More than 60% of the Bar is made up of lawyer firms ranging in size from solo to 9.  In any business, one would think that paying attention to a demographic that provides such a high percentage of your revenue would be wise. Of course, that presupposes that your customer base has an alternative.

In the case of integrated (mandatory!) bar associations, lawyers must be members, must pay their dues no matter how they disagree with the policies of the staff or of its Board of Governors! Therefore, their views can be disregarded. Such was the case recently when sole practitioners objected to the new rule of professional conduct that requires lawyers to tell clients in writing when they do not carry E & O insurance (malpractice) coverage.

Today, in California, there was a hearing on the rule regarding the sale of a law practice. The proposed new rule will make the lawyers (both buyers and sellers) jump through more hoops and cause further delay to get a deal done, thus jeopardizing the entire deal. Who does this target? The sole and small firm practitioner.  Only they are involved, to the extent this happens, in the sale of their practice. Large firms don't sell their practice. They can break up, they can merge, they can combine ... they can move entire practice groups from one firm to another ... but they don't "sell" their practice ... at least they don't call it that and thus side step rule 1.17 regarding the sale of a law practice. (I will discuss the details of the new proposal in later posts.)

So why should the Bar care? Why should they fix something that isn't broke? Good question. I might attribute nefarious motives to the actors, but that would be unkind ... and generally untrue. Because the folks on the commission are honest, hard-working and capable lawyers. But, in their zeal to do right, they are not doing good. They are like the law school professor who puts forth hypothetical situations that, if ever, happen rarely and can be dealt with on a case by case basis. The California rule ain't broke; therefore don't fix it.

When the ABA commission looked at the rule, they backed away from the precipice of considerable change ... ultimately because they realized that there was no need to alter the rule. They made one change ... and I'm proud to say I was the catalyst for this discussion. They now allow a lawyer to sell a practice area and still remain in practice, but not in the area sold. For example, a probate and estate planning lawyer may want to sell the estate planning segment, but retain the probate segment. This will allow him to work less, reduce marketing and still make a contribution to the law. Any other course would require him to sell/close the entire practice and wait for death ... or continue his practice while serving his clients with less vigor because of aging ... to the detriment of the clients.  It is a shame that younger attorneys on the commission have little or no sympathy for this aging process.

I've seen it in my clients; I've seen it in my family. That was why I recommended that the ABA make the one change it did accept. Clients are better served, both those whose estate plans are handled by other lawyers interested in the segment they purchased, and those who are probating estates of decedents ...

One example after another in recent years demonstrates the Bar focuses on its perception of public protection -- I say its perception because I don't think the public is truly protected by a number of its recent actions, two of which are mentioned above. It is also very clear, however, that the interests of the Bar's largest demographic is either disregarded or adversely impacted by the Bar's new rules. I have come to the conclusion that the Bar should be a voluntary organization ... as is the American Bar Association ... needing to justify its value each year in order to maintain its member participation and dues revenue. The "mandatory" Bar as we know it should only be a licensing agency ....

Do you know of other examples in the organized Bar that defiles the sole practitioner? Do you know other industries where such monopoly power gives them the right to disregard the interests of its customers/patrons/members? How about the health insurance industry? How about the increase in premium rates that recently went up 39% to people who literally had no choice of carriers, only the choice of paying the increased premium or dropping insurance coverage ... How about the airline industry who, in response to recent "fliers' bill of rights" announced a decrease in flight schedules and increase in fare prices? Other examples abound.

Unless the Bar is able and willing to enhance the value and contributions to lawyers from whom it receives dues, it should not exist in its present form.

