Real estate pros share dos and don'ts of deciding where to buy

It?s a common modern-day dilemma: urban or suburban? A high-stakes question fraught with emotion ? just ask realtors Sarah Daniels and Philip DuMoulin.

The siblings, frequently seen sparring on the HGTV show Urban Suburban, take the tough-love approach when it comes to helping would-be homebuyers.

?When you have that battle of urban or suburban, our jobs are to open their eyes for new expectations,? says DuMoulin.

They?ll be at the B.C. Home and Garden Show, held Feb. 20-24 at B.C . Place, to share their thoughts on the pros and cons of city and suburban living.

The Province caught up with the South Surrey-based realtors for some sage words on how to navigate Metro Vancouver?s pricey real estate market.

Lower expectations

This is the No. 1 problem: champagne taste on a beer budget.

And let?s face it, given prices in Metro

Vancouver, almost everyone?s on a beer budget these days.

DuMoulin doesn?t sugar-coat the reality of buying real estate: On your Top 10 wish list of things you?d like to have, expect to get five or six.

This is about working your way up to your dream home, he says. Maybe you start with a one-bedroom condo, then trade up to a townhouse and, if things go well, a single-family home way down the road.

?You may have to go through five or six homes before you get to your ultimate family home,? he says.

Immerse yourself in the neighbourhood

Don?t go there once or twice but as many as five times, suggests DuMoulin.

It?s the only way to know if a new neighbourhood will suit you.

?It?s not about just looking at a house and saying, ?Oh , that?s a beautiful house.? You?ve got to integrate yourself in that community for a week to see what it?s like,? he says.

Ask if you really need ?? and can handle ? a large house

The big draw of the ?burbs is the undisputed square footage per dollar compared to Vancouver. But before you run off to buy that sprawling 3,000-square-foot house with a white picket fence, first ask yourself if you want ? and can handle ? the work associated with a big house.

?A lot of people who are young families think they need 3,000 square feet. You don?t need 3,000 square feet,? says DuMoulin. ?My twin boys don?t even like going to the basement of our house.?

Daniels adds that, with our busy lifestyles, think about whether you want to spend your weekends cleaning, working in the garden or on house maintenance.

Don?t believe your social life will end if you move to the suburbs

One of the common myths about leaving the city for the ?burbs is you?ll never see your friends.

But chances are, if you need more space due to a growing family, you?ll make new friends in the same situation.

?As soon as you?ve had a child, you?ll end up meeting other people who also have children and end up befriending them,? says DuMoulin.

Daniels, who lives in South Surrey and doesn?t have children, adds that she goes into town all the time, and the distance hasn?t wreaked havoc on her social life, either.

Lose any preconceived notions about the suburbs or the city

Both have their own reputations and they often don?t reflect reality.

That the city is always noisy is not true, Daniels points out. Neither is it true that all homes in the suburbs are cookie-cutter. You?ll make a much better decision if you keep an open mind and find out firsthand by exploring various neighbourhoods in your price range.

Don?t look at property, or areas, you can?t afford

This may sound obvious but too often, people just ?go looking? without a clear idea of what they can and can?t afford.

Big mistake. Daniels likens it to trying on a pair of Louboutins, then having to settle for Payless. You won?t be happy.

Look online first to check out real estate prices in your favourite neighbourhood. If it?s clear you can?t afford it, move on.

Get pre-approved

The best way to know what you can afford is to get pre-approved for a mortgage. There have been a lot of changes to mortgage rules lately so get pre-approved before you go shopping.

Location, location, location

It?s the old adage. Daniels subscribes to the notion of ?buy the worst house on the best street you can afford.?

Of course, do your due diligence and make sure the property is structurally

sound and free of any major problems.

Don?t get wowed by finishings

Go for more square footage over fancy

finishings. It?s easy to be impressed by a new home ? granite countertops! stainless steel! ? but extra space is much harder to gain.

?So what if the countertops are old? These are things you can fix over time,? says Daniels. ?People need to stop looking at the finishings . . .you need usable space.?

Look at adjacent neighbourhoods

It?s easy to get fixated on a single neighbourhood. But it?s always a good idea to go to the next neighbourhood over to compare the value.

?I?ve had clients with their heart set on Yaletown, but they end up buying in the West End because, first of all, there are some beautiful old streets.

?You may not get a balcony or a parking spot but, in place of that, the one bedroom and den you get there is 920 square feet because it was built back in the day. It?s got beautiful old hardwood floors and cornices in the ceiling.?

