask for references and follow up on them.
8. Do business with Alabama contractors, they will be here after the job.
9. Get two or three bids before beginning work.
10. Make sure to pull building permits; the building inspectors are there to help you get the repairs done correctly.
Another issue facing homeowners after the storm is dealing with your insurance company. Generally the insurance companies will handle your claim one of two ways: 1. They will require you to get several bids; or 2. They will send their own adjusters to figure the dollar amount of damage. In some cases, if the cost of the repairs goes over a certain dollar amount, the entire structure must be brought up to the current building code. If this is the case, the insurance proceeds that only account for the damaged part, may not cover these extra costs associated with bringing the rest of the structure up to current building codes. This should be discussed with your insurance company before any final settlement.
Before making a final settlement with your insurance company, make sure that all repairs needed are listed. If needed, you may want to hire your own adjuster to estimate repairs or consider getting legal advice before you finalize your claim. In some cases, if you cash or deposit a check from your insurance company, you may be agreeing to a final settlement without knowing it. If you get in a hurry to settle, you may regret it when the actual costs of the repairs far exceeds the amount of the settlement. Please take your time so you don’t become a victim twice.
(Rick Zapata is a county extension agent with the Baldwin County office, Alabama Cooperative Extension System. He may be reached at 251-937-7176.)

Is it true I can make money by cleaning foreclosed homes?

By Elaine Zimmermann
Content provided by askelainez
Renee: I have heard people can make to $10,000 a month with a foreclosure clean-out business. Is that true? If so, how do get I started?
Elaine: Yes, it is true. I have contacted several people around the country and found that people are making a good living doing foreclosure clean-out work. Many are also offering their services for the repair work needed on these houses and the regular lawn care required. They can charge around $1,500 for a major clean-out depending on the state of home. They clean-out 10-15 houses a month which can generate a good monthly income.
According to Tony of Tidy Dwellings, "We get all of our foreclosure clean-out jobs from Fannie Mae. But we have been in the business more than a decade. " 
Experts suggest those who want to enter the business should contact realtors who specialize in foreclosure homes. They can be found on sites such as www.foreclosuresus.com. They suggest the new business owners call the realtors who list foreclosures in their area and ask to bid on the foreclosure clean-out work.
The foreclosure clean-out business has been spawned by the ten-fold increase in foreclosures in the past two years. Banks and financial institutions are overwhelmed with the properties that they own and must dispose of. But before they can attempt to sell these homes, they must be "presentable" for sale and properly maintained while on the market.
Foreclosed homes are often filled with furniture, toys and even clothes. Many former residents load their car and leave most of their belongings behind.  It can take a crew of 2 or 3 men an entire day to remove and clean a home in this state.
To price a clean-out job, use the Fannie Mae pricing guidelines for the removal of debris in and outside the home. Using these guidelines when you bid on a job will guarantee you are bidding along industry standards. These guidelines can be found on www.foreclosuresus.com and on the Fannie Mae site under Property Preservation Matrix section.
Some highlights of the matrix include, "cleaning out a refrigerator or stand-alone freezer $100, cleaning a toilet $75 and debris removal $40 per cubic yard." Experts explain the homes must be clean and tidy but not at the level of a maid service. Also homes must have lawns maintained on a regular basis and the home must be winterized.
Again according to the matrix, when lawns are less than 12" in height the fee is $100 for the first 10,000 square feet of mowing and increase incrementally. Each heat and air-conditioning unit depending on whether it is steam, radiant or central brings a $100-$250 fee according to these same guidelines.
Securing the homes with lock changes on doors and repairs to window locks is also outlined in the guidelines of fees. They range from $25 to $250.
Personal identification items or valuables left by former residents are to be given to the contracting agency or realtor.
Elaine Zimmermann is a personal finance expert who was written about everyday ways to save money on cars, homes, vacations and more. For information on investing in foreclosed real estate you can visit her website at www.AskElaineZ.com. 

Property ladder: Your stories

The National Housing Federation (NHF) is warning that the housing market will be plunged into "crisis" without government action to address the "chronic under-supply of homes". 

 The NHF said it risked locking an entire generation out of the housing market.
The level of house prices, the need for larger deposits and stricter lending criteria set by banks, had combined to cut first-time buyers out of the market, the National Housing Federation said.
It predicted further falls in home ownership rates and even higher rents.
BBC News website readers have been getting in touch with their experiences of trying to get on to the property ladder.My husband and I have been married for almost two years and have been privately renting for three.

Our rent has just been increased by £15 a month to £590 for a mid-terraced two bedroom house.

We would dearly love to own our own house so that we can paint it the colour we want, put up shelves, put in a power shower or modern kitchen, but it is impossible to put money aside to save for a deposit. Especially now we would need at least 22%!
We could move back in with parents and save for a year or so, but we decided that this is not practical as my husband works permanent night shifts.
We even recently sold a car and are surviving with one to try and save money.
With the rising cost of food and fuel, living is becoming slightly more difficult each month!
We have looked at a new government housing scheme where the deposit is paid, but we would still need to find at least £5,000 for fees, surveys etc. Plus new build homes are often put up with spit and sawdust these days and are tiny, not what we want!
I think we are going to stay put for a little longer then upgrade to slightly more modern house - it will cost more to rent but we would prefer to pay more to live in a nice house - one that we would not be able to afford to buy even if we tried.
I think landlords will soon clock on and I can see rent prices going up even more.

Fiona Fraser, Crieff, Perthshire

I am a 23-year-old care worker for the elderly, I live with my partner who is a precision engineer, our two children and my brother Calum, a 19-year-old soldier currently serving in Afghanistan. We all live in a two bedroom council house.

I have looked into buying a house but I cannot afford to put down a deposit.
I am on the council house waiting list and have been since 2007/2008 and there is still no hope of me getting a three bedroom house.
When my brother comes home from Afghanistan he has to sleep on the sofa as he doesn't have his own room.
I personally think anyone who is working or has worked in the last five years should be entitled to get a mortgage without putting down such a large deposit, this would make it possible for younger families to buy a property.
I am expecting a call from a mortgage advisor on Tuesday to see whether there is any way that we can get a mortgage, but the deposits are so high I don't think that we can afford it.
At the moment my partner and I are both working two jobs each and we still can't afford it.

Grant Bemrose, West Molesey

I am married with four children and we would love to get a property of our own to make it our home but there is no way that we can save for a deposit.

We are seen as not being suitable for a mortgage despite paying over £1,000 per month in private rent for a three bedroom bungalow.
A mortgage for us would probably cost us less per month, and make it easier to pay off other bills.
But we have had to disregard ever having a home of our own because we just can't save due to high rental costs - there is no spare cash.
I have a family of six to support and we would like the opportunity to develop a property to make it suitable for us.
I know it doesn't sound nice but the only way we will be able to get on the property ladder is if we inherit.

Richard Satchwell, Birmingham

My partner and I were very lucky. This year my partner's dad agreed to lend us the deposit for a property, and we were able to get an 85% LTV (15% deposit) mortgage and make the step onto the property ladder.

If it wasn't for his generosity then we would not have had any opportunity to buy in the future, and we are both approaching 30.
However, even then it was a hard time getting a mortgage agreement as the providers did not want to see the money as a loan, but had to be signed to say that it was a non-refundable gift.
The plan is to return the deposit value when we have sufficient equity in the property.
One of the problems I have seen for young people getting onto the ladder is the lack of money flowing from older generations of a family to the younger.
In the past, elderly relatives would pass on and provide inheritance money to junior members of the family.
However, better quality of life means the older generation are living longer and inheritance money is not there until a lot later in life.
Opportunities to save are also rare due to high living costs etc.
If we did not have this family loan, we would still be renting with no chance of buying a house.
I have heard of a government scheme to help first time buyers with loans for deposits for new homes. This seems like a good idea but it also means that you are not only in debt with the government but also with a mortgage.
I think it is important to have a physical asset, renting is dead money, it feels like you are wasting your money paying someone else's mortgage.
Source http://www.bbc.co.uk