 

Details Deep Creek Host Brad Nesline Floats the Casselman River 3-12-10 the start of "Floodageddon" the melt off of the blizzard of 2010. From I-68 bridge to River Rd Bridge. More videos and regular speed version available at WWW.BLOGDEEPCREEK.COM and real estate info at WWW.SELLINGDEEPCREEK.COM

Takuan Seiyo has published the latest installment of “From Meccania to Atlantis” at the Brussels Journal. Some excerpts from “Part 13 (4): Harpo, Gekko, Barko, Sarko” are below:

The globe is spinning. Its leading team of bumbling spinmeisters, statist incompetents, unalloyed greedsters, malicious socialists and phony conservatives is running this tired Western jalopy toward The Rock of Immovable Reality. Harpo, Gekko, Barko and Sarko are together in the catbird seat, still throwing off comforting gibberish but testing the buckles on their ejection seats.

The systemic faults created by the gross incompetence and corruption of governments (1) have been exploited by the bankers to raid the bank. When reality check came and real estate values crashed, governments bailed out the malefactors and fanned the flames of fear to implement “solutions.” Such solutions took two forms: “bailout,” i.e. the transfer of toxic debt from the banks’ balance sheets to the governments’ balance sheets, or “stimulus,” i.e. throwing easy money at the hoi polloi and further inflating the governments’ balance sheets.

All that was merely another instance of the Western model of misgovernance, based on rolling over the consequences of wickedness and folly onto future generations. That protects the perpetrators but worsens the ultimate consequences for the rest.

The moral hazard and future consequences of bailing the banksters out were known. The Telegraph‘s 11 February 2009 headline said it all: “European banks’ toxic debts risk overwhelming EU governments.” Furthermore, the monetary/fiscal plague afflicting the world now erupted not in 2007 but in 1998. Its course was predicted and warnings were sounded from the outset by several Cassandras unwelcome in the corridors of power (2).

It started when Russia defaulted on its sovereign debt in 1998, precipitating the collapse of Long Term Capital Management and the subsequent near-collapse of stock markets worldwide. Central banks, particularly the U.S. Fed, responded by what money pros call “opening the spigot.” All that easy money created the Tech Bubble of 1998-1999, and the inevitable crash of 2000-2002. And that opened the central banks’ spigots much more than the first time — particularly the American spigots that were controlled by the hugely misguided Alan Greenspan.

- - - - - - - - -

Torrents of cheap money looking for a harbor found their way to the real estate market as of 2000. Real estate price doubled and tripled, particularly in places that had a sunny climate and beaches (e.g. Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Florida, Coastal California) or a boomtown location (e.g. London, New York, Las Vegas). Thus, the worldwide housing bubble and its subsequent and, again, inevitable, crash. According to Martin Weiss of Weiss Research, just the American investors’ losses were $6.6 trillion from the Tech Wreck and $15.5 trillion from the burst Housing Bubble, a total of $22.1 trillion.

Central banks, however, read from the same book that has only one paragraph. With the third crash precipitated by exactly the same policies of cheap credit and too much money sloshing about, they just tore off the spigots completely, set interest rates at near zero, and let it rip. Hence “bailout,” “stimulus” and the resulting fourth bubble: the bubble of sovereign debt.

Between 15 September 2008 and 1 July 2009, for instance, the central banks of England, U.S., Switzerland and EU expanded their balance sheets (i.e. printed more paper money) by 127%, 119%, 80% and 39%, respectively (3). It’s the biggest bubble of them all. And now, this inflatable Mickey too is collapsing with a hiss.

They who inflated all these liquidity monsters in the first place, cannot but create “solutions” that are worse than the problems. The only problem that they have solved is the problem of governments’ lust for more power. Now they have much more such power.

With Ben Bernanke on the cover of Times Magazine, and Martin Wolf declaring at Financial Times that economists saved civilization, it’s worth reasserting that this has been just a classical Club of Crooks and Loons swindle: transform a Wall Street bankruptcy into a sovereign debt bankruptcy. Print money in a dozen underhanded ways to postpone a deflationary depression on your watch, even if that entails hyperinflation some years down the road. Or, to paraphrase the financial publisher Bill Bonner, Japan first, Zimbabwe later.

Read the rest at the Brussels Journal.