Realtors? tip: Overlooked neighbourhods in Vancouver, according to Daniels and DuMoulin, include Champlain Heights, Renfrew Heights and Fraserview. In South Surrey, where the sibling realtors are based, they suggest looking at Summerfield. The lot sizes are smaller but the prices are also cheaper.

Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F7517/~3/qiCt3sx3Jp4/story.html

greg kelly cujo karen handel hangout

Google to open stores in major metro areas to sell Nexus devices and more

Phone Arena writes, By year end, Google will have several retail stores in major metropolitan parts of the country with the first stores open in time for the holiday season; the goal of the stores is to push out Google branded devices to the retail customer, like the Nexus line, and with a brick and mortar store the prospective buyer can test it live before buying it...

Continue reading Google to open stores in major metro areas to sell Nexus devices and more at Phone Arena

Source: http://mobilitybeat.com/phone-arena/88159/google-to-open-stores-in-major-metro-areas-to-sell-nexus-devices-and-more/

Devon Walker Tom Cruise

'Saudi troops block Bahrain dialogue'

A Bahraini activist says dialogue will not succeed in Bahrain while Saudi troops are in the country.

Bahrainis have staged anti-regime demonstrations to mark the second anniversary of the uprising despite a heavy-handed crackdown by the Al Khalifa regime. The demonstrators called for the downfall of the Al Khalifa regime and an end to the crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations against the regime since mid-February 2011.

Press TV has talked with Abbas al-Omran, with the Bahrain Center for Human Rights from London, to shed more light on the issue at hand.

Follow our Facebook on: https://www.facebook.com/presstvchannel
Follow our Twitter on: http://twitter.com/presstv

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOpfnsws6y0&feature=youtube_gdata

braxton miller braxton miller Whitney Heichel Tippi Hedren Big Tex

Microsoft exec says consumers won't know about Playstation 4 launch

Everybody in the industry is expecting Sony to unveil their next generation Playstation 4 console next week on the 20th. However regional Xbox executive, Jon Grimes, says such a reveal will have a very limited impact with consumers.

In an interview with MCV about the Xbox's dominance in the UK market Grimes mentions that next week's reveal, if indeed it does happen, will definitely be important for the industry but not for the users. "Whatever get announced on February 20th, the majority of UK consumers won't know," Grimes said.

Grimes doesn't reveal anything about Microsoft's upcoming Xbox launch but he does state that "what has got us to where we are today is not going to be what gets us through the next ten years. Now we've also got to start from scratch when thinking about the future. Driving creativity, whether around the marketing, retail or new business models, is key for us."

He then goes on to add: "our job is not to get lost in the industry chatter, but to ensure ?that the consumers going into stores, going online, still experience Xbox. The announcement is important to the industry, but it is also important to remember who is buying right now".

Grimes is obviously?referring?to Xbox sales post Playstation 4 announcement, especially as Microsoft seems poised to delay the new Xbox untill the PS4 hype dies down. However, his statements might also point towards a huge marketing blitz that Microsoft might have planned once the new console is finally delivered. Of course we're wondering what "marketing creativity" may?refer?to but we're guessing we saw a glimpse of it when we think back to Microsoft's Halo 4 launch event.

Source: MCV?Via: VG247

Source: http://feeds.neowin.net/~r/neowin-main/~3/3-BcpW46y3Q/microsoft-exec-says-consumers-wont-know-about-playstation-4-launch

khloe kardashian Wreck It Ralph Hunter Hayes Movember USC shooting halloween chipotle

Obesity coverage in black newspapers is mostly negative, MU study finds

Public release date: 14-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nathan Hurst
hurstn@missouri.edu
573-882-6217
University of Missouri-Columbia

Negative health stories could discourage men in the African-American community from taking action

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Obesity rates have increased dramatically in the last few decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans make up more than 60 percent of the overweight and obese population, while only 13 percent of the total population. A new study from the University of Missouri School of Journalism shows that American newspapers, and specifically newspapers geared toward an African-American audience, frame stories on obesity in a negative way. Hyunmin Lee, who performed her research while a doctoral student at MU, says this negative framing could have damaging effects on African Americans looking to lose weight.

