Palghar, in Thane, at a distance of about 90 km from Mumbai is fast developing as an affordable residential location. With prices in other affordable locations such as Virar, Dombivali, Vasai etc increasing slowly, demand for budget housing is shifting to nearby localities such as Palghar. It is the next major junction after Virar on the Western railway.

The price range for residential properties in Palghar varies between Rs 2,000-3,500 per sq ft as compared to Rs 4,000-5,500 per sq ft in Virar, Dombivali, Vasai etc. “Since it is an affordable destination for the residential market, there is a huge demand for housing. The maximum demand is witnessed for 1 and 2BHK units as majority of the end users are comprised of buyers working in the industrial area around Palghar and Boisar who have limited budgets,” says Devendra Dubey, Managing Partner, Sanskriti Builders and Developers.

However, the locality witnesses more demand from investors who are mostly from Mumbai. “Almost 60-70 per cent of the demand in Plaghar comes from investors,” adds Dubey.

As aligned with the existing demand most of the builders are coming up with projects that offer smaller units of 1 and 2BHK configurations. Some of the projects in the locality include Prithvi Complex by Oswal Realty, Paradise City by HDIL, VIVA Swarangan by the VIVA Group, Castle by HAWARE etc.

Connectivity and Infrastructure

The locality is easily accessible from the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway (NH8). Connectivity of the locality is set to improve with the local railway line from Virar expected to extend to Dahanu by March 2013. This is expected to provide a further impetus to real estate prices in the locality. Moreover, the locality also enjoys good bus service. All basic amenities like schools, colleges, hospitals, shopping malls, restaurants, etc are already present in the locality.

“With major realty developments taking place in the locality, an appreciation of approximately 20-25 per cent is expected in the next one year,” says Sanjeeva, operation manager, VIVA Group.

Thus, Palghar is all set to become the next budget destination in Thane that offers a good option for both investments as well as end use.

Source: The Times Of India.

Mumbai: If Rs 10-15 lakh is all you have to invest in real estate in and around Mumbai, Eastern part of Boisar is the best bet for you. East Boisar, a locality in Thane, offers residential projects that offer 1BHK units within this price range. The area for these varies from 520-625 sq ft.

Most of the projects in the locality offer only 1BHK units owing to the huge demand for the same. “The demand for smaller units is not being met adequately in Mumbai as builders do not find it profitable to construct the same. Moreover, most of the 1BHK units that are available in the city have an area as large as 700 sq ft. Whereas in East Boisar, due to easy availability of land parcels, developers are able to make profit even out of 1BHK units. This is further pushing demand for 1BHK units in the locality.

Some of the developers who have projects offering 1BHK units include Gold Start Group, Vatsalya Developers, Prithvi Buildersl, Yashwant Builders, Mayuresh Developers, Parasmani Developers, K M Developers, Usha Breco Ltd etc.

The locality is witnessing demand from investors as well as end users. “While investors are from Mumbai, end users are from neighbouring localities such as Virar, Vasai, Airoli, Nallasopara, Dombivali etc. Demand for affordable housing has shifted to East Boisar owing to prevailing high property prices in these localities.

Apart from providing affordable options to end users the locality also offers capital appreciation on residential property. “The capital values of 1BHK units in the locality have increased by 20-25 per cent in the last 2 years,” adds Raj. An annual appreciation of around 10 per cent is expected on 1BHK making East Boisar a good investment destination for investors.

The demand in the locality is further set to increase once the railway link between Boisar and Virar becomes operational by end of 2013. All basic social and physical infrastructures are already in place. Thus if you are looking for a small residential unit in a limited budget, now you know where to go!

Source: The Times Of India.

Housing policy is usually about growing the pie, not how we share it

The fact is that not enough homes are being built in the UK. People are living longer, often in single person households. This means more homes will be needed. In response to this problem right-wing commentators tend to argue for a reduced role for the planning system, while left-wing commentators tend to call for more state funded house building.

This is a long term problem.

As of right now, there are more homes in England and Wales than there are households.

There are more homes in London than there are households.

There are more homes in the Borough of Camden than there are households.

And yet, there are people homeless in England and Wales. Over 2000 people sleeping on the streets in one count last year. And 3% of households are overcrowded. A sizeable number of people are spending more than half of their income on housing.

The same is true in Washington DC.

Why?

Mostly because there are lots of empty homes. They are empty for a number of reasons (including, but not mainly, households owning more than one home). There are just under a million vacant properties in England and Wales.

From this way of looking at things, many pressing problems with the UK housing market are a question of distribution of existing resources as much as they are a question of increasing supply

***

What do policies to address these distributional questions look like?

Lets start with the easy ones.

1. Bringing vacant homes back to use

There are a number of people who do this and the current government have made it a bit of a priority. The latch project in Leeds is a good example of how you can do this is a way that buildings skills and community.

2. Taxes on empty and second homes

Camden is one of a number of areas introducing increased taxes on both empty and second homes. The idea being that these taxes will mean it makes less economic sense to leave properties empty.

3. Supportive approaches to ‘underoccupying’

Underoccupying (the term for when there are spare bedrooms in a property) is a very controversial topic. When people have been in a property for a long time it becomes far more than a housing unit. It becomes a home. If people feel like they are being forced out of their home they will of course be highly distressed. There are lots of schemes that offer people money to move out. More could be done with this.

More daringly, Government could pro-actively support approaches such as those used by Shared Lives, where people with adult social care needs are supported to live in communities of their choice, rather than in institutions.

Equally, the Government could dramatically build upon current policies aimed to encourage people to take in lodgers.

4. Regional development

Lots of empty houses are empty because no one wants to live in them. Perhaps there are no jobs nearby, or its a neighbourhood with lots of crime, or poor schools, the list of potential reasons goes on.

There are not easy solutions to these type of problems. Various governments have struggled, with various degrees of success, with the question of how to promote economic development, especially in areas that have been negatively impacted by the decline of manufacturing jobs.

But while there are no easy solutions the current UK government seems to have completely thrown in the towel. We have a tiny ‘Regional Growth Fund’ to give grants to businesses, we have business led partnerships with almost no money or power called ‘LEPs” and we have a lot of talk and little action about directly elected mayors.

