Mark Dotzour, the Chief Economist for the Real Estate Center  at Texas A&M University, posted his thoughts today about how to get the economy moving again:

 Posted on August 23, 2011 by Mark Dotzour  

Have you heard anyone talk about specific plans to encourage job growth in America?  I haven’t either. I hear lots of talk about how job growth is “sluggish” and that hiring is not rebounding as it should at this stage of the economic cycle. Our leaders in Washington appear to be bankrupt of ideas for promoting job growth in America. So everyone can complain and point fingers at others and try to blame them, but none are willing to come out and say what America needs to resume its normal path of business expansion.

Here is what I hear directly from business owners when I’m on the road.  There are several reasons why they don’t want to hire people right now.  Here they are in a nutshell:

Complete uncertainty regarding the future cost of health care for business owners
Two thousand pages of bank regulation that has yet to be enacted
Regulation of health care and health insurance
Regulation of off-shore oil drilling
Regulation of oil-shale deposits
Complete uncertainty about future income tax rates
Complete uncertainty about future capital gains tax rates
When business owners are unsure about their future, what do they do?  Nothing!  They just try to survive until the storm is over. They also hoard cash, like almost $2 trillion at this point. Our economy is not going to recover until businessmen and women regain confidence in the future opportunities in our country.

So how can our leaders in Washington encourage businesses to start to hire again? First, they need to let businesses know that they are not the enemy. Businesses need to be encouraged and know that government is working with them, not against them.

We are creating such a hostile environment for businesses that we could be in for a long period of economic stagnation in America. What would a business-friendly agenda look like? Well here it is.

Imagine if the President and Congress came out with a bi-partisan plan to:

1. Repeal the health-care nightmare.
2. Repeal Dodd-Frank, and come up with 15 pages of meaningful bank reforms.
3. Tell China to stop manipulating their currency and buy something produced by Americans.
4. Roll back EPA regulations to 1999 levels.
5. Roll back all other business regulations to 1999 levels.
6. Announce an airtight plan to reduce the deficit to zero in seven years.
7. Lower corporate tax rates to stop companies from fleeing America.
8. Foreclose on four million homes and sell them to private sector investors.

You may think that this sounds like Alice in Wonderland.  But actually these are the issues that are killing economic opportunity in our great country.  Either we address them, or we look more and more like Japan every day.  Let’s do it!  Now.

July 6, 2009 by Mark Stephens
Filed under Home Maintenance

Due to the high clay content of soils found in North Texas, it is very important that your foundation be consistently watered to help stabilize your foundation.  That’s right. If you live in North Texas, you have to “water your slab”.  Clay bases soils are very expansive, meaning, when they’re wet, they expand.  When they’re dry, they contract. This can be noted by the large cracks commonly seen in playgrounds, parks, pastures and even the soil directly in contact with your homes foundation.  Here are some tips on how to achieve consistent water content to the foundation of your home.  The photos at the bottom of the page are illustrations of a good way to effectively water your foundation in an affordable manner.

 Since we can’t control the rain, we use a watering program to regulate water content during the dry periods, whether it be in the winter of summer months.  A consistent watering program will keep the soil damp approximately four feet deep. Bare in mind, flower beds (areas with plants) will require more water because the plants are thirsty too.

With a few items bought at the local hardware store, and a couple hours of your time, you can construct a simple automatic watering system that will efficiently maintain acceptable water content.

A good way to water your foundation is with the use of soaker hoses and electric timers.  In order for the watering system to be effective, the soaker hose should be placed 15-18in away from the foundation, and run the necessary amount of time. Most neighborhoods do not have enough water pressure to run the soaker hoses from one hose bib to the other.  Therefore, it is necessary for the soaker hoses to be split with the use of a “Y” connection, and run in opposite directions of a distance that will allow equal water flow all the way around the house.

A good way to water your foundation is with the use of soaker hoses and electric timers.  In order for the watering system to be effective, the soaker hose should be placed 15-18in away from the foundation, and run the necessary amount of time. Most neighborhoods do not have enough water pressure to run the soaker hoses from one hose bib to the other.  Therefore, it is necessary for the soaker hoses to be split with the use of a “Y” connection, and run in opposite directions of a distance that will allow equal water flow all the way around the house. 

 THIS IS WRONG!!!

DO NOT place soaker hoses next to the foundation, as this can erode the soil at the base of the foundation parameter.  The necessary amount of time depends on the amount of rainfall…and don’t forget about the plants.  In other words, the hotter, drier, windier and sunnier it is, the more you need to water. The cooler, wetter and cloudier it is, the less you need to water.