"Previous research has shown that African Americans do not respond positively to negative news stories about obesity and health issues," said Lee, who is now an assistant professor at St. Louis University. "Our study shows that the majority of obesity news stories are written in a negative tone, mainly attributing individual responsibilities to overcome obesity, which means many African Americans in need of weight loss could be discouraged by what they are reading in newspapers, instead of being inspired by positive success stories about overcoming obesity or other health problems."

Lee and Maria Len-Rios, an associate professor in the MU School of Journalism, examined 35 newspapers, 23 of them African-American newspapers, and analyzed nearly 400 news stories about obesity. They found that nearly all of those stories were written with negative tones emphasizing individual responsibilities for overcoming obesity. News stories with negative tones include stories about high obesity rates among African Americans and health issues that are caused by obesity.

"The majority of the obesity news stories we analyzed focused on individual responsibilities and solutions that may not be achievable for many African Americans," Lee said. "Even the stories that offered advice on ways to fight obesity were framed negatively. That advice was heavily attributed to individual responsibilities such as exercise and diet control, which are messages that are often ineffective at motivating African Americans to be healthy for socio-economic and cultural reasons."

Lee encourages newspapers, particularly ones with primarily African-American audiences, to write health stories with positive tones. Instead of stories about increasing obesity rates, she says stories promoting promising new research or positive trends in African-American health would be much more effective in motivating African Americans to make healthier choices.

"Newspapers focused on writing health stories that only emphasize individual responsibilities are missing the bigger picture of social responsibility," Lee said. "To make a constructive impact on the community, health stories that mention societal responsibilities are a necessity while avoiding advice solely focused on individual responsibility. This is because many health news stories do not consider that their audiences may live in food deserts or lack the facilities or ability to exercise safely where they live. Telling someone they have to do things that they physically cannot do to be healthy can have very discouraging and counterproductive effects on an audience that needs as much encouragement as possible."

###

Lee and Len-Rios' study has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Health Communication.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 14-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nathan Hurst
hurstn@missouri.edu
573-882-6217
University of Missouri-Columbia

Negative health stories could discourage men in the African-American community from taking action

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Obesity rates have increased dramatically in the last few decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans make up more than 60 percent of the overweight and obese population, while only 13 percent of the total population. A new study from the University of Missouri School of Journalism shows that American newspapers, and specifically newspapers geared toward an African-American audience, frame stories on obesity in a negative way. Hyunmin Lee, who performed her research while a doctoral student at MU, says this negative framing could have damaging effects on African Americans looking to lose weight.

"Previous research has shown that African Americans do not respond positively to negative news stories about obesity and health issues," said Lee, who is now an assistant professor at St. Louis University. "Our study shows that the majority of obesity news stories are written in a negative tone, mainly attributing individual responsibilities to overcome obesity, which means many African Americans in need of weight loss could be discouraged by what they are reading in newspapers, instead of being inspired by positive success stories about overcoming obesity or other health problems."

Lee and Maria Len-Rios, an associate professor in the MU School of Journalism, examined 35 newspapers, 23 of them African-American newspapers, and analyzed nearly 400 news stories about obesity. They found that nearly all of those stories were written with negative tones emphasizing individual responsibilities for overcoming obesity. News stories with negative tones include stories about high obesity rates among African Americans and health issues that are caused by obesity.

"The majority of the obesity news stories we analyzed focused on individual responsibilities and solutions that may not be achievable for many African Americans," Lee said. "Even the stories that offered advice on ways to fight obesity were framed negatively. That advice was heavily attributed to individual responsibilities such as exercise and diet control, which are messages that are often ineffective at motivating African Americans to be healthy for socio-economic and cultural reasons."

Lee encourages newspapers, particularly ones with primarily African-American audiences, to write health stories with positive tones. Instead of stories about increasing obesity rates, she says stories promoting promising new research or positive trends in African-American health would be much more effective in motivating African Americans to make healthier choices.

"Newspapers focused on writing health stories that only emphasize individual responsibilities are missing the bigger picture of social responsibility," Lee said. "To make a constructive impact on the community, health stories that mention societal responsibilities are a necessity while avoiding advice solely focused on individual responsibility. This is because many health news stories do not consider that their audiences may live in food deserts or lack the facilities or ability to exercise safely where they live. Telling someone they have to do things that they physically cannot do to be healthy can have very discouraging and counterproductive effects on an audience that needs as much encouragement as possible."

###

Lee and Len-Rios' study has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Health Communication.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/uom-oci021413.php

ground hog day 2012 aaron carter black history month did groundhog see his shadow soul train don cornelius rod parsley barry sanders jr