Written by Hugo Pethebridge on May 14, 2012.
Part of dedicating your time and energy to a particular company means you may face the need to move to a new location when business expands. Even with your company’s help, moving is an expensive proposition. To protect your income and savings, you’ll want to negotiate a relocation package with your company. If your company is a good one, it will extend you the courtesy of making this transition as stress free as possible.
Know the Costs
What are the costs of a corporate relocation? You are going to need to pay movers, purchase moving insurance, work through the sale of your home, purchase a new home, travel to your new location, and secure temporary housing. The more knowledgeable you are about the costs of your move, the better your position will be when it’s time to negotiate the package.
Consider Your Security
Moving is always a bit scary. There are questions, concerns and expenses that will arise through this process. Having
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Written by Hugo Pethebridge on May 6, 2012.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling protecting rent stabilization in New York City is a victory for tenants, who have narrowly escaped a likely scenario of skyrocketing rental costs. The high court relied on lower-court rulings that found rent control does not violate landlords’ Fifth Amendment rights that say the government cannot appropriate property without just compensation. In the court’s eyes, tenants’ rights to not be forced from their homes by speculative rental increases trumps landlords’ rights to market profiteering. Other cities that have let such controls lapse, like Boston, have experienced serious problems with rent spikes and tenant displacement. For more on this continue reading the following article from JDSupra. In a victory for tenants, the U.S. Supreme Court has let New York City’s hallowed rent stabilization law stand, refusing to hear an appeal by the landlords of two townhouses on West 76th St. who challenged the constitutionality of the law. The decisio Full Post…
Written by Hugo Pethebridge on April 10, 2012.
Should you sign on with a real estate agent when you sell your home? Lots of people jump into this debate when it comes time to sell their home, and why not? Listing with a real estate agent costs money!
Or does it? Sure, by selling the house yourself you’ll save the whopping 6-7% commission real estate agents commonly charge, but will you really come out ahead in the end?
Not always. And probably not most times.
I’ve sold two homes in my life, and in both cases I started out for-sale-by-owner (a.k.a., FSBO), then listed with a real estate agent who finally made the sale. I think there are several reasons why I couldn’t sell my own homes but a real estate agent could, as well as a few more that make the sales process easier.
Selling a house is hard!
Most of us underestimate how difficult it is to sell a house, and over-estimate our own abilities to do it. Selling a home only looks easy, and the fact that many people do it successfully during strong housing markets only reinforces the myth. In re
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Written by Hugo Pethebridge on April 1, 2012.
The Canadian Real Estate Association’s most recent MLS Home Price Index indicates the country’s residential real estate market, which has been become well-known in recent years for its robust growth despite financial crises, may have finally found its peak. Year-on-year comparisons continue to grow smaller, with February’s increase marking the smallest since June 2011. Experts agree any gain is preferable to a drop in value, but the slowdown has many wondering how long it will be before price falls enter the picture. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire. Price growth in the residential property market in Canada is slowing with the latest MLS Home Price Index from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) showing its smallest increase since June 2011. Year on comparisons continued shrinking, providing further evidence that Canadian home price growth may be topping out, said CREA. The i Full Post…
Written by Hugo Pethebridge on March 25, 2012.
Having peaked at 66.0 in April, consumer confidence fell in the two following months, reaching 58.5 in June. The decline was mainly due to lower expectations, as consumers were concerned about the outlook for the economy, employment conditions and also inflation. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index declined sharply to 63.8 from 71.5. Moreover, labour market indicators remained soft. We thus forecast that the Conference Board’s consumer confidence will have slipped further. However, the decline could have been moderate compared with that of the UMI index. UMI’s final June consumer sentiment is expected to come in at about the preliminary level.
New home sales have been broadly flat over recent months. However, housing starts jumped nearly 15% mom in June, building permits strengthened in May and June, and the NAHB survey reports improved builder confidence in July. Again
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Written by Hugo Pethebridge on March 12, 2012.
Ever since the beginning of the new year, Ive been sick on and off. Id been feeling poorly for a while, but then I contracted strep throat. Since then, my immune system hasnt really recovered. During my yearly physical, I asked my health care professional about my increase in illness.
After pointing out that my glands were very swollen, an indicator that my immune system was working overtime and compromised, she suggested that I make a few changes in my diet. One of the changes was to add a multivitamin that would help provide me with some of the vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system.
While I generally try to eat healthy and get regular exercise (my efforts have fallen off since Ive been sick so much), and I havent felt a lack from not taking a vitamin, I decided to go ahead and take the multivitamin.
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Written by Hugo Pethebridge on March 1, 2012.
Reports indicate declining house prices in South Africa, ending 2011 2.6% lower than the previous year. This is a sharp departure from the country’s boom years prior to the global financial crisis that began in 2007, when a surging middle class and growing GDP helped boost house prices as much as 20% from 2000 to 2006. South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup in 2010 brought a slight reprieve, but lower infrastructure investment, rising interest rates, an unpredictable economy and other risks are undermining future prospects. Rising unemployment and an uncertain political climate are other threats to growth, with the country’s current leader weathering corruption charges while every segment of the housing market suffers. For more on this continue reading the following article from Global Property Guide. South Africa’s property market has slowed, with house prices declining modestly in 2011. South A Full Post…