Foreclosures are down but still high as market improves. By DANIELLE E. GAINES dgaines@mercedsun-star.com A pair of at-odds reports about the local housing market were released Wednesday.

Runaway Prius case presents nagging questions SAN DIEGO ? Investigators are confronted with a series of nagging questions as they try to unravel the case of a California real estate agent who said his Toyota Prius turned into a runaway death trap after the gas pedal became stuck. Why didn’t the driver simply throw the transmission into .... Source  : Gaea News Network.

*I have a Johnson Viking Thunderbolt that I bought at a estate sale an really have no idea if it was altered as to looking inside at the chassis...

 

Daily Bang Sometimes things pop up in Vancouver’s real estate that just simply defies explanation. Such was the case this week with the daily numbers. Bright Monday It was then that the first nuance that something was happening first occured. The New Listings number shot up to 115 while the Units Sold seemed to acquire [...]

From the point of view of a real estate expert, a properly installed rooftop deck adds great value to your home especially if it offers a great view of the skyline or the water.

Doityourself.com, THE source for home improvement information.

Just as the property market was beginning its freefall in the year bridging 2007 and 2008, Lehman Brothers almost doubled its commercial real estate holdings to more...

CA-Los Angeles, Seeking a Corporate Accountant that has solid Tenure/Stability! Responsibilities: Prepare, review and post monthly accounting entries Reconcile and analyze balance sheets, prepare schedules and analyze all fixed asset cost Prepare monthly financial statements, journal entries, review all monthly and year end accruals Review real estate tax invoices to ensure prompt payment Record all wire transfer

Small, fast past law firm seeking litigation paralegal. Paralegal will provide organizational and substantive support to litigation attorneys, primarily in the areas real estate litigation including; discovery, document management, pleadings, motions, trial preparation and investigation. Assignments may extend into other practice areas. Responsible for ensuring client satisfaction is achieved throughout all position responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS
„Ï Bachelor¡¦s degree and one year of law related experience or certificate from an ABA approved paralegal program required, and strong academic required.
„Ï Minimum four years of experience in a law firm as a litigation paralegal is required.
„Ï Extensive real estate and trial experience is required.
„Ï Strong sense of accountability, taking ownership over projects and responsibilities and resolving issues proactively.
„Ï High level of accuracy, attention to detail, and excellent proofreading skills.
„Ï Strong organizational and writing skills required.
„Ï Ability to work overtime required.
„Ï Excellent teamwork skills and a strong client service orientation.
„Ï Ability to research, analyze and synthesize large amounts of data.
„Ï Ability to work concurrently on a variety of projects and work effectively under pressure.

Lead Screener-Real Estate Team

We are a busy and growing real estate team based out of Alexandria, VA. We are searching for a lead screener to assist our team with qualifying buyers for our buyer's agents. Compensation to be on a per lead basis. Please let us know your salary range. This position can be accomplished from home.

Responsibilities:

Respond to email inquiries from homebuyers via email or telephone
Ability to follow provided scripts to guide calls
Screen homebuyers to determine quality of lead and next steps
Verify and obtain complete contact information for each lead
Schedule follow up calls with buyers agent and lead
Assign lead to a buyers agent

Qualifications:

Ability to respond very quickly to incoming leads (within one hour or less)
Knowledge of Northern VA/DC/Southern MD area helpful
High Speed Internet and Smart Phone
Excellent Customer Service Skills and Phone Etiquette
Dependability and reliability is absolutely essential
English as primary language, Additional skill in Spanish helpful
Candidates with former real estate experience preferred

Please send resume, 3 references and a summary of your experience

Prominent CPA firm seeks Senior Accountant with minimum 3 years experience. Exciting atmosphere dealing with clients in entertainment, real estate and high net worth individuals. Candidate must know QuickBooks, Excel, Word, Lacerte. CPA a plus. The ideal candidate must have excellent communications and organizational skills. Plush offices, great benefits including medical, 401K. Great career opportunity.

