Real Estate Network

Archive for the ‘Rural Real Estate’ Category

Columbus, OH (PRWEB) November 22, 2011

Red Capital Markets, LLC (MEMBER FINRA/SIPC), the investment banking arm of comprehensive capital provider RED CAPITAL GROUP, LLC (RED) and a leading multifamily bond underwriter, announced the use of a proprietary structure it created and recently deployed for The Reserve on South Martin, a 60-unit affordable housing project that is being built in Mt. Healthy, near Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tax-exempt financing structured by Red Capital Markets, LLC (Red) for The Reserve on South Martin utilized a proprietary approach that was developed by Red to streamline transaction costs and improve efficiency. Reds Bonds DirectSM structure involves a commitment by related entity Red Capital Partners, LLC (RCP) to purchase the entire $ 6,000,000 bond issue on a draw-down basis as required by the demands of the construction schedule.

As a result of the innovative structure, negative arbitrage expenses are greatly reduced for the project sponsor. Also, due to RCPs direct purchase and REDs other in-house servicing capabilities, the need for bond trustee and rating agency fees was eliminated, thereby reducing costs of issuance expenses to the benefit of the project sponsor. The bonds issued by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency have a 22-month maturity and although the construction phase is expected to be complete in the fall of 2012, the bonds are pre-payable any time at par.

The project sponsor is Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), who also is serving as the Developer, General Partner and Management Agent for the community. CMHAs interim executive director, Ted Bergh said, Low income seniors struggle to find affordable housing solutions they can afford on fixed incomes. The Reserve on South Martin will meet a critical need in the community and will make a positive impact on the Mt. Healthy neighborhood.

In addition to bond proceeds and $ 1.2 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit proceeds, CMHA was awarded $ 10.3 million Neighborhood Stabilization Program II grant monies as part of a larger consortium. The grant was one of just 56 awarded nationwide.

Operating nationwide since its inception in 1990, RED CAPITAL GROUP, LLC is recognized for its industry expertise, innovative and comprehensive structures, and consistently high lender rankings, including having closed more FHA Multifamily & Healthcare loans during HUD FY-2010 than any other lender and remaining active as a top Fannie Mae DUS

The huge and vibrant nation of Canada has many wonderful and diverse provinces, and one of the foremost is the province of British Columbia. Its name has the meaning of splendour undiminished, and when you visit you will see why! The region has a glorious aspect which is recognised widely; superb mountainous backdrop, great coastline and rich cultural heritage make British Columbia one of the most attractive places to reside in Canada. This remains true of its capital Vancouver for example which has enjoyed the most interest of all the British Columbia real estate opportunities.

Though only emerging from a general property slump in recent times, the real estate scene has not often felt the cold draught of recession. It has instead carried on regardless of the ups and downs suffered by the other provinces of Canada. At present, it is doing fine thank you very much! Potential buyers seem more confident and all looks to be set fine for residential sales this year.

This increase in buyer confidence, and higher demand in tandem with a lower mortgage interest rate has combined to create a positive environment for investors in real estate.

Actually, the word on the street is that developers are finding that the younger set are beating the retirees to the bidding post right now! The capital, Vancouver especially, has attracted many home buyers and investors recently in the search for their ideal property. It is not likely there will be a shortage of opportunities in the present market situation.

It is quite possible that the usual prices for investment and residential homes could jump to a 2% increase in the region and maybe even rise to 4 class percent in the capital for certain over the next 12 months.

Alongside Vancouver the town of Victoria has also reported close to record sales from last fall. That applies to Fraser Valley too.

Over in the city of Oliver, British Columbia, there are a couple of superb new development projects indicating the tremendous buoyancy of the area. Firstly, Canyon Desert golf resort on the 13,000 hectares of prize band land, and Spirit Ridge adjacent to the Tuc Nuit Lake where a development of around 450 units are being built.

These homes, according to the developers, are said to be priced in the mid- range market area and will be for full or part ownership. Waterfront town houses mixed in with golf course condominiums and top grade hotel suites, make up this exciting development. The location is quite extraordinary, being right on the lakeside where 90 to 100 further units will be grouped around the Golf Lodge itself.

A welcome spin-off from all this development will be the inevitable boost in the tourist business and lots of new local trade’s work opportunities. There were plans to develop a wine village that had been moth balled due to the economy, which has now been given the go-ahead. This concept of focusing on genuine rural lifestyles in tandem with wine and tourism, will certainly assist the region to enhance its already established reputation as one of Canada’s highest rated wine producing regions.

Yes, British Columbia real estate can now be likened to the old pioneers who came across the Rocky Mountains to carve out a brand-new life with a spirit of positive and innovative forward thinking. Any wise investor or home buyer with that same attitude will feel right at home in this magnificent scenic star of the West…. British Columbia!

Romania, located in south-eastern part of Central Europe, shares its borders with Hungary towards north-west, Serbia on south-west, Black sea on south-east, Bulgaria on South, Republic of Moldova towards east and Ukraine towards east. It is the second largest country in this area. It has been predicted that Romanic will become the 9th largest country in European Union. It offers numerous attractions for tourists from the around the world such as mighty mountains, beautiful blue seas, and urban and rural lifestyles all together. The international real estate investors have been showing immense interest in Romania real estate in the recent times.

The foreign direct investment is quite high in Romania in comparison to all its neighboring countries. The international real estate experts are clearly foreseeing the bright future of the country and are no wasting any time to claim their share in the real estate in Romania.

In the present time, the real estate in Romania is offering more profits in much lesser time than it takes to grow corn. It doesn’t matter whether you are investing at a lower level or higher level, or whether you are a short-term investor or long-term investor, investing in Romania real estate or Romania rentals is sure to give you quick profits. This scenario is expected to continue as Romania will join the European Union. Therefore, now is the perfect time to invest in Romania real estate, much better than ever before.

It is true that you can find numerous investment opportunities when you go through the Romania real estate listings. Most of the investments would pay-off if you invest in them wisely. Therefore, it is extremely important that you put a lot of focus on your investments, particularly your initial purchases. However, do not worry as numerous profitable and safe investment opportunities are available in this country.

In order to protect your ownership rights, it is suggested that you form a Romanian corporation. These corporations are quite easy to form and require a simple and inexpensive procedure. Alternatively, you can also investment in Romania real estate through a previously formed Romanian entity in cooperation with its earlier partners. These kinds of opportunities are also easily available in the country.

The prices of land in Romania real estate seem to be quite high, particularly for the International real estate investors. However, in a few places they remain quite undervalued. Thus, you can expect high growth in their value in the future. The most important thing that you should remember is that you will be investing in a highly fertile money-producing soil that has a record of producing a lot more yield than the cost that one has to pay to acquire that land. This mechanism of investment that does not require you to use any confusing gizmos and gadgets is the best profit making strategy that works for real estate in Romania.

This strategy of investment is readily available at present, and works to its maximum potential in the present time. Therefore, now is the best time to invest in Romania real estate, both for domestic investors as well as international real estate investors.

Article by Eduardo Baddeley

Rosslyn and Very City are urban communities just along the Potomac River out of Downtown Washington, DC.This an important part of Fairfax County, Virginia is at right off with I-495 with good the ways to access Downtown Washington, DC. Tysons Corner Center and the Tysons Galleria, the biggest shopping malls inside Washington metropolitan section draw visitors from in the region. The area offers a variety of sports and family facilities, including serious parks, recreation shelving units, and golf curriculums.These Northern Virginia neighborhoods are situated in the heart of the rapidly growing technological know-how corridor near Dulles International airport. Planned communities ended up built with a number of restaurants, hotels, and shopping.The Washington, DC area is a superb place to live with numerous choices for work, recreation and lifestyles. Here are the online learning course to living within the Washington, DC vicinity. Do you have additional things that you love or hate about the region? Share your experiencePros:Plenty of things to do. The Washington, DC area has lots of cultural activities, enjoyment, shopping, festivals, backyard recreation, and great restaurants.Mild environment and four changing seasons. The Mid-Atlantic spot has relatively delicate weather and fewer natural disasters than other parts of the us .. Residents look forward to your beauty of a seasonal changes.Principal location. The region offers numerous getaways within a few hours drive. You can have a day trip and weekend getaway at the beach, the reams, or several towns, cities including DC, Baltimore, Annapolis, Wilmington, Philadelphia, and Nyc.Diversity of people. The Washington, DC area is home to quite a few people from various ethnic backgrounds, nationalities, religions, and financial levels. Overall the populace is highly educated so that it an interesting spot for a live. See Census info.Variety of Areas. The region has everything from urban condo/apartments to help suburban townhouses and single family homes to rural farmland. You can actually choose to are now living a community that will best suits your.Cons:Terrible potential customers. The Washington, DC area has a lot of traffic congestion in addition to commuting is stress filled. Public transportation is restricted and underused. (Possible solution: Live near your workplace or online business)High value of living in addition to housing. The housing and the money necessary living in a Washington, DC area belongs to the highest in the state. Salaries tend to remain higher as perfectly. (Possible Method: The further out you live from the community, the lower the costs) The external suburbs are growing rapidly that is why and young families are tending to move further released. See information about real estate and relocatingHuge stress level. Generally, residents of your Washington, DC area work long hours. A majority within the people are really educated and motivated to have success professionally. Many usually tend to sacrifice their personalized life. They don’t realize their neighbors and tend to be too busy to be able to socialize. It can be difficult in order to satisfy and know new people. (Probable Solution: Be assertive and find new activities and additionally opportunities. There are several interesting people to contact, but it may take some effort to produce new friends. Plan regular friends and family activities and take long weekends or vacations regardly as possible).Either:

Georgia real estate is now witnessing a steady rise in the property demands due to the increasing interest for international real estate investors in the country.

Georgia, a sovereign state in Eurasia’s Caucasus region is situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Georgia is bordered by black sea to the west, Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south and Azerbaijan to the east. Covering a territory of 69,700 km², Georgia’s population is above 4.6 million.

Georgia real estate market has been turbulent in past and that is why a large number of people are still interested in Georgia rentals but a lot has happened and been done in Georgia in recent years. Fast development and infrastructure has improved real estate in Georgia. There are many good reasons why one should think about investment in real estate in Georgia. Whether you should put your hand in Georgia rentals or should go about buying properties in the country depends on your personal interest, a kind of investment you’re making and your expectations out of it. It is important that you weigh both pros and cons of each option before taking the decision.

Georgia rentals generally run for one-year and when the lease ends it automatically gets renewed. However if it does not, there’s always an option of renewing the same lease. A lot of time landlord will ask you to increase the rental payment and if you don’t increase further, you’ll have to find a new place to live. It is important for you to consider is that when you’re investing in Georgia rentals, you’re not building equity. What you’re doing is paying a mortgage each month for someone else’s property.

If you want to take advantage of Georgia real estate, you must consider buying a resale property or fresh land in Georgia. Owning a property will provide you stability, and you’ll be able to start building friendship with your neighborhood, you’ll get involved in the community and also have the hometown feel. Even if you are not interested in living in the property you buy in Georgia, you can make great wealth out of it. After all, throughout history, Georgia real estate has always provided awesome opportunities of multiplying wealth.

One great way to decide whether you should buy a property or go for Georgia rentals is by taking a look at Georgia real estate listings. By checking the content in inventory, you’ll be able to find out the way market is right now and then act accordingly.

Lands are also available in Georgia for sale and some of them are at pristine location. Buying in land can be a great investment in Georgia real estate. The reason is that you can use it for both domestic as well as commercial purpose. You may also buy a large piece of land and some small houses there so that later you can enjoy great rental income. Such investments in international real estate can multiply your money within few years.

Lands in Georgia attract both who have rural interests as well as those who have a fast-paced urban setting. Atlanta happens to be the largest city and state capital in Georgia and abounds with commercial as well as his eventual lots and land for sale. The city is a hub of communication, transportation, government, industry, tourism and several large corporations such as the Coca-Cola Company, Arby’s and Georgia Atlantic. Metropolitan land is also easily available in Georgia and includes rich urban centers such as Athens and savanna. Georgia is a rich industrial, commercial and cultural centre and it can cater to all real estate needs.

If you’re thinking about making a move to boost your lifestyle and are not sure exactly where to buy, I suggest you take a really serious look at Boulder Colorado. Everybody understands the beauty of Colorado and Boulder is the smaller, greener alternative to big cities like Denver or military towns like Colorado Springs. It also possesses actual Old West charm plus a whole lot of character. Here are 5 good reasons to buy Boulder Colorado real estate and make this growing community your neighborhood.

1. Fashion Boulder is really a town with lots of Real Western history along with a population that is diverse and well-educated. There is real sense of community here which stems from a combination of environmental sensitivity and activism, a desire to sustain a high quality of life, and caring for one another. Over the years, Boulder has created a reputation as a excellent place to settle and enjoy life.

2. A Wonderful University
Boulder is often a thriving university town whose activities revolve across the renowned University of Colorado. There is continually some thing going on here whether or not it’s festivals, art-related activities, lectures, and physical activities. Plus the whole local community takes part in these activities and gains from them.

3. It is Stunning Here Boulder is what Colorado’s all about. Nestled near the mountains, the location gives you 31 acres of recreational space together with myriad nature preserves. If you’ve been seeking a place to live where you and your household are going to be surrounded by tons of natural splendor, Boulder is the place for you.

4. We Love Fitness The families of Boulder are devoted to fitness and wholesome living and there are actually lots of locations for hiking and biking trails, and organized activities that encourage this healthy lifestyle. Each time of year delivers something remarkable. Skiing and snowboarding in the winter, mountain climbing, hiking and biking by way of the rest of the year.

5. A lot of Properties to choose from You’ll soon discover that residing in Boulder is much more affordable than you believed. You’ll find lots of apartments, condominiums, and single-family dwellings in practically every single price range, so you’re bound to find property that could afford and love.

6 A Neighborhood to Match Every single Lifestyle Whether you would like to be steps from the fantastic shopping and popular nightlife of downtown Boulder or you want a rural mountain retreat, Boulder has available properties to accommodate you. Select a home near the best paths for easy access to mountain biking and hiking. For families with young children, find the ideal residence for you near the finest school district for your little ones.

Discover for your self why Boulder, Colorado is actually among the final of the naturally lovely modest cities left in the West. And if you are able to buy Boulder Colorado real estate, contact an agent who loves it here as significantly as you do.

Article by Gautam

Charleston real estate is one of the most eagerly sought after investment options today. Here are a few reasons that make people invest in real estate in this part of the world.

The beautiful city of Charleston is the second largest city in South Carolina and has a history dating back to the 16th century. The original name of the city was Charles Towne and it was originally located on the west bank of the Ashley River from where it was moved to its present location in Oyster Point, on the South Carolina coastline in 1680. It covers a total area of 347.5 square kilometers, almost 16% of which is water. Last year’s census (2010) placed the population of the city at 120,083. The cultural diversity of its inhabitants reflects its rich heritage of history, as does the Charleston real estate. About 45% of the permanent population is made up of White Americans, with slightly less than that (43%) being African Americans, and a sprinkling of Asian Americans, Hispanics and Latinos.

Accessibility to Charleston is convenient. It boasts a world-class airport, Charleston International Airport located in North Charleston, as well as smaller airports for non-commercial flights, and is connected to neighboring states by a network of major highways such as US Route 17, US Route 52, US route 78, Interstate 26 to name just a few. For a more leisurely journey, you could opt for a sea cruise, arriving at the Union Pier Terminal. A significant percentage of the Charleston real estate belongs to out-of-state owners who have invested in beach-front properties as a second home. They visit the city over holidays for festival celebrations which annually draw large influxes of tourists, the Spoleto Festival being the most notable, featuring a 17-day performing arts extravaganza. Not surprisingly, tourism is the major industry in Charleston and hotels grand and budget are very much a part of the Charleston real estate landscape.

