We have a House...on the Beach

St. George Island! Gorgeous views...right on beach!  Anxious Seller!

What a great time to buy a second home property right?  It depends on who you ask and what day.  Although home prices have dropped dramatically, there are still some hurdles to get through:

Banks. Just because they have money now, doesn't mean they are lending it to you.

Interest rates are historically low...if you can get approved for a loan.  Yes, the bar for getting a second or third mortgage has been raised.  Income? Assets? Banks are less likely than, say 2006, to just take your word for it. Cash flow is king, if you are only a paper tiger with non-liquid assets, it might be too risky.  A loss of a job or income stream, for only a few months, could paint you into a desperate corner.  And there you'll be- in those new white canvas beach shoes, in a corner, with red paint- yes, literally and figuratively- all around.  What a mess!

Are you buying for an investment?  

Really? Then you, sir, are an optimist!  Much more likely, we'll see real estate prices slowly approach their mid-2000 price levels, over the next 30 years.  Thirty years from now will, at least, put you into your retirement years.  So, is this purchase for your kids? And in that period of time, there will sure to be some trials and tribulations in the marketplace.  One thing I will never forget about the financial markets from this experience is that the smartest people in the world didn't see this whole mess coming.  And if anyone did, they were not influential enough to matter or make a difference.  Won't be that last time that happens...

Will you really use it?

Most Americans get about 3 weeks of vacation per year and use even less than that. Even a long weekend is not without its challenges.  In our situation in the Northeast, leaving work early on a Friday still requires catching 2 flights to finally make it to Panama City or Tallahassee. Then renting a car and a 1 to 2 hour drive to the beach.  With luck, and remembering the house key, you are there by midnight. 

A nameless financial planner says, "I would rather see you two rent the nicest house on the island for 2 weeks every year, than even own a sandy lot in Florida." He has a point.

Can you handle someone else using your place when you're not?


Your answer to that question makes a lot of these others easier to answer.  Why not use and treat your new place as income property?

                                         Avg yearly                                                % weeks rented
Property Value   Mortgage/Tax/Ins/Utility   Avg. Rent/Week   25%    50%     75% 
$100,000                     $11,100                     $1,000        $12,000  $24,000  $36,000
$250,000                     $16,400                     $1,500        $18,000  $36,500  $54,000
$500,000                     $27,600                     $2,000        $24,000  $48,000  $72,000

These are rough numbers here, this is intended to get you thinking about some options.  I'm figuring that you will use this place 4 weeks per year including family/friends.  The remaining 48 weeks are to be filled with rentals.
If you can't manage the rentals yourself, then reduce rentals by 10%, a typical fee for a management company.  Interesting development here, isn't it?  In a couple of these scenarios, just renting the house only 12 weeks a year could offset most of the yearly costs, before taxes.  24 weeks will give you a nice cushion and 36 weeks some serious income!  Pay down the remainder of the mortgage or use the income to finance similar deals down the beach.  Beach House Bonanza...or Boondoggle, it's all in how you manage it.

Distressed properties and vacant sandy lots


As mentioned above, if you are faced with a situation where real estate values will be depressed for the longterm, you aren't buying for the appreciation.  What can you do to improve your situation?

"Pay as little as you can, as late as you can"

People who can't wait- pay more. People who don't negotiate (or want to)- pay more.  In fact, these could very well be the people who will be selling you their beach place!  We haven't had this kind of situation in housing before.  Banks are sitting on multiple properties, owners are struggling with second mortgage payments or trying to get the greenlight from their banks for a "short sale".  Add in the usual divorce and estate settlements, increased job layoffs...and you find yourself in a world of distressed property.

Every property will have it's own story and most likely a different bank to work with.  The downside is that there will be some hoops to jump through, but the upside is that you can get an undervalued property compared to the going rates today.  And in my mind, if I just paid 33% less than the already reduced property values, then I start ahead.

Undeveloped lots.  I've been intrigued, I admit.  An undeveloped lot is inspiring and usually inexpensive. Although I could sub-contract the work and build cheaper than a developer, I still will have too much of my cash involved too long in the deal.  In fact, the banks require you to have your fingers deep in the pie for a construction loan. Say no.

Just like most things, there are a lot more details to cover before purchasing any large dollar item. There could be advantages in creating a corporation, available housing tax credits, even energy rebates for renovations. A tax professional, financial planner, real estate lawyer and realtor would all be great places to start your planning.

NASA Announces New Spacecraft- Haven't We Seen this Before?

"Blackbird" Old, Retired Spy Plane

+

400 million year old design

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New Tax Dollar Expenditure

London (CNN) -- It started as just a cost saving idea: Old aluminum and titanium parts from a retired spy plane roasting in the Arizona, U.S. desert, combined with the remains of a deep sea squid found washed up on the beach at Snaggletooth-on-Surreyshire in Hampstead. It now looks like this smelly composite will be the next leap forward in Space exploration. 

NASA's space shuttle Discovery has completed its final mission, with Endeavour and Atlantis following it into retirement later this year.

It marks the end of a historic chapter in space travel, but a new one might not be light years away if a groundbreaking design for a fully reusable, partially edible, spacecraft can get off the ground.

"Blacktopus" may only be at the concept stage but it could usher in a new era of space exploration and discovery, says its UK-based designers, the Goosepimple Pre-School and Day Care, of Lardon on Hummucksrump.

Key to the "Blacktopus" proposal is a hydrogen fuel-powered rocket engine called HFPRE (Hydrogen Fuel-Powered Rocket Engine) designed by the Pre-School's managing director, Mr.Quackenshrub.

HFPRE, which Quackenshrub first described back in the early 1980s, is a "combined cycle rocket engine with two operational modes- upper atmosphere and deep underwater. The rocket engines are powered solely using 100% baking soda and Menthos candy, materials which are easily found in department and drug stores, sometimes stores like a 7-eleven, but definitely stores like a Wal-Mart or Safeway...but not Macy's".

Mark Calamarian, future programs director at Happy Faces Fingerpainting, said: "The engine starts by burning hydrogen with pixie dust and finishes up burning hydrogen with liquid oxygen like a shuttle engine."

It's a very doable system. The basics of the engine are thoroughly rooted and explored, so there is no danger they aren't going to work
--Mark Calamarian, Goosepimple Day Care

RELATED TOPICS

Sandwich Making

PlayDough Extrusions

This all happens in the same rocket engine chamber, Hempsell says, allowing Skylon to take off and land in a similar way to conventional aircraft, unlike NASA's shuttles and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Ariane five rocket, which need expensive disposable rocket boosters to propel them into orbit.

Hempsell says the idea is to carry rock stars, satellites and Lindsay Lohan for the International Space Station Tours and Hotel Company, but he also envisages "Blacktopus" -- which is around 90 meters long and can transport payloads of up to 12 tons -- supporting future missions to the moon and Mars.

It's tough out there!

"Felon Jobs- Jobs for Felons  $15-$98 per hour"

This just in from Google...more employment ads,  but this time for felons!  Felon jobs- jobs for Felons. Just when you thought you had enough competition out there, now it's the felons cutting in front.

What is a felon job?  "Hey honey, says here somebody is needed to rob the old branch bank on Church Street...$18/hour.  Maybe if I can create a hostage situation, it could take 18-24 hours...".

And check out their proposed wages- up to $98/hour?  That's $200k+, about what they were making before they became felons.  And who's gonna tell them that they have to give back about 1/3 to the government?  Not me!

OK, I know you're thinking it:  Wonder what the job application looks like?  I guess we can dispense with the usual question #8, "Have you ever been convicted of a Felony?".  That's right out the window.  What we really need to know is the answer to the new question 8: "How bad was it?"   Can there be a good felony?  Think fast man!  This guy is going to have the parking spot next to yours.  What are you going to do the day he swings his door out too far and smacks your ride?  Or he grabs your lunch "by mistake" again.  Or worse...and my fingers sweat as I type this:  What if you catch him red-handed running the copier out of paper..and walking away? Interesting scenarios play out in the mind.

Yes, I've had some fun with this, but to slow the snark on this subject- you really shouldn't continue to punish someone who's completed their debt to society.  If it's not a matter of personal or personelle safety, hire them.  They will appreciate the opportunity and you might have just made a great longterm hire.  Although, at $98/hour, you might want to start them part time.

My Review of RadioShack® Professional Weather Station

Originally submitted at RadioShack

Stay on top of the weather with this Professional Weather Station from RadioShack.

RadioShack® Professional Weather Station

Entry Level Internet Weather Station

By PoJo Station from Saratoga Springs, NY on 1/13/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Works well out of the box, Allows multiple sensors, Least expensive station, Easy hardware setup

Cons: Backlight won't remain on, No WiFi for output

Best Uses: CWOP station, WunderGround Station, Neighborhood Weather

Describe Yourself: Midrange Shopper

This is the least expensive station that will get you running on Weather Underground. You can also use this station to be a weather reporter for CWOP as well as your local TV stations. As mentioned earlier, download the free Weather Station Data Logger software from the internet. The 'free' software included with your station won't let you upload your weather data unless $ is exchanged.
Use your WSDL software to calibrate your sensors by using local benchmarks such as airports. Check out our weather station on wunderground: KNYSARAT12

Southern Adirondacks

Tags: Saratoga internet weather, Using Product

(legalese)

Wunderground's Newest Weather Reporters- PoJo Station!