Do you have recent Big 4 experience? Are you looking for an opportunity to work in Corporate Finance? If so, please apply now to this great opportunity.

Reporting/Project Manager for International Real Estate company available.

Temporary Project

Immediate opening for a sharp, detailed, and professional individual! Company is located in Downtown San Francisco and is a prestigious real estate developer. This organization offers the opportunity to work with a team of solid management professionals who have incredible tenure in the industry.

This temporary role will primarily assist with fund/JV reporting.

Duties:
JV Reporting
Financial reporting of portfolio rollup and client ad hoc reporting requests
Review underlying financial statement information including acquisition, disposition, debt and ongoing operational activity
Responsible for portfolio level accounting
Work with external auditors to coordinate and plan audits and reviews

Skills:
B.A. degree in Accounting or Finance (preferably 3-5 CPA)
Prefer candidates with recent Big 4 experience who have audited for various entities
Perceptive, self starter with excellent problem solving abilities
Strong computer skills (Excel, Windows, Word, Outlook, etc.)
Financial reporting experience a plus
Partnership accounting experience a plus

Interested parties please send your resume today to sara.weintraub@ajilon.com.

The Cascade Team seeks EXPERIENCED REAL ESTATE ASSISTANT FOR FAST PACED ISSAQUAH OFFICE

Our fast paced real estate office in Issaquah Highlands seeks experienced Office Manager/Real Estate Assistant to support the Designated Broker and team of agents in maintaining and growing their business as well as managing the daily operations of the office. Here is your chance to be part of the Real Estate Team that's changing how things are done in Washington. We are a FULL Service company with a great marketing plan, great training and support, and great agents! We save our clients thousands on the sale of their home, give them the support and service level they want, and in the process are building a name for ourselves that is second to none! The Cascade Team is also a proud member of the Independent Brokers Association of Washington.

Responsibilities:   

• Web work, filing, phones, customer service, sales, talking to people, ordering, and billing, whatever comes your way
• Managing files and electronic transaction files, tracking deadlines
• Maintain a high-volume workload with accuracy and thoroughness
• Create letters, flyers, marketing materials and reports
• E-mails and Phone calls to Title, Escrow, Lenders, Agents and Clients.
• Answering phones and greeting clients
• Creating advertisements both online and in print
• Assist agents with technical and transaction issues
• Maintain office computer network
• Manage daily operations and work flow of office; ordering supplies, tacking inventory, maintaining office equipment, running errands, etc…  

Qualifications:   

• Real Estate License preferred
• Must be very organized, detail-oriented and be able to easily handle multiple tasks while meeting strict deadlines
• Candidate must also be proficient in Locator (Matrix), Excel, Publisher, Outlook and Word. Adobe Photoshop is a plus!
• Not a "clockwatcher"; but hard-working and conscientious of the importance of your work in contributing to the direct success of our office
• Sustain a high-volume workload with accuracy and thoroughness
• Must be professional, punctual/reliable/dependable
• Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, with customers and office personnel
• Demonstrate strong analytical/numerical skills and decision-making ability
• Demonstrate ability to work well independently as well as in a team environment and take initiative
• Knowledgeable of office equipment (Printer/Scanner/Copier/Computers/Networking Tools, etc)  

 

Email cover letter and resume to be considered for this position. No phone calls please. Please be able to begin training very soon.  

The position is FULL TIME.   Salary / hourly with bonus DOE.
Please Email Resume to Nichole@TheCascadeTeam.com 

Real estate news and views from around the globe that make you go, “Really?” OVERVALUED: Estimates of home values from Zillow.com may be no more accurate than homeowners’ estimates of value, according to a new study in The Appraisal Journal. (HousingWire) MORE HERE! U.K.’S PRICIEST: London’s Chester Square tops U.K. priciest list again. (Bloomberg) MORE HERE! HELMSLEY HOTEL: [...]

