We knew it was too good to last.  Over the past year to year and a half homebuyers have been able to take advantage of some incredible financing through FHA with very little down.  Now it appears that homebuyers in the future will have to put more cash in a home purchase in some situations as government officials look for ways  rein in finances at the Federal Housing Administration.

“We have made the decision to exercise our authority to increase the up-front cash that a borrower has to bring to the table in an FHA-backed loan, to make sure that FHA borrowers have more ’skin in the game,’” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in prepared testimony to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington today.

“There are several ways to accomplish this, and so we are currently analyzing various options to determine which is the most effective and consistent with our mission,” he said.

“FHA is considering cutting the amount of home seller concessions a buyer can receive by half to 3 percent of the purchase price to combat inflated appraised values. The minimum credit scores required for borrowers may also be raised, and the guarantee fees charged to lenders may increase. We expect to provide detail and public guidance for these changes by the end of January,” Donovan said.

FHA insurers or guarantees one of every five single-family loans.

www.AthensGAHomesForSale.com

Talk by BRIAN NEWMAN, Consultant and Former President, Tribeca Film Institute at the recent Power to the Pixel conference.

The Internet is a super-distribution machine that allows copies of digital media to flow in an almost frictionless way. As the wealth and survival of traditional media businesses are built on selling precious copies, the free flow of free copies is undermining the established order. If reproductions of media are free, how can we keep on financing films and how can we find value in the media we create and sell?

BRIAN NEWMAN – HOW TO BE ‘BETTER THAN FREE’ – CROSS-MEDIA FILM FORUM 2009.

Short Sale Specialists Redirect from Main – San Diego Real Estate |San Diego Homes and Property for Sale | San Diego Real Estate Agents – McMillin Realty.

Don’t just give your home to the bank.  Let McMillin Realty’s Short Sale Specialist help you.  McMillin Realty’s experts are qualified to offer insight, direction, and your best course of action.  It is free and confidential.  Call them today for a no-obligation appointment, or follow the link above.

McMillin Realty has been servicing the San Diego Real Estate community for over 40 years with a reputation built on quality, integrity and trust.  Call them today – 1-800-599-8715 ext. 3202.

Growing competition for scarce water resources is a growing business risk, a major economic threat, and a challenge for the sustainability of communities and the ecosystems upon which they rely. It is an issue that has serious implications for the stability of countries in which businesses operate, and for industries whose value chains are exposed to water scarcity.

This is the main conclusion from a recent study led by McKinsey focusing on how, by 2030, competing demands for scarce water resources can be met and sustained. It is sponsored, written, and supported by a group of private sector companies and institutions who are concerned about water scarcity as an increasing business risk, a major economic threat that cannot be ignored, and a global priority that affects human well-being.

Charting our water future: Economic frameworks to inform decision-making shows that while meeting competing demands for water will be a considerable challenge, it is entirely possible to close the growing gap between water supply and demand. This report provides greater clarity on the scale of the water challenge and how it can be met in an affordable and sustainable manner.

“Situation is getting worse”

“Constraints on a valuable resource should draw new investment and prompt policies to increase productivity of demand and augment supply. However, for water, arguably one of the most constrained and valuable resources we have, this does not seem to be happening. Calls for action multiply and yet an abundance of evidence shows that the situation is getting worse. There is little indication that, left to its own devices, the water sector will come to a sustainable, cost-effective solution to meet the growing water requirements implied by economic and population growth,” the authors write.

The report offers case studies from four countries with drastically different water issues, which will collectively account for 40 percent of the world’s population, 30 percent of global GDP and 42 percent of projected water demand in 2030: China, India, South Africa and Brazil. The report’s methodology identifies supply- and demand-side measures that could constitute a more cost effective approach to closing the water gap and achieve savings in each country.

