THE COMMUTING LIFE

“Drive until you qualify” is a phrase that real-estate agents use to describe a central tenet of the commuting life: you travel away from the workplace until you reach an exit where you can afford to buy a house that meets your standards. The size of the wallet determines that of the mortgage, and therefore the length of the commute. Although there are other variables (schools, spouse, status, climate, race, religion, taxes, taste) and occasional exceptions (inner cities, Princeton), in this equation you’re trading time for space, miles for square feet. Sometimes contentment figures in, and sometimes it does not.

For a thoughtful reflection on the lives of commuters both here and around the world, I recommend reading Nick Paumgarten's article in The New Yorker, There and Back Again: The Soul of the Commuter.

HOUSES IN UNUSUAL PLACES!

HOME DEPOT GOES GREEN

Home Depot, the nation's second-largest retailer, recently unveiled their "Eco Options" label that identifies environmentally friendly products for customers. The company hopes to have 12% of their products labeled as such by 2009. According to Michael Barbaro of the New York Times, this is the largest green labeling program in United States retail.

Although Home Depot's efforts may seem to hold the potential for large-scale impact, environmental advocates point out that consumers in the United States tend to forgo purchasing "green" products due to higher cost and a fear that they will not work as well as the products they are meant to replace. Still, Eco Options products have been going strong in Home Depot's Canadian stores where the label was introduced three years ago.

In addition to this new labeling program, Home Depot has responded to past criticisms from environmentalists by promising "to eliminate sales of lumber from environmentally sensitive areas" and instituting a program to offset carbon emissions with tree planting.

Regardless of sales, Home Depot expects Eco Options products to raise environmental awareness on a large scale. "We see educating the consumer as being the highest impact of this process," says Ron Jarvis, Vice President for Environmental Innovation.

To read the article in its entirety, please go to Home Depot to Display an Environmental Label

GOVERNMENT PROGRAM HELPS FAMILIES STAY IN THEIR HOMES

WASHINGTON - More than 36,500 families have been able to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure this year thanks to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) comprehensive lending relief measures. The FHA's Loss Mitigation Program gives lenders who provide FHA-insured mortgages the authority and responsibility to assist homeowners who have fallen into financial difficulties with their home mortgages.

"Owning a home is the American Dream, and the last thing we want is for families to see their dream turned into a nightmare. FHA lending relief measures continues to help families around the nation work through difficult times, stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

Since last October, the FHA Loss Mitigation Program has helped 36,512 families, who are behind on their mortgage payments, keep their homes. In Fiscal Year 2006, this program helped 75,000 families with FHA-insured loans continue to enjoy the benefits of homeownership. In total, there are currently nearly 4 million homeowners in FHA homes.

The potential loss of a home, due to unexpected events such as unemployment or illness, can be financially and personally devastating. But it can be avoided by taking the right steps. Under the FHA Loss Mitigation Program, lenders have the ability to offer borrowers a number of HUD-approved options for avoiding foreclosure, including:

• Special Forbearance: This option can include a temporary reduction or suspension of a mortgage payment until the borrower can reestablish financial stability, or a permanent revision in the payment amount to reflect a borrower's new and reduced financial status.
• Modifications: The lender can rewrite the mortgage note in order to roll delinquent amounts into the principal or extend the term of the loan to reduce monthly payments.
• Partial Claim: FHA's insurance fund makes a one-time payment to bring the mortgage current, which becomes an interest-free subordinate mortgage due when the insurance is terminated.
• Pre-Foreclosure Sale: The borrower avoids foreclosure by selling the property for its appraised value even if the proceeds are not enough to pay off the mortgage.
• Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure: This option is a negotiated settlement where the borrower deeds the house back to the lender, saving the borrower all of the credit ramifications of a foreclosure while also saving the government some legal costs.

For more information on how families with FHA-insured mortgages can avoid foreclosure, visit www.hud.gov/foreclosure/ or call 1-800-CALL-FHA.

Article courtesy of the Santa Cruz Association of Realtors.

THE DRAWBACKS OF MULTITASKING REVEALED

Although checking email while listening to your iPod and trying to study or talking on you cellphone with a hands-free headset and driving at the same time might seem save you valuable minutes throughout the day, New York Times columnist Steve Lohr says that recent studies reveal the opposite effect.