Really? Flaws seen in Zillow ‘Zestimates’ is a post from: Lansner on Real Estate

I am a local Real Estate Broker looking for someone to write small,informative articles that will be distributed to client base via email and or postcard format on a monthly basis. Relevant graphics a plus but not necessary I will provide the idea and some content... (Budget: $30-250, Jobs: Articles, eBooks)

Jed Katz, Managing Director, Javelin Ventures

One of the pioneers of Internet commerce, Jed has spent his 17-year career developing, advising and investing in early stage technology ventures. Recently, Jed also served on the Technology, Telecom & Media advisory group for President Barack Obama's campaign. Prior to joining Javelin Venture Partners, Jed was a Managing Director of DFJ Gotham Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York, where he was selected in the "Silicon Alley 100", an annual list of the most influential people in New York digital business, by the website Silicon Alley Insider. Prior to DFJ Gotham, Jed was the COO of Yamcon, the developer of the highly acclaimed "SkyScout", one of the best selling astronomy products of all time.

Prior to Yamcon, Jed was the COO and Founder of Rent Net, the Internet's first rental and relocation guide. Rent Net achieved 95% market penetration and became one of the first profitable Internet companies. It was acquired by Cendant, and three years later, Jed used its infrastructure as the starting point for the formation of Move.com, one of the Internet's largest real estate sites. Move.com grew to 360 employees and was acquired by Homestore (NASDAQ: MOVE) for over $900 million. Jed holds a B.A. in Business Economics from UCLA and an M.B.A. from The Haas School of Business at the University of California - Berkeley, where he was awarded the Price Fellowship from the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, of which he is currently on the advisory board.

Jed participated in the FundingPost event: Summer Early-Stage Breakfast NYC on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 in NY

Javelin Ventures
Javelin Venture Partners was founded by former entrepreneurs with a first-hand appreciation of what it takes to develop a company from concept to thriving enterprise. We have been in your chair...resource constrained and exhausted, but driving forward with full confidence that your start-up has incredible potential to change the world. We're here to help - providing capital, guidance, access to an expansive network and most importantly, entrepreneurial DNA.

We invest in early-stage tech companies with incredible potential, managed by teams of energetic, trustworthy and capable leaders. Key focus areas include digital media, Internet commerce, mobile and healthcare IT. We look for advanced bleeding-edge innovations, where the addressable market size is substantial and strong competitive advantages exist. Our typical investment is between $1 to $2 million, with reserves for follow-on investments. We will also consider smaller seed investments for unique companies just getting started. Our office is located in San Francisco, but we invest throughout the world. We consider ourselves very active investors, with a long-term outlook and the objective of creating substantial value.

Some Previous Investments:
Netpulse
provides an interactive media platform for fitness centers and active lifestyle consumers. The Netpulse platform enables a customizable entertainment experience that offers live HDTV, on-demand video and music, iPod/iPhone connectivity, personalized workout data and more. Netpulse also allows media companies and advertisers to have direct one-to-one access to a highly engaged audience that is difficult to reach with traditional media.

SmartZip
SmartZip is the leading provider of independent, analytics-based ratings and research for real estate investment. SmartZip is used by investors and homebuyers looking to easily rate, compare and confirm the best properties to buy. The SmartZip ScoreTM is the first and only quantitative rating offering a risk-adjusted assessment of the investment potential of residential properties. SmartZip Score applies proven stock and bond rating analytics to the most comprehensive base of real estate investment attributes ever assembled.

www.FundingPost.com - Meet Angels and VCs

Orange County VC and Angel ConferenceMarch 9, 2010 Come meet and network with VCs and Angels in Southern California! Sponsored by the Bingham McCutchen.http://www.fundingpost.com/breakfast/reg1.asp?event=167&refer;=rss


Los Angeles VC and Angel ConferenceMarch 11, 2010 Come meet and network with VCs and Angels in Southern California! Sponsored by the Bingham McCutchen.http://www.fundingpost.com/breakfast/reg1.asp?event=166&refer;=rss


Las Vegas VC and Angel ConferenceApril 29, 2010 Come meet and network with VCs and Angels in Nevada!http://www.fundingpost.com/breakfast/reg1.asp?event=168&refer;=rss


FREE Conference Call with VCs and Angel Investors! Available for immediate listening. Hear from 13 VCs and Angel Investors. You can register for the conference call MP3 here: http://www.fundingpost.com/pvc

Additional 2010 events will be announced shortly!