Water cost curve and gap models

As part of their suggested integrated economic approach to water resource management the authors developed a key tool for decision makers: a “water-marginal cost curve and gap model”. It provides a microeconomic analysis of the cost and potential of a range of existing technical measures to close the projected gap between demand and supply in a basin. Using these can help provide critical insights for those involved in transforming a national water agenda. The first step in applying these tools  is to construct a set of scenarios that represent relevant choices facing the country. These might include, for example, the water demand implications of rapid agricultural development; or those of recuced water availability as a result of climate change.

Charting our water future is a report of the 2030 Water Resources Group, which was formed in 2008 to contribute new insights to the increasingly critical issue of water resource scarcity. Members include McKinsey & Company, the World Bank Group, and a consortium of business partners: The Barilla Group, The Coca Cola Company, Nestlé SA, New Holland Agriculture, SAB Miller PLC, Standard Chartered and Syngenta AG.

Basics

Your debt to income ratio is a fundamental measure used by the lender. These include:

Total monthly debt loadTotal pretax profit incomeOverall ability payTotal Monthly debt, your monthly debt burden that a lender will analyze include: credit card payment student loansCar Department store cardsOther monthly debt paymentsYour mortgage paymentThis is the sum of your usual monthly debt service. In some cases, the lender can completely ignore a claim. This is the case, for example, if you have a $ 500 a month car payment, but there are only two months left on the loan. The lender may decide that $ 500 per month debt burden, because they know to ignore them when going away soon.

The lender should be able to find out the monthly assets and liabilities when they expire your credit report, even though you should also disclose relevant contributions to make them apply to your mortgage.

The lenders will also factor in the cost of new> Apply for your mortgage. This includes the mortgage payment, property tax, homeowners association fees, risk insurance and other property related expenses.

Total income before taxes, the lender will add up all your income before taxes, which include:

Base salarySales commissionsBonusesOvertimeRental incomeInterest incomeOther incomeAll this income are added together to determine your income before taxes. You can be a monthly average of your last yearResult. Temporary jobs or seasonal work may not in this amount because it is not added as a regular job or income.

Total overall ability to pay for the lender is the borrower's total monthly debt burden, with its total monthly income before taxes compared to.

If a borrower is pre-tax income $ 10,000 debt and its $ 4,000 monthly payments then the borrower has a debt / income ratio of 40%. This is acceptable to many lenders.

New Opportunities Many lenders will nowTotal debt burden of up to 55% of the income of the borrower.

Thus more people to be able to buy the property. The creditors could compensate for the additional risk that this type of loan with a higher interest rate than normal.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday released a plan to speed up and encourage Short Sales as a means to help families avoid foreclosure. Short Sale proposals have been offered to public officials for over a year, and although the new guidelines aren’t everything we were hoping for, they do represent a significant improvement over the current situation.

Short Sales have been difficult to close, and these new measures are a huge step in the right direction. One major highlight: A lender must give a yes or no answer to an offer within 10 days. Also included: a moving allowance, incentives for sellers and lenders, commission rules, and a stipulation that releases sellers from debt liabilities.

GREAT NEWS.

Daily Real Estate News | December 1, 2009

Nine Consecutive Gains for Pending Home Sales. Pending home sales have risen for nine months in a row, a first for the series of the index since its inception in 2001, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in October, increased 3.7 percent to 114.1 from 110.0 in September, and is 31.8 percent above October 2008 when it was 86.6. The rise from a year ago is the biggest annual increase ever recorded for the index, which is at the highest level since March 2006 when it was 115.2. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales are experiencing a pendulum swing. “Keep in mind that housing had been underperforming over most of the past year. Based on the demographics of our growing population, existing-home sales should be in the range of 5.5 million to 6.0 million annually, but we were well below the 5-million mark before the home buyer tax credit stimulus,” he said. “This means the tax credit is helping unleash a pent-up demand from a large pool of financially qualified renters, much more than borrowing sales from the future.” By Region * Pending sales in the Northeast surged 19.9 percent to 100.2 in October and is 44.2 percent above a year ago. * In the Midwest, the index rose 11.6 percent to 109.6 and is 36.6 percent higher than October 2008. * Sales in the South increased 5.4 percent to an index of 115.4, which is 31.6 percent above a year ago. * In the West, the index fell 11.2 percent to 127.7 but is 21.9 percent above October 2008. Not Out of the Woods Yet Yun cautioned that home sales could dip in the months ahead. “The expanded tax credit has only been available for the past three weeks, but the time between when buyers start looking at homes until they close on a sale can take anywhere from three to five months. Given the lag time, we could see a temporary decline in closed existing-home sales from December until early spring when we get another surge, but the weak job market remains a major concern and could slow the recovery process. “Still, as inventories continue to decline and balance is gradually restored between buyers and sellers, we should reach self-sustaining housing conditions and firming home prices in most areas around the middle of 2010. That would mean broad wealth stabilization for the vast number of middle-class families,” Yun said. Source: NAR