"When weather breaks, we fix it!"
Polly and I are big fans of Weather Underground. My good friend Leon introduced me to the site years ago and it's been my goto place for local weather ever since. Wunderground, as it is also known, is very innovative and open, allowing you to customize your weather information to your mobile phones, websites and blogs.

And, since they aren't owned by a big media conglomerate, there's a friendly, calmness to their site. One of the most interesting features of Weather Underground is the ability to select weather reports from Personal Weather Stations (PWS). These stations are run by individuals, businesses, schools, and local governments. I've always wanted to be a Wunderground weather station, so this year, Polly and my Mom got me started with the equipment needed to do just that!  So check us out- we are station KNYSARAT12 broadcasting from Saratoga's historic west side, 24/7!

My Lyme Disease Story

I was bitten by a tick in May of 2009. It was a very small tick, no more than a couple of millimeters big. When I found it embedded onto my thigh, it must have been there for at least 24 hours. Being so small, it could have been there longer. After pulling out the tick and making sure every part of him was removed, I put some Neosporin on the bite area and went about my business.

Being an outdoorsy person, ticks weren't something to worry about. Usually, they would telegraph their presence with their slow, ponderous walk up your arm or leg. If you were outdoors, you'd simply flick them off. If you were indoors, you'd find a creative way to dispose of them. In the outdoors, you are much more concerned with keeping mosquitos and black flies at bay.

After about 3-4 weeks of my tick bite, I noticed some redness around the old bite mark area. A few days after that, I got the familiar "bullseye" rash known as EM (Erythema Migrans). Some people report no pain with this rash, but that was not the case with mine. The ring areas of the rash were very painful and walking was a little delicate. Our neighbor, an RN at an area hospital, suggested I make an appointment with my primary care physician.

With my story of a previous tick bite and the resulting EM rash, my doctor made a quick diagnosis of possible Lyme disease. A victim of Lyme himself, he prescribed a 2 week long regimen of 200mg Doxycycline 2x/day. Additionally, he ordered some standard blood tests, including the Western blot test for Lyme Disease antibodies. He noted that if the Lyme Disease test came back positive, I would likely be getting a call from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), as they would be collecting data for Lyme infections in our area.

After the 2 week antibiotic treatment period, the EM rash was gone and I was feeling well. I had not received a call about test results, so I placed a call to my doctor who told me that my Lyme test had come back "equivocal". He said that was not unusual, since the treatment could have started before Lyme had become fully engaged in the body.

"Oh well", I thought. At least I was feeling good again. And, I had taken on the dreaded Lyme Disease and could cross that one off my life list!

In late October of 2009, I started a remodel project on our upstairs bath. It was a total renovation down to the studs and joists. It required a lot of physical effort- hauling out the demo'd flooring and wall materials, as well as bringing the new building materials upstairs. I noticed that my knees were starting to hurt at the end of the day, so I started wearing knee pads when working on the subfloor and plumbing. It helped mask the pain, but at night, the pain was steadily increasing.

In early November, the knee pain had moved to the backs of both knees. There was also a shooting pain up the tendons on the side of my knees when I knelt down. I was thinking that maybe I was twisting my legs somehow as I slept. One night, when I woke up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break, I started shivering. By the time I made it back to the bed, even my teeth were chattering! These chills would come every couple of weeks or so, but I kept explaining it all away in my head.

By end of December, I've resigned that something is going on. It's harder to walk, I've lost interest in any more home improvement projects, feel very tired and wake up in cold sweats at night.

In early January, I'm now running a low fever during the day. My knee joints have completely swollen up. There are "hotspots" of red swelling that seem to move around my knee joints. These spots have moved onto the top of my feet, so now my feet have limited motion. My legs don't fit into my skinny jeans and I struggle putting on my socks and shoes. I can't walk. My wife moves our bedroom to the downstairs bedroom so that I can avoid steps.

A warm, red spot about the size of a golf ball appears on the top of my right hand by my ring finger. Within 2 hours, that spot feels as though it has been hit by a hammer! I spend my time researching my symptoms on the internet to find what it could be. My wife says, "I think it's your Lyme disease- it's back!" The next day, that spot moves over to the top of my right wrist and my right hand swells up like a club! That's it! I make an appointment with my primary care doctor for that same day.

Knowing my previous history with Lyme and the asynchronous joint swelling symptoms I am experiencing, my doctor says I'm exhibiting the symptoms of late stage Lyme Disease. The doctor says it could also be my body staging a delayed autoimmune response to some antibodies related to the treated Lyme. He prescribes 2 months of Doxycycline 2x/day. He also orders another round of blood tests including a standard Lyme test. He recommends OTC NSAID's for swelling and fever relief. I start taking 800mg of Ibuprofen 3x/day. The doctor says, "If you feel any worse, go ahead and go to the emergency room- I'll catch up with you there." As I'm going to the pharmacy to pick up my "Doxy", I'm thinking that I haven't looked so forward to filling a prescription in a long time!

In the days after starting my antibiotics, I see my temperature soar to 102.4 degrees at times during the day. Nighttime is a horror of sweats and chills- I sleep on top of beach towels so that I can change them out during the night. I dread having to go to bed.

3 days after the blood tests, we find out the Lyme test has returned negative. My doctor calls and says, "I diagnosed based on your symptoms, but now I don't have a basis for the treatment that I prescribed. I'm referring you to a colleague of mine who is an infectious disease specialist."

The specialist orders a full range of blood work. I've never had so many viles taken at once- 7! One of the tests ordered...can you believe it...is another Lyme test. She says that Lyme disease is seen in our geographic area year 'round now. Ticks can be active during an early thaw or milder winter. You can also encounter them in the firewood that you split, stack and haul into your warm home. I saw where this was going. "Do you think I was bitten a second time by a tick?" She said it was possible, the bullseye rash that is such a dead giveaway only shows itself in some cases. She said it could also be secondary or advanced stages of the prior Lyme infection. There is not yet a lot of empirical data on this disease- even the CDC says the standard blot test for Lyme disease is not effective. Better to wait on the results from the tests and proceed from there.

One week later- blood tests are back. Lyme disease test ....is....negative. Inflammatory markers including CRP are flagged as high. My infectious disease doctor says, "It's obvious that your body is fighting something. Continue with your antibiotics, and we'll do another round of blood work in 2 weeks."

February starts to show improvement. The roving hotspots are starting to diminish. My right hand has now gone back to normal and there is no pain in my wrist. Body temperature during the day hits a high of 100.4. Toward the end of February, I can walk unassisted for short distances and can tackle steps one riser at a time.

To build me up a little bit, my wife plans for us to go to Philadelphia for a getaway weekend on March 5. I'm steadily, but slowly, getting better each day. The last of my Doxycycline will run out the Monday we get back from Philly, and I'm a little worried about that. As it turned out, the weekend went very well. I could walk around for about 4 hours or so, then return to the hotel to elevate my legs for an hour or so and then go back out again. Nighttime chills and daytime fever seem to be gone and walking is much easier.

On March 18 I had a follow up appointment with my specialist. My inflammatory markers, while still above the normal ranges, showed a large improvement since the previous testing. Swelling in the knee joints in much reduced, so that I can walk up to 2 miles. She would like me to start reducing my Ibuprofen and Naproxen doses to wean myself off of them in 2 weeks. It's recommended that I just take Ibuprofen, 800mg, 2x/day to start.

I'm steadily returning to health, but it is a slow process. I think back and recall how slowly all of my symptoms came on. It's amazing that they are fading as slowly as they came. Not much of an ending to a long story is it? Oh, I forgot to tell you- that last Lyme test from March 18? Negative!

As much as I would like to be labeled or stamped, "Lyme Disease Sufferer"- it's just not that easy. I may never know what this ailment was, and conversely, I may see it again. Thanks for listening!

John

Helpful reading:

Truth about Lyme Disease- Forums and Case Studies
The Mayo Clinic- Lyme Disease

Turn the Corner Foundation

Centers for Disease Control- Lyme

Philadelphia Weekend March 5

Polly treated me to a 3 day weekend in Philadelphia for my birthday. We stayed at the Philly Palomar Hotel on 17th street- near city hall and Rittenhouse Square. Very nice boutique style hotel- only about 7 months old.

The big draw for the weekend was the Philadelphia Flower Show, the world's largest indoor exhibition of that type. This show has been going on annually since 1827- amazing.

Philadelphia is known for more than cheesesteaks, they have fantastic restaurants. We walked down Walnut Street and found a place called Max Brenner. Their motto is, "First Food, then Chocolate". Very fun place, no reservations needed.

On Saturday, we made reservations at Devon Seafood Grill, which fronts Rittenhouse Square. Very good service and food.

On Sunday, we took the Palisades Parkway back home, with its nice views of NYC. We stopped at the alpine center lookout and were amazed at all the snow they still have!

Great Weekend!