In the mean time, You can learn about and see photos from our previous events, as well as purchase tickets for our Venture Capital and Angel Investor events here: http://www.fundingpost.com/event

Follow us on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/fundingpost

Friend us on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/fundingpost

iPhone app listing VC and Angel Events: http://www.fundingpost.com/iphone

Pacific Century Premium Developments Ltd., the real-estate unit of Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li's PCCW Ltd., was suspended from buying and selling land in Beijing, according to a local government statement. ...

Commercial Transactions Up in February Last month, TREB Commercial Members reported 606,076 square feet of leased space, a 28 per cent increase from the 472,663 leased square feet recorded in February of 2009. "During the first two months of 2010,...

First of all - MOTD = Match of The Day, a very popular and long running football show on the BBC. However in Second Life terms, MOTD = Message of the day, I'm explaining this because I will call it message of the day and I don't care about the extra pixels, Match of The Day is always going to be MOTD to me. Moving on to second base.

Can small and medium sized landlords have an apology please? A month's free tier would be nice but I won't push it, a bloody apology is due. A huge apology, in massive letters saying "we're sorry" will suffice. Let's take a trip back to last summer, when there was a huge issue from small and medium sized landlords about large estates receiving an advertising boost.

Let's just remind ourselves of what happened, this sort of thing appeared on our screens:



Do you remember that? Do you remember thinking that those of us who complained were being whiney, that it wasn't much of a boost? That it didn't really matter?
{ Read more }

Adding visual elements to your website design can often make the difference between a good and a great site. While illustrations can often take a lot of time and talent to produce, the result is often a stunning website design that can really make an impact with your readers. The following showcase includes 40 examples of brilliantly illustrated web designs to help inspire you for your next project.

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1.  Morphix

This site mixes a creative blog layout with nice illustration to create a blog design that is very untypical, but very memorable.

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2.  PSD to WP

Here is a one page site that uses a powerful background image to build its sites personality and brand off of.

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3.  Dedoce

This underwater scene has a bit of a grunge feel to it that helps keep it from looking like another vector illustrated website.

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4.  Chirp

Designed entirely with the hand drawn style in mind, Chirp has an artistic style that is very much its own.

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5.  Olive Crush

These guys use a simple illustration and textures to help add some personality to the site design.

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6.  Ready Made Designs

A nice color scheme and illustrations make this website very easy on the eyes.

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7.  Bird Boxx

A large illustration on this website easily translates that sites name to help make it more memorable.

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8.  Cool Brush Design

This sit sports a very detailed graphic of a castle and ocean scene that works with Flash.

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9.  Katherine Designs

Who doesn’t love a site with robots?  This site sports a pastel color scheme and lots of little robot illustrations.

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10.  Arbel Designs

A very cool one page portfolio site.  Click around on the navigation here to see all of  the various levels of the design.

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11. Synch Media

A combination of unique colors, layout, and illustration make this website very unique and different.

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12.  The Pixel

Simple animation, outstanding artwork, and clever layout; this website has it all.

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13.  Andy Adventure

One would expect that animated games would have a bold and artistic website.  While this isn’t the most clever design, it is certainly big and bold.

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14.  Los Colores Olvidados

If Tim Burton were a web designer,  I would think that his website would look a little something like this.

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15.  Store Envy

Here is a site that mixes very modern user interface style with some bright and colorful illustration work.

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16.  Digital Impact Outdoors

The illustration in this website design does an excellent job at conveying the overall message of the website and adding to its value.