The four presentations representing Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda can now be found and downloaded in the ‘peer-run events’ section of this blog.

If you missed the presentations last week this is your chance to top up your knowledge!

Faisal.

Is your network ready for the 21^st Century? 

IT organizations don’t typically significantly alter their approach to something as critical as network design for minor changes to either the business or technology.  For example, no rational IT organization would make a significant change in their approach to LAN design simply because they were in the process of making a modest deployment of a wireless network.  In that case, they would bolt on the fix into the existing LAN design & move on.  This works well, no doubt, but after several minor changes occur there comes a time when it is necessary to reconsider the network design rather than to continue to bolt fixes onto the network. 

A decade ago the movement from shared media to switched Ethernet was driven by two fundamental requirements – the need for higher availability & enhanced performance.  By contrast, today’s networks are mission critical, require advanced security, need to be more flexible, meet compliance regulations, support communications & collaboration, enable new application architectures, etc.  Lewan & Cisco are enabling local IT organizations to address these requirements with the most advanced network technologies available today and we currently have two programs in place to help you update the power of your network.

Network Inventory Assessment – CISCO FUNDING STILL AVAILIBLE

A “network inventory assessment” uses formal tools (either software or hardware appliances) to scan a network and identify all the working network elements by name, IP address, type and IOS/OS version.  These assessments are extremely valuable because they provide robust deliverables with vital information relative to your network equipment.  Typical information that will come out of these assessments include information about the equipment you have in every closet, model, brand, OS, age, EOS/EOL status and much more.  Cisco will fund at least $1000 per assessment or more depending on the goals of the project.  (Up to $3500 if we include a proof of concept project)

The tools we use to complete these assessments include:  Cisco Discovery Tool, CiscoWorks Network Compliance Manager, Dorado, Netcordia, Netformx and Pari Networks

We have samples of the deliverables available, so please let me now if you would like to learn more about this unique opportunity!

Cisco Capital – 3 Years of 0% Financing  Website

Cisco Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco, continues to make borrowing both available and affordable for our customers.  Financing is designed to provide you with the freedom to acquire the technology you need to grow your business, as well as the flexibility to react to a changing economy.  Cisco is currently offering 0% financing for 3 years on purchases of $250,000 or less.  This particular program is for Cisco equipment & professional services only, but we can also finance any of our IT solutions.

These are 2 great programs from Cisco to enable IT organizations to continue tackling projects, prepare for the future & reduce costs.  Please let me know how I can help!

Also, please check out our Professional Services Team blog.  Lewan engineers posted some very helpful information recently, especially for VMware users.   http://lewanps.wordpress.com/

What to do about your House when you Divorce Part 1 of 2

 By Michael Hughes   December 1^st, 2009

Usually when divorcing, the home is the single largest asset you own.  One or both of you will be moving out.  These are not merely financial decisions but often intertwined with very real feelings and emotional issues around the marriage, the kids (if there are any), possessions and money. I always suggest if couples have made the final decision to get divorced, get the house ironed out as quickly as possible.

If You’re Staying in the house

You have to ask yourself a lot of questions.  Can I afford the mortgage? It costs a lot, do not underestimate this.What is my budget? Do I really want the house or is this another “I win” because I now own the house?  Will there be any capital gains on this acquisition or sale? Do I know how capital gains tax works? Will I feel comfortable here or does this house harbor so many bad memories that it will interfere with my peaceful living here?  Is the market heading up or down and what does that mean to me, and this asset, in the future when I wish to sell the house?

If You’re Leaving the house

How will this affect my credit score if the former spouse doesn’t pay the mortgage?  Should I set up a divorce lien and quit claim the property?  If your former spouse doesn’t pay, the lender couldn’t care less about your divorce, they just want their money.  If you are still on the mortgage it could impair your ability to receive financing to buy another house. 

What’s it worth?

There are many ways to ascertain what the value is without a huge fight.  Call me if you need help with this in a non combative manner.

If you are selling the house

You absolutely want to get top dollar.  The other side to this is, you want to sell it quickly and minimize the pain and suffering and get disentangled as quickly as possible.  The longer the sale takes the more stress experienced on both sides and the lower the price will be when you do finally sell it. 

Present a United Front to Potential Buyers

When people see a divorcing couple they usually see the word “bargain” flash across their mind.   This can be totally alleviated.  Discretion is the word.  Present a united front for possible buyers and you will usually alleviate the possibility of a lower offer.

I have helped many people in divorce settle their home out quickly and to every ones satisfaction. Call me today, I can help you.

Contact me today if you or anyone you know needs real estate help
e-Mail michael.hughes@sothebysrealty.com  Direct 303-359-6627 Website:www.bolderrealestate.com

$1200 by the end of the week? Its strong rebound off 1137 tells me we are in a new phase of the gold cycle. The strength it showed in the face of the drop last week tells me we are now well and good in a gold bull market. Hold your gold shares for some spectacular returns we will not see again in our lifetimes!

My Pf is holding

GRL
NES.H
TML
CWS.H
OLE
LGD
TCC

stocks i do not hold but like are

DEC
UW
VHV
LVN

please feel free to post any stocks you hold that you think will have extraordinary returns in the next 2 to 5 years

caliche

New research by leading alternative energy research firm New Energy Finance finds that solar power will cost less by about 50% at the end of 2009 compared to the end of 2008.

The costs are pre-subsidy, so they could be much lower if you take better government subsidies into account.

But it isn’t only solar that’s down in cost. It’s other renewable energy sources, too

Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/27/solar-power-costs-50-lower-than-last-year/

Fukai Yoshio, head of water projects at the Japanese Cooperation Agency (JICA), announced that his government would invest 450 million francs (roughly US$ 1 million) over the next three years in Senegal’s Departments of Tambacounda, Kolda, and Ziguinchor. Besides equipping boreholes with motorized pumps at 35 sites, the program will create a hygiene committee in each village.
– summary by Louise Shaler

Source: Agence de Presse Sénégalaise / allAfrica.com [in French], 18 Nov 2009

Studying at a university involves a great number of costs. In addition to tuition fees, costs are incurred for materials (computer, books, etc.), living (rent, food, clothing) and travel. And this does not take into account the opportunity costs dur to a loss od earning whilst studying at a university. But because the average starting salary for graduates of business oriented programmes is generally higher than their current salary, these high costs are quickly put back into perspective. Indeed, students will often calculate the expected return on investment resulting from further study.

Business schools and universities aim to enable anyone with a genuine interest access to education, regardless of their financial situation. This is why universities and business schools offer financing options for tuition.

Self-financing

For most students the major sources of financing are their own resources. Since many degrees can only be obtained after a few years of professional experience, a saving programme can be set up for this purpose whilst an employment. Interest free loans or gifts from parents or relatives and acquaintances are also used. Only very few students will suceed in covering all costs from their own financial means. For this reason it is vital for most prospective students to look into the options for third-party financing or overall costs.

Loans

Banks are sometimes prepared to grant an unsecured loan to finance university study. The requirement for this is admission to a recognized institute of higher learning which ensures that the borrower will subsequently get a well-paid position, guaranteeing repayment of the loan. Loan terms are usually very reasonable. Business schools and universities often provide active support in secirung bank loans. In addition, business schools often already have contacts at banks that have specialised in financing particular business school programmes.

Business School Fellowship

Some business schools have their own foundations which offer financial aid. As part of their activities, these foundations offer students full or partial scholarships or interest free loans. These grants often only cover tuition fees in order to provide support to as many students as possible. In addition to personal background and professional experience, the students’ level of achievement plays a central role in being awarded a scholarship. Scholarship award decisions are made by the scholarship and loan commitee. In addition, many business schools can offer financial support due to donations from alumni and sponsors. It is also sometimes possible to receive financing from privately donated awards.

Scholarships

Besides assistance from the business school or university, or from associations or foundations, there are scholarships available for particular gifted students from sources outside the business school or university. Be aware that some scholarships only cover living expenses in the host country and not tuition fees.

Companies

In some cases companies continue regular salary payments during the period in which an employee is studying at a business school or university and pay tuition fees as well. It can therefore be assumed that only employees who are valuable to the companywill be able to enjoy these privileges. Frequently the employee must also commit to remain with the company for a specified period period after graduation.

Internships, placements and part-time work

A required component of many study programmes are company internships or placements which generally last several months. These can be completed, for example during the summer break between two school years. Some of these internships pay up to 2 00o Euros (depending on the country, company, etc.) and more per month. But there is no guarantee of an internship with a top employer. Thus, an internship is not a secure source of financing.

Another option for financing is to have a part-time job. However, in may countries outside the European Union, employment outside the university requires a work permit that is normally issued with many restrictions. In such countries it is therefore advisable to take up research or teaching work at the university or to find work in the university library or cafeteria.

Tax Relevance

In some cases, tax savings can greatly lower the financial burden of a university education. it is sometime possible to deduct the costs of an education from taxes. A tax advisor or a lawyer specialising in tax law will be able to determine to what extent in each individual case.

]]> http://mortgagebanks.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/creative-financing-cali-mortgage-planner-senior-loan-officer/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:20:08 +0000 imafiary http://mortgagebanks.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/creative-financing-cali-mortgage-planner-senior-loan-officer/

A brief tutorial on creative financing in today’s market

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4v–DUzyg&hl=en

Yesterday, I became the proud owner of a MacBook Pro.

Well, technically, I am still a Toshiba girl until my MacBook Pro arrives, but you get the idea.

My favorite part about the experience? Definitely not the twenty-five minute hold time on the phone attempting to get my MacBook purchased, or the three call attempts to get the purchased finalized.

But then, I did make the purchase on Black Friday, so some of that is probably situationally determined.

No, my favorite part of the exchange was the chat assistance I received from Elena V.

If anyone could ever sell a computer, it was Elena. She was appropriately ecstatic that I was making the switch from PC to Mac and encouraged me through comments such as,

“We are so excited that you are considering becoming a part of the Mac family!”

Who knew? A family?

When I told Elena V I was a student, she promptly researched the most inexpensive options for me to purchase FinalCut studio (which is btw – FinalCut Express Academic - not in the budget for this Christmas, but you can bet I have it bookmarked!)

Elena V reassured me that I did not necessarily need virus protection because the Mac OS had it built in, thus saving me money.  

But the best part of my chat with Elena V?

When I asked Elena V if she would receive commission on my purchase she said the following,

“Nope I do not. However, upon your purchase I do receive a herd of DANCING PINK ELEPHANTS!”

That did it. I could not bear to think of Elena V’s Christmas without the opportunity to receive dancing pink elephants, so I purchased immediately!

Who knew Customer Service could be such fun! Especially on Black Friday.

So I am a Mac girl now. And to celebrate the fun of the Mac world, I have included some Mac-Christmas ads below!

Tractor Semi, Tractor Semi Trailer, used tractor trailer are for sale with special dealer financing and leasing. In this economy, start up and seasoned businesses have the option to obtain coventional financing or secondary off lease and repo financing.