Vanderbilt University published findings last December that show the brain's ultimate loss of efficiency when trying to handle two tasks at once. Though the delays may be only seconds long, the difference is crucial when considering response time while driving at high speeds.

Oxford University recently completed a study demonstrating that young people have equal difficulty to older adults when it comes to remaining efficient while multitasking.

While there is a point at which multitasking creates an optimum work efficiency, more intense multitasking--constantly checking emails, answering every phone call--will ultimately lead to a loss in productivity.

To read the article in its entirety, please go to Slow Down, Brave Multitasker.

MAKING SUMMER TRAVEL PLANS? TRY PRAGUE!

Prague is a romantic and delightful city, and I say get over there if you can!

For information on cafes that only locals know about, the best restaurants, the most exclusive bars and even a prime rock climbing spot, check out Evan Rail's 36 Hours in Prague.

FIRESIDE GATHERINGS MOVE TO THE BACKYARD

That's right. It's the latest trend in backyard landscaping: the outdoor fireplace. And we don't just mean a wood-burning pit in the ground. The Weintraubs of Bath, Ohio, recently spent $60,000 on a gas-burning outdoor fireplace that stands 16 feet tall and features a built-in stereo system.

Backyard fireplaces are springing up in the backyards of a growing number of homeowners who have the means to afford their rising price tags. Interestingly enough, the demand for backyard fireplaces seems strongest in the Northern and mid-Western states in which the winters are just too cold to even stay outside and enjoy the fire.

Theories vary as to why this trend has taken off: Jim Weidner of Weidner Group Landscaping thinks that with the real estate market slowing, home owners are deciding to stick around and invest in their homes. Others postulate that multiple electronic "entertainment options," such as iPods, TVs, TiVo, computers and video games, leave little room for quality family time. The fireplace provides a peaceful gathering place to reconnect.

Of course, there's always the idea that these tall-standing, high-priced fireplaces can serve as a conspicuous status symbol.

In any case, a lot of people just want to "enjoy a fire."

To read Christopher Maag's article in its entirety, go to Family Hearth Moves to the Backyard

RISE IN FORECLOSURES IMPACTS STOCK MARKET

Stocks fell last Tuesday in the wake of a report indicating that things will get worse before they get better when it comes to the housing market. A record number of homes were in foreclosure in the fourth quarter, and even strong markets like California showed a growth in default rates.

While the economy remains relatively strong and unemployment drops, subprime lenders are feeling the squeeze as their shares fall. New Century Financial had to stop making loans last week, and even Countrywide Financial--the nation's largest mortgage lender--is deciding on more strict standards.

Some mortgage company executives stress that there is nothing to worry about--that the streak of credit problems is contained within the subprime category--but Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut says that there is a possibility the government will need to step in and provide aid to struggling homeowners or those who have lost housing.

To read the entire article by the New York Times' Vikas Bajaj, please go to Bad Loans Put Wall St. In A Swoon

MOUNT RAINIER REBUILDS BUT CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUES

Back in November the Nisqually River blew out its banks, washing out parts of roads, destroying footbridges and nearly sweeping away the historic buildings of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State.

Now in the process of re-enforcing the main road, officials now need to be concerned not with reopening the park but predicting the future activity of the rivers in the face of climate change.
Paul Kennard, a geomorphologist at the park, says that the glaciers are "by far at their historic
minimum."

The focus of the current repairs is "access and safety." In addition, there is of course the preservation of the park's landscape and wildlife--a concern that makes it harder to balance the desire for public access with preparation for changing environments.

To read this article in its entirety, please go to Park Tries To Balance Access and Nature As It Rebuilds.

THE LOUVRE OF THE ARAB WORLD?

How much does it cost to rent the Louvre's name? $520 million for 30 years, apparently. That's how much the Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is paying.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open in 2012 as part of a "tourist and cultural development" on Saadiyat Island and will be overseen by the International Agency for French Museums.

In addition to the $520 million price tag put on the museum's name, Abu Dhabi has also agreed to donate$32.5 million to help refurbish a wing of the original Louvre in Paris. France will also rotate hundreds of pieces of art through the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and offer "management expertise" to the new museum.

Though leaders from both France and Abu Dhabi seem hopeful about this new relationship, many French traditionalists critique their government for "selling" its museums.

To read the article in its entirety, please go to The Louvre's Art: Priceless. The Louvre's Name: Expensive.

HIDDEN TAX BREAKS & THE PHONE-TAX REBATE

By Kevin McCormally


You can count on getting at least a $30 to $40 fatter tax refund this spring – or you'll owe that much less when you file – thanks to the government's effort to redress an error that has its roots in the 19th century.

At issue is a levy on long-distance telephone calls born in 1898 as a 1% luxury tax to help finance the Spanish-American War. Last year, the government conceded that collecting the tax was, well, illegal.

The problem was that tax applied to charges based on the time and distance of the call. Although your grandkids might not remember, you know that's the way things used to work. The farther away you called, the more you paid for each minute you talked. In recent years, though, the distance part of the equation has disappeared. And that's the rub.

Over the past few years, some big companies, including Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard, challenged the government and won case after case. Finally, the government gave up and hung up on the long-distance tax effective August 1, 2006. Uncle Sam promised refunds of money collected since March 1, 2003. (The IRS says the statute of limitations won't let it refund taxes collected before that date.)

How to Get Your Money

The IRS has come up with an easy way for most of us to claim a refund. You'll find a line in the payment sections of your tax return to claim your credit, so you get the benefit even if you don't itemize deductions. For those of you who don't file a return, the IRS has created a special form, the 1040EZ-T, to request a tax refund.

Don't want to plow through 41 months' worth of old phone bills? You can claim a standard credit based on the number of exemptions you take. A single person who claims one exemption gets $30, while a couple gets $40. A couple with one dependent child gets a $50 credit and couples with two or more children get $60 – the top credit allowed. The IRS says it came up with the figures based on telephone usage data, and that the amounts include interest back to the time the money was collected.

If you spent an average of more than $25 a month for long-distance service during the refund period, you can seek more than the standard credit. But you might decide it's not the worth the effort once you see the new Form 8913. Basically, you need to tote up the federal tax you paid on long-distance calls between March 2003 and August 2006, group the payments in three-month increments and then figure the interest you're due on each quarter's tax.

There's no one-size-fits-all refund for business owners. Businesses can use a formula that bases their credit on total phone charges during the refund period rather than the actual tax paid. For more details, visit the Telephone Tax Refunds section of the IRS website.

Hidden Tax Breaks

Although the telephone tax credit is easy to find on the tax forms, that's not the case for three tax savers that Congress revived in December – after the IRS sent the forms to the printer. These tax breaks were set to expire without action by lawmakers. You're affected if:

• You qualify to deduct state sales taxes (which you surely do if you itemize and live in a state that does not have its own income tax).
  
• You qualify to deduct college tuition paid during 2006.
  
• You qualify to claim the special $250 deduction for expenses paid for classroom materials by teachers and teachers' aides.
  

Although none of these breaks is mentioned on the forms, all are available for 2006. You can find information on how to claim your deductions at http://www.irs.gov/ or by calling 800-829-1040.

Reprinted with permission. All contents © 2007 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.

YOUR GATEWAY TO INFORMATION ON HOW TO CHOOSE ENERGY-EFFICIENT WINDOWS

Efficient Windows Collaborative (EWC) members have made a commitment to manufacture and promote energy-efficient windows. This site provides unbiased information on the benefits of energy-efficient windows, descriptions of how they work, and recommendations for their selection and use. Take a look to learn more!

http://www.efficientwindows.org/

OLYMPIC ATHLETE FIGHTS FOR LIFE ONCE AGAIN

Never give up! That is the resounding lesson to be taken from former Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner's life of passionate perseverance in the midst of impossible odds and near-death experiences, such as last weekend's plane crash that might have taken his life.

Gardner's inspirational win over Russia's Aleksandr Karelin at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney was "one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history," according to New York Times sports writer Lynn Zinser. The match was Karelin's single defeat in a career spanning 13 years. Still, the 2000 Olympic Games proved to be only a taste of the struggles yet to come for Gardner.

In 2002, Gardner was separated from his friends while snowmobiling in Wyoming and was forced to spend the night alone in the wilderness. After being rescued, Gardner had one toe amputated due to frostbite.

In 2004--the same year he won Olympic bronze despite the loss of one toe--Gardner was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle in Colorado.

As of last Saturday, Gardner has one more miraculous survival experience to add to the list. While flying over Utah's Lake Powell to look at a houseboat, the single-engine plane that carried Gardner and two pilots suddenly crashed into the 44-degree water. All three escaped the plane before it sank and made the one-hour swim to shore where they spent the night huddled together before being rescued by a local fisherman.

One of the pilots, Leslie Brooks, was treated for frostbite; no other injuries were sustained.

Since retiring from Olympic competition in 2004, Gardner works as a motivational speaker and wrestling coach. Despite the recent ordeal, he's not been deterred from the pursuit of his pilot's license.

His attitude says it all: "You just take life as it comes to you and do your best."

To read the New York Times article in its entirety, go to Former Olympian Adds A Harrowing Tale To List

CRUCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

You may have heard about the change in Daylight Savings starting this year: DST will start three weeks earlier on March 11, 2007, and end one week later on November 4, 2007.

This could affect machines & computer programs that are set to coordinate time/date using Daylight Savings. The first step is to ensure that your computer is prepared.

For Windows XP users, click the below link to download and install the Daylight Savings patch:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=66F1420C-DF2D-400B-A8A9-EF9061A9A3CA&displaylang=en

Scheduling software, such as Microsoft Outlook, could also be affected. If you use the calendar feature in Outlook, and have version 2000, 2002, or 2003, you will want to download and install the Time Zone Data Update Tool by using the below link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E343A233-B9C8-4652-9DD8-AE0F1AF62568&displaylang=en

You will also want to ensure that any fax machines that you use are changed to the correct time, as well as your digital phone at home, mobile phone, PDA, portable music player, programmable thermostat, digital camera, DVR, etc.

For other scheduling software, Smartphone's, & PDA's, check with the manufacturer to determine if you need to install updates to prepare for the new Daylight Savings rules.

To access accurate time and date information for anywhere in the world, add The World Clock to your list of "Favorites."

TROUBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS

Although a recent enthusiasm over the Big Sky region of Montana has made for a "construction and employment boom," the resulting rise in land prices have put all those resort and construction workers in a bind when it comes to finding affordable housing.

Located just North of one entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Big Sky is also 32 miles southwest of Bozeman and isolated by the dangerous nature of the icy 2-lane road that runs between the towns. With the choice between a treacherous commute from Bozeman or unaffordable housing in Big Sky, what are the workers to do?

The resort companies seem to have found a workable solution: buy up local motels and rent rooms to employees as well as guests. Although the workers often cram into small spaces to save money, sometimes four to a room, things seem to be working out well. Bob Sumpter of the Yellowstone Club calls this new setup "a good strategic buy," and Isabella Silva, an employee of Big Sky Resorts, says the situation is "O.K."

To read the full article by Jim Robbins, go to Boom In The Mountains Creates a Housing Shortage

NATIONWIDE MARKET UPDATE: PRICES DROP AT THE END OF 2006

The last three months of 2006 saw home prices fall in over half of the country's biggest metropolitan areas, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In addition, the number of homes sold fell in 40 states plus the District of Colombia. As prices and sales drop, the number of homes on the market rises. Is there any hope for the market in the near future?

NAR believes so, saying that it expects sales and prices to rise in the Spring. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, says that "home sales are leveling at historically high levels." Data from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight shows that prices were in fact rising overall in the third quarter of 2006.

To read the full article by Vikas Bajaj, go to Home Prices Fall In More Than Half of Nation's Biggest Markets

To find out more about specific market trends in Santa Cruz County and what you can do to get your home sold for the most money in the least amount of time, please contact me at 831-457-5550 or frank@frankmurphy.net

FED CONTINUES TO DEBATE INFLATION TARGET

This week marks one year since Ben Bernanke took over as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, but the Fed has yet to act on his main proposal: "an explicit target for inflation."

Mr. Bernanke argues that a public commitment to an inflation target of 1 to 2 percent a year would be helpful to investors and boost consumer confidence.

His opponents, however, are wary of making changes while things are going well: despite a slight economic slowdown over the last year, wages have increased and unemployment continues to be low. There is also a concern that Mr. Bernanke's policy is too rigid and that a focus on inflation will overshadow the issue of unemployment.

Based on the cautious attitudes of the Fed's governors and staff, and the objections of Congress, Edmund Andrews of the New York Times predicts that "the Fed is unlikely to change gears this year."

To read the full article, go to: Fed Has Yet to Set Target on Inflation