For all their talk of ‘rebalancing’ the economy, their actions seem to suggest they are mostly going to trust the free market to sort everything out.

The problem with this approach is that the free market is not so hot at sorting out any problems which relate to the unfair distribution of goods.

***

This brings us back to where we started. There is a lot of scope for policy makers and politicians to consider the ways in which the housing we currently have is distributed and not just focus on increasing the supply of new housing (as important as that is).

Phoenix is one of the best places in the US state of Arizona for retiring people to get an affordable second home. The Phoenix properties are available for a bargain price, which is well within the reach of a person nearing his retirement. Not only are the property prices low in Phoenix, the weather here is also suitable for people who have worked all throughout their lives and now want to relax after retirement. Owing to its proximity to the Sonoran Desert, the climate of Phoenix remains warm and cozy all throughout the year, which makes it an excellent venue for winter visitors who want to spend the winters away from their freezing native cities.

People nearing their retirement are always on the lookout for real estate properties that are moderately priced to serve as their second homes. If you are one such person then Phoenix is the city where you can buy real estate properties for incredibly low prices. The Phoenix real estate market is going through a rough patch at the moment and most of the prime real estate locations here are available for amazingly bargain prices. This is why many people nearing their retirement are contacting Phoenix realtors to buy these amazing Phoenix properties for extremely reduced rates.   

The Scottsdale Golf properties located in Phoenix are also a potential attraction for people nearing their retirement. As such properties are near to the Golf courses that can be found in abundance in Phoenix, they are great for people who are in love with the game of Golf. If you want to buy such properties then all you need to do is to visit your nearest Scottsdale realtor or to visit their website and you would be able to find out the best Scottsdale Golf properties in no time at all and for a very cheap price as well.

Besides having lush green Golf courses, Phoenix is home to a number of sport franchises and provides people a number of recreational opportunities that are unheard of in other cities of Arizona. People nearing their retirement would love the amount of recreational activities that they can do here in Phoenix. In addition to this, by having second homes in Phoenix, sport lovers would be able to watch their favorite sports being played in the stadiums and would be able to cheer their team on from the stands.

Buying a real estate property in Phoenix becomes an extremely hassle free job if you contact a Phoenix realtor to show you the real estate properties that are available for sale in the city. The realtor is going to give you a list of the properties whose prices are within your budget and would also take you to the property site as well so that you can make your decision more easily. Thus, if you want to buy a real estate property in Phoenix to serve as your second home then contacting a Phoenix or Scottsdale realtor is a very good option. 

In short, winter visitors who want to spend their winters in a warmer city or people who are nearing their retirement and want to live in a peaceful and pleasant atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the populated cities then buying real estate properties in Phoenix is their best available option.

    Signatures

Maureen Karpinski

Find your <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com/city/phoenix.htm>Phoenix Arizona Property</a> at Cactus Country <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com>Arizona Homes & Properties</a>

There have been a lot of inquiries about second homes and the guidelines for lending over the past few weeks, so I though I would answer that “what’s” of second home properties today!

What is a second home?

A second home can be classified as a cottage, house in the same city being bought for a son/daughter or grandparents, or a second home in the same or different city simply for just having two!

Are there a maximum amount of second homes you can have?

Well yes, a second home is suppose to only be your secondary residence. Now you can own more then one property prior to buying a second home, we just have to classify it as a different use such as rental property.

What is the maximum LTV ( Loan to value)?

The great thing about second homes is that you can put as low as 5% down. Normally if you go to your bank they will not allow this however using a broker we can secure mortgages on second homes just as we do for first homes and the rates are relatively the same. I good rule of thumb for the rate on these homes would to add 0.25% to it.

What is the maximum amortization?

As it does for first homes, the amortization length depends on the amount you put down towards the property. For a downpayment less then 20% amortization is 25 years. A downpayment of 20% or more you can get a 30 year amortization with all lenders and even go to a 35 year amortization if needed with selected lenders.

What do lenders use to qualify?

Same requirements for when you are buying your first home. Your TDS ( total debt service ratio) and GDS ( gross debt service ratio) must be in line, 40% and 38% respectively.

Things to watch out for!

•If it is a cottage lending and water source is NOT year round then lending requirements drop to 65%ltv
•If it cannot be access year round lending requirements drop to 65%ltv
•Downpayment cannot be gifted equity.
•Downpayment can be gifted from family members if year round access and water supply
•Cottage lending guidelines DO change when property is in Quebec

If you are interested in purchasing a cottage or other type of second home, give me a call at 613-259-3033. I can help you with the purchase and put you in touch with Lindsay for great financing options.

Search the Internet

The internet is your best bet for finding suitable and moderately priced real estate properties in Phoenix. There are many real estate and realtor websites available on the internet that offer people the chance to buy, sell or rent a home in Phoenix on very simple terms. All you need to do is to take a look at all of these websites and see the Phoenix properties that they are offering you as well as the price that they are demanding for them. Search out the real estate that meet your needs from the plethora of choice available there whose price is within your reach and ask the website for more details on the property. The website will notify the owner of the property about your interest and would help you in buying the property too. Thus, searching the internet is a good way of finding second homes in Phoenix in a hassle free manner.

Visit a Realtor or Real Estate Dealer Yourself

Sometimes it is best to visit a realtor or a real estate to find out about the properties on sale in your area. There are many Phoenix realtors and real estate dealers that you can visit in order to find a suitable property for investment or for living purposes in Phoenix. However, if you are looking for Scottsdale Golf Properties then visiting a Scottsdale realtor would be the right decision to make. In each case, the realtor is not only going to tell you about the recently listed properties up for sale or rent but would also arrange for you to visit the properties yourself. This would help you immensely in making your decision about buying or renting the property.  Thus, visiting a realtor or real estate dealer is also a great way of finding real estate properties on sale in Phoenix and in Scottsdale.