Charleston is a mature, gracious city, the balmy sub-tropical climate and costal lifestyle adds to the quiet, low-bustle ambience. No wonder that it is a popular destination for visitors and for relocation. Sprawling colonial homes and bungalows combine with plush condos as part of the Charleston real estate, along with new homes for sale in the rural fringes. Downtown Charleston still evokes the imposing colonial atmosphere with its cobbled streets, large wrought iron gates at the entranceway to bungalows, numerous parks and gardens alive with exquisite colorful flowers all year round and an array of museums and churches to visit. In fact, the number of church spires and steeples on its skyline has earned Charleston the nick name of “Holy City”.

New home communities are also popular and are being developed rapidly, contributing to the Charleston real estate, while not conflicting with the quiet charm of the city. The Charleston Metro Area affords options in plenty in Mount Pleasant, Charleston Peninsula, James Island, West Ashley, Johns Island, North Charleston and Daniel Island. Charleston real estate includes beach properties on the Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Folly Beach, Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island and Wild Dunes. In Rural Charleston are the engaging settlements of Rural West Ashley and Mclellanville. Look up more on these and other locations, for homes to purchase on the links below. We are sure we can provide you with several available options matching your requirement.

It is a trade capacity development tool, with a goal to promote rapid economic growth by using tax and business incentives to attract foreign investment and technology. By offering privileged terms, Special Economic Zones attract investment and foreign exchange, spur employment and boost the development of improved technologies and infrastructure.

In India, Special Economic Zones are being established in an attempt to deal with infrastructural deficiencies, procedural complexities, bureaucratic hassles and barriers raised by monetary, trade, fiscal, taxation, tariff and labour policies. Since country-wide development of the infrastructure is expensive and implementation of structural reforms would require time, ( Special Economic Zones/Export Processing Zones) are being established as industrial enclaves for expediting the process of industrialization.

One of the earliest and most famous Special Economic Zone was founded by the government of the People’s Republic of China under Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s.

Government of India in April 2000 announced the introduction of Special Economic Zones policy in the country. As of 2007, more than 500 Special Economic Zones have been proposed, 220 of which have already been created. This has raised the concern of the World Bank, which questions the sustainability of such a large number of Special Economic Zones.

Tracing Indian economic reforms
In India several attempts have been made to liberalize the system of economic management. In 1980s, the Indian Government focused on reorganizing low-efficient state-run enterprises and partial disinvestment, relaxing the control on private enterprises and foreign capital, introducing competitive mechanisms, reducing protection for domestic industries, promoting and importing advanced technological equipment from abroad etc.

In 1991, the reformed trade and industrial policy eliminated licensing requirements for private domestic and foreign investment in certain industries and relaxed the restrictions under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act on expansion, diversification, mergers and acquisitions by large firms and industrial houses. Special Economic Zones came in pursuance of this export led growth strategy.

Special Economic Zones were announced by the Government of India in April 2000 as a part of the Export-Import policy of India. The government realized the need to enhance foreign investment, promote exports from the country and at the same time provide a level playing to the domestic enterprises, while ensuring manufacturers to be competitive globally.

The Special Economic Zones as announced by the Government of India in 2000 were deemed to be foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations, duties and tariffs. These zones were to provide an internationally competitive and hassle free environment for exports. Units were allowed be set up in Special Economic Zone for manufacture of goods and rendering of services. All import/export operations of the Special Economic Zone units were on self-certification basis. Anything could be imported duty free but sales in the Domestic Tariff Area by Special Economic Zone units were subject to payment of full Custom Duty and as per import policy in force. Further Offshore banking units were being allowed to be set up in the Special Economic Zones. The policy provided for setting up of Special Economic Zones in the public, private, joint sector or by State Governments.

On 31st August 2004 the Department of Commerce announced the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 to create an appropriate institutional framework and policy environment for facilitation and growth of external trade. The basic objective of this policy was to double India’s share of global merchandise trade by 2009 and make exports an effective instrument of economic growth and employment generation. The Special Economic Zone Act, 2005 and the Special Economic Zone Rules, 2006 were introduced under this policy, to regulate and promote the development of these industrial enclaves.

The Act designated the Special Economic Zones a duty free enclave to be treated as foreign territory only for trade operations and duties and tariffs. Under the Act, no license is required for import and no routine examination is to be conducted by the custom authorities of the export/import cargo. To aid backward and forward integration of the economy, the Act provides exemptions to Special Economic Zone units and Special Economic Zone developers from all indirect taxes, including basic customs duty, countervailing duty, education cess, and direct taxes while at the same time domestic sales are subject to full customs duty and import policy in force. The Act provided the freedom to subcontract. It also permitted manufacturing, trading and service activities in the Special Economic Zones.

India and China : Whether on a Level Platform
Success stories of large and small developing countries can be explained by the growth of world trade and opening up of these economies with market based deregulation. But from any in-depth scrutiny one finds that the reform package under the broad heading of “liberalization” is very different from country to country. There is no standard recipe of a “reform package”. A lot of factors influence the performance of Special Economic Zones in a country e.g. economic history, location, industries, state policy etc. Since India has adopted the idea of the special economic zones from China it becomes pertinent to study the history of economic development in India and China.

China’s success can be ascribed largely because of its effective population control. In the pre-reform days, both in China and India top priority was given to equity, removing poverty and increasing the social aspects of standards of living. This, however, was attempted in China under a total state-controlled economy and in India with the public sector playing a dominant role along with the market forces. Both the economies adopted a strategy of import substitution and heavy industry growth. China over time, realized that maintaining high standards of living becomes difficult unless efficiency in the use of resources is increased. Its attempt to maintain equity through forced saving and administered directives resulted in social unrest, which came to a breaking point after the controversial Cultural Revolution. The key objective of present reform in China is to bring incentives back in the economy by increasing the role of the market with minimum changes in their political institutions. This is defined in China as an experiment in a socialistic market economy.

In India, heavy import substitution lead to increased inefficiency in production and generation of surplus for maintaining the tempo of equity measures as a result social development became impossible. This led to heavy borrowing, culminating in a balance of payments crisis. To meet the crisis, this new economic policy in India was initiated.

China’s success in attracting foreign direct investment and becoming one of the top exporting countries of the world hinged on the careful implementation of its Special Economic Zone policy. Size, location, flexible labour laws and stable policies were the factors primarily responsible for making Chinese Special Economic Zones attractive to foreign investors. In India, the fiscal concessions being offered to developers and units are the primary driving force.

Chinese government started building Special Economic Zones way back in 1979. The idea behind the Special Economic Zones was to experiment with liberal policies in certain ear-marked regions while insulating the rest of the economy from their influence. The government identified huge tracts of land, near the coastal region, and started building mega cities with all required infrastructure. Stringent labour laws applicable in China were relaxed in these regions and foreign investment was encouraged by offering concessions and promising of stability.

In 1980 four Special Economic Zones namely, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen were opened up. In 1984, fourteen coastal cities were opened up as a further step. In 1985, three delta areas along the Yangtze River and Pearl River and in the southern part of Fujian province as well as several other places were opened up. In the following years, Hainan Island, Pudong New Area in Shanghai, five big cities along the Yangtze River, eighteen provincial capitals and a part of inland and border cities were opened up. These zones were created initially as experimental stations to adjust and watch their operations vis-à-vis open market interactions.

Though India had a head-start in the direction by building its first export processing zone in 1969 with certain minimum infrastructure and fiscal sops, it could not muster enough political will to build full-fledged Special Economic Zones with foreign territory status in the matters of international trade till the turn of the century. As opposed to five mega Special Economic Zones built by the Chinese government (the largest being Shenzhen built over 49,500 hectares), India opened its doors to private players and allowed sector-specific Special Economic Zones to develop on just 10 hectares of land. As a result, more than 500 Special Economic Zones have been proposed, 220 of which have already been created. The economies of scale, which seems to have worked so well in China by reducing production costs, may not have the same effect in the Indian Special Economic Zone s.

In China, the government chose the location for Special Economic Zone s with a lot of thought with all five located near the coastal region. This made it easier for the Special Economic Zone units to export their products and import inputs. In India, Special Economic Zones are being built all over the country, wherever land can be acquired by the developers. This has also led to allegations of land-grabbing and conversion of productive agricultural land by developers. As a result, Centre has made it mandatory that all proposals should have a certificate from the state governments notifying that the land being used is non-agricultural for at least 90%.

Flexibility in labour laws, which played an important role in attracting foreign investors, is absent in the Indian Special Economic Zones. This is one of the prices India has to pay for the advantages of a federal democratic government. India has, however, tried to make up for all the disadvantages by offering attractive fiscal sops. Tax holidays for Special Economic Zones in India are longer and steeper than those given by China. This had given rise to some dissent from the finance ministry which had complained that the fiscal loss would be immense. In fact the scheme has generated a difference of opinion between the Finance and Commerce Ministries. While the former is voicing its concerns about possible revenue loss from the tax privileges for the Special Economic Zones, the latter is stoutly defending the policy with statistics suggesting minimal losses and highlighting eventual gains in terms of employment and revenues

Reserve Bank of India has also expressed its concerns about the revenue losses and the uneven pattern of development. Reserve Bank of India insisted on factoring the revenue implications of the taxation benefits. The revenue loss for the Government in providing incentives may be justified only if the Special Economic Zone units ensure forward and backward linkages with the domestic economy. Also, as resources are being diverted from the less developed, growth will not be uniform.

One of the most basic difference between the Special Economic Zone model adopted in China and India is that the Chinese Special Economic Zone initiative is government driven, whereas Indian Special Economic Zones are driven by private sector . In China , the State acquires the land and develops the required infrastructure, while private enterprises are invited to set up units. Under such a system, land continues to be under the ownership of the State. In India, however, private entities are being involved in developing the Special Economic Zone infrastructure. As a result, Land is being acquired by the State and handed over to private developers.

Current Controversy
The Economic Survey of 2006-07 highlighted the fact that Special Economic Zone s are testing grounds for the implementation of liberal market economy principles. At the same the survey emphasized on some apprehensions against the Special Economic Zones:
Generation of little new activity as there may be relocation of industries to take advantage of tax concessions,
Revenue loss,
Large-scale land acquisition by the developers, may lead to displacement of farmers with meager compensation,
Acquisition of prime agricultural land, having serious implications for food security,
Misuse of land by the developers for real estate and
Uneven growth aggravating regional inequalities.

The Survey also mentioned that many of these apprehensions, however, could be addressed through appropriate policies and safeguards.
A major controversy surrounding the implementation of the Special Economic Zone scheme has been the ruthless manner adopted for acquiring land. News reports highlighted protests across the country against acquisition of lands for the purpose of establishing Special Economic Zones. The “SEZ No More” campaign gained momentum after the bloody chapter in Nandigram.

Since, developing Special Economic Zones involves massive displacement of farmers, it is essential that a systematic approach should be followed for ensuring balance of interests. Consequently, state governments have been advised that in land acquisition for Special Economic Zones, first priority should be for acquisition of waste and barren land and if necessary single crop agricultural land. If perforce a portion of double-cropped agricultural land has to be acquired to meet the minimum area requirements, especially for multi-product Special Economic Zone, the same should not exceed 10 % of the total land required for the Special Economic Zone

The government has also announced the new National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement 2007. This policy would provide land-for-land compensation for acquisition of land for development purposes, including Special Economic Zones, and employment to at least one person from each affected family. A National Rehabilitation Commission would be set up by the Central Government, which would be duly empowered to exercise independent oversight over the rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families. Further, wage employment would be provided to the willing affected persons in the construction work in the project. The policy also ensures housing benefits including houses to the landless affected families in both rural and urban areas.

Adequate provisions have been made for financial support to the affected families for construction of cattle sheds, shops, working sheds; transportation costs, temporary and transitional accommodation, comprehensive infrastructural facilities and amenities in the resettlement area including education, health care, drinking water, roads, electricity, sanitation, religious activities, cattle grazing, and other community resources.

The benefits expressed in monetary terms have been linked to the Consumer Price Index, and the same shall also be revised suitably at appropriate intervals. Special provision has been made for providing life-time monthly pension to the vulnerable persons, such as the disabled, destitute, orphans, widows, unmarried girls, abandoned women, or persons above 50 years of age (who are not provided or cannot immediately be provided with alternative livelihood).

A strong grievance redressal mechanism has been prescribed, which includes standing R&R Committees at the district level, R&R Committees at the project level, and an Ombudsman duly empowered in this regard. The R&R Committees shall have representatives from the affected families including women, voluntary organizations, Panchayats, local elected representatives, etc. Provision has also been made for post-implementation social audits of the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes and plans.

For effective monitoring of the progress of implementation of R&R plans, provisions have been made for a National Monitoring Committee, a National Monitoring Cell, mandatory information sharing by the States and Union Territories with the National Monitoring Cell, and Oversight Committees in the Ministries/Departments concerned for each major project.

For ensuring transparency, provision has been made for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information shall be placed in the public domain on the Internet as well as shared with the concerned Gram Sabhas and Panchayats by the project authorities. This policy aims at striking a balance between the need for land for development purposes and protecting the interests of land owners and other displaced people.

Conclusion
A study conducted by Aradhna Aggarwal on the Impact of Special Economic Zones on Employment, Poverty and Human Development indicated, that Employment generation, both direct and indirect, has thus far been the most important channel, through which Special Economic Zones have impacted on human development and poverty reduction in India. However, the role of Special Economic Zone s in human capital formation and as an engine for promoting new knowledge, technologies and innovations through technology transfers and technology creation appears to be relatively limited. With new generation Special Economic Zones emerging, the scope of human capital formation and technology upgrading effects will widen. It is therefore important for the government to play a pro active role in strengthening these effects.

For the contribution of Special Economic Zones to various aspects of human development to be realized, it is important to forge linkages between the domestic economy and Special Economic Zones. Systematic efforts need to be made to help zone units forge links with the outside units. Also, the effects of Special Economic Zones are contingent upon the success of these zones in attracting investment, in particular, Foreign Direct Investment. A comprehensive policy framework is required to attain this. The government has to ensure that strategies are developed in a timely manner to strengthen the opportunities that are likely to emerge, protect interests of the Special Economic Zones workers, and forge linkages between Special Economic Zones and the domestic economy. Such a regulated and monitored approach is the only means of attaining the actual potential of these Special Economic Zones.

Alternative programs that divert felony drug offenders to substance abuse treatment programs rather than prison terms could save the U.S.  * Implementation-educate parents, staff, and students; sponsor drug-free activities; identify and refer substance abusers for treatment; establish peer support and followup systems.  This paper examines factors associated with a lifetime history of substance abuse treatment among women with drug abuse or dependence.” B.  Providing comprehensive substance abuse advice and education regarding options for intervention, drug treatment, and continuing care.  JCAHO is the gold standard in accreditation for drug and substance abuse treatment facilities. 

   Our substance abuse treatment campus extends over a 40-acre manicured estate, providing a serene and healing drug rehab environment.  The family education and drug information programs, family intervention treatment services, and substance abuse counseling treatment services of Seabrook House have been nationally recognized.  Substance abuse treatment is a behavior modification therapy for those who use drugs or alcohol to the detriment of themselves and others.  Also troubling is that this Cdouble stigma occurs among drug users who are addressing their addiction by attending a substance abuse treatment program.  rural residency, and marital status, substance abuse treatment providers should also integrate the following recommendations specific to the alcohol/other drug treatment system.  A comprehensive guide to the best drug rehabs, residential substance abuse treatment and detox centers for adults, adolescents, and troubled teens.  Learn about symptoms of alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse and treatment centers. 

    Cirque Lodge is an exclusive substance abuse and drug rehab treatment center for alcohol and drug addiction.  Juvenile drug courts were developed largely in response to high caseloads and inadequate access to substance abuse treatment.  Delaware’s internationally-acclaimed, 3-step substance abuse treatment program is proven to be successful in rehabilitating drug offenders. 

  The level and length of treatment is dependent on the impact drug or alcohol abuse has had on the individual’s health and wellbeing.  Provides online real-time, interactive audio- and video-based alcohol and drug abuse treatment.  state alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention provider associations.  This increase far outpaced the 12% increase in all people seeking treatment for drug or alcohol abuse during the same time period.  Predicting response to alcohol and drug abuse treatments.  Alcohol and drug abuse treatment (rehab), is a combination of education and behavioral therapy.

  Residential alcohol and drug abuse treatment (aka inpatient) is where the individual resides full time in a facility.  The length of stay in residential alcohol and drug abuse treatment will depend on a variety of factors.  Alcohol and drug abuse treatment, also known as rehab, is the educational, therapeutic process of initiating recovery from drug and or alcohol abuse.  Our goal is to provide the highest quality, cost effective drug and alcohol abuse treatment available.  254 Provides outpatient treatment and aftercare for individuals in the Ingham County jail who have a diagnosis of drug and or alcohol abuse.  Usually for profit, BHOs administer the mental health, alcohol, and drug abuse treatment and prevention benefits in private or public health plans.  with the authority and duty to establish and promulgate rules for licensure of alcohol and/or other drug abuse treatment programs in Arkansas. 

  The following web sites provide specific information on the most common drugs of abuse including their risks, health effects, treatment approaches, and prevention.  First, there are separate bibliographies on the economics of drug abuse treatment and prevention services.  Economic research on HIV/AIDS as it relates to treatment and prevention of drug use, abuse, and dependency continues as a high priority.  Researchers are encouraged to develop rigorous designs for studies in the economics of drug abuse treatment and prevention services.  PURPOSE This PA encourages research on the economics of drug abuse treatment and prevention services.  This PA calls for studies to fill the gap in knowledge about the economics of drug abuse services for treatment and prevention.  The provision of private and public health insurance for drug abuse treatment and prevention affects many participants in treatment and prevention service delivery systems.

  Research to measure the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and cost-benefits of drug abuse prevention and treatment services.  Most importantly, this insight has provided the nation with a strong scientific basis for drug abuse prevention and treatment efforts.  The act dealt with prevention and treatment of drug abuse as well as control of drug traffic.  An institutional analysis of HIV prevention efforts by the nation’s outpatient drug abuse treatment units. 

  Use this message board to talk about drug abuse, drug addiction, treatment, relapse, recovery, your experiences and your frustrations.  Includes a list of commonly abused drugs, warning signs of addiction, and treatment advice.  MYTH #13: People who continue to abuse drugs after treatment are hopeless.FACT: Drug addiction is a chronic disorder; occasional relapse does not mean failure.    Treatment for drug abuse and addiction is delivered in many different settings, using a variety of behavioral and pharmacological approaches. 

  Aims: (1) Establish a national research network to test different integrated system-level drug abuse treatment models for the criminal justice-involved population.  Research suggests more than 1.1 million teens needed treatment for a drug abuse problem in 2001, but only one in 10 received help.  Other research suggests that family therapy is the treatment of choice with many adolescents who have drug abuse problems.  Research indicates that more than 4 million women need treatment for drug abuse.  She has been actively engaged in research on the criminal justice system and drug abuse treatment since 1975.  Research indicates that for most patients, the threshold of significant improvement is reached at about 3 months in drug abuse treatment.  http://www.abuse-substance-treatment.com

 

The Cayman Islands, as you know very well, is a safe place for investors in Real Estate, means Safe haven in all aspects. Cayman Island is the place to weather the international financial storm with less or even no risk. Cayman Islands Real Estate is believed to be one of the safest investments during these days.

 

The Cayman Islands, small piece of paradise found in the Caribbean, are one of the well known vacation destinations in the region and in the world. These archipelagos possess some of the most awesome scenic beauty and pleasant leisure activities and amusements in the world.

 

Searching for rural homes and land for sale in Cayman Islands?

 

The land of real estate properties is different and the cause is it should be turn as per the budget of the people. Earlier days there was a devastation of Hurricane Iva, and the value of the real estate was diminished. So the investors were anxious of and believed that to invest in real estate property is to take depression for your financial investment.

 

Capital Realty Ltd offers Cayman Islands real estate details and resources to help homeowners and homebuyers with the procedure of selling and buying a house, condo or other luxury property. We are proud to provide services that can assist you get a finest Cayman Islands luxury home obtainable on the market these days.

 

Cayman Brac real estate and Little Cayman real estate are Capital Realty’s main concern. We provide Cayman Islands land, homes as well as commercial property sales. We boast offices and agents on Cayman Brac and even on Little Cayman. In case, you are in search for Cayman Brac homes for sale, Little Cayman homes for sale or are selling Cayman Brac real estate or Little Cayman real estate we can assist you with your Cayman Brac Land and Little Cayman Land selections and purchase.

 

We are competent to present for all Real Estate requirements weather they narrate to selling, purchasing, investing, renting or management of properties short or long term. Our knowledge is the result of past three decades of offering service to pleased clients some of which were previously living on the island, many newly arrived and others thinking to move. Contact us now on any real estate concerns and particularly about our rental specials.

 

To possess a piece of Grand Cayman property is a goal these days for many people. Its peaceful setting and beneficial tax regulations make Grand Cayman property a sought after investment opportunity.

 

We are privileged to have a number of satisfied clients and a track record we are proud of. We look forward to amuse each client who decides to deal with us.

 

Please call us to get more information about Cayman Islands Real Estate at 345-623-1400 or email us at http://www.capitalrealty.com.ky/

Article by Marlon Obrien

The vast majority of houses for sale in this group are created in the very last ten a long time, and housing plenty are also quickly accessible if you want to create. In Bennington, you can just take your decide on of nice, effectively-held neighborhoods. Households are attracted to this place with great reason. This is part of the explanation that the Bennington real estate market state is so sturdy.This upper-middle-class group also boasts an exceptional college method. With this sort of unprecedented development in the location for the duration of the prior 10 years, current universities have received renovations and expansions, even though new college properties have also been added. In fact, a new elementary college is at the moment below building. Enhancements to the auditorium and monitor at the secondary college are also underway. Take a appear at state testing scores and critiques obtainable on the web, and you will be assured that Bennington educational institutions accomplish outside of the expectations.In Bennington, you will appreciate the vast-open up spaces of rural Nebraska all about you. The agricultural character of the state is in full view here. Fields of corn and soybean plants waving in the prairie breezes are by no means far from sight. Yet, just a number of miles to the east is the exciting metropolis-daily life of Omaha. Check out the world-class Henry-Doorly Zoo see a Broadway-type show at the superbly restored Orpheum Theater or catch a sporting celebration or live performance at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Is buying your passion? Omaha offers many shopping malls, or you can head downtown to the Old Marketplace for a a lot more eclectic shopping expertise. If you head downtown, though, approach to stay awhile since there is a good deal to see and do!Come and uncover the home you are hunting for in Bennington, Nebraska where all the companies and opportunities of the city are within simple attain of the peace and tranquil of a rural neighborhood. There are a whole lot of excellent Bennington properties to decide on from and the Bennington real estate marketplace is quite robust. When getting a home in Bennington NE, it is very crucial to pick the correct genuine estate agent that specializes in the Bennington Nebraska true estate market place.Are you hoping to discover that best computer software that will permit you to develop your Realtor website? Have you thought about utilizing Joomla! But, let’s return to our True Estate internet site.Are you needing to develop a site for a Actual Estate agent? Or, are you really a true estate agent yourself and are searching for a subject material management technique that provides you certain instruments for genuine estate?Your genuine estate company can get really common on the web if you set up a internet site for it and use real estate Joomla as a basis.This advice is explained by super capabilities Joomla CMS possesses:

top quality designeasy and efficient subject material management facilitiessubstantial good qualityaffordabilityBuilding a web site with the aid of actual estate parts for Joomla you simplify your operate drastically. You get a fully readymade layout for your internet site which will make it search unmatched as properly as can handle and update it according to your individual likings.

Even though I have been hanging out in Hampton Roads Virginia for the last 6 years I would like to see Detroit make a turnaround.  But no one seems to have any love for Detroit anymore.  It’s like “Detroit, why, who cares about Detroit”.  Most are indifferent to the fate of Detroit.  But I’m from the Midwest, and I always like to see the cities there do well.  Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton, Youngstown, Flint, Pontiac, Ann Arbor, Canton, Toledo, Madison, Milwaukee.  There are also those fringe areas like Oklahoma City and Kansas City that may or may not be part of the Midwest, depending on who you ask.  I am sure that I have missed more than a few.  We have a lot of cities in the Midwest, a lot.  

There are a lot of cities with more than 100,000.  In some cases, there are suburbs of cities with more than 100,000.  But this is a tough area to live in.  It isn’t that the Midwest is an old area of the country; most of the cities there are newer and younger than their counterparts on the East coast.  It isn’t the the Midwest is rural; the cities are just as dense and urban as what you will find anywhere else, enough for most people, we have nothing on New Jersey and New York, but it is good enough.  It isn’t even that the Midwest is monolithic and racially segregated; other minority groups have moved to the Midwest since I’ve left.  You will find large ethnic neighborhoods in a lot of cities.

The problem with the Midwest has always been the energy, or lack of it.  Just not like what you will find on the East Coast or the West Coast.  A different vibe, and one that is difficult to understand unless you grew up here.  Not as laid back, but not as frenzied or frantic either.  None of that seemed to matter when we had jobs.  Where do people live now?  Where are people moving to, if they don’t move from here?  State capitals, Chicago, okay but those cities have always had a lot of people.  Suburbia perhaps, well okay but what is really going on.  

You hear about the South, first Atlanta then Miami then Charlotte.  You hear about the East Coast, New York, then Boston or perhaps Washington DC (which is or is not Mid-Atlantic, which is or is not East Coast, depending on who you ask).  You even hear about Pittsburgh, which may or may not be part of the Midwest.  So we hear about these places, and we hear good news.  Then when people talk about the Midwest there is never any good news.  People are indifferent about Chicago; people still live there, but there is plenty of bad news.

So what do you think about when the Midwest comes to mind?  Failing school systems, bankruptcy (or close to bankruptcy), intervention by the State.  Violence, urban decay, poverty.  Empty factories, deteriorating infrastructure, in the case of Detroit, urban farming perhaps?  Detroit was once the second largest city in the Midwest, and the Midwest used to have the second largest city in the country.  Now Detroit has fallen behind Columbus and Indianapolis.  It is the fourth largest city in the Midwest now.  On top of that it does not have the options that the other three cities do; yes Chicago is still landlocked, but they are still building vertically there.  Now you can argue that Detroit has larger metropolitan areas than those cities, whatever; the exodus to suburbia has never been a good thing for any city, ever, in the history of this country.  Detroit’s issues are to the inner core of that city; I never understood the consolation to be found in having a large suburban population to prevent you from focusing on the issues that your city has. Every city in the Midwest has a large, and growing, metropolitan area, but then again so do cities all across America.  Suburbs are just a nice way to benefit from the city without absorbing all of the problems of that city.  

Detroit was always a large city.  At 143 square miles it is a huge place.  Unlike cities like Indianapolis and Columbus, that is not through annexation, but the sheer size of the city.  Those cities also have a large land mass as well.  For many years though the only city in the Midwest that was larger, in population or in land mass, was Chicago.  That was the only thing Detroit had to concern itself with, the only regional competition that existed.  Until 1970, Detroit did not have a lot of competition in general, as it was the 5th largest city in America.  

So what could happen to Detroit?  Clearly the city is in a place where people may no longer take it seriously.  Around here the size of a city is everything.  It isn’t the East Coast or the West Coast where it is just enough to live in an enormous metropolitan area, and it doesn’t really matter where you live.  Our metropolitan areas do not touch each other, our cities have not grown into each other and each city and its metropolitan area can be an entirely different place from the other.  There is that pride of “this is my city, and this is how many people live here”, bragging rights.  Yet Detroit continues to fall.  The good news is that there is a long fall from number 4 to number 5, Milwaukee has fewer than 600,000 at 594,833.  But if history is any indication Detroit will make that fall and at this rate, 500,000 might be a blessing in disguise by the next census.  

Detroit would still be considered a large city at that point.  The irony of this is that it is not as though Detroit is sitting around and waiting until the last minute to try to affect change; no one would ever accuse people of waking up once the population was down to 300,000.  At the same time, it would appear as though too little is being done too late.  They are already talking about closing down the People Mover; a light rail which existed since the late eighties that never truly took off as it should.  Detroit needs viable options, and people should be able to get around that city without an automobile, but with a lot of people gone, who can really afford light rail?  In any event the closure of the people mover will definitely be seen as yet another failure of the city.

An article in the July 2011 issue of Ebony magazine shows a hopeful Mayor Dave Bing.  He states that the city has more theater seats than any other city outside of New York and that Detroit has three major casinos and every major sport.  Yes we know, Detroit has a lot of teams, they have the theater and they have major casinos, perhaps more than any other city in the Midwest.  Any self-respecting Midwesterner would know these things.  There are a lot of great things about Detroit that would surprise someone who is not from the Midwest, but then you also state that the city is productively using 50% of the city.  That doesn’t sound very good at all, 50%?  Only half of this city is worth talking about?

If there is even a city close to reaching those levels on the East Coast it is probably Philadelphia and Baltimore.  Those cities give the perception that only half of the place is worth taking into consideration.  The reality may be that things are not actually as bad in either city; people may at least give it the benefit of the doubt that they are ignorant and are simply listening to what someone else heard.  The problem with Detroit is that it is isolated.  Chicago is not Washington DC, it is an hour away.  Columbus is not Philadelphia.  The only city even remotely close to Detroit worth mention is Toledo, and that place isn’t much to write home to your Mother about either.  What saddens me about the Midwest, is that the cities that are doing well are too isolated from their neighbors for the effects of what little good is going on to even affect what happens in those other towns.  Everyone is an hour away from someone else, in some cases two hours away.  

At the end of the day one has to ask themselves if Detroit could ever afford to utilize that other half?  What plans does the Mayor have for that other half outside of Downtown, that half that is not glamorous, where you would be lucky to find a streetlight on or a traffic signal working, or a sidewalk paved or the grass cut?  That half that is pulling down the city financially and making the entire town look bad.  There is one thing that the Mayor is right about; that is that you have to spend time in Detroit to understand Detroit.  That is typically the case with much of the Midwest but no where is that more true than it is in Detroit.  There are a lot of good things going on, a flourishing visual arts scene, as opposed to music scene the city has been known, urban farming, which could reduce transportation costs and make the city interesting because of lower costs over time, Downtown itself, which is nothing like it was in the eighties and nineties.

Prices are a lot, lot, lot cheaper in Detroit.  You can get a house for like $ 5,000, which is hard to believe until you check the real estate listings for yourself.  This makes it an easier place to live than either coast; you don’t have to live in a drug infested neighborhood and dodge bullets or face opposition because you are seen as someone who is about gentrification and moving people out.  In many instances people have already moved out of the neighborhood and your biggest issue might be squatters next door.  The city still has a lot of museums and has not given up on culture, which seems to be one thing Detroit will never give up on.  There is a lot to consider; Detroit isn’t for everybody, but it seems as though most that have moved on were looking for jobs elsewhere or abandoned the city because of the crime that plagued it for many years.  Detroit used to be the worst city in the country, hands down.  These days you cannot even find it among the 25 worst cities in the country.  That doesn’t mean that there aren’t neighborhoods to avoid or activities that you might think twice about doing at a certain time of day.  That also doesn’t mean that the crime is non-existent, it could be that Detroit is not reporting crime as it once did.  But it is a glimmer of hope.  In the past Detroit was a city that everyone ran to looking for jobs. In the future only certain people will even consider living in Detroit, and although that is not the message the city is trying to send out or one it would ever fully embrace, that could be the best possible thing to ever happen to the city of Detroit …

The city of Victoria began its humble origins in 1840 as Fort Victoria, the western outpost for the Hudson Bay’s fur trading operations. The fort was later incorporated into as a city in 1862. Today Victoria is a booming metropolis with an estimated population over 80 thousand residents living in 13 distinct municipalities that are incorporated into the greater Victoria area.

In a previous three part article series on the three main communities to buy real estate in Victoria, British Columbia, were discussed. These communities, Victoria proper, Westshore and the Peninsula area contain the majority of the residential prosperities available in Victoria, but they are not the only available communities to settle down in. This bonus article will examine the three other outlying communities of the Gulf Islands region, the Highlands and the Malahat area.

1) Gulf Islands

Located in the Strait of Georgia there are over 200 islands as part of the British Columbia Gulf Island district. This group of Islands are divided into two groups, the Southern and Northern Gulf Islands. Those Islands in the Southern section, which are Gabriola Island, Galiano Island, Kuper Island, Mayne Island, North and South Pender Islands, Saltspring Island, Saturna Island, Thetis Island and Valdes Island, are the ones considered as part of the unincorporated communities of the Greater Victoria area when it comes to real estate. The larger, more populated islands, such as the Salt Spring, Pender, Mayne, Galiano and Saturna islands, have daily ferry service from Victoria and Vancouver. Real estate options include many types of residences including single and multi-family dwellings, as well as many waterfront properties.

2) Highlands

The Highlands is a rural residential area just northwest of Victoria, located on the Saanich Peninsula. With more than one-third of the Highlands being protected as municipal, regional, and provincial parklands, it is home to a large potion of Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Mount Work Regional Park and Lone Tree Regional Park. When it comes to real estate options, there are single family and multi-family dwellings available, but most residents are encouraged to build their own homes with the least amount of environmental impact.

3) Malahat & Area

Malahat consists of the area surrounding the 25 kilometre portion of Highway 1, known as Malahat Drive, that runs along the west side of the Saanich Inlet from Victoria. Malahat Proper is considered a rugged area containing mature forests and steep cliffs. Just to the north is the community of Shawnigan Lake, an area noted for its pristine lakes, followed by the community of Mill Bay, known for its waterfront properties, and beyond that is the farming village of Cobble Hill. Most Malahat residents live in isolated areas located off the highway. Real estate options include single and multi-family homes, as well as farmland and some waterfront properties.

This bonus section of the Victoria, BC, real estate areas is the fourth and final installment of this series. If you are looking for more information on Victoria real estate, please look for the first three articles. Part one discussed the Victoria community, and included Victoria proper, Victoria West, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich East, Saanich West, and View Royal. Part two examined the Westshore communities, which included Colwood, Langford, Metchosin and Sooke. And finally, part three was all about the Peninsula, and included such communities as Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney.

In the event you possess a second home, you need insurance just as you do on your first home. It’ll cost you a bit more, because you are not there as often as you are at your primary residence. There are some things you are able to do to decrease prices for the insurance coverage on your second home, though. This is the way to both lower prices and make sure you have enough coverage at the same time.

Mount an alarm system

Properties that sit empty for a big part of the year are prime targets for burglars. As well as, a disaster like a fire could break out, and nobody would be there to realize it until it’s too late. Insurance corporations know this, so they’ll charge you more simply since you are not there to keep watch over things. However, installing an alarm system that can detect disasters like fire or break-ins will shave 20% off your bill. You will spend about $ 300 to put in a basic system, depending how in depth the sensors and zones in your system are. After that, it’ll cost you roughly $ 70 a year (more for a more extensive system) to maintain your system operational.

Purchase your property in a gated neighborhood

If your property is in a gated neighborhood, that is going to present you an instantaneous 10% concession. If your home is in a rural area, exhibiting that the fire department can access a water source, like a lake or stream, can mean an extra 25% off. In case you can afford to do so, hire a custodian. This may not save you on insurance coverage, essentially, however it could suggest you are a good risk to the insurance coverage company that otherwise you wouldn’t be.

Check around — and check with the insurance agent who insures your principal house

Watch out, because your real estate agent may tell you that his local agent will give you one of the best rates. However, that’s not necessarily true; likelihood is, your individual insurance agent, the one who sells you coverage for your principal residence, is a better bet. If you insure your second residence with the same firm, it ought to provide you with a “multiple” savings of 5 to 10%. Some insurance companies additionally provide “package insurance policies,” whereby you may get umbrella liability protection, perhaps a boat, two or three houses, and several automobiles — all in one package, and possibly at a major markdown versus what you’d pay if you happen to attempt to cover all these items separately.

What about condominium insurance coverage?

In the event you buy condo insurance coverage, check out what the condominium association is going to cover for you before you buy. The structure itself will definitely be covered, as a part of your monthly upkeep price. Nonetheless, you’re still liable for interior fixtures, home equipment, and any improvements you make, in addition to your possessions and liability.

Umbrella policies

An umbrella liability policy will not be necessarily essential when you don’t have a second residence, but if you”ve got one now, you need to have an umbrella liability policy, too. This simply extends liability limits to $ 300,000 generally on auto, homeowners, and even perhaps other insurance policies quite reasonably. When you own two houses, it is best to have a minimal of $ 1 million protection in umbrella liability, which will cost you about $ 300. For those who are a landlord, you especially need one, since you will need protection in case guests to tenants’ properties harm themselves on your property, etc.

One final point: If you do lease out your second home, attempt to lease it empty. It’s going to cost you much less in insurance coverage simply because there aren’t any contents to insure (the tenant is liable for his personal contents by means of renters insurance coverage).

Ken Schmidt is a Realtor in the Phoenix Arizona area and specializes in golf communities like DC Ranch in Scottsdale.

Article by Mark Villabane

While it is true that the Philippine laws restrict foreigners from buying and owning real estate properties in the Philippines, the constitution has stated certain exceptions allowing non-Filipinos to have their names written on authentic land titles in the country.

Under the following circumstances, foreigners are permitted to own even a piece of property in Philippines:

1. If the parent/s or any ancestor of the foreigner is a Filipino, and s/he was given a real estate property to inherit, the Philippine law will permit the transfer. The same principle applies to foreign spouses who inherit real estate properties from their deceased Filipino spouses.

2. The ownership of a Filipino over the real estate propertiess/he acquiredbefore migrating to other countries and changing citizenship will not be revoked. The right over the real properties will remain unless relinquished through selling or bequeathing.

3. For former Filipinos, buying a house and lot for sale in the Philippines – other than what they owned prior to their naturalization – is possible only if they retain their being a Filipino through dual citizenship.

4. Former natural-born Filipinos are also permitted to buy properties in the Philippines which will not exceed 5,000 square meters (urban) or 3 hectares (rural) provided that the property will be used for business or commercial properties only. In the event that the land property in Philippines which will be purchased is residential, it should not exceed 1,000 square meters (urban) or 1 hectare (rural).

5. By marrying a Filipino citizen, foreigners are granted the right to acquire real estate properties as long as the Filipino spouse retains his/her Filipino citizenship. This is a rule which is subjected to marriage settlements.

6. Any Philippine land ownership which happened prior to the abolishment of the 1935 Constitution cannot be rescinded. Foreigners keep their proprietorship of the Philippine land despite the changes in the law.

The law clearly implies that whatever is in the Philippines is owned and are rightfully for the Filipinos. But there is always an exception to any law; and in this case, there are exceptions. So in case foreigners would want to own La Union real estate, there are still chances to do so. However, it has to be kept in mind that circumventing the law is strictly prohibited.

However, it has to be understood that not all La Union properties for sale are worth the purchase. So in order to get things right, here are a few tips to consider in settling the deal in buying a property in Philippines:

1. Consider the location. A real estate property is considered in a good location if nearby are different establishments which are necessary for everyday living. It has to be near department stores, supermarkets, places of worship, schools, and hospitals so that if the need arises, you would not have a hard time finding the right amenities. 2. Make sure that the community is peaceful. It is a common knowledge that what you become is influenced by your community. So in finding a La Union house for sale, you have to consider the nature of your surroundings. It should have calm atmosphere and quiet surroundings.3. If buying a beach property for sale in La Union, make sure that the house is located close enough to the shores for easy access to the water; and far enough, in case of emergencies. 4. Houses for sale in the Philippines – particularly in La Union – should be in good condition, especially if it is second-hand. 5. If buying a newly developed house and lot, check whether the developer you’re buying it from is legitimate. Serious problems may arise if the land developer or agent is illegal. Thus, it is better to check from the local registry if the company or people you’re dealing with are good to be trusted. It may require a lot of legworks but it is better safe than sorry. To further prove the legality of your transaction, you can also ask for authentic copies of the title deed. In the event that you are buying second-hand properties, demand for an original copy of the Transfer Certificate Title, and check it on the Registry of Deeds.

It is important to consider the above-mentioned tips in purchasing La Union properties. After all, you are buying a home – and since you will be living in it, you deserve only the best.

Several years ago I rented a house in a mid-sized town in Missouri. The neighborhood was one that real estate agents diplomatically refer to as “mature.” In fact, the neighborhood was one of the oldest in this little town called St. Joseph, right along the banks of the Missouri River. It was the kind of place where people had owned their homes for generations. It was in a state of decline, but the entire town has long been in such a state and there is no place that is safe from crime.

I suspect that the house I rented was a former drug house of some kind. Once the police came to the door at around 5 a.m. They shined a bright light through my bedroom before banging on the door. They quickly realized that they had either the wrong house or the wrong resident, anyway, and left. On other occasions I had strange visitors at my door at night.

About that time an entire family had been slain by drug dealers from Kansas City when the lady of the house opened the door to a strange knock. They had the wrong house and they killed an innocent family. I don’t recall if the killers were ever caught.

I ran a little book store and I recall a number of strange-looking people from the neighborhood who came in. I knew when I saw some these hollow-eyed people that they were drug users of some kind. But, I didn’t think much about it. It was a fact of life in this town that had been hit hard by bad economic policies that affected agriculture and manufacturing over the years. Not just NAFTA and GATT, but the floods in the early nineties had caused a lot of businesses to flee and high taxes and the lack of a work force discouraged new interests from taking root. It was a hard place to do business. It was a hard place to even keep a job, in fact. The town has always been a place of despair in my mind.

None of this is said to excuse the widespread use of drugs in the town, however, just to explain what kind of place it is. Situated between Kansas City, MO and Omaha, NE, it has been a stop-over for drug traffickers from the bigger cities for years. The most recent statistic I recall reading was that there was that the city officials estimated that they had an average of one meth lab on every square city block.

Even with all of this around me, I probably would not have noticed or bothered to learn more about the methamphetamine problem if it hadn’t been for a series of events that at the time just seemed strange.

The first thing I noticed was dead cats. There used to be a lot of cats in the neighborhood, then one by one they turned up dead in my yard and that of my nearest neighbor. They all looked as if they had been poisoned. One was dead under the bushes in front of the neighbors house. Both of our houses had bushes out front and we remarked at the horrible smell – like a thousand cats had marked their territory there. But, it was a strong chemical odor. It was similar to the smell of anhydrous ammonia with which I was familiar because we used it on the farm. It would be brought in and sprayed on the land from huge tanks. But, this smell in the bushes was slightly different.

On another occasion, the neighbor and I remarked about the house on the other side of him. We remarked at how their air conditioner always seemed to be running regardless of the outside temperature. It ran constantly and we wondered how they could afford their electric bill.

We never saw the couple who lived there – only their children. These kids were a menace. They acted like a bunch of little gangsters and mostly seemed to live outside the house. They were always on the porch or out on the sidewalk. Sometimes they would come outside and just scream at the top of their lungs for no particular reason.

In short, the neighbors just seemed a little strange… just strange. Then one day, I was scanning the local newspaper. The town is small enough that the local paper lists “Police Briefs.” You can read matters of public record like who received speeding tickets or people reporting thefts and it gives names and addresses of the parties involved. It’s the sort of thing you glance over with a sense of shame unless you’re one of those small town gossips that takes pleasure in meddling in other people’s private business.

Most of the time, it wasn’t the sort of thing I would look at, but that day what resembled my street address seemed to leap off the page at me. Only it wasn’t my address, exactly – it was the address of the house two doors down with the strange ventilation and screaming children.

The Police Brief gave the name of the two adult occupants and said that they had been arrested for methamphetamine.

After that, I began researching more about meth and meth labs. I had been experiencing a lot of headaches and respiratory problems. I don’t doubt that it was related to the meth lab two doors down who had been dumping their chemical refuse in the bushes in front of my house. It was these chemicals that killed the cats who like to take refuge in those bushes.

After the couple had been arrested they had the audacity to come into my store telling some outrageous story about bat guano and the ammonia smell. They were trying to blame another neighbor’s bat houses for the bad chemical smells. Those terrible smells were probably what alerted those of my neighbors who were in the know about meth, who then called law enforcement. I can only imagine that these two tweakers (meth users are called “tweakers” because they stay awake and paranoid for two weeks at a time) were doing damage control since it was obvious that they had been dumping dangerous, toxic chemicals in front of my house. I was disturbed that they knew who I was! …Or where to find me.

I can only hope that that couple spent a serious amount of time behind bars where they belong.

But, it is an unfortunate fact that most meth labs go undetected.

While the War on Drugs has been a hopeless failure, if not a ruse, that should be stopped immediately as it has damaged so many innocent lives, methamphetamine production is another story altogether. This drug is not as harmless as marijuana, which is not even in the same class of substance. It is not even as benign as cocaine or heroin.

I have learned a lot about meth from talking to people who have used it and to people who sadly had a child or other relative who became involved with the drug. The first thing that makes meth different is that its production is very dangerous. It produces toxic fumes that can harm the health of anyone anywhere near the meth house and these labs explode from time to time.

But, the other danger of meth is the way it makes its users behave. Methamphetamine makes people very violent – meth users should be approached only with caution. The drug is associated with all kinds of bizarre sexual behavior – in fact, it is a far more sexual drug than cocaine. Frequently, meth users may abuse or torture small animals and they are often inclined to thievery. They oftenexperience psychosis, even when they are not actively using the drug. They cannot be reasoned with.

These people are more than just bad or annoying neighbors. They are dangerous. If you are unfortunate, as I have been, to have such neighbors and recognize a meth lab, it is not a bad idea to notify your local law enforcement agencies. Don’t expect immediate results, though. It takes a long time for law enforcement to close in on a suspected meth lab. But, it is a step in the right direction.

If your suspected meth lab producers are renters, you should document activity at the house and report it to the owner of the property. Do this in writin . Most likely, the owner of the property has no idea that a meth lab is being run on his property. It will be in his best interest to take action against his tenants as quickly as possible. Meth labs can be very costly to landlords. This may be the quickest route to putting and end to the problem.

But, prepare for retaliation if you report them to law enforcement or to their landlord. Meth dealers are dangerous, unpredictable people.

Meth lab neighbors are an unfortunate fact of life all too often, even if you live in a nice neighborhood or a peaceful rural area. Learn to recognize a meth lab. Protect your property, yourself and your loved ones.

The year was 2009 and the decade was drawing to a close. The Philippines was once again back to its familiar role as the basket case of Asia, having clinched the ignominious title of being the most corrupt on the continent. In a period of nine years, under the watch of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, many of the gains excruciatingly obtained through former president and international icon of democracy Corazon Aquino had been wiped out. Institutions were alarmingly weakened or emasculated and their independence, as in the case of the judiciary, nefariously compromised. Scandal after scandal—one seemingly more brazen than the last—was being routinely swept under the rug; whistle-blowers and witnesses were being subjected to harassment, kidnapping, intimidation, and, in some cases, made to disappear altogether. The unwritten policy of the Arroyo regime ostensibly called for a wanton and total disregard of public opinion. Each time it was faced with incontrovertible proof of official wrongdoing, the standard response was to wave it off and dismiss it as mere political intrigue. Marcos, at least, had the sophistication to cloak his decrees with legal niceties. Arroyo simply thumbed her nose at the masses, as if daring them to do something about it, and merrily tap-danced her way through nine years of iniquitous and opportunistic governance. Under Arroyo, Delicadeza went the way of the Calesa.

As early as 2001, when Arroyo had barely warmed her seat, the first in a sustained series of scandals—delivered with the regularity of a metronome—immediately erupted. Correspondence secretary Veronica “Bing” Rodrigo accused first gentleman Mike Arroyo of taking a P50-million bribe in July. The bribery was said to have been for Arroyo to recall her veto on two franchise bills. The first bill involved the Philippine Communication Clearinghouse that sought a franchise to operate a clearinghouse where telecommunications companies were to interconnect for a certain fee. The second bill granted APC Wireless Interface Network a franchise to build a wireless telecommunication system nationwide. Rodrigo was a friend of Gloria Arroyo, having been classmates in grade school and high school. Their parents were also close friends.

Just four days after assuming office, Arroyo awarded a $ 470-million contract to Argentine firm Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anonima (IMPSA) to rehabilitate a power plant in Laguna. A few months later, former Manila Representative Mark Jimenez, the man who brokered the transaction, accused Justice Secretary Hernando Perez of extorting $ 2 million in exchange for a justice department opinion that favoured the deal.

Jimenez disclosed that the entire amount was actually $ 14 million: Perez received $ 2 million, the National Power Corporation “boys” got $ 1 million, Malacañang was given $ 4, and $ 7 million was retained by him. In April 2008, the office of the Ombudsman, headed by Merceditas Gutierrez, filed graft charges against Perez, his wife Rosario, Ernest Escaler, and Ramon Antonio Arceo Jr. By November, however, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the case as the Ombudsman failed to expedite the complaints, rendering Perez immune from the charges, indirectly acquitting him.

In October that year, Roberto Rivero, former consultant of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO), accused the first gentleman of utilizing almost $ 5 million of PCSO funds to finance the campaign of some senatorial candidates and to bribe radio commentators. Years later, in May 2007, another former PCSO senior executive, Cirilo Avila, said the funds were made to appear as payment for ad placements but were actually employed to fund the campaign of the People Power Coalition (PPC) of Arroyo.

Eyebrows rose when Gloria Arroyo agreed to stand as the godmother of the son of suspected jueteng boss Bong Pineda. Later events provided a glimpse of the nature of Arroyo’s ties to the Pinedas. In 2005, during the height of the Senate probe on the “Hello Garci” scandal, Army Capt. Marlon Mendoza quoted former COMELEC commissioner Virgillio Garcillano as saying that Pineda supplied P300 million to fund Arroyo’s presidential bid in 2004.

In Senate hearings on jueteng that began in May 2005, jueteng operators and bagmen averred that the President’s husband, Mike, her son Mikey, and her brother-in-law Ignacio or Iggy were among those who were receiving payoffs from gambling lords. The amounts reportedly ranged from P500,000 to P1 million a month. One of the key witnesses, businesswoman Sandra Cam, testified that in December 2004, she personally delivered the cash to Mikey and Iggy at the House of Representatives with the money coming from retired Chief Supt. Restituto Mosqueda, a former police director for Bicol and alleged protector of jueteng operations in Luzon. Richard Garcia and Demosthenes Abraham Riva also confessed to the Senate that the three Arroyos had been receiving payola from jueteng operations in Bicol. Michaelangelo Zuce, an aide Garcillano and a former staff member of presidential adviser on political affairs Joey Rufino, directly linked the President to jueteng by saying that before the 2004 elections, the President distributed money to several election officials in her house in La Vista, Quezon City, in the presence of Bong Pineda’s wife, Lilia Pineda.

From jueteng to high-finance, the array of anomalies ascribed to the Arroyo regime encompassed the entire spectrum of economic activity. Conceptualized by the Caucus of Development (Code-NGO), the PEACe bonds (Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates) were issued by the government supposedly to help raise funds for the anti-poverty campaigns of its member organizations. But a number of those organizations like the Freedom from Debt Coalition took the Code-NGO to task for using its political connections to profit P1.4 billion from the bond floatation worth P35 billion pesos. They decried the fact the taxpayers had been saddled with an obligation of paying P2.5 billion a year for interest alone. Observers also noted that the government lost P5 billion in tax revenues from that transaction. They also posed a very fundamental question: If the government needed P10 billion so badly, why did it have to issue zero coupon bonds when it could have raised the same amount through regular treasury bills auctions at interest rates 3 to 4 percent lower? Socorro Camacho-Reyes, sister of then Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho chaired the Code-NGO at the time.

Similarly, the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC, formerly Construction Development Corporation of the Philippines or CDCP) and Radstock Securities abruptly announced a compromise agreement obliging the PNCC to pay Radstock P6.2 billion by ceding 19 pieces of real estate properties, 20 percent of the outstanding capital stock of PNCC, and 50 percent of PNCC’s share in the gross toll revenue of the Manila North Tollways Corporation for 27 years.

Senators Sergio Osmena III and Franklin Drilon cried foul because it disposed of almost all the assets of PNCC, a company inherited by the government after Marcos ordered state financial institutions to swap debt owed to them by the company for stocks. The deal, they pointed out, gave Marubeni/Radstock preferential treatment over other bigger creditors, particularly the Philippine government. As of December 2002, the PNCC owed the government through the Assets Privatization Trust P41.39 billion, according to the Commission on Audit, excluding pending liabilities amounting to P6.9 billion.

Issues on mismanaged funds by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) also caught the public eye. PAGCOR had been declaring negative cash flows that bloated to P850 million in 2003. Chairman Efraim Genuino (he had adapted his surname, in lieu of the original Ginogino, without undergoing the requisite court proceedings when he was still an insurance salesman), appointed by Mrs. Arroyo and a trusted point man of first gentleman Mike Arroyo, had entered into contracts with numerous private partners that many industry experts deemed to be onerous. Those “sharing” agreements were starting to cannibalize the profits of the government-owned corporation, which had been the third biggest source of funds, next only to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

At the GSIS, president and general manager Winston Garcia directed his units to stop the processing of claims and loan applications because of financial difficulty while reportedly disbursing millions for the purchase of Juan Luna’s “Parisian Life” painting. In the meantime, Garcia wangled out a salary ofP540,000 a month and had appointed some 130 vice-presidents who made P70,000 a month. There were whispers that GSIS contributed at least P100 million to the campaign kitty of Mrs. Arroyo, who retained Garcia despite petitions from GSIS employees for his removal. Few were surprised by his retention since he belonged to a powerful political clan in Cebu that had been impugned of masterminding a vote-padding operation in the province that vaulted Arroyo over Fernando Poe Jr. in 2004.

Meanwhile, activists and journalists had suddenly acquired a nasty habit of falling dead while administration officials paid lip service to democratic ideals. As the latter were extolling the country as rapidly developing and modern, it was locked in a tight race with Iraq as the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. Jonas Burgos, an agriculturist and activist who had been providing technical training to left-wing farmers’ groups, was one of those ruthlessly abducted. He was the son of the late and esteemed opposition publisher Joe Burgos, whom the iconic Cory Aquino credited for “lighting our paths in the dark, long years of martial rule.” In an impassioned statement, she pleaded, “I appeal to the highest authorities of the land to send the clear signal to the field that Jonas Burgos must be surfaced immediately by whoever is holding him, and that no harm must come to him.” According to eyewitnesses, five persons dragged Burgos from a mall in Quezon City and forced him into a van. The license plate of the vehicle was later traced to the 56th Infantry Battalion camp in Bulacan.Commission on Human Rights Chair Purificacion Quisumbing summoned armed forces officials, including General Delfin Bangit, who headed the intelligence service of the AFP at the time, to shed light on Jonas’ disappearance. As of this writing, Burgos is still missing.

The darkness creeping across the land reached a crescendo when the Ampatuans of Maguindanao were implicated in what is widely considered to be the most heinous politically-motivated crime in the history of mankind: the grisly massacre of their rivals along with more than two dozen media people. That monstrous act drew attention to the inordinate special treatment accorded by the palace to its warlords, apparently as a reward for “special services” rendered during election seasons. The streak of oppression and injustice was by no means confined within the last few years of the Arroyo administration. One needed only to look back to 2003 when retired colonel Panfilo Villaruel commandeered an ancillary airport control tower, which was not even essential to normal operations, in protest over how the government was being run. After a brief and cursory negotiation, the aviation security group and the police SWAT team summarily liquidated him and his aide Navy Lt. Ricardo Catchillar, while the two were scuffling to surrender.

On the economic front, the gap between the wealthy few and the multitudes living below the poverty line had become even more abysmal. Arroyo had been boasting that under her leadership, the country was able to weather the global financial crisis and cited the stable foreign exchange rate as a testament to her sound fiscal policies. In truth, the only thing that kept the nation from falling over the precipice of economic ruin was the billions of dollars remitted by the Filipino overseas foreign workers. Multinational companies were shutting down local operations left and right primarily because of their dismay over the unprecedented level of corruption in government. In the new global economy, it is hardly surprising that major companies will seize opportunities to locate in places where doing business will be most cost-effective. As the business competitiveness of the Philippines continued to erode, more and more Filipinos trained their sights on employment abroad. Aside from the obvious brain-drain that this phenomenon fomented, the social cost was heartbreaking—leaving a trail of broken families in its wake. Wives and mothers were compelled to leave their families behind just to put food on the table. In foreign lands, they oftentimes became victims of sexual, physical, and emotional abuses. Philippine embassies and consulates had, time and again, proven to be inutile insofar as providing vital assistance and protection in crisis situations involving Filipino workers.

The Filipino farmer—the rice farmer in particular—was again getting the raw end of the deal. Government subsidies had been discontinued, leaving the growers no choice but to price their produce higher because of costly inputs. Naturally, this situation impelled food officials to import—purportedly to alleviate the plight of consumers— from other Asian countries that owe their efficiency in production to their technical people who were trained at, ironically, the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. In February 2003, 600,000 metric tons of rice imported from India turned out to be rotten and mouldy. Kishore Hemlani, an Indian trader allegedly close to Arroyo, was said to have bagged the P9.5 billion contract for the rice importation.

Some of those behind the drive to import were making a lot of money by circumventing customs duties that, in turn, allowed the imported rice to be sold at a lower price compared to the commodity grown here. As a result, the local farmers were systematically discouraged from pursuing their means of subsistence since they could no longer sell their products at a price that would cover their costs and yield a decent profit. Many succumbed to the enticements of real estate developers and sold their lands for conversion into residential subdivisions.

Consequently, those rural folks, particularly their children—goaded by the promise of an easier way of life, where smarts and cleverness have supplanted hard work as the keys to prosperity—started to descent in greater numbers unto the cities and urban areas, looking for work and searching for the proverbial greener pastures. Unfortunately, meaningful work could hardly be found as companies embarked on programs to down-size their work forces due to global recessionary pressures in general, and their intention to relocate to more investor-friendly countries in particular. With so many schools and universities churning out thousands of graduates every year, prospective employers enjoyed the luxury of cherry-picking the best of the lot, leaving the average graduate dejected and grasping at every opportunity to work abroad. The exodus from the countryside exacerbated the already woeful state of congestion in Metro Manila. Teeming with people, many of whom were unemployed, the metropolis morphed into an urban jungle where drug-addiction and criminality were the norms.

Not surprisingly, the Arroyo administration pounced on the population issue and emphasized it as one of the major hindrances to progress. Hardly anyone pointed out that Japan, which is only slightly larger than the Philippines in terms of land area and considerably less endowed in terms of natural resources, had a population of more than 100 million in the 70’s when its economy lifted off to stratospheric heights. The same thing goes for the juggernaut that is China today; they have been able to parlay their population—the biggest in the world by a mile—into an ultra-potent weapon that has enabled them to climb the cusp of global economic dominance. Obviously, the Arroyo regime was aiming to divert public attention from the flagrant mismanagement that was causing the government to resemble the Cosa Nostra more than a professional service organization. As the late Peter Drucker, the famous management professor was fond of saying, the failure of any group or organization can ultimately be traced as emanating from bad management. Whether the awful governance that was inflicted on the Filipino people for almost a decade was caused by incompetence or by design is subject to debate. The preponderance of evidence, however, indicated a deliberate and devious drive to preserve power and enrich a selected few at the expense of the many.

Clinging to power was accomplished by ensuring that certain favoured generals and senior military officials were kept happy and content through high-level appointments and other emoluments. It became axiomatic that retiring generals who were supportive of the incumbent dispensation would automatically be installed to juicy civilian posts upon retirement, as a matter of course. As they lounged in their mansions, the common foot soldier was struggling to keep muddy water from seeping through the holes on the soles of his beat-up combat boots while negotiating the jungles of Mindanao while the ordinary beat policeman was trying to scrounge enough money to buy a pistol because they could not issue him one for lack of budget. Generals like Angelo Reyes, who never had a single day of combat experience, were strutting around like Patton and Rommel, while quintessential professional soldiers like Danny Lim, a product of the United StatesMilitaryAcademy in West Point, and Ariel Querubin, one of only two living Medal of Valour recipients, languished in the stockade for airing their grievances.

Rear Adm. Guillermo Wong, then Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy, had exposed irregularities in the Philippine Marines’ procurement of equipment worth P3.8 million. This did not sit well with Marine officials. Then Armed Forces chief of staff Angelo Reyes offered Wong another post, chief of the Northern Command, practically demoting him. That drove Wong to resign. When asked to comment, Arroyo insisted that Reyes had done “the right thing.” Upon retirement from military service, she immediately appointed him as defense secretary. Reyes’ alleged involvement in selling arms and ammunitions to rebel and bandit groups moved 300 young officers and enlisted men of the AFP to revolt against the Arroyo regime. Reyes was forced to resign but Arroyo quickly installed him as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). For the pièce de résistance, General Jovito Palparan, who possessed a villainous reputation as a butcher of dissenters, was served up as an exemplar of a true patriot.

The politicization of the armed forces and the police scaled the apex when several generals were accused to have taken an active part in a vast conspiracy that rigged the 2004 presidential elections. The “Hello, Garci” episode plumbed a new low in the annals of Philippine politics. The enormous popularity of Fernando Poe, Jr. was poised to swamp Arroyo under an avalanche of votes. Instead, Filipinos slumped with jaws dropped in disbelief, as congress, behaving like fawning parasites, proclaimed Arroyo as the winner—literally under cover of darkness. It was, after all, perpetrated around midnight. As respected columnist Conrado de Quiros tersely put it, that unholy ritual bore all the hallmarks of the murder of the king, or more aptly, Da King. A year after the election, a recording of a telephone conversation between Arroyo and election commissioner Virgilio “Garci” Garcillano found its way to the media. During the conversation, Arroyo directed him to make sure that she would win by at least one million votes. In the twelfth century, William of Malmesbury quoted that the voice of the people was the voice of God (vox populi, vox Dei).For those who subscribe to that principle, cheating in an election is indeed a crime of the highest order. In thwarting the will of the Creator, a scoundrel not only puts himself of herself in a position to plunder material wealth from a country but, more profoundly, he or she extinguishes the hopes and dreams of an entire people.

In March 2004, Senator Panfilo Lacson accused Arroyo of vote-buying by authorizing the release of 728 million pesos purportedly for the purchase of fertilizers that would be distributed to local officials. Farmers later insisted that they did not receive fertilizers from the funds released by the Department of Agriculture. A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) special report made public that billions of farm funds were diverted to fund the presidential campaign of Arroyo. Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante was the Agriculture Undersecretary when the fertilizer fund scam blew up. Bolante fled to the US and sought asylum, but the US courts denied his petition and he was eventually deported. Lacson also charged First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of siphoning off at least P321 million in campaign funds and contributions and depositing the money in a secret bank account under the name Jose Pidal.

Six weeks before the May 2004 elections, two lawyers filed a disqualification case against Arroyo, saying she was behind the enhanced Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Greater Medicare Access or GMA program. Public funds were allegedly spent to enrol families in PhilHealth. The program charged the premium cost of P1,200 for each family to PhilHealth and the PCSO. The ID cards, bearing Arroyo’s picture and name, were coincidentally distributed during the start of the election campaign.

The ensuing song-and-dance routine, staged by the Arroyo regime—that of commanding government investigative agencies to probe the election-related irregularities—only deepened the despair of many Filipinos. Invariably, report after report dismissed the allegations of election fraud and manipulation as baseless. Those findings were not totally unexpected coming as they were from commissions and bureaus whose leaders were beholden to the one who appointed them and who also happened to be the subject of the investigation. Nevertheless, the court of public opinion had already convicted Arroyo of stealing the vote and the people, from that point on, had to endure the depressing realization that they were being ruled by an illegitimate president.