In this volatile economy, many lenders have limited funds ear marked for semi trucks, big rig trucks and over the road trucks. Some lenders have vacated this trucking market and have decided to utilize their portfolios in different more stable markets. In this recession, many tractor semi and trailer lenders have simply gone out of business.

The start up and seasoned business looking to enter this trucking market have run into many road blocks in this conventional truck financing arena. In the present economy, many semi tractor lenders will require that the applicant exceed a personal credit score of 650. Even though the credit score of 650 may be obtainable, this is only the first of many hurdles the applicant will try to conquer. The down payment on the financing side could be anywhere from 10-30% depending upon your credit and time in business history. The personal and business credit will be scrunitized beyond the credit score and past bank repossessions, tax liens, child support, and judgments will be factored in by the lenders.

Many truck applicants have become tired with the requirements by the conventional lenders. Denial after Denial has frustrated the applicants, the front money and all the lenders other requirements have made the tractor semi applcant look for other alternatives.

Due to this recession, many lenders have been over run with all the semi trucks returned due to repossessions and off lease returns. These lenders have thousands of off lease and repo trucks on their books and must recondition them and resale or re-lease them quickly.

An off lease semi truck has been returned to the lender as the lease has expired. The lessee has made a decision to return the item in lieu of exercising the buyout option. A repossession has arisen due to a default of the lessee for non payment terms or a violation of the terms of the lease.

The financing programs that exist today in this secondary market target require minimum credit scores in the mid 500s. Additionally, these programs require minimum down payments and less stringent paperwork requirements.

In this seconday financing market for truck sales, the start up and seasoned business must select a semi truck out of the dealers inventories.

Additionally, some semi truck dealers are offering tractor semis with no credit check requirements. This is a great financing program for the company driver or the unemployed driver looking for financial security. These dealers are more interested in your down payment and your driving history than your past credit.

Each financing, lending program for these tractor semis are similar however different. The buyout clauses to obtain title are available in these programs but one should understand them fully in conjunction with the other parts of the financing arrangement.

The coventional and secondary market financing programs are available to the following manufacturers.

Kenworth, Peterbilt, Mack, Freightliner, Internationals, Sterling, and Volvo

In conclusion, start up and seasoned businesses have an opportunity for conventional credit if their personal credit and other factors permit. If conventional financing isn’t available, then the secondary market is a great opportunity for the truck driver to acquire a semi tractor.

Happy hunting for your tractor trailer, new or used, and its related financing and leasing.

Tractor Semi

Tractor Semi Trailer

Today is Black Friday.

I think it sounds rather sinister. I suppose, in a way, it is sinister. While it is “the” day many retailers wait all year for it is definitely not the day for which most shoppers wait as it tends to be one that empties the checking account. If you have something in your account to empty.

Today I ventured to our local Best Buy* to search through the television offerings in hope of finding a suitable 720p television for my daughter. Yes…very nice of me. Thank you. See…she has the Sony PlayStation 3, but has been playing it upon a standard definition (SD) television since we acquired it earlier this year. I have frequently felt it something of a cheat to spend $60 for a PS3 game only to have the daughter not reap the full benefit of the video quality. At least that has been my thinking.

I settled upon an on-sale Sony, which will satisfy all her wants and desires. No. That’s not completely true. She would, I’m certain, prefer something in the 50-inch variety and to have it mounted directly to her bedroom wall. Alas, 32-inches is all she’s getting. I also looked around at larger televisions for our t.v. room, which now has a cabinet sufficiently large enough to accommodate bigger televisions, like 46- or 50-inches.

Browsing around the store I found plenty of good Black Friday-only pricing and long-term 0% financing options, but I did not find the t.v. I was most interested in seeing: the Panasonic T-PC50G10 plasma. And so I left the store with the daughter’s new t.v. only to return an hour later after discovering that the bundle of cables we purchased with the PS3 did not include an HDMI cable and thus we could not output to the new Sony in high-def glory. Back to Best Buy. (good thing it’s close by, eh?)

Upon my return I re-ventured about the television department, while keeping my eyes open for HDMI cables. Stopping to yet again admire a rather large (55-inch) Samsung LCD a Best Buy employee asked if he could help me with anything. I said “No,” and told him why I was back at the store. For whatever reason he took it upon himself to ask if I liked LCD over plasma and I replied “No, actually. I prefer plasma, but my wife likes LCD.” He motioned for me to follow him and he took me to another department where on display were two excellent plasma televisions: the Panasonic TC-P50G10 and Samsung PN50B850Y1F.

This particular Panasonic television has received solid reviews all around the Internet. A strong case for its purchase can be found at CNET Reviews, HDGuru and Consumer Reports (subscription required). And the sale price is pretty good as well: about 19% off, which is good in my opinion for a recently-released television. Checking the price at Amazon it can be had for about $100 less, but there is no 0% finance offer and it is not Amazon selling the t.v., but a third-party merchant. I’m not too hip to that when it comes to a major purchase.

The Samsung has also been well-liked in the handful of reviews I found across the internet and it certainly is a more attractive looking set than the Panasonic. At least in my opinion. But from the reviews I read the nod goes to the Panasonic, especially when its sale price at Best Buy is $190 less than the Samsung. I may like the design of the Samsung, but not to the tune of $190.

In the end all the sale pricing and 0% financing don’t change one critical component of the purchase process: insufficient funds in the bank account.

We have space for the t.v. Even better, the 32-inch Sony LCD currently residing in the t.v. room could then be transferred to my bedroom and we could ditch the huge and heavy (250-pounds heavy!) CRT-style Toshiba television squatting in my room! But the bottom line is thus: I have some sort of built-in objection to the notion of paying over three years for a television. Sure, no interest is involved, but really. That’s too close to the length of a car payment. There is also the issue of my continuing unemployment here in SW Ohio, which is not likely to change. Ever.

And we just laid out cash for something of a major purchase in the guise of my wife’s laptop. Again, it’s a finance deal over time so there is no interest, but the television would be just another monthly payment going out, with no new income coming in. If only we knew how much the inlaws were giving us for Christmas…

* I just want to say this about Best Buy….they take a lot of stick for a lot of things. But I’m quite the fan of Best Buy. I know they aren’t always the cheapest, but I keep my eyes open for sales. I never feel pressured into purchasing anything I don’t want (including extended warranty plans) and their often generous same-as-cash financing deals make moderately expensive purchases easier on the checkbook. Maybe other folks have horror stories, but I have a long and very positive history with B-Buy.

This will be a fun post to write.  I want to thank (given the spirit of Thanksgiving) many of the people who have made my job in Springfield so much fun and so enjoyable, who have struggled to make this community a better place, who have contributed financial resources to help support economic development, and who have just been great.  This post recognizes the 25 individuals, companies, and organizations who have contributed directly to the operational budget of the Community Improvement Corporation of Springfield and Clark County, the economic development arm of the Greater Springfield Chamber.

It’s important to note that out of the 25 private and public organizations doing economic development in the Dayton region, we rank 22nd in terms of budget size.  We are very good stewards of the money given to us.

Diamond Supporter (over $100,000 per year)

The main financial supporters

1. Our biggest funders, by far, in a class by themselves, is Clark County goverment, led by The Clark County Commissioners.  Big appreciation to John Detrick (the biggest cheerleader this county ever had); Dave Hartley (passionate about helping those in need and fiscal responsibility); and Roger Tackett (who’s  an inspiration to all of us).  Without their support, economic development throughout Clark County would not happen.  Also, a big thank-you to Darrell Howard and Nathan Kennedy, County Administrators, for supporting our efforts county-wide.  And, it would be inappropriate to forget Bob Suver, Geoff Steele, and Lehan Peters of the the Clark County Department of Job & Family Services, who fund the Director of Hiring and Employer Services Position at the Chamber.

Emerald Supporters ($25,000 or more)

2. John Landess of the Turner Foundation, who came back home to lend his time and talent to make Springfield a top-tier community. His contributions and those of the foundation will be the subject of a future post.

3. Jim Lagos of Lagos & Lagos, all-around Springfield benefactor, developer; passionate about this community.

Platinum Supporters ($10,000+ or more in contributions, at least $5000 per year)

4. Tim Suter and Pat Kelly of Ohio Edison and FirstEnergy, who have faithfully contributed to economic development year in and year out.  There’s a reason why they’ve won economic development awards for utilities year after year.

5. Daren Cotter of Fifth-Third Bank, who is on more boards than I can count and who’s been a great friend to the Chamber and CIC

6. Bill Fralick, head of Security National Bank, who has contributed time, talent, and financial resources to the Chamber, the CIC, and the community

Gold Supporters ($5000 and above)

7. Randy Kapp of Kapp Construction, a man I’ve gotten to know, who cares deeply, knows much, and possesses great foresight and knowledge about the development process gained over decades of making Springfield a better place.

8. Tom Vollmer of GFS, who runs a very successful distribution center of one of Springfield’s largest employers, does good in the community, and doesn’t maintain a high profile to brag about what he does

9. Nelson Wenrick, Mark Tangeman, and Dean McGillivray from WENCO Construction, who have done a lot of good in the community in terms of economic development (235 Industrial Park, WENCO Centre) and who significantly contributed to us last year

10. Heather Corbin of KeyBank, who has contributed to economic development.  Thank you.

11. John Federer, formerly of PNC (formerly National City), who gave us a chance to succeed.

Silver Supporters ($2000 and over)

12. Drew Sutphen of Sutphen Corp., whose company is the largest private fire truck manufacturer in the US, who has chosen to expand his Springfield presence and contribute private resources to keep economic development going

13. Phil Teusinck and Glenda Greenwood (formerly) of Huntington National Bank, who has contributed to economic development.

Bronze Supporters (up to $1000)

14. Mary Beth Sheehan Mahoney of Sheehan Brothers Vending, who was willing to contribute to economic development during difficult times.

Future Supporters (have committed to the cause, amount to be worked out yet)

15. Steve Sidlo of the Springfield News-Sun, whom I’ve had the chance to get to know a few months ago at a Buckeye basketball game.  Fabulous news man, integrity, cares about the truth and community.  Willing to step up and support economic development.

16. Tony Kenney of Speedway SuperAmerica, who does so much in our community, from leading the Salvation Army effort this year to financially supporting economic development.  Speedway was also a Foundational Supporter.

17. Kip Sweeney of Pentaflex, who has worked to diversify his company and is willing to contribute something to economic development.

18. Nick and Teresa Demana of Benjamin Steel, who just recently consolidated over 20 employees into Springfield, die-hard community supporters, willing to support us as well.

19. Jim Ralston at Coilplus, who runs a great steel operation in the PrimeOhio Corporate Park and willing to assist us.  

Foundational Supporters

20. Thank you to Bob Warren of Hauck Brothers, who supported the Community Improvement Corporation in its first fundraising efforts.  Great friend to Chamber and CIC over many years. 

21., 22., 23., 24. Thank you to the folks at First Carlisle Federal, I-Supply, Eby-Brown, and Demmy Construction, who supported our 2005 Grow Springfield Campaign.

Special Supporters

25. A special thank-you to the City of Springfield’s Economic Development Administrator Tom Franzen and former City Manager Matt Kridler, who have in the past helped contribute funds to the development of brochure materials and economic development marketing efforts for our community.

Every week I read thousands of blog posts. Here, for your weekend enjoyment, are some highlights from my recent reading, for you.

	On Starting Up… http://www.markpeterdavis.com/getventure/2009/11/bootstrapping-vs-venture-funding.html On choosing the right financing strategy.
	On Design & Product Experience… http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/11/iterative-web-app-new-look-for-gmail.html The iterative and incremental design process at Google mobile and Gmail.
	On Modular Innovation… http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/linkedin_platform_pros_and_cons.php A look at LinkedIn’s Modular Innovation progress.

Have a great weekend!

Jeremy Horn
The Product Guy

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