Newspaper Advertisements are Useful too

Newspaper advertisements too are very helpful in searching a real estate property in Phoenix. You can find out about many new real estate properties put up for sale in the ads section of the newspapers. You will find that newspaper ads provide you a great range of available real estate properties to choose from. You can even find the latest Scottsdale Golf Properties put up for sale or rent from the newspapers without having to visit any Scottsdale realtor. Thus, checking out the property ads section of newspapers can also help you in finding the a home in Phoenix or Scottsdale with relative ease.

Therefore, if you are a winter visitor who wants to spend his time in the sunny Phoenix during the winter season then keeping these tips in mind will help you in finding a suitable second home in Phoenix in no time at all

Maureen Karpinski

Find your <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com/city/phoenix.htm>Phoenix Arizona Property</a> at Cactus Country <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com>Arizona Homes & Properties</a>

“Got my ‘binders full of women’, my girls in the back”

Round two of the Presidential debateand Obama came out fighting; indeed, the President was widely believed to have edged the contest. Yet, the most memorable quote of the night was a Romney response to a question on ‘gender inequality in the workforce’; the Presidential candidate stated that his team had “taken a concerted effort to go out and find women” (slightly stalkerish). Worst still, Romney followed that by stating he brought back “whole binders full of women”; a line that sounds more suited to a Lil’ Wayne rap than a presidential debate. (It also turned out to be a lie; a bipartisan group brought Romney a list of qualified women for cabinet positions; it was never authorised by Romney himself)

So how did the US people react to this Romney gaffe? Well, they loved it;BindersFullofWomen.com and BindersfullofWomen.net were snapped up as URLs in seconds, a spoof twitteraccount was made and a tumblr one to boot. The internet went crazy; memes-galore with ones referencing Hugh Hefner, Ryan Gosling, Bill Clinton, Dirty Dancing to name a few. Even Obama got in on the action stating that he “didn’t need to order up some binders to find qualified, talented, driven young women”. Another Romney Gaffe; but he might actually get away with this one through internet hilarity.

StarBUCKS

Who does pay tax anymore? Jimmy Carr certainly doesn’t and neither does everyone’s favourite boyband product, Gary Barlow. UK-based companies Barclays, Vodafone, Topshop and Boots also go to long lengths to avoid paying money that the average UK citizen is entitled too. Now its the chance for a few US-based companies to fall under the cosh; the news last week that Facebook only paid a £238,000 tax bill in 2011 – based on profits of £175 million followed on from news that Google has only paid £6 million based on UK revenues of £395 million.

Now its Coffee giant Starbucks’ turn; the Seattle-based corporation has paid only £8.6m in the last 14 years – nothing in the last three – whilst earning sales worth over £3 billion in the UK. Just to point out;thats less than 1% corporation tax. Starbucks should be in for a roasting though after Reuters, the investigators of the sting, reported that the chain had told HM Revenue & Customs that profits were so low thus no tax was due.  Naught, naughty; (sounds like fraud to me). Technically, the company works in away so that it doesn’t make a profit; but then again, it buys its Coffee beans from the well-known coffee producing country that is…Switzerland, so maybe we need to take another look at these technicalities.

In reality, probably nothing will happen as the governments turns a blind eye. And why should it? As many tax experts have stated these activities aren’t illegal; and apparently thats okay, despite the fact that every man and women in the street pay their tax – and those that don’t would face a lengthy spell in jail. Who cares about morals then? One rule for them; one rule for us.

The British Pussy Riot?

Trenton Oldfield, the Australian man who disrupted the Oxford and Cambridge boat race as a protest against government cuts and elitism, has been jailed for six-months on grounds of public nuisance.  Yes, thats right; a man who did the boating equivalent of football streaking – just perhaps a braver version considering whats in the Thames and the high chance of being decapitated by a oar – will now be spending half a year in jail. The sentence has been widely criticised for its draconian length; the punishment looks ill-fitting for a crime which was pretty much just a young-man version of “throwing your toys out the pram” – Justin Lee Collins, after all, escaped any jail sentence despite being found guilty of harassing his girlfriend.

Many believe the harsh sentence was because his protest upset the establishment so the establishment got him back; no doubt, the very elitism that Oldfield was protesting about existed in the court that sentenced him. And, to be fair to old Trenton, his protest – while stupid – was on pretty legitimate grounds; the Oxford-Cambridge isn’t just elitism, it is the epitome of elitism. Word of warning – don’t disrepect Oxbridge.

Oh and just to confirm; Oldfield is not the British version of Pussy Riot.

Deja ‘expenses’ Vu

Oh dear; looks like MPs haven’t learnt their lesson from last time with the issue of expenses raising its ugly head again with the news that 27 MPs let out their homes whilst claiming expenses to live elsewhere, claiming as much as £20,000 a year on rent. The loophole effectively allows MPs to continue using the expenses system to their own advantage by building-up property nest-eggs on the taxpayers’ money. MPs have also been keen to use money on first-class tickets rather than sitting in standard carriages with 180 claiming such expenses; the loophole this time being that they can book first class if it cheaper than standard ‘anytime’ travel.

This story comes after the news that George Osborne refused to sit with the ‘commoners’ in standard as he refused to move from first class despite only having a standard ticket. Rumours are that he didn’t want to sit with any old riff-raff, but backed this statement up by saying he wasn’t “out-of-touch”; just that he didn’t want to get his new shoes or suit dirty. (Please note: The last bit is a guess, not an actual quote)

Viva Castro!

The former Cuban leader Fidel Castro pretty much died this week; then he came back alive – at least according to the media. On Tuesday, The Miami Herald, reported that a Venezuelan physician had said Castro had suffered an embolic stroke and that he couldn’t feed himself nor recognise anyone. Such claims were plausible; Castro has been extremely ill since 2006, hasn’t been since in public since March and hasn’t written his column “Reflections” since June. Alas, it was the forthcoming death of one of the 20th century’s last living (in)famous leaders.

That was until three days later where Fidel Castro had a meeting with the Venezuelan ex-Vice President Ellas Jaua; one five hours long. Mr Jaua even had a picture to confirm the encounter; so not dead then.

In Other News…

David Cameron & Alex Salmond have agreed to a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014; current polls indicate there is little appetite for a split in the Union.

Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate, was accused of staging a photo-op at a Ohio soup kitchen as he and his family washed pots and pans that “did not appear to be dirty”

The Oregon Supreme Court has allowed the release of 14,000 pages of internal memos, letters and other documents from the Boy Scouts of America showing decades of child molestation and sexual predators being covered up.

A bomb has killed eight people – and wounded another eighty – in a Christian neighbourhood of Beirut, creating fears that the Syrian conflict could reignite sectarian violence in Lebanon.

And Gary McKinnon, who is accused of hacking into the Pentagon, will not be extradited to the US, after Home Secretary Theresa May refused the request by the US government.

Tune in next Monday morning for your weekly political news fix…

Phoenix as the name might suggest, has a mythical aura to it and rightly so. The largest city located in the heart of Arizona is certainly one of the warmest cities in United States having a subtropical climate. Be it the average temperature of a pleasant 38 Celsius when most of other cities are freezing in the dead cold which makes it a suitable second home for any winter visitor or the varied geographical features from mountain ranges like Mc Dowell and white tank to Sonoran desert, whatever might be your reason to have chosen Phoenix as a home destination, you certainly have made a right choice.  Therefore, if you’re still wondering which Phoenix properties and Scottsdale golf properties to look out for, or which Scottsdale realtor or Phoenix realtor to choose, there are a number of options available to you. It wouldn’t be a hyperbole if someone called Phoenix the best option to go for when it comes to buying exceptionally valued second homes whether for winter visitors or for people looking for a permanent residential solution.

Housing seven of the Fortunate 500 companies and boasting one of the largest GDP’s in the country, economically Phoenix is thriving and attracts businessmen and traders alike. Even though with such a thriving economy, property rates in the region specially the Scottsdale Golf Properties are amazingly affordable.  A rich mix of people coming from all across the globes belonging to a plethora of ethnical backgrounds, Phoenix can be viewed as a mini country in itself. If you’re a performing arts fan, Phoenix is just the place for you having as many as 20 different performing arts theater and opera houses including major ones like Phoenix Symphony Hall , Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona. Phoenix art museum located at north Central Avenue in the heart of the city is one of the largest in the country. Even for cuisines, there is hardly a city that comes close to it. With a large Hispanic population and proximity to Mexico, Phoenix is the top destination for Mexican food lovers.

Housing one of the largest numbers of recreational parks, gardens and water parks there isn’t a single dull moment while you’re living in Phoenix. There are over 30 educational districts in Phoenix alone making providing the best education that your children can get and for higher education there are a very few cities that are able to compete. Leading the pack of more than 20 Universities, the Arizona State University located in Tempe and the Phoenix College are one of the oldest and most famous throughout the country. The air connectivity to the city is excellent with the tenth busiest Airport in the States i.e.  Sky Harbor International Airport  located in the center of the city. With its numerous airports and heavily branched network of railways and roadways, Phoenix is perhaps the best-connected city after New York.

In short, for whatever reason you might have chosen Phoenix as the city for you second homes you would find Phoenix a great city to live in. If you are searching through Scottsdale and Phoenix properties and are wondering which Phoenix realtor or Scottsdale realtor to contact in order to find the most bargain prices then now is the time to act as exceptional value is still available for a second home in Phoenix.

Maureen Karpinski

Find your <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com/city/phoenix.htm>Phoenix Arizona Property</a> at Cactus Country <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com>Arizona Homes & Properties</a>

Phoenix, Arizona is one of the most desirable places to live at the moment.  Situated near the Salt River and the Gila River, the city is as famous for its desert beauty as it is for its numerous sports teams and rich culture.  Since its founding in 1861 it has grown to the sixth largest city in the nation, and at the moment its population is growing thanks to the reasonable priced golf community homes located within its borders.  If you want to move to a golf community but have always been hesitant due to the high prices, there are some tips that you may want to keep in mind.

To begin with, find a good realtor.  The simple fact is that when you begin shopping for real estate on your own you’ll be at a real disadvantage.  For starters you may actually miss a few listings that aren’t really public knowledge. Additionally, your realtor will know what a fair price is in the area you’re looking for.  They’ll ensure that you find reasonable golf community homes and that you find them quickly instead of spending days or weeks trying to track them down.  And they’ll help negotiate on your behalf, as well.

Another thing to think about is obviously the various bank owned homes and foreclosures that may be on the market.  While the prices for real estate here is climbing and while the number of distressed properties is dwindling, it’s still possible to find some reasonable priced golf community homes if you know where to look.  Obviously a realtor will be able to help you find these deals as well, and locating a distressed property could help save you a tremendous amount of money and put you into your dream home before you know it.  It’s an option worth exploring.

Another thing to remember when looking for reasonable priced golf community homes is that you can usually negotiate with the seller.  While sometimes you’ll encounter a seller who simply won’t drop their price any more, in general you’ll be able to find that most are willing to accept a reasonable offer.  By the same token, don’t make the mistake of insulting the seller with a lowball offer because you could very well ruin your chances of even being able to buy the home.  Negotiations are part of most real estate deals, so don’t automatically assume that a price listed is the final one.

Finally, remember not to sell yourself short.  Most who look for reasonable priced golf community homes have a solid idea of exactly what it is they want, and finding it is easy in Phoenix.  But shopping based solely on price could lead to you only seeing or considering homes that are less than what you expect.  If you want certain amenities or a certain size or type of home, for example, you may want to consider spending a small bit more to get them.  You’re making an investment that you’ll be living in for years to come, after all.

Maureen Karpinski

Find your <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com/city/phoenix.htm>Phoenix Arizona Property</a> at Cactus Country <a href=http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com>Arizona Homes & Properties</a>

Meet with like-minded people who enjoy buying and holding or buying and selling Real Property In the Durham Region.

The DurhamREI began 2008 by with a small group of Real Estate Investors meeting informally to share problems and solutions that they were facing.

Over time the group has grown and attracts speakers, contractors and business owners interested in sharing their expertise.

If you are a Real Estate Investor or would like more information please visit the site. Durham Real Estate Investor.

Here at Mortgage Intelligence we are experienced in financing all manner of investment real estate. Talk to us about local opportunities. Use the form below to leave a comment or ask a question.