As the political charade persisted and escalated over the next six years, shady deals involving billions of pesos in government projects were being hammered out in hotel lobbies, fancy restaurants, golf courses, nightclubs, and myriad other places frequented by the well-heeled. Somehow, the name of first gentleman Mike Arroyo and—in many instances that of presidential son Mikey Arroyo, who was reportedly in the process of importing 32 thoroughbred horses from Melbourne, Australia worth P384 million (at P12 million per horse)—would find a way to surface in the context of those transactions as movers whose imprimatur was de rigueur for the consummation of any “arrangement.” The influence-peddling industry became so cutthroat that even hard-nosed government suppliers and contractors, used to the S.O.P. way of doing things (a euphemism for kickbacks) were lamenting that what used to be a 20 percent standard cut for approving authorities had ballooned up to as high as 60 percent, depending on the nature of the project being laid on the table. Needless to say, corruption of this magnitude would inevitably impact the quality of the output. A bridge built out of sub-standards materials would be more prone to collapse, putting lives at grave risk. Contractors were being induced to cut corners since a large chunk of the proceeds had to be allotted “for the boys”. Unfettered greed was endangering the lives of common men and women. The GSIS-funded 5.1-kilometer President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in the ManilaBay reclamation area was a case in point. Described by many as “the most expensive highway in the world,” its contracts were approved during the Estrada administration and were awarded to three companies: Shoemart Inc., DM Wenceslao, and Jesusito D. Legaspi Construction (JDLC). The SM group of companies constructed its part of the boulevard for only P54,000 per lineal meter, while JDLC built its section, under the Arroyo administration, at a price of P302,000 per lineal meter.

The NBN/ZTE scandal, though, emerged as the centrepiece among the degradations attributed to the Arroyo regime. It involved allegations of corruption at the highest levels in the awarding of a US$ 329 million construction contract to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE for the proposed government-managed National Broadband Network (NBN).

In April 2007, Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Leandro Mendoza and ZTE Vice President Yu Yong hatched a multi-million dollar agreement for a National Broadband Network (NBN) that would purportedly improve government communications capabilities. On August 29, Nueva Vizcaya Congressman Carlos Padilla hinted in a privilege speech that Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Benjamin Abalos went to China to broker a deal for the NBN project. The following day, Abalos denied lobbying for the NBN project, although he did admit travelling to China four times. On September 5, Senator Aquilino Pimentel called for a Senate investigation. Consequently, three committees held joint hearings to scrutinize the issue: the Accountability of Public Officers & Investigations (a.k.a. the Blue Ribbon Committee) headed by Alan Peter Cayetano, the National Defense and Security committee led by Rodolfo Biazon and the Trade and Commerce committee spearheaded by Mar Roxas.

Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, son of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., testified on September 10 that he was with Abalos in China and that he heard Abalos “demand money” from ZTE officials. The younger de Venecia was president of Amsterdam Holdings, the company that lost its bid to ZTE for the NBN project. On September 11, the Supreme Court of the Philippines promulgated a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the NBN contract based on separate certiorari suits filed by Iloilo Vice-Governor and former Representative Rolex Suplico and Joey de Venecia III. Under political pressure from the opposition group, the court gave ZTE fifteen days to comment on the injunction. Suplico, a former opposition congressman, alleged that the agreement was sealed without public bidding and violated the Telecoms Policy Act, which required privatization of all telecommunications facilities. Congressman Padilla sued DOTC and ZTE officials of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Telecommunications Policy Act, the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Act and the Government Procurement Act at the Office of the Ombudsman. AHI also petitioned the Court to direct the DOTC to provide copies of the contract. The younger de Venecia testified on September 18 that Mike Arroyo personally warned him to “back off” from pursuing the project.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Chairman Romulo Neri and Abalos finally faced each other on the September 26 Senate hearing; Neri testified that Abalos told him “Sec, may 200 ka dito (You have 200M pesos in this deal)” while playing golf at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club; they had been discussing the ZTE deal at that time. Neri later invoked executive privilege in response to some Senators’ questions and shunned succeeding Senate hearings. Abalos announced his resignation as COMELEC chairman on October 1. Arroyo on her October 2 trip to China, informed Chinese President Hu Jintao of her “difficult decision” to cancel the deal.

On January 30, 2008, the Senate produced warrants of arrest for Neri and Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, Jr., former chief executive officer of the government-run Philippine Forest Corporation and a consultant of the NEDA. Neri went into hiding while Lozada skipped the Senate hearing and absconded to Hong Kong.

On February 5, as the Senate arresting team staked out the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) awaiting Lozada’s arrival, unidentified people whisked him “out of town”, inciting his kin to cry for help. On February 7, Lozada finally surfaced as police deposited him to La Salle Green Hills, MandaluyongCity. Shortly thereafter, Lozada incriminated Mike Arroyo and Abalos in the ZTE scandal. The next day, in the Senate hearing, Lozada confirmed his NEDA boss Romulo Neri’s testimony that Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairman Benjamin Abalos and Arroyo’s husband Mike were behind the kickbacks. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary Lito Atienza, Neri, former Presidential Management Staff head Michael Defensor, Secretary for Special Concerns Remedios Poblador and Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite, reportedly conspired to facilitate the abduction of Lozada. Dante Madriaga, a ZTE-employed engineer, divulged that Arroyo’s group sought $ 41 million as “advances”. ZTE however refused to shell out more money unless they saw Gloria Arroyo’s face at the signing of the contract.

With the deal in the eye of the storm for being allegedly overpriced by an estimated $ 130 million, Mrs. Arroyo deserted her husband, who was lying on a hospital bed fighting for his life, and flew to Boao, China to witness the signing of the contract. The official government press release proclaimed that Ms. Arroyo “came and went like a thief in the night” because she arrived in “in the wee hours of Saturday,” April 21, and “left at 3:30 p.m. of the same day.

As the public hungered for justice, restively yearning for retribution against the wicked, Arroyo one-upped all and sundry by springing Executive Order 464 on September 26, 2005. It prevented cabinet members, police and military generals, senior national security officials, and “such other officers as may be determined by the President” to attend congressional hearings without her permission. The attendance of two officers from the military before the Senate Committee on National Defense in connection with the “Hello Garci” scandal and the appearance of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales in a Senate hearing regarding a controversial contract between the Philippine government and the Washington-based law firm Venable LLP triggered the edict. From that point on, E.O. 464 dissolutely shielded Arroyo’s people from all scrutiny and enquiries.

Filipinos seethed with anger and indignation as the Arroyo administration unleashed one affront after another against decency. They repeatedly took to the streets to mount public protests but failed to achieve critical mass as policemen hosed down marchers with water cannons and beat them up with truncheons. The military routinely blocked major roads and highways to prevent folks from the provinces from participating in demonstrations. Not even former vice president Teofisto Guingonga and two bishops were spared from getting drenched and being treated abusively by dispersal units.

A group of lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the so-called “calibrated pre-emptive response (CPR)” and the “no permit, no rally” policy enforced against law-abiding citizens. The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) picked up the cudgels on behalf of over two dozen protesters who were arrested and injured in two peaceful mass actions that the police violently dispersed.

Westchester County in New York State is popular due to the variety of housing options available throughout the area. Hudson River Valley towns are small and friendly while rural mini-farms are nestled in wooded lots, making a picturesque scene.
The end of 2010 saw a slowdown in the usual bustling real estate market in Westchester. As the national economy continued to limp and foreclosures were plentiful, Westchester faired pretty well. Homes began to see a slight increase in listings during January 2011 although there is still a long way to go. But the stabilization speaks of a positive sign for real estate trends in this area in the not too distant future.
For most of the country, buying real estate is not a real good choice to make in the early part of 2011. Housing experts are not expecting to see the peak of the housing crash until mid-year, leaving many homes driven down by 35% compared to 2006. Only a few states have managed to stay above this mark and New York is one of them. By watching the slightly lowered prices of real estate in Westchester as opposed to other parts of the country, experts believe that this area has hit bottom and will soon be on the way back up.
There is also a certain degree of optimism in the economy and future within the Westchester area. It is hard to determine just exactly if prices will fall a tad lower or if increases in prices will start in a month or two. Holding its own very well, Westchester homes are priced for the present market and the ones in excellent condition are selling like hotcakes. Another positive sign is the residential developers that are planning or have already started new housing developments along the Hudson River frontage.
If you are considering making a move to Westchester, the time to act is now through June. The area has been on an even keeling long enough to know that they have the wear-with-all to survive. While other states may have another 5 to 6 years before beginning to even out in the real estate market, Westchester has made it with shining colors. There will always be a few properties on the market but making your move while the homes are down by 8.7% from a year ago can prove a steal for you.
According to the Zillow Home Value Index, the median cost for a home in Westchester today is $ 172,000 compared to $ 234,000 just two years ago. The price is bound to increase and December 2010 figures show the price decreasing less than 3%. This shows that the leveling is almost there. Watch this area closely because when the prices begin to increase, it will happen fast.

Article by Martin Sejas

Decided in investing in USA Real Estate? Our favored places of Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties for buying properties from for rental or resale are health for investment.

Lately, the trend has been that real estate purchases have been increasing due to the fact that sellers have been decreasing their pricing. This means that it is now an ideal time to purchase real estate and you should get to it soon or risk losing the opportunity. If buyers continue to increase, then prices will go up.

One that thing that stands though among buyers in these counties is that they most often go for real estate that are in good condition and always preferring the ones in better condition. This is a trend in the buyers’ tendencies in these places that makes our business of buying, renovating and renting out or reselling as quite a successful venture. It is our sincerest hope that you see the great opportunity to profit investing in USA Real Estate and we hope that you see us to be worthy as investment partners.

In case you were wondering about the counties of Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax, I will write below some details on these that would hopefully give you a clearer image of what these counties are.

Fairfax County- More than 1 million residents- 580,000+ jobs- Budget larger than four states- 395 square miles (land)- Median household income: $ 105,241- One of the highest income counties in the US- Percent of people below the poverty level: 4.9 percent- Individuals speaking a language that is not English at home: 32.9 percent

This county also has schools that are ranked among the top 10 in the US has loads of recreational venues such as parks and shopping centers. Also, it happens to be located close to major employment centers and commuting routes. These things are why people are moving into Fairfax.

Prince William County- About 400 thousand residents- Ranks as the 3rd largest jurisdiction in the State of Virginia- 348 square miles (land)- Median household income: $ 71,622- One of the highest income counties in the US

Located just south of the Fairfax and Loudoun counties, it is a county that features both urban and rural communities which allows its residents the comfort of a rural setting and the development and amenities provided by the urban setting. There are all types of housing to be found here ranging from town homes to condos to mobile home parks to estates. This county had suffered the worst in terms of housing downturn in its state, but now has performed better.

Loudoun County- A little over 280,000 in population- Fourth fastest growing county in the US- 520 square miles (land)- Median household income: $ 107,207- Highest median household income in the country beating Fairfax County

There have been lots of resales going on in here in terms of real estate and there has been limited new construction of houses. New home constructions have become very slow and requests for building permits have drastically dropped. It is a great place to invest in though if you’re going for USA Real Estate given that its residents have the highest income in the whole country.

The counties mentioned in this article have been working well for us in terms of investment in real estate and this may stay this way for some time. If you decide to invest in USA Real Estate, it will most likely be a worthwhile venture.

Article by Lisa Merritt

By now, we have all seen the commercials shouting that you are a fool for not taking advantage of the government grants available for everything from starting your own business to investing in real estate. Does it sound too good to be true?

That depends. Certainly, some people have received a grant for investing in real estate. A very few have received a large grant for investing in real estate. And even though these grants exist, the requirements can be quite stringent, the competition very tough, and the amounts small.

However, there are some circumstances where it is possible to start or improve a real estate investing career by seeking and obtaining grants. Most often, local municipalities fund affordable housing initiatives. These may range from offering individuals grants to assist in a first-time-homeowner down payment, to grants to non-profit developers to build multi-unit affordable housing developments.

For example, currently in Miami, Florida, housing assistance grants are available (http://www.miamidade.gov/housing/library/hag_eng_span.pdf) for low-income individuals who meet needs criteria. This type of grant can be found by contacting the housing department of the municipality where you are looking to invest.

Other programs exist on a municipal or regional basis for the elderly, persons with disabilities, and persons with AIDS. If you fall into one of these categories and wish to purchase real estate, again the best place to start looking is your municipal housing authority or agency.

Another class of programs encourages “Sweat Equity,” or seeks to provide housing opportunities for people who are willing and able to provide some of the labor of building the home. One of the best known organizations in this category is Habitat for Humanity, although similar organizations exist on local levels.

Individuals may also qualify for downpayment assistance. This information from the website http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/grants-catalog-housing.html#020 illustrates a typical example of this type of grant:

AHP Homeownership Set-Aside Program of the FHLBank SystemFederal Housing Finance Board An FHLBank may set aside up to the greater of $ 4.5 million or 35 percent of its AHP funds each year for a homebuyer program for low- and moderate-income households. Member lenders provide the set-aside funds as grants to eligible customers generally on a first-come, first-served basis. Set-aside funds may be used for down-payments, closing costs, rehabilitation, or homeownership counseling costs. Each FHLBank may set its own maximum grant amount, which may not exceed $ 15,000 per household. To qualify for a grant, households must meet several criteria. Please contact your nearest FHLBank Community Investment Officer to learn more. Contact: To find your nearest Community Investment Officer, visit http://www.fhfb.gov/FHLB/FHLBP_officers.htm.

It is also possible to obtain grants to make property improvements to a property that you own. These are most available in Community Redevelopment Areas and can be found through the municipality you are interested in. These types of grants are often available for commercial and residential properties, and may cover anything from disaster preparedness to exterior paint and landscaping to safety items. Rural areas may benefit from irrigation grants and other incentives from the US Department of Agriculture.

For non-profit organizations that seek to obtain grants to build affordable housing initiatives, the Federal government offers several types of grants for real estate investing. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers community development block grants that usually funnel through a competitive awards process to a municipality that in turn awards contracts to businesses to build houses for the low-income and underserved members of the community.

Contrary to popular belief, the Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start new small businesses, so if you have to invest your own funds to start a non-profit organization, you have to decide whether developing affordable housing will be a career that you will follow regardless of whether you obtain grants and contracts.

Other grants for real estate investing can be found for rural and farming assistance projects, tribal projects, and other miscellaneous specific projects.

If you do fall into one of the covered categories, a grant for investing in real estate may help start you on the road to owning property. You will still have to do the work of researching properties for purchase, making improvements on the property, reselling for a profit to convert extra cash into additional investments, and working up into bigger and more profitable deals. Seeking and obtaining a grant for real estate investing may help a hard working, motivated investor gain the leg up necessary to profit in real estate.

Multiple books exist that state they can supply information on available grants and how to obtain them. Internet searches also are quite useful in finding different types of funding opportunities. Municipal housing agencies are also a wealth of information for finding out about grant opportunities. For more information, try http://www.grants.gov or your local housing agency.

Introduction 
As far as education in India is concerned, 12th standard is an important milestone. Career of most individuals depends on what he chooses to do after passing 12th standard. India has a rich history as far as education is concerned. Right from the Vedas of the pre-historic period to the ace Management Institutes of modern day, India bears a legacy of education that’s relevant, constructive as well as career oriented. Today education has evolved into a multi- faceted affair and offers a plethora of courses after 12th. From the traditional to the modern you can choose from hundreds of courses according to your career orientation. However, before selecting a course it’s important to know about the details of the course and also about the credibility of the college or the educational institute you are opting for. With a candid choice you can pave your way for a bright and promising career after completing the selected course. 

Major Courses after 12th – 

Conventional Courses- Most of the students opts for these courses after passing 12th standard. These are age old fields of studies and are called general courses. These are primarily academic courses and are not exactly professional. Those who want to take up research as their career, take up these courses. Following are the major traditional courses- 

I. Bachelor of Arts (B.A) Courses- This is a three year degree course which offers Pass courses and Honor courses. For Pass courses students need to study for three years with three subjects on humanity like History, Political Science, Philosophy, English Literature, and any one of the vernacular languages of India. Students opting for Honors course will have one of the above mentioned subjects as the major one and two other as Pass subjects. The duration of both the courses is three years. B.A courses in nutrition, foreign languages, sociology, economics, journalism, media & communication, tourism, LLB 

Apparel Design & Merchandising and fine arts are also offered at many colleges and educational institutes in India. 

II. Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) Courses- Those interested in mathematical figures a calculations opt for these courses. These are also three years courses and offer Pass and Honors Courses. Many, who opt for these courses after 12th standard, take up Cost Accountancy or charter accountancy courses in future. Subjects studied in B.Com are as follows- 

B.Com. Subjects for First Year- 

Compulsory group-
Functional English
Additional English
Financial Accounting
Bus. Eco (Micro)
Maths & Stats/ Computer concepts & Programming

Optional group (any 1)
Office Management.
Banking & Finance

Optional Group (any 1)
Marketing & Salesmanship
Business Environment & Entrepreneurship

B.Com. Subjects for Second Year- 

Compulsory group
Business Communication
Corporate Accounting
Bus. Eco II (Macro)
Bus Management
Corporate Law
Environmental Awareness

Optional Group (any 1) 
(Special paper I) 
Business Administration
Banking and finance
Cost & Works Accounting
Marketing Management

Com. Subjects for Third Year

Compulsory group 
Business Regulatory & Framework
Advanced Accounting
International Eco
Auditing & Taxation

Optional Group (any 1) 
(Special paper II & III)
Business Administration
Banking and finance
Cost & Works Accounting
Marketing Management
III. Bachelors of Science (B.Sc) Courses- This is also a three year degree and offers both Pass and Honors courses and involves study of subjects like chemistry, earth science, physics, mathematics, environmental science, Biology and physical sciences. Today colleges and institutions of India offer many more subjects in this course like Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Microbiology, Environmental Science etc. Honors courses available in most of the colleges include the following courses-

B Sc (Hons) Bio-Chemistry
B Sc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences
B Sc (Hons) Botany
B Sc (Hons) Chemistry
B Sc (Hons) Computer Science
B Sc (Hons) Mathematics
B Sc (Hons) Physics
B Sc (Hons) Statistics
B Sc (Hons) Zoology

Other courses in this field include B.SC in Electronics Media, Digital Art & Technology, Hospitality Studies, Mass Communication, Journalism & Advertising, Fashion Technology, Games & Interactive Media, Animation & Multimedia, Fashion Technology, Jewelry Design and Textile Design.

IV. Medical Courses after 12th 
Medical studies in India are quite old and renowned. The duration of medical courses is four years. In order to study medicine in India you need to sit for a common entrance examination and if selected you will get the opportunity to study medicine in one of the medical colleges in India. However, now-a-days some private medical colleges offer courses against a fee. Those interested in studying medicine in India can opt for the following courses- 

M.B.B.S (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery) 
Duration: 4.5 years 

B.D.S (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) 

Duration: 4 years 

B.Pharma (Bachelor of Pharmacy) 

Duration: 4 years 

B.Sc Nursing 

Duration: 3 years 

B.P.T (Physiotherapy) 

Duration: 3 years 

B.O.T (Occupational Therapy) 

Duration: 3 years 

B.H.M.S(Homeopathy Medicine) 

Duration: 3 years 

B.U.M.S(Unani Medicine) 

Duration: 5 years 

Optometry 

Duration: 2 years 

Ophthalmic Assistant Course Duration: 2 years 

Histopathalogical Lab Technology Duration: 1 year 

B.A.M.S(Ayurvedic, Siddha Medicine) Duration: 4 years 

D. Pharma (Ayurvedic, Siddha Medicine) Duration: 1 year 

Lab Technicians Duration: 1 year 

Sanitary Inspector Course Duration: 1 year 

General Nursing Training Course Duration: 3.5 years 

Orthopedist Course Duration: 2 years 

Dental Mechanic Course Duration 2 years 

Dental Hygienist Course Duration: 2 years 

Bachelor of Occupationaltherapy Duration: 3 years Radiological Assistant 

Duration: 1 year 

Radiography [Diagnosis & Therapy] Duration: 2 years 

Nuclear Medicine Technology Duration: 2 years 

Other modern courses include- 

Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
Bachelor of Unani Medicine
Bachelor of Homeopathy Medicine
General Nursing Training Courses
Bachelor of Ayurvedic and Siddha Medicine
Bachelor of Physiotherapy
B.D.S
B.Pharma
B.Sc Nnursing
D.Phamra
Nuclear Medicine Technology Courses
V. Engineering Courses after 12th
Engineering courses are for those interested in the science of mechanism and technology. For studying engineering in India you need to qualify one of the common entrance tests that are held every year. On clearing the test you will be offered the course and college. The courses are of four years duration and the popular courses available are as follows- 

Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering- study of the design, creation and operation of machines related to flying 
Agricultural Engineering- study of design and operation of tools, implements and machines that are used in agriculture.

Architecture Engineering- Study of architectural designs and forms. 
Automobile Engineering- study of design, creation, manufacture and operation of machines relevant to automobiles. 
Computer Engineering- study of design, development, manufacture and maintenance of computer components. 
Electronic and Electrical Engineering—study and research of the development, design, creation and maintenance of electronic and electrical gadgets. 
Automobile Engineering- study of the design, creation, manufacture and operation of automobiles. 
Civil Engineering – This engineering course teaches about the design, development and construction of bridges, dams, metro, railroad systems etc. 
Industrial Engineering- study of making of machines. 
Instrumentation Engineering- study of design, manufacture and maintenance of instruments and instrument units. 
Manufacturing Engineering- study of manufacture things including machinery, electronics, medical devices, automobile parts, textiles etc.. 
Marine Engineering- study of the designing, construction and management of ships and other naval vehicles. 
Mechanical Engineering- study of the design, construction, and operation of power plants, engines, and machines. 
Metallurgical Engineering- study of metals 
Mining Engineering- study of mines and minerals. 
Other Courses After12th- These are mainly specialized courses and are much in demand in India. As most students are career oriented they choose to pursue a career in these job-oriented courses. These courses are practical, relevant and professional. 
I. Diploma Courses after 12th- 
Diploma in Development Journalism 
Diploma in 3D Animation & Visual Effects
Diploma in Advanced Fashion Designing
Diploma in Advertising & Marketing Institute of Media, Fashion and Allied Arts 
Diploma in Animation Film Making 
Diploma in Broadcast Journalism for Electronic Media
Diploma in Event Management
Diploma in Fine Arts
Diploma in Gems & Jewelry
Diploma in Graphic Designing
Diploma in Interior Design
Diploma in Post Production
Diploma in Radio Jockeying 
Diploma in Sound Engineering
Diploma in Television & Broadcast Studies
Diploma in VFX & Digital Film MakingDiploma 
II. Interior Designing courses after 12th- 

Those with a creative bent of mind often choose Interior Designing as their career. Interior designing courses have gained popularity in India in recent years and there are a number of colleges in the country who offers degree as well as diploma courses in Interior Designing. The course involves planning, designing and arranging the interiors depending upon individual taste and preference. This profession requires creative outlook, imagination and technical knowledge. The designs should be sensible, realistic, secure and eye-catching. The fields of specialization in this course include- 

Interior decorators
Interior designing
Exhibition designers
Theatre and set designers
Window display designers
Landscaping and designing

III. Online Courses after 12th-

Today the entire world has become connected with World Wide Web. Every aspect of life has become computerized and education is not lacking behind. Today one can sit back at home and opt for online courses in various fields. The major online courses are as follows- 

Arts and Architecture
Fine Arts
Web design
Graphics/Multimedia
Other arts and design
Business and Management
Accounting and Finance
Information Systems
Travel and Hospitality
Business
Communications / Telecommunications 
Human Resource
Organization
Marketing
Administration
Management
IT/Computer 
Health Care 
Internet
Computers
Computer Science
Graphics/Multimedia
Information Systems
Engineering 
Health Care and Human Services
Nursing
Social Work
Psychology
Personal
Administration
Community
Liberal Arts
1. Criminal Justice 2. Paralegal Science and Technology
Engineering (Computer / Electrical / Mechanical / others)
Technology 
Social Science
1. Leadership and other
Other Courses
Associate of Arts in General Studies Associate of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies Program Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems Security Continuing and Professional Studies etc 

III. Beauty Courses after 12th- 

With everyone willing to look special in their own way, beautician courses have become popular and are well in demand in India. Students with interest in beauty care can opt for a beauty course and choose a career in the glamour world. Popular beauty courses are as follows- 

Advance Diploma Course Advance Diploma in Hair Dressing Advance Hair Diploma Holder Advance Hair Dressing Advanced Body Treatments Course Advanced Diploma in Cosmetology Advanced Makeup Course Advanced Paramedical Esthetics Course Aromatherapy Course Basic Body Massage Course Basic Diploma Course Basic Hair Dressing Basic Hair professional Basic Makeup Course Basic Manicure and Pedicure Course Basic Program in hair dressing Long Term Courses- Advanced Certificate Course in Hair Designing Long Term Courses- Advanced Diploma in Cosmetology Long Term Courses- Certificate Course in Beauty Culture 

IV. Management Courses after 12th- 

Management courses are the most sought after courses in India as well as the entire world. Believed to be the most career oriented and professional among all available courses, Management courses attract students right after passing 12th standard. Today there is a plethora of management courses available in hundreds of management colleges and institutes all over India. Following are the most popular management courses one can opt for after 12- 

Supply Chain Management-Supply chain management has roped in many job opportunities in India
Quality Assurance Management-Quality assurance management has proved to be a lucrative career option

Logistics-The field of Logistics presents many job opportunities for students. 
Disaster Management-Disaster Management is another productive career option. 
Brand Management-Brands are the watchwords of today and brand management is a candid career option. 
Money Management-Money management is one of the potential career options in India 
Operations Management-Operations management is also another potential career options in India. 
Market Research Management- Being an important part of advertising, Market Research Management a lucrative career option. 
Sales & Marketing- Offering large scale career opportunities in public as well private sectors banks, financial institutions, industries, MNCs and services sector, Sales and Marketing Management tops the list of management courses. 
Real Estate Management- Urbanization and industrialization have hastened the development in real estate sector thus promoting Real Estate Management studies. 
Production Management-Production Management is an inter-disciplinary subject Joining aspects of production technology and management, Production Management courses are quite popular now and creates job in manufacturing and IT enabled services industries. 
Retail Management-The growing mall culture the globalization process, has encouraged the requirement for experienced retail managers in almost all sectors of the economy and this has made the Retail Management courses quite popular. 
Event Management-Event Management is required by a diverse range if industries which include films and serial production houses, hotel industry, tourism, the corporate sector, BPOs, newspaper houses and the fashion industry. 
Hotel Management- With the boom in the hotel industry more and more youngsters are opting to take up courses in Hotel Management after passing 12th standard. The course offers a whole host of job opportunities in the diverse sectors of the hotel industry. 

Other Management courses- 

International Business
Business Management
Finance Management
Rural Management
Human Resource Management
Materials Management
Industrial Management
Shipping & Port Management
Management Consultancy
Hospital Management
Purchasing Management
Construction Management

V. Aviation Courses after 12th- 

Toady a variety of Aviation courses are offered in different institutes in India. The specialized training courses are wide in range and include subjects like flying operation, aircraft maintenance, air traffic management, aviation safety, regulatory policies and technical aspects of flying. Aviation courses are conducted from recognized and prominent institutes and is extremely useful to all those who aspire to work in aviation sector. With the liberalization and privatization of airports, there is an exceptional demand for people professionally trained in aviation. The major courses in aviation are- 

Aviation Safety Training Instructor Courses
Flight Attendant Courses
Flight Deck Crew Courses
Pilot training in Indian Aviation
Commercial Pilot Training
Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Course
Cabin Crew & in-Flight Services
Air Hostess Courses

A close friend of mine and entrepreneurial genius passed away last year. We were very close.

Phil S. was also world class entrepreneur and a personal advisor.

Phil launched dozens of very profitable businesses.

But his claim to semi-fame came in the early 70′s when he almost singlehandedly developed a unique twist to the self-storage business model.

I’ll explain everything in a second.

But know this……

The business model he developed generates more money per square foot home rentals, apartment buildings, office space, strip malls, medical office space and even Las Vegas hotel rooms!

You can duplicate his formula.

Self storage or “mini-storage” as it was known at the time started gaining momentum in the late 70′s. Experts claimed it peaked in early 2000.

But my friend’s twist on this concept is still producing money like a printing press today.

The essence of his approach is the “go to” real estate investment of super rich players like Wayne Hughes.

My friend’s concept was to place self-storage holdings within a real estate investment trust REIT.

His strategy worked … and today self-storage REIT is a multibillion dollar concept.

I’m going to give you a brief background into this business, and show you how to get profit on small scale (single location) or on a large scale (multiple self-storage locations and REIT).

The mini or self-storage business started in Texas in the late 60′s.

But believe it or not – self-storage units was recorded in the UK more than 800 years ago!

Today, you’ll find thousands of self-storage buildings dotted along interstate highways throughout the U.S.

What’s more, there are self-storage properties in almost every town and village in North America.

Have you seen the commercials for ?

Pods are portable self-storage units which are dropped off at the customer’s home or business.

A truck returns after it’s been filled and delivers it to a huge Pod warehouse.

Anyway, the average size of a self-storage facility today is 100 units.

In larger cities, facilities with 500+ units are pretty common.

Each self-storage rental unit varies in its dimensions.

But the most typical sizes are 5′ x 10′, 8′ x 10′, and 10′ x 10′.

You can rent a self-storage unit for as little as 30 days or as long as 5 years (or longer).

The average rent for a 10′ x 10′ storage unit in the U.S. is about $ 77 per month, according to Inside Self Storage magazine.

The rent in larger cities can be as high as $ 300 per month.

Late fees are a nice source of revenue for this business too.

Late rent fees are usually from $ 5 to $ 25 per month.

Forfeiture and the auctioning of storage unit contents is another source of revenue too.

If you search quick “self storage auction” on Google you’ll see get an idea of the size of the industry.

In the 1970′s and 80′s, self-storage owners usually purchased back-lot properties which were hidden from view by other buildings and structures.

Today, large self-storage operators are buying prime frontage and Class A retail lots, and paying a premium for them.

Gary Monroe, for example, president of GMI, a California-based general contractor which has developed dozens of self-storage projects in prime areas between San Diego and Northern Los Angeles County.

What’s more, entrepreneurs are converting existing structures (or abandoned buildings) into self-storage locations. This option is welcomed by most city governments where abandoned and foreclosed property has become an eyesore.

Former big-box stores used to be the main draw for self-storage entrepreneurs, now out-of-business retail sites (such as car dealerships, shopping centers and warehouses) have become targets.

Major self-storage markets like Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, Miami, New York, and Chicago have seen a substantial “shift” in market characteristics, according to the 2009 Self-Storage Almanac:

There’s been a notable change in the number of self-storage brokerages which manage the buying and selling of self-storage properties, businesses, and franchises.
There has been a reduction in rental rates. Mom-and-pop operators (less than 5 self-storage locations) have reported an increase in rent rates nationwide. Larger operations (with 10-40 locations) have reported a reduction in rent rates on the benchmark 10′ x 10′ units
There has been a growing rural and “exurb” demographic. The new exurb areas are typically within 3-4 hours (or more) from major metro areas.
Layoffs and corporate downsizing effects self-storage operations. Corporate business accounts for up to 30% of the revenue for self storage operators. However, smaller operators have reported an increase in traffic, rental rates and ancillary business.

There are many products and services which cater to the self-storage industry.

You’ll find self-storage consultancies, brokerages, REITs, and financing companies which specialize in this market.

On top of that, self-storage development seminars are selling out nationwide!

This approach has some flaws – not the least of which is expertise, capital, location selection, as well as signage and marketing. But this is the preferred method of the largest operators because of the potential for significant cash flow and capital appreciation.

There are hundreds of self-storage facilities for sale at any given point in time. When the economy is down you can find owners eager to negotiate pricing and extend terms. In most cases, small mom-and-pop operators are the most flexible. But large operations are available too.

By asking two simple questions you can determine if a self-storage business is worth what they are asking and it has the potential to make money:

How many units does the self-storage facility have?
What is the current (actual) occupancy rate?

The owners can’t fudge the numbers regarding how many units there are … but they might try to “cook the books” regarding occupancy.

If you do your homework, you’ll know if a particular self-storage business could ever be profitable.

First, if a self-storage business has at least 100 units … and the occupancy is 40%-50% … AND there are more than 3-4 competitors in the Yellow Pages … this would be considered a “prime target” for self-storage insiders.

This is according to my friend Phil S. and his associate of 30 years Paul K.

Direct marketing is the key to boosting the occupancy to 95% (or more).

For example, if you market the business by offering to help people move from their home, business, or a competing self-storage facility and throw in two free months of rent in addition to offering a reduced monthly fee – you could fill up your self storage location in very short order.

You could also acquire a self-storage facility in a prime location – one where the traffic (and cash flow) is very strong.

But prime self storage locations are always pricey….so be prepared to spend.

Loudon, NH – 27,200 sq ft, $ 1.2 million

San Clemente, CA – 22,760 sq ft, $ 3.1 million

Augusta, GA – 29,900 sq ft, $ 545k

Bow, NH – 16,900 sq ft, $ 450k

Las Vegas, NV – 74,800 sq ft, $ 3.2 million

Coos Bay, OR – 13,500 sq ft, $ 550k

Lubbock, TX – 54,445 sq ft, $ 1.1 million

S. Chicago Heights, IL – 49,600 sq ft, $ 1.2 million

Hickory, NC – 21,240 sq ft, $ 300k

Paris, TN – 7,800 sq ft, $ 225k

Prescott Valley, AZ – 40,300 sq ft, $ 2.1 million

Gainsville, GA – 14+ acres, $ 1 million

Ankeny, IA – 10 acres, $ 1.1 million

Kissimmee, FL – 35,200 sq ft, $ 2.4 million

 

There are rundown buildings in almost every city, town and village across the country which could be converted into a profitable self-storage operation.

In some cases, you can acquire old buildings for 10 cents on the dollar!

City officials often welcome this type of businesses because it’s “clean”, trouble free and they’re losing business due to the economy or depression or real estate fallout. There has also been a slow moving exodus to the suburbs and “exurbs”.

Here’s an example of what an entrepreneur (K.S) in Atlanta did recently:

He purchased an older, 3-story building in a rundown section of Atlanta for $ 350k (owner-financed), and converted it to a mini-warehouse consisting of 110 units.

The mini-warehouse is currently 86% full.

The monthly rent for a 10′ x 10′ unit is $ 100.

The math is simple: 93 units x $ 100 = $ 9,300 per month in revenue.

The mortgage payment is about $ 900. The site required a surveillance system, as well as a full-time (night and day) -manager.

But this is an example converting an older building into a profitable self-storage business.

An entrepreneur in North Chicago (L.M.) found an abandoned warehouse which was scheduled to be demolished.

L.M. was able to lease the building for $ 1,000 month.

She converted the space into a self-storage facility with 75 10′ x 10′ rental units.

Each unit rents for $ 200 per month. The facility is 95% full!

On top of that, L.M. converted the small upper section of the warehouse into a hip urban apartment. She lives there, rent-free, while her self-storage business generates more than $ 14, 000 per month.

By the way, you don’t have to limit yourself to older buildings in the center of town.

There’s a growing trend to convert empty barns and steel buildings in rural areas to self-storage facilities. You see this lot in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Upstate New York….as in other parts of the country.

Let’s compare revenue with the gal in North Chicago. She has 75 10′ x 10′ units, for a total of 7,500 square feet.

Her potential revenue (with 75 units rented at $ 200 per month) is $ 15,000 per month.

$ 15,000 divided by 7,500 gives her $ 2 per square foot.

Meanwhile, a typical 3-bedroom home with 2,500 square feet rents for about $ 1,500 per month.

$ 1,500 divided by 2,500 equals only 60 cents per square foot!

Can you see why self storage warehouses are so attractive?

Before you get into this business, here’s some of the “homework” my friend recommended you do:

Locate and identify every self-storage warehouse in your area or state.

Physically look at the locations – and take notes.

Talk to the managers of the facilities as if you were a customer looking to rent a unit.

Spend one hour per day getting up to speed on the industry. Most people won’t do this, but my friend did and that’s how he became an expert….and multi-millionaire.

Subscribe to the industry’s main trade publications (listed below).

Self- and mini-storage is a great business opportunity!

The profit margins can be as high as 70%.

One attractive aspect is unlike other kinds of real estate investments there are no people in the units!

Therefore, there is no plumbing, heating, air-conditioning (with some exceptions), complaints, or other things which constantly need to be fixed.

There are other ways to profit from this industry too, including publicly traded self storage real estate investment trusts.

There are also investment partnerships which specialize in self storage facilities.

One of the best ways to learn about the self-storage market is to attend the largest trade show event of the year – Inside Self-Storage Expo. This year, the expo is in Las Vegas.

It’s a good idea to subscribe self storage trade publications featured below.

Search the Web!  You can bring yourself up to speed quickly on this fascinating business opportunity by searching the web and devouring trade websites.

Talk to current self storage owners! The best way to do this is at trade conferences. But nothing is stopping you from talking to owners in your area.

Determine which approach works best for your situation: starting from scratch, buying an established location, converting an existing structure or barn, forming a self storage REIT, or by investing in a publicly traded self-storage REIT (Public Storage is one of the largest: symbol PSA.)

(franchises)

 

Article by Dave Klein

Many people talk about the wonders of New Zealand. Perhaps, that is why you’re thinking of purchasing New Zealand real estate rather than one of the many other properties for sale on the international market. What is alluring to most is that New Zealand real estate that truly reflects the rural beauty and green hills of the New Zealand experience. Not every international real estate experience will offer you this beauty but these tips will help you on your quest in finding property in the “Real” New Zealand.

One good place to begin is Northland. It stretches from about 20 minutes north of Auckland to Cape Reinga. New Zealand real estate in this area will offer you the access of many beaches that have been virtually untouched by commercialism, important New Zealand history, and a full Maori culture. Northland is without a doubt the perfect lush image that you had been dreaming of when you were considering New Zealand real estate. It is truly the picture of the “Real” New Zealand.

Secondly, consider East Cape as a New Zealand real estate search area. This area is home to farming and fishing families, many of whom have worked on the land of this area since New Zealand’s settlement. East Cape is an area where the people are warm, the scenery is beautiful, and the lifestyle is easy going. You may need independent wealth to live in East Cape since there is not an abundance of work available. However, East Cape can offer you an international real estate purchase that will allow you truly get away off the beaten path of the “Real” New Zealand.

Southland, not to be confused with the South Island, is another area where purchasing New Zealand real estate will give you access to some of the friendliest and warmest people in the world. As an international real estate investment, this area is filled with rural, friendly, and beautiful locals. People readily have strangers over for dinner, sheep farming is the name of the game, and the high country is some of the most beautiful in the world. Like East Cape, you may find Southland to be off the beaten path, but a wonderful place to visit and perhaps it will help with your decision to make your New Zealand real estate purchase.

New Zealand is not just about the tourist attractions and the big city of Auckland. If you are considering a New Zealand real estate purchase, you will want to be familiar and comfortable with what the real New Zealand is and what it has to offer. It can be found not down a road or path and it certainly isn’t a secret location, it is in the people of the country and communities. If you are making an international real estate purchase, you want to make sure that you are comfortable with the people, the culture, and the ideals held by them. The real New Zealand is one that most enjoy and perhaps you will as well to such a degree that you will make your New Zealand real estate purchase one for a permanent home.

Your Source for Real Estate in all Inland Empire and Southern California Areas

In today\’s highly volatile and competitive real estate market, timing is everything. Many good homes in the Inland Empire and Southern California areas are sold before they are ever advertised. Beat other home buyers to the hottest new homes for sale with our New Listings Notification by Email. This feature is available to VIP Home Search members, who can set up their own home search to run automatically, daily or weekly, and get email alerts for newly listed homes matching their VIP home search specifications. If you own Inland Empire or Southern California real estate that you are thinking of selling, we would be happy to provide you with a free Home Evaluation by Email.

Inland Empire (California) in real estate market crash but still alive

The Inland Empire is a region mainly located in the Riverside and San Bernardino counties of Southern California. The Inland Empire is centered in the region’s oldest cities: Ontario, San Bernardino, and Riverside. These cities were established at about the end of the 19th century and were major centers of agriculture including citrus, dairy, and wine-making. The name “Inland Empire” was first used in the 1950s to distinguish the region from the coastal communities of the Greater Los Angeles Area, and Los Angeles itself.

Housing

Since the 1950s, the area has evolved from a rural to a suburban environment. In addition to existing cities such as Riverside and San Bernardino, the region now comprises numerous suburban cities known as bedroom communities such as Rancho Cucamonga. Affordable home ownership is the primary motivation behind the growth in these Inland Empire communities as homes there are generally less expensive than comparable homes in Orange and Los Angeles Counties, however, still generally more expensive than the rest of the nation. The steady rise in population and the strong demand for housing has led to a dramatic increase in single-family residential construction on lots of 1/4 acre (1,000 m²) or more (as opposed to high-density development such as multi-level apartments or condominiums). Much of the vacant land is rapidly being developed to the chagrin of those who grew up living ‘in the country’. In addition, much of the land that was used for agriculture is now being sold by their owners and being converted for use for more intensive purposes such shopping centers, industrial warehouses, etc. This continuous development, due to the various interests involved, has become seemingly unplanned and uncontrolled suburban sprawl

Industry

 

Boxcars, Rialto, CaliforniaInexpensive land prices (compared to Los Angeles and Orange Counties), a large supply of vacant land, and a transport network where many highways and railroads intersect have made the Inland Empire a major shipping hub. Some of the nation’s largest manufacturing companies have chosen the Inland Empire for their distribution facilities including Toyota Motor Corporation’s North American Parts and Logistics Distribution (NAPLD) center in Ontario and APL Logistics in Rancho Cucamonga. Whirlpool Corporation recently leased a 1,700,000-square-foot (158,000 m2) distribution center in Perris that is larger than 31 football fields and one of the biggest warehouses in the country.[11] These centers operate as part of the system that transports finished goods and materials from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to destinations to the north and east such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Denver. More than 80% percent of the state’s imported cargo is shipped through the Los Angeles/Inland Empire Corridor.[12] Three major airports service the area, the San Bernardino International Airport, Palm Springs International Airport, and the LA/Ontario International Airport.

While urbanization continues to cut into agricultural lands, the Inland Empire still produces substantial crops, from grapefruit in the Coachella Valley to milk in Chino. Although 10,000 acres (40 km2) of irrigated land was lost between 2002 and 2004, agriculture still brought in more than $ 1.6 billion in revenues to the two-county region in 2006.[6]

Your Source for Real Estate in all Inland Empire and Southern California Areas
In today\’s highly volatile and competitive real estate market, timing is everything. Many good homes in the Inland Empire and Southern California areas are sold before they are ever advertised. Beat other home buyers to the hottest new homes for sale with our New Listings Notification by Email. This feature is available to VIP Home Search members, who can set up their own home search to run automatically, daily or weekly, and get email alerts for newly listed homes matching their VIP home search specifications. If you own Inland Empire or Southern California real estate that you are thinking of selling, we would be happy to provide you with a free Home Evaluation by Email.
Inland Empire (California) in real estate market crash but still alive
The Inland Empire is a region mainly located in the Riverside and San Bernardino counties of Southern California. The Inland Empire is centered in the region’s oldest cities: Ontario, San Bernardino, and Riverside. These cities were established at about the end of the 19th century and were major centers of agriculture including citrus, dairy, and wine-making. The name “Inland Empire” was first used in the 1950s to distinguish the region from the coastal communities of the Greater Los Angeles Area, and Los Angeles itself.
Housing
Since the 1950s, the area has evolved from a rural to a suburban environment. In addition to existing cities such as Riverside and San Bernardino, the region now comprises numerous suburban cities known as bedroom communities such as Rancho Cucamonga. Affordable home ownership is the primary motivation behind the growth in these Inland Empire communities as homes there are generally less expensive than comparable homes in Orange and Los Angeles Counties, however, still generally more expensive than the rest of the nation. The steady rise in population and the strong demand for housing has led to a dramatic increase in single-family residential construction on lots of 1/4 acre (1,000 m²) or more (as opposed to high-density development such as multi-level apartments or condominiums). Much of the vacant land is rapidly being developed to the chagrin of those who grew up living ‘in the country’. In addition, much of the land that was used for agriculture is now being sold by their owners and being converted for use for more intensive purposes such shopping centers, industrial warehouses, etc. This continuous development, due to the various interests involved, has become seemingly unplanned and uncontrolled suburban sprawl
Industry

Boxcars, Rialto, CaliforniaInexpensive land prices (compared to Los Angeles and Orange Counties), a large supply of vacant land, and a transport network where many highways and railroads intersect have made the Inland Empire a major shipping hub. Some of the nation’s largest manufacturing companies have chosen the Inland Empire for their distribution facilities including Toyota Motor Corporation’s North American Parts and Logistics Distribution (NAPLD) center in Ontario and APL Logistics in Rancho Cucamonga. Whirlpool Corporation recently leased a 1,700,000-square-foot (158,000 m2) distribution center in Perris that is larger than 31 football fields and one of the biggest warehouses in the country.[11] These centers operate as part of the system that transports finished goods and materials from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to destinations to the north and east such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Denver. More than 80% percent of the state’s imported cargo is shipped through the Los Angeles/Inland Empire Corridor.[12] Three major airports service the area, the San Bernardino International Airport, Palm Springs International Airport, and the LA/Ontario International Airport.
While urbanization continues to cut into agricultural lands, the Inland Empire still produces substantial crops, from grapefruit in the Coachella Valley to milk in Chino. Although 10,000 acres (40 km2) of irrigated land was lost between 2002 and 2004, agriculture still brought in more than $ 1.6 billion in revenues to the two-county region in 2006.[6]

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Perhaps the greatest and most potentially troubling component of sprawl today is actually deforestation. Towns and villages, farms and ranches ever expand into the countryside, eliminating wooded areas in their paths. As people around the globe fell trees for use as fuel, or to clear land for farming or ranching, the world’s total stockpile of forests continues to shrink. It is estimated that today more than 32 million acres (13 million hectares) of forest are lost each year — a total area greater than that of the seven states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont combined.

As that forest is lost, climate change can be exacerbated, and erosion and siltation can both diminish arable land, and alter or deplete river flows throughout the world. Desertification and drought can follow where loggers and farmers have gone before. Gone with the disappearing forests are many species and the broader gene pool that contribute to planetary biodiversity, as well as many as-yet-undiscovered natural products, chemicals and medicinal aids that could otherwise benefit humanity.

Shantytowns are another form of sprawl. Most often settlements of the poor and dispossessed, clustered about large cities, shantytowns usually consist of incredibly dense agglomerations of dwellings, built primarily of scrap materials and lacking proper water supply, sanitation facilities, electrical power, telephone networks, and road systems. Such towns are often riddled with crime, disease, drug use and high rates of suicide. Shantytowns thus place severe burdens on the urban infrastructure — police, fire, health care, water, sanitation, communication, transportation, social services — of their host cities.

The sprawl most Americans readily recognize is that of the burgeoning suburb and the emerging ‘edge city’. Since 1950, more Americans have lived in suburbs than in any other type of community. Such suburbs are typified by the prevalence of single-family homes situated on individual plots of land, often in homogenous ‘developments’ created by single real estate or construction companies. The gridded streets and taller structures of the cities give way to more varied roadway patterns and single-story structures of the suburb. All commercial activity disperses to low buildings fronting on sizable parking lots. No one walks in a typical suburb, for nothing needed is ever within walking distance. The auto therefore becomes essential, and shapes much of a suburb’s texture.

An edge city differs from the average suburb, in that it concentrates a significant mass of office and commercial space, usually in mid- to high-rise structures, and thus often offers more jobs than bedrooms. It can most often be identified as ‘a place’ and a destination. Also, edge cities are relatively recent phenomena, emerging only since about the late 1960s, and sprouting rapidly.