 DO NOT place soaker hoses next to the foundation, as this can erode the soil at the base of the foundation parameter.  The necessary amount of time depends on the amount of rainfall…and don’t forget about the plants.  In other words, the hotter, drier, windier and sunnier it is, the more you need to water. The cooler, wetter and cloudier it is, the less you need to water. 

 Do not determine the amount of water needed by the wetness of the soil at the surface.  A good way to determine soil wetness is to use a plumber’s probe.  A plumber’s probe is made of fiber glass, with a “T” handle, and is approximately 4 ½ ft long.  If your soils are too wet, the probe can be pushed with little or no effort.  If you can’t push the probe at all without banging on it, the soils are too dry.  Indications of good water content can be seen when the probe can be pushed 3-4ft by leaning heavily on the handle.  Never use metal probes, as electrical lines are often buried near the house.  Accidental penetration could cause you to be electrocuted.

Founder and former CEO of ForSalebyOwner.com, Colby Sambrotto listed his 2,000 square foot New York condominium on his own through online classified ads and FSBO sites, but after six months, he opted to hire New York broker Jesse Buckler who immediately advised a price change as the listing was not attracting the right buyer.

After giving up on the DIY route, Sambrotto’s decision to hire a broker led to attracting multiple offers, closing for $150,000 over the original asking price. The Wall Street Journal reports the listing sold for $2.15 million including a 6% commission.

Source:  AGBeat News

(8/9/2011)

BELTON - Site preparations have started on a new $4.5 million, 24,296-sf Grand Avenue Theaters located at 2809 Oakmark Dr. The six-screen theater will open before summer 2012, according to owner David Leigh.

The 1,200-seat multiplex will be less than one-half mile from the new H-E-B Plus opening in fall 2011 and close to population pockets along SH 317, Lake Rd. and West Adams Ave. The venture will create 50 part-time jobs.

The theater will offer first- and second-run movies, available 3-D digital projection and a reserved seating option in three of the six auditoriums.

What are the most affordable cities to live in? The answer depends on how MOST AFFORDABLE PLACES TO  you define "affordable" and how you define "city." For example, a city can be defined by its formal boundaries or by the broader metropolitan statistical area that the U.S. Census Bureau considers it to be a part of.

Using a variety of metrics, here is a look at some of the places in the United States where your money will go the furthest.

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman and Niagara Falls: Lowest Home Prices

According to National Association of Realtors data, the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman area of Ohio and Pennsylvania, situated roughly halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh and a little over an hour's drive from each, had the lowest median sales price for existing single-family homes in the first quarter of 2011. The Lansing, Mich., area was a close second. Forty-three of the 50 areas with the least expensive single-family homes are located in the Midwest or the South.

Coldwell Banker issues a similar report, but its rankings are based on the average listing prices of four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes rather than on median home prices. By Coldwell Banker's methodology, Niagara Falls, N.Y., was the country's least expensive real estate market in its 2011 Home Listing Report with an average list price of $60,820. Detroit comes in at No. 5, with an average home price of $73,363. Of the 50 least expensive cities in the report, the majority are in the Midwest or the South.

Memphis: Big City, Low Cost Of Living

For many people, an area needs to have a large population to really feel like a city. Kiplinger's May 2010 "How Does Your City Stack Up?" report makes it easy to see which big cities (defined as having a population of more than 1 million) have the lowest cost of living.

The cost of living ranges from 86% to 89% of the national average in six major metropolitan areas. This cost takes into account both housing costs and other common household expenses such as food, utilities and transportation.

Here are Coldwell Banker's average listing prices for these cities.

Memphis - $127,024
St. Louis - $192,306
Nashville - $193,895
Oklahoma City - $157,131
Houston - $187,211
Cincinnati - $186,937

Even though housing expenses are the largest monthly expense for most people, cities can have significantly different housing costs and still have low overall costs of living. We'll see further proof of this fact in the next section.

Harlingen, Texas: Lowest Cost Of Living - Period

The Council for Community and Economic Research's quarterly ACCRA Cost of Living Index ranks more than 300 urban areas from most expensive to least expensive. The index is based on the costs of housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services. In the first quarter of 2011, an ACCRA press release named the following 10 cities (five of which are in Texas) as having the lowest cost of living:

Harlingen, TX - $152,245
Fort Smith, AR - NI*
Pueblo, CO - $141,160
Cookeville, TN - NI
Temple, TX - $168,653
Muskogee, OK - $149,654
Martinsville-Henry County, VA - NI
Round Rock, TX - $201,150
Sherman-Denison, TX - $168,847
Brownsville, TX - $124,523

*NI indicates that the average listing price for this city is not included in the Coldwell Banker report.