‘With EU subsidies needed just to prop up existing services, an independent Cornwall couldn’t afford to afford to buy the chair that would allow it to take a seat at UN international conferences.’

A proud Celtic nation in mind if not body, Cornwall has its own flag, its own language and even its own specific brand of hens. Proud of their beautiful coastline and lush green fields, many Cornishmen would dearly love to throw off the shackles and declare independence from their oppressors. Sadly for them, burning down the second homes of mainland English invaders is not an option, as tourism represents the county’s only non-pastry based source of income.

Many locals are determined to move towards self-rule and decide for themselves how to distribute all available economic benefit – i.e. the beach cafe’s tips tin – amongst residents.  But despite many years of fundraising efforts directed towards whipping up a set of flags (every grown-up country needs a flag), the county remains unable to stretch to colour printing.

In a bid to diversify the economy into activities which actually make money, Cornwall has tried to attract surfers to the famous waves of the county’s northern coast. Together with the large groups of resident bored teenagers, Eden Project crusties and Parkinson’s sufferers, the move has meant that any financial gains from tapping into this market have since been squandered on a burgeoning weed habit.

Having bought up virtually all of the county’s assets, Cornwall’s surfers and second-home owners flock back to the Home Counties in the autumn. They leave behind a festival of seagulls, a tired ice-cream man, and a bereft population huddling together bitterly in a single damp Scout hut which is the county’s only locally-owned building.

Facts

• AVERAGE RESIDENT INCOME (summer): £15,879
• AVERAGE RESIDENT INCOME (winter): £13
• EXPORTS: Pasties
• IMPORTS: Nasties
• TERRAIN: Golden and crusty, thanks to brush of egg yolk
• LOWEST POINT: Forced to busk in Devon to get enough money to buy surfboard
• OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: English, Cornish, Pretending to speak Cornish
• WHAT IT’LL DO WHEN IT ACHIEVES SELF-RULE: Mass mooning along the Tamar

History

750 BC – Tin is discovered in Cornwall. Rich seams of the metal remain untapped until somebody tracks down a tin-opener.

838 AD – Cornish and Danish allies are defeated in battle by King Egbert and chief advisor Humpty Dumpty.

11th Century – Cornwall demonstrates its progressive attitude by experiencing a sharp decline in traditional industries more than 800 years before they die in the rest of Britain.

1497 – Cornish rebels rise up against war taxes levied by Henry VII. Despite gathering together an army of over 15,000 to march on Devon, the tired fighters are turned back in under two hours by the King waving a rolled-up newspaper.

1602 – Richard Carew observes an early form of rugby being played in Cornwall. The game displays many features of the modern sport, including an oval-shaped ball and the pushing of one’s face into the buttocks of the man in front.

1946 – Panic grips Whitehall after the Government forgets it left the Crown Jewels in Bodmin for safekeeping during World War II.

1967 – Supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the western coast of Cornwall in the world’s first major oil spill disaster. Authorities ill-equipped to handle the disaster try to contain damage to the coastline by using the absorbent seabirds as wipes.

1981 – Apologising for an administrative error, NATO asks Cornwall to return the membership card it accidentally sent.

2007 – Responding to a challenge from an old schoolfriend, Conservative Party leader David Cameron appoints Mark Prisk MP as Shadow Minister for Cornwall to win a bet.

Did You Know?

Invented by tin miners as a portable lunch they could safely carry to work without ingesting poisonous mine dust, an authentic Cornish pasty contains lamb, potatoes, turnip, apples, custard, more lamb, curd, alabaster, stones, and poisonous mine dust.

Born in Penzance, Humphrey Davy was one of the foremost scientists of his generation. Davy was also a frequent user of laughing gas, a habit which unfortunately led many at the Royal Society to misinterpret his hilarious lecture on the poisonous effects of chlorine.

In May 2007, Penzance man Tony Wright broke the world sleep deprivation record, going without rest for over 11 days. In interviews, Tony explained that the ability to stay awake without any motivation for doing so was an important part of growing up in Penzance.

Saint Piran, who arrived on the Cornish peninsula from Ireland in the early 6th century, was made patron saint of Cornwall after being made redundant from his previous job as patron saint of tin miners.

Current estimates put the number of people fluent in Cornish at approximately 300, a figure so low even Klingon speakers laugh.

We made an arrangement with a realtor in Atami to see two properties in besso areas and one in town. We got off at Izu Taga station on the Ito Line and were immediately entranced by the quaint leafy charm of the place. We walked down the steep hill to Nagahama beach. It was a blazing hot day and we were already drenched in sweat when we reached the realtor’s office, which is right across national road 135 from the beach. The agent who would be our guide had prepared floor plans for the three properties. The one in town we had just found the night before and he had only read our email that morning, so he didn’t have a key. His company was not the main realtor for any of the houses, though it did have them on its listings. He had obtained the keys for the two besso but would have to retrieve the other one from a different realtor if we wanted to see the interior. We said we’d look at the exterior first and then decide, since it was on the way to the first besso property.

The drive was quite instructive. Izu is mountainous, and the roads through this part of Atami were narrow and winding. We were interested in the one town property because it was only ¥5.9 million and had a view of the ocean. It was quite old but far enough above sea level to be out of harms way if ever a huge tsunami hit the area. Getting to it involved a lot of maneuvering in the realtor’s spanking new Prius, and there was no parking space. It was an interesting house, two stories shoehorned onto a 64-square-meter plot of land located on a kind of dogleg corner. From the outside it would obviously need a great deal of work but we were intrigued, more by the location than anything else. The agent called his office to have somebody pick up the key.

We then drove up to the first besso area, called Green Hill, which is an understatement. The ads on the various portal sites say the house is two kilometers from Ajiro station on the Ito Line, but we assume that’s two kilometers if you’re a crow. We drove for about fifteen minutes up grades that tested 15-20 percent in some stretches, and then once we reached the residential area had to meander through narrow roads laid out like randomly strewn spaghetti. The agent provided a constant flow of information that was more entertaining than the usual sales pitch. He told us about the celebrities who lived in the area (“the late songwriter Aku Yu had a large second home over there, but since he died his family has had trouble unloading it, even for ¥40 million”) and confided that his company didn’t deal much with weekend people. We finally arrived at the property, a two-story house with 78 square meters of floor space on a 247-square meter piece of land. It was in the middle of what could have been any other housing development in Japan except for one startling feature: the view. You could see the Pacific prominently in the distance. There was nothing blocking the view, mainly because many of the lots on the block were empty. Given that the house was originally built in 1969 this seemed strange, but more on that later. The house had been bought from the family of the previous owner, a man who had recently died but whose main home was in an expensive neighborhood in Shibuya, by another real estate company that was half-heartedly fixing it up. We didn’t have to take our shoes off because the floors were covered with vinyl protectors. The first floor consisted of a large LDK area with sliding glass doors to the south and the east. There was also a bathroom and a six-mat washitsu with moldy tatami. An incongruous bannister-less stairway led up to the second floor, which consisted of a small room with beautiful old-fashioned wooden sashes and a roka (hallway) that extended along the south side from which you could enjoy a panorama of the ocean in the distance. Behind it was another washitsu, this one with eight mats.

We liked the house and, given the amount of work already underway, thought the ¥8.5 million price tag was reasonable. But the drive up had already convinced us this was not our kind of place. We don’t have a car at present and though we would consider owning one under certain conditions, we also want to be within some manageable distance from stores and other amenities. Any need for supplies would have to be met with a long, treacherous drive down the hill, and as for getting to and from the station, it would have been a big pain in the ass. This, we immediately realized, is what besso living pretty much is all about.

We asked about the management fee, and it turned out to be only ¥20,000 a year, which is very cheap. But then, as we could see, the area was pretty cheap, too. As mentioned above, there weren’t many houses on the block, despite its spectacular view. The plot directly north of the property we inspected looked as if it used to have a house on it, but now there was only a large tool shed. Apparently, even a shed qualifies as a “structure” for property tax purposes (you pay more for land zoned for residences if it remains vacant), and whoever owned it was still hoping he or she could sell it for what he paid for it. That wasn’t going to happen, at least not on Green Hill. The agent offered to explain this situation with a tour of the other side of the hill, called Minami Atami, which was quite different. Many people in the 1980s had bought land on Green Hill strictly for investment purposes. Not only did the land never gain value, but people stopped buying property for second homes. The place just stagnated. Anyone with money went to the other side of the hill. There, the properties were all upscale, attached to the side of the hill as if by bolts. He told us that Izu was developed as a vacation residence region in the 1960s by two developers, Tokyu and Seibu. Tokyu mainly developed this side of Izu, from Atami down to Shimoda, and even built a railroad, Izu Kyuko, to service its customers. Seibu stuck to the other side of the peninsula, starting from around Mishima and working south. By the bubblicious 80s properties in Minami Atami were going for as much as ¥200 million, and even though their value had dropped by more than half since then, the area was still touted as a luxury second-home paradise. As we snaked our way down the hill we marveled at the engineering, large, awkwardly cantilevered structures jutting out into the air or clinging like vines to woody grades, with parking spaces carved out of rock and long, treacherous wooden staircases connecting them to front doors. Obviously, this was not a place for old people, and the agent said that was exactly the problem. He waved and silently snickered at fellow realtors who were still selling properties to rich folk. His company didn’t do that. They dealt with natives who felt squeezed out and had no interest in living among the hills. They scrambled for every inch of level ground, which was rare and precious. That’s why land prices were still relatively high in town.

After picking up the key to the house in town we drove along the coast for another fifteen minutes, talking about the real estate business in general. He was always amazed when he looked at the papers for a new property and found that it was being used to back so many different loans. He couldn’t understand why a loan company would accept a worthless property as collateral when it had already been used for collateral for the other loans the person was trying to pay off with the new one he was trying to get. “What are all these companies going to do? Divide the house up between them?” It took us even longer to find the next property, which, again, was supposedly two kilometers from the train, in this case Usami Station. This one was located on a dead end street with a few houses on it, but the vacant lots were so overgrown they resembled jungles. The house was a bungalow with a small kitchen-dining area, two parallel rooms, and a south-facing deck that looked out over the ocean, though there was less of it to see because of all the overgrowth. The house to the west was only a few meters away. The photos we’d seen on the portal site had completely misrepresented the house, making it look rustic and cozy. Up close it was cheap and makeshift. In fact, there were three modes of electrical outlets in the house, as if it had been built during three separate industrial eras.

We returned to the house on the dogleg corner we had seen earlier and opened it up. The place hadn’t had air in it for a long time and the smell of mold was overwhelming. At first we liked it for the possibility it held. With new floors and walls, the first floor might be comfortable. It had two large windows that looked south and east, and the ocean was visible from the living room, but also anyone who happened to be walking along the street. The bath was tiny and we wondered how much it would cost just to remove it and install a shower. But then we went to the second floor. The layout was fine and the large windows let in a lot of light in the two rooms, but the heat was stifling. We once lived in a house with a metal roof, and you couldn’t stay on the second floor for more than an hour or so in the summertime. This felt like the same thing, and replacing a roof is a very expensive task. The price was ¥5.9 million, which is good for this part of town, but after talking it over with the agent we figured we’d have to sink another 8 or 9 million to make it habitable. It wasn’t worth it. We trudged back up the hill to the train station and realized we had hardly even thought about earthquakes.

Just ask celebrities, from Taylor Swift to Naomi Campbell, several famous folks who escape their crazy schedules with the aid of a countryside or beach retreat.

So why not take a cue from the world’s most experienced vacation-home shoppers? From Nantucket to St. Barts, these relaxing destinations are practically begging to become your second address.

What would be your dream destination for a second home? Tell us in the comments!

Are there any, besides AirBnB, that is?

Well, we recently rented a lovely spot which we heard about through a neighborhood listserv that caters to local parents. In fact, it said right in their write-up that they’d rented almost exclusively to fellow Brooklyn parents. They didn’t need to bother buying a spot on any HomeAway sites. (Although it can’t hurt to pop your place in our Classifieds section for free.)

That got us wondering what other creative ways there are to market your vacation house for rent in upstate New York. Make it a website — that’s one idea. But where else and how else can you spread the word?

Dolphin Cove, 65 Lands End Dr. Destin, FL 32541

Beach Front- 4 Bedroom, 3 Baths – Bonus Room

$1,699,000

Come see this great Beach Front home in Destin Point. 

Call today to see this home before its gone.

Log Cabins Have Come A Long Way!

So you’re looking for a Steamboat Springs’ home that’s not too big, but not too small, close to downtown, but not right on or too close to Lincoln Avenue, you love to cook and crave a home with warmth and character, and would ideally love a yard with a water feature and perhaps an area for outside entertaining.

Look no further than 197 Hill Street in Old Town Steamboat Springs . Only blocks away from downtown yet seemingly miles from anything urban, since it’s surrounded by aspens and evergreens. That water feature you’d love to have if possible, well that would be Butcherknife Creek running along the property. There’s nothing like the sound of a bubbling creek to relax by, or when the urge strikes, cast a line into. Walk to town in minutes or jump in your car and be at the Steamboat Ski Mountain in less than 10 minutes. Location is everything, and you’ll have everything you need at 197 Hill Street in downtown Steamboat Springs.

Here’s what’s behind the beautiful exterior that gives a whole new meaning to “curbside appeal” – first impressions are just the start of what awaits:

* Gourmet Kitchen

* 3 Bedrooms and 3.5 Baths

* Open Floorplan

* Timber-Frame Craftsmanship utilizing 150 year old Rock Elm Timbers

* Large Patio Overlooking Exquisite Landscaping

* European Windows and Geo-Thermal Heating

At 197 Hill Street, you’ll find the perfect home in a majestic setting. Fully embrace and enjoy all that Steamboat Springs offers, then come home to your mountain paradise that’s just minutes away, but seemingly hours apart from the thriving world-class “Ski Town USA” you call home.

Let’s see what we’ve got at the bottom of the barrel.  First up, an adorable, tiny cabin on Panther Kill Road in Phoenicia:

The listing may be overstating things somewhat with “enchanting,” but it’s certainly button-cute.  A woodsy location off Woodland Valley Drive, convenient to central Phoenicia and the Esopus, it’s got its own scenic creek.

Seems perhaps a little dear at $99k on just half an acre, but your mileage may vary.  If you’re intent on the area, this looks pretty turnkey – the realtor even offers a detailed rental history for those looking to defray costs.

34 Pantherkill Road (Village Green) GMAP
Price: $99,000
Beds: 1
Baths: 1.5
Square Feet: 400
Year Built: 1950
Taxes: $5,632
Acreage: 0.50
Features: Creekside, rental history

Next is a property I saw in person two years ago, when I followed a hand-lettered cardboard sign down a tiny road south of the Ahokan Reservoir.

Okay, yeah, no.  It’s not cute.  Except in kind of an ugly-puppy-at-the-pound kind of way.  But in person it was surprisingly palatable – I found myself thinking “if this was cheap enough, it would be totally liveable as a low key weekender.”

It’s up to you to decide if $47,500 constitutes “cheap enough.”  I’m guessing not quite yet.  It advertises a nice 3 acres, but that doesn’t take into account a precipitous dropoff that renders 2/3 of the land unbuildable.  And, at least as of two years ago, the across-the-street neighbors like to store stuff in their yard.  Lots of stuff.  There is a camping trailer on site, which would usually be catnip for me, but this one is a haul-away.

Still, the location is stunning, the “corporate owner” is offering seller financing, and it’s under $50k.

6 Birch Knoll Ln (Daniel Winn) GMAP
Price: $47,500
Beds: 2
Baths: 1
Taxes: $5,710
Year Built: 1970
Acreage: 3.0

The question of affordable lakefront property has been raised this week.  Five Figure Fridays would like to submit:

A 1.2 acre parcel that owns the south end of Pinebush Lake in Pine Bush, for just $30,000.  Drop in an $80,000 weeHouse Studio and you’re lakefront for just a little over our $100k threshold.

All right, if I’m being honest, Pinebush Lake looks a little… swampy.  Pond-ish, perhaps.  And of the listed 1.2 acres, it looks like a good 1/2 of it is actually lake.  But if you want lakefront for cheap, 90 minutes outside Manhattan, this may be worth a look.

Forest Glen Road (Cherrytown) GMAP
Price: $30,000
Acreage: 1.2

Last, and definitely least (appealing), we have a Five Figure Fridays first – a property that is being featured as a cautionary tale of what a bad idea low-priced real estate can be:

Actually pretty decent, right?  I know, it looks modestly promising.  Nice woods, cute cabin, secluded setting…  listing says “IN NEED OF A FIX ME UP.”  Hmm, okay, then again it’s only $19,900 so there’s headroom.  “TARP ON PART OF ROOF.”  Uh-oh.  I wonder if there’s been damage.

Yup, there’s been damage.  The moldy roof has fallen in.  Well, if it’s just in one spot, maybe it’s okay.  As long as it’s not all through the whole house.

It’s through the whole house.  I’m starting to itch just looking at these pictures.  But, even if the whole thing needs gutting, maybe the foundation is solid, right?

Ah-ha.  I see.  I guess not, then.  With hilariously expressive capitalization, the listing eventually fesses up: “WOULD MAKE A GREAT LOCATION FOR A NEW CABIN as this one may need to come down.”

You don’t say.

When all is said and done, you’re left with a single acre for almost $20k, with almost $6k in yearly taxes and a moldy demolition project.  Sometimes, saving money just doesn’t seem worth it.

48 Pine Grove Road (via Zillow) GMAP
Price: $19,900
Bedrooms: 2*
Bathrooms: 1*
Square feet: 900
Acreage: 1.0
Taxes: $5,904
Features: Unlimited DIY experience!

* – not habitable

This time we went to Nikko proper. In fact, the first place we looked at was a ten-minute walk from Nikko Station. The fact that is was only ¥5 million will give you an idea of the condition it was in, but from the photos on the realtor’s website it looked salvageable. Obviously, at that price we were essentially buying the land. The house was built in the early 70s, though the second floor was a later addition.

We met the agent about a block from the property. He had taken the train up from Tokyo and rented a car, since he would be showing us another property a little further out of town. The house was located next to a makeshift parking lot to the west. To the north there was plenty of space between the house and its neighbor and the garden was located to the east; beyond it was nothing. So on three sides there was a lot more room than you might expect from this part of town, which was residential in a pleasantly diverse way. Unfortunately, as with almost all Japanese buildings, the house “faced” south, and there was barely three meters between it and its neighbor. This is unfortunate because all the windows looked out on the wall of the house next door. Since the kitchen and bathroom are always located in the north portion of a Japanese house there were no windows on that side and for some reason there were no windows to the east either. The genkan was located on the west side. So that meant the only light would come from the south, and it didn’t look like much was going to make it into the house itself.

It was in even worse shape than we thought. The agent told us the owners had only left less than six months ago, but it was difficult to believe anyone could live in such a decrepit building: moldy tatami, peeling laminate floors and paneling, buckled cabinets in the kitchen. The second floor add-on consisted of two rooms that smelled as if someone had died in them. Any renovations would cost upwards of ten million, though the place really needed to be torn down. That would cost about a million, and then a new house would run another 15 probably. The location was good, but that was too much work.

We then drove up to the next property, which was in a besso area in the mountains east of the city. Though it wasn’t far as the crow flies, it was located along a steep road. Snow was still abundantly on the ground up there, and the agent had trouble finding the entrance to the development, whose houses were scattered along private roads, meaning they hadn’t been plowed. The Aqua he had rented performed admirably albeit slowly as we climbed the hill past vaction houses closed up for the winter. We felt bad about asking him to take us here. If we’d known it was so remote and that snow was still thick on the ground we wouldn’t have. He had to park in the middle of the street, which was no problem since there was no one else using it. Then we had to plod to the house, which was perched on a rise. It was a typical vacation home: compact, simple. It wasn’t quite as bright as we had expected, and though the walls and floors were wood, the bedroom was tatami, and the winter dampness seemed to have made the mats slightly moldy. It also had a curious attic-loft with the most dangerous ladder contraption we’d ever seen. The agent said the owners were an older couple who lived in Tokyo and found it troublesome to come up here any more. It was trouble for us just to try to get into the loft, so I imagine they never even used it, unless they had grandchildren. In any case, it was quite impractical, even as a second house.

The agent drove us back to town and we had to kill time until our appointment with a different agent to see two more properties. We walked around the residential part of town, and then the tourist part and whatever image we had formed of Nikko from past visits dissolved as we got a closer look. Of course, most tourist towns in Japan are mostly cheap veneer, though we had thought Nikko was different. It wasn’t. Most of the older houses in town that weren’t on the main drag had not been kept up by their owners. The only halfway decent properties we saw were relatively new prefab houses that would probably look terrible in ten years’ time. The only thing you could say about central Nikko is that anywhere you were you had a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains. Unfortunately, you also had a view of your neighbors.

The second agent was a local guy who worked out of a shack near the river. He also happened to the head of the local organization that administers fishing licenses and we had to wait for a meeting of the officers to finish. Unlike the previous agent, he lived here year-round, and drove a big Range Rover that had no problem with snow. Again, we went up the hill to see the two remaining properties, both of which were fairly new and priced within our range.

The first one was an all-wood, one-story house in a development managed by Tobu, which means you have to pay Tobu a yearly fee (¥18,000 for land only; ¥55,000 for land and house). The house was well-laid out but even though is was only about ten years old the interior was already in disrepair. Winters, it turns out, are as harsh up here as anywhere, and the laminate floors needed care and the kitchen refurbishing. Again, though there were lots of windows the place felt dark and dismal. These owners were also older, lived in Tokyo, and had grown to find the trip up a burden. It was some kind of pattern. Or a sign.

The second house was down the hill a ways and a bit larger. It was two floors, but the second floor was just for storage. Based on the floor plan we saw on the Internet, this was the property we were most interested in. Configured in an L-shape, the building wrapped around a small garden with a view down the hill. Unfortunately, the interior was in even worse disrepair than the previous house. We stayed hardly five minutes, and the agent, though courteous, knew right from the start we weren’t interested at all. When we returned to his shack we asked, out of habit, if he wanted us to fill out a questionnaire, which is the usual procedure after house inspections so that the agent can do follow-up. He looked at us and shrugged. Why bother? Why indeed.

Situated along the beautiful beaches of Walton County on Scenic Highway 30A, this bucolic hamlet is one of  the “New Urbanist” developments from renowned town planners Duany Plater Zyberk. I visited last week and was stretching to remember when the now-dense town consisted of one lone carriage house (designed by our friend and future town architect, Richard Gibbs) surrounded by vast acres of native scrub. That was over 15 years and hundreds of houses ago. Today the development is a vibrant, bustling coastal village teeming with resort activity.

We’ve had the privilege of designing 15 homes in the Village, ranging from Gulf front estates to humble carriage houses. Providence even favored us with three commissions in a row along the town’s Eastern Green. Given the small lot configurations and strict design restrictions, each house was an exercise in problem solving. The main design challenge with these type homes is fitting 10 pounds of program efficiently in 5 pound bags. Market in resort areas dictates getting as much into as little as possible. That’s been part of the fun of it, I suppose. Solving the “needs” puzzle all the while coloring within the lines. Oh, and it has to be stunning to boot.

While the guidelines of Rosemary Beach are indeed strict, they do allow the architect to have diverse and creative stylistic interpretations. Therefore, all the homes we’ve designed here intentionally differ in appearance and feel. They’re like characters at a crowded shindig, each with a unique personality and something of value to add to the mix.

So, if you’re looking for a stylish, dynamic and beautiful vacation spot this Summer (or any time of the year), check out this casual beach party. You’ll be glad you came.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/be-it-a-vacation-home-future-retirement-home-or-home/article_5d51793d-2977-502f-ab31-46b3d9941a38.html#ixzz1op9qgMpL