WOODFORD GREEN: Disabled boy returns home

By Tom Porter

AFTER four hard years of fundraising and fighting bureaucratic errors, a family are at last celebrating their disabled son’s return home.
In 2007, Nathan Ellul suffered severe brain damage when he stopped breathing and was taken to the Tadworth Children’s Trust Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey for treatment.
What was originally intended to be a nine month stay in the centre soon turned to years as Nathan’s father, Ian, and mother, Suzanne, fought to raise enough money to make vital alterations to their home in Gascoigne Gardens, Woodford Green, that would enable Nathan to live there safely.
The couple set up the ‘Bring Nathan Home Appeal’ which even had its own Facebook page and in 2010 they finally reached the £60,000 mark needed to start work on the adjustments to their home.
The family were separated as Suzanne lived at the centre with Nathan and his twin sister Gabriella, while Ian lived at the family home.
Waltham Forest Council at last agreed to provide £30,000 towards the cost but with the work on the brink of completion the council cut off payments because the builder contracted submitted invoices in the wrong format.
Covering his own costs, this month the builder finally completed the adjustments, including a specially prepared ground floor bedroom, and after four years away Nathan,who is now five, arrived back home this afternoon.
Mrs Ellul, who is 42, said: “We are absolutely delighted.
“It has been the longest nine months of my life: nine months that turned in to four years. All we want now is to be a family and to be left alone.
“It will take a little while for everyone to adjust but hopefully, in a very short space of time, we will all be a very happy little family.
“We fought hard for what we want and what we want is the best for Nathan. I would say to people who find themselves in a similar situation you have fight hard and be patient enough to wait for it to happen.”

“Historic” settlement for nursing home patients

By Jamie Sotonoff
Medicaid-eligible people with disabilities who have been forced by the state to live in Cook County nursing homes will now have the option of living at home and receiving support services there.
The change comes as the result of a class-action discrimination lawsuit filed against the state of Illinois by Chicago-based Access Living, on behalf of about 20,000 people with physical disabilities or mental illness who now live in Cook County nursing homes.

A settlement of the case was announced Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow is expected to approve the settlement Dec. 20.
Other counties statewide are expected to follow suit, attorneys said.
“This is a historic day for people with disabilities, not just for Illinois, but around the country,” said Marca Bristo, president and CEO of Access Living. “To our community, it’s the Brown v. Board of Education or the Roe v. Wade.”
In a statement, Gov. Pat Quinn called it an “excellent settlement” that will save the state money and adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“(It) also responds to the aspirations of those who want to live more independent, productive and fulfilling lives in community and home-based settings,” Quinn said in a statement. “For many people with disabilities, institutionalization is unnecessary and unwanted, and these settlements will help us continue to move in the right direction on community and home-based care.”
This case was one of a trio of class-action lawsuits filed against the state by Access Living, the ACLU of Illinois and Equip for Equality, citing discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit said thousands of people were forced to reluctantly be “warehoused” in state-run institutions because they could not afford to live in their communities or get the support services they need.
“Right now, the choice is mandated by the system. We needed to change the system,” said Ben Wolf, associate legal director of the ACLU of Illinois.
This lawsuit centered on Lenil Colbert, a Chicago man who was partially paralyzed after suffering a stroke at age 32. Even though he doesn’t require around-the-clock care, the state told him he had to move into a Chicago nursing home, where he was forced to have a roommate, wake up and eat on a schedule, and have visitation privileges he likened to jail visits.
“I felt like my life was over,” said Colbert.
Last year, he finally received a hard-to-get state housing choice voucher so he could afford an apartment closer to his brother in Oak Lawn and has a caregiver come over to help him for a few hours each day.
Under the terms of the agreement, people will have a choice of where they want to live. If they do not choose to live in a state-run nursing home, the state will provide $10 million for housing and related assistance, including personal assistants, to at least 1,100 Cook County nursing home residents with disabilities during the first 2½ years. After that, the state will provide $4,000 each in housing and related assistance to help them move into the community.
That cost is less than — or will not exceed — the amount the state spends now for their nursing home costs, said Steve Libowsky, one of the attorneys from SNR Denton who worked on the case for Access Living pro bono.
The policy change will benefit people like Ebony Payne, a 28-year-old quadriplegic who has been forced to live in a nursing home since a car accident and shooting in 2003. After being moved around to several state-run nursing homes, she’s now living in a Niles facility — a 2½-hour round trip drive for her family on Chicago’s south side.
“It’s not easy ... and it doesn’t make sense. If I’m not deathly ill, or need constant care, it doesn’t make sense for me to be put up in a nursing facility. It’s a waste of money,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to go back to school for the longest time, but being here, that’s not possible. My mom works from home, so I can stay with her. But I haven’t been able to get a housing (choice) voucher.”

Anderson hopes to sneak a peak at Augusta National

By Mario Annicchiarico, Postmedia News

 Photograph by: MARIE-FRANCE COALLIER, THE GAZETTE
VICTORIA — The day after Stuart Anderson’s fourth lifetime win on the Canadian Tour, the 33-year-old Alberta native — who now calls Sooke, B.C., home — was driving by Augusta National Golf Club, only one of the most coveted pieces of golf property in North America, if not the world.
Anderson grabbed a shuttle from Windsor, Ont., where he had finished first at the Canadian Tour Championship at the Ambassador Golf Club, to the Detroit airport at 4:15 a.m. on Monday, caught a flight at 7:45 a.m. for Atlanta, arriving two hours later and waited a couple of hours for a friend to show up from Daphne, Georgia.
“We made our way out together,” said Anderson, hours after passing by Augusta National on route to playing in the next couple of NGA Hooters Tour stops in nearby North Augusta, South Carolina and then Columbia, South Carolina. “We just drove by. I can’t see a whole lot, but I know the golf course is there. I’m going to take a closer look later this week and drive up to it, along the side road.
“I’ll be a creeper,” said Anderson, one of the most likable players on the Canadian Tour, who enjoys a laugh. “I’ll be sneaking a look through all the trees and see if I can get a glimpse.”
His hearty laughter echoes across the phone line, but anyone who truly knows Anderson realizes he has dreams, goals and aspirations like any other human being — his happen to involve professional golf.
“It’s my dream course to play, be it in that tournament (The Masters) or just to be out there. The history of the course and the tournament . . .,” he said before catching himself. “I have to win my first Canadian Open before I win my first Masters, though, don’t I.”
The six-foot-four, 235-pound right-hander will attempt, again, to try and find his way onto the prestigious PGA Tour when qualifying school begins in October. This week he’ll play his 13th event on the NGA Hooters Tour as it stops at the Kandy Waters Memorial Classic at Mount Vintage Plantation and Golf Club, just a chip shot away from Augusta National. So far, Anderson sits 20th on the Hooters’ Tour money list having finished second twice and added a seventh-place finish for a $41,568 US total, making money in seven of 12 events.
Anderson has split the 2011 season between the mini American tour — in which 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley cut his teeth — and the Canadian Tour, where Anderson finished fifth overall on the Order of Merit with $46,234 Cdn.
His playoff victory Sunday over hometown favourite Richard Scott gave Anderson a $32,000 top prize, which couldn’t have come at a better time.
“It was definitely nice timing. A win at the end of the year always helps the cause, for sure. Whenever you get a win at the end of the year like that it pays for your expenses for the whole year and it’s always nice to have that. It usually clears off the Visa — $13,000 on Visa, taken care of, which feels great,” he admitted.
Once he finishes these next two stops on the Hooters Tour, Anderson will then return to the Toronto area for a charity event for the Trillium Hospital before flying back to Calgary, where he was born, to pick up his truck and belongings at his parents’ home in nearby Strathmore, Alta. From there, it’s a drive home to Sooke where his fiancee Crystol Cole and family reside.
For Anderson, it’s been an 11-year adventure as he attempts to make his living at professional golf.
Born in Calgary, he spent the first three years of his life there — living near the 10th tee at Redwood Meadows — before moving northward to Fort McMurray, Alta., for the next 13 years. He eventually ended up in Arizona and then attended Illinois State University.
“And ever since then I’ve been a Gypsy,” he said, with a chuckle.
He’s called Fort McMurray, Strathmore, Edmonton and Victoria home throughout his career, garnering whatever sponsorship he could attract to help offset exorbitant travel costs on the Canadian Tour.
“Now, I realize that to make money, I have to make my clubs do the talking.
I’ve always had some help, no big corporate deal, but there have always been close friends and people helping along the way,” said Anderson. “No, it’s not easy. This year has been a test to my relationship with Crystol, we’ve had our ups and downs through the season, but we’re working on it. It’s a lonely road, for both of us.”
In fact, he’s only been home in Sooke for six weeks since last October.
This October, he sets back out to Alabama where he hopes to get through the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, which he truly believes he can achieve, hoping to land on the fledgling Nationwide Tour or illustrious PGA.
“Absolutely I do,” he said of believing in himself. “Every year I’m improving. Golf scores are golf scores, but I know in my heart and mind that I’m improving as a professional golfer. That fine line is getting finer every year. I really feel confident that this is the year that I’m going to blaze through Q-school and get my feet in ether the Nationwide or PGA Tour.”
Last year he missed out after the first stage. This year he attempts to qualify out of the Auburn University Club in Alabama, starting with practice rounds on Oct. 17-18, one of more than a dozen qualifying sites through the U.S.
“I know that site quite well. I finished second there in 2007 to a guy you might know,” said Anderson with a chuckle. “His name is Dustin Johnson.”
Johnson is a five-time winner and is recognized as the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, having finished tied for second at the 2011 British Open.
“I actually finished tied for second at 4-under (at the first stage of Q-school in 2007) and Dustin won at 12-under. It’s a course that suits my eye and my game,” Anderson said of Auburn University Club. “It’s a ball-striker’s course. You have to place the ball fairly well around there — it’s not a chipping and putting contest. I need some length where I can use my strengths.”
But in the meantime, he’ll savour his recent win, play these two Hooters Tour events, then head north, and eventually, home.
“The last couple of weeks have been tough,” admitted Anderson. “I had to pay my entry fees for the Hooters events and they’re fairly expense, $1,150 a pop, and I sent my $4,500 off for Q-school.”
He claimed the Canadian Tour Championship on Sunday on the second playoff hole with a 25-foot birdie, after missing a 15-incher for the win the previous hole.
“Fortunately I had that second life after I missed that short one,” he said.
Victoria Times Colonist
mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com

Pulte Home: “Plenty of Upside” Ahead, Says Ticonderoga

By Avi Salzman

Pulte Home (PHM) shares are trading hands at such low prices that investors appear to be factoring in a much larger erosion in home prices, writes Ticonderoga Securities analyst Stephen East in a note today upgrading the stock to Buy from Neutral.
Pulte’s management has changed its strategy for the better as the market has slumped, East asserts. The company “recognizes it can no longer make money only from land, but instead must make it off the construction of each house, regardless of the land dynamics.” Also, Pulte appears to realize that it needs to become more efficient and focus on generating cash.
Certainly, Pulte is vulnerable to a larger pullback in the housing market, but East doesn’t expect that to happen. “[W]e doubt new home sales drop much more given that we are still seeing household formation slightly above current sales rates. Thus we think while the issue is real, the large discount to book already accounts for this possibility.”
Investors could wait for more clarity, but by then the shares might not be at such a discount, East argues.
“The shares trade at very modest multiples on nearly every multiple. Our Normalized EPS forecast implies the shares trade at only 5.3X, a 49% discount to the group. On a book value multiple basis the discount is nearly as striking. The shares trade at an Historically Equivalent BV multiple of only .41X, a 54% discount to the group.”
Pulte was up 8.4% in midday trading.

Plot Thickens: Embalming Fluid Linked To Funeral Home Burglary

by Melissa Schroeder - mschroeder@kristv.com
CORPUS CHRISTI -- The plot thickens in the case of embalming fluid found inside a karaoke machine at a woman's home.
Police say the woman who lives at the home -- on Blundell -- bumped into the karaoke machine
and 14 bottles of embalming fluid rolled out on Saturday.
But a person who knows the family -- who didn't want her identity revealed -- says there's more to this already bizarre story.
She said the bottles are the same one's stolen from the Maxwell P. Dunne Funeral Home in July.
Police say dealers dip joints in the fluid for an extra high...and to make extra money.
The woman -- who we'll call Lisa -- said she was there when two of her friends were plotting the burglary.
She said, "He was like we can make all this money he was like it's easy, it's a good lick. Let's go break in there."
Lisa says one of the men hasn't been caught.
But court documents we found reveal 22-year-old Joseph Zamarripas was charged with that burglary about two weeks later.
Lisa says Zamarripas told her he hid near the corpses for several minutes when he heard police search the building.
She said, "He was like I've never been in there but I found my way through there quick. I smelled all the dead bodies when the cops were looking for me and I was like gross."
As for the karaoke machine...Lisa believes it belongs to the suspects who took it to their friends house on Blundell.
She said, "We didn't even know the bottles were in there."
Lisa doesn't believe the homeowner had anything to do with the embalming fluid.
Police haven't charged anyone in the home but they still haven't figured out how the embalming fluid got in the karaoke machine.
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