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17.  Vindem Teren

I’m not really sure what this site does, but based on the illustration it looks to be some sort of real estate based site.  Goes to show you that images can speak volumes.

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18.  Branded 07

This site is full of outstanding illustration.  Be sure to check out the footer area on this one.

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19.  Pralinen Schachtel

I like that the illustration on this site has made sure to create some depth to the picture.  This is something many vector illustrations lack.

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20.  Indofolio

This is a must see side scrolling site.  Aside from the amazing artwork, it also has a nice transition from page to page to helps added to the feel of the site.

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21.  Camellie

Creating a clever and artistic website is easy when you have as much talent as Camellie does.  If only we were all this talented.

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22.  Bet Your Followers

I don’t really get the point of this website, but it shows very creative use of some excellent stock illustration work.

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23.  Attack of the Web

This is one of those websites that just make you wonder where they got the idea from.  This is a clever and funny one page layout.

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24.  Blossoms Village

While not the greatest looking website on this list, it just goes to show that some bold illustration work can go a long way in making your design look even better.

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25.  Outlaw Design Blog

It is all about the little details in this site.  The gun in holster on the menu, random bullet holes, and other touches help make this site a bit different.

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26.  Abduction Lamp

This site even comes in 3D!  Well, not really, but it’s still a clever aspect of the design.

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27.  Bimbi Sicuramente

I have no idea what this site is about, but I like that the vector illustration is full of texture and offers a bit of depth to it.

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28.  GREPIT

This site offers a very slick and clever looking diagram type illustration to convey what it is they do.

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29.  Kidd 81

Here is another site with a style that stands out from the crowd and one that the designer has used to brand them self very well.

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30.  Atomic Cartoons

This is just an amazing website and probably my favorite on this list.  You MUST check this site out and click around a bit.

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31.  Somos La Peralimonera

I always like it when illustrated sites like this have multiple layers to them.  Adding outer space or underground layers is a cool idea.

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32.  HD Live 09

Any time you can add some real hand drawn work to a design you are sure to create something very different from anything else out there.

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33.  Piipe Online

A nice use of bold colors, creative layout and interesting use of patterns make this site fun to look at.

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34.  Blogsville

A basic website with a simple illustration to help conceptualize the conference name.

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35.  Tech Adventure DC

Again, any time you can add some hand drawn elements into your design you are sure to create something outstanding.

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36.  Open Atrium

Here we get a nice mixture of typical clean web design mixed in with some bright and bold illustration work.

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37.  Black Moon Development

Bring in a more traditional illustration look offers a unique style in today’s web design.

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38.  Moshi Monster

As one would epect, this online kids game is full of animation, cute little monsters, and plenty of bright colors.

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39.  Carreras Con Futuro

This site might be “drawn” and “painted” with Photoshop brushes, but it still has that hand drawn style to it.  Great for those of you who don’t have the traditional artistic skill set.

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40.  Toris Eye

This is a very cool site that you have to see to really appreciate.  It offers simple motion, creative ideas, nice colors and oh so much more.

From a thatched cottage to a castle outhouse, seaside retreats to an historic city pad, we've picked 20 fantastic self-catering properties available over the Easter holiday

Wales

Capel Pennant, near Llangollen

Capel Pennant is a cosy converted estate chapel in the gardens of one of Wales' most handsome manor houses, Plas Pennant, on the Chirk Castle estate near Lllangollen. It has been elegantly furnished, but the chief delight is the wonderful open view down the famous Ceiriog valley. You can enjoy access to the gardens of the manor, or great walking in the area, and visit the charming heritage towns close by, of which Llangollen and Chirk are just the start.

• Sleeps up to two people in one bedroom. Arriving Easter Monday, five nights costs £355 or stay seven nights for £533. Under The Thatch, +44 (0)1239 851410.

Cragside, near Caernarfon

An unusual rustic, mountain cottage standing on its own on a hillside surrounded by fields. It's close to several beaches, inspiring castles and amazing views. It is offered by Sheepskin, which launched last month, with 10 stylish self-catering properties in remote and beautiful locations in north and south Wales. Sheepskin keeps prices the same all year round and has a special launch offer giving guests a 20% discount on an Easter break and all subsequent stays for the rest of their lives. (The discount applies to week-long Easter breaks completed by 11 April.)

• Sleeps two adults and and three children. Cost £888 (with 20% discount) for seven nights over Easter. Sheepskin; +44 (0)1865 764087.

Scotland

Easter Steading, Near Cupar, Fife

Converted from old farm buildings, the Steading forms two sides of a secluded walled courtyard with a backdrop of the rolling hills of north Fife, exactly half way between Perth and St Andrews (16 miles from both). Includes sitting room with wood-burning stove and piano, fully equipped kitchen/dining room, two ensuite bedrooms and gallery games area with table football and broadband connection.

• Sleeps four. A seven-night holiday starting on 3 April costs £475. unique-cottages.co.uk; +44 (0)1835 822277.

Delgatie Castle, Aberdeenshire

Mary Queen of Scots once slept in this historic Scottish castle in Aberdeenshire. Home to some of the finest 16th-century painted ceilings in Scotland, parts of the building date back to 1030. You'll stay in apartments in the castle coach house, from where you can explore the estate and Delgatie Woods, go flyfishing for rainbow and brown trout in the castle lake or tuck into cream teas and home-cooked food in the Laird's Kitchen. It's a good base for exploring the Highlands; Speyside and the Cairngorms are easily accessible and some of the world's best known whisky distilleries are nearby.

• A week's stay costs £409 (was £503), sleeps five/six in an apartment in the castle coach house. delgatiecastle.com/; +44 (0)1888 563479.

Achleek Cottage, Argyll

Save £80 on a seven-night stay in this snug former tackman's house on the south side of Loch Sunart. Recently refurbished it sleeps five in three bedrooms and has an open fire and wonderful views down the loch and across to the mountains of Moidart and Sunart. There are few roads in the area (but lots of wonderful walking) and less in the way of human settlement - the nearest village is peaceful Strontian three miles away. Drive to the end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, the westernmost tip of mainland Britain, with its glorious beach at Sanna and boat trips from Kilchoan.

•  A week's stay costs £495, sleeps five, valid from 3 April. Pets welcome by arrangement. unique-cottages.co.uk; +44 (0)1835 822277.

The Hill House, Helensburgh, near Glasgow

This is the perfect stay for lovers of architecture and design. The Hill House - including much of its interior, from fireplaces to furnishings – was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for publisher Walter Blackie, and is considered to be his domestic masterpiece. You will stay in the top floor flat, where you can still find the toy cupboards of what once was the schoolroom of the Blackie family. The house is very close to Glasgow, where art enthusiasts can learn more about Mackintosh and visit his famous School of Art.

• Five nights from £957, sleeps six. landmarktrust.org.uk; +44 (0)1628 825925.

England

West Leas Farm cottages, Yorkshire

Archway, Granary and Byre cottages are housed in a converted barn on peaceful West Leas Farm in the Yorkshire Dales. All have countryside views and access to enclosed gardens which lead directly to open fields and footpaths – the owners can provide you with a map showing their favourite local walks. See new-born calves ('Snowdrop' was born last month), ponies and Easter lambs. Nearby are the cathedral city of Ripon and the market town of Masham, famous for its Black Sheep and Theakstons breweries. The villages of Kirkby Malzeard and Galphay are both within walking distance, with local shops, pubs and tea rooms.

• £460 a week for a family of four from 5-18 April. iknow-yorkshire.co.uk; 0844 453 6648.

The Miller's House, Shropshire

This snug conversion is in part of the original Birches Mill, by the River Unk. The mill dates back to 1640 and corn was ground here right up until the second world war. Artists Gill and Andrew live next door and will happily provide you with a locally-sourced home-cooked meal from their freezer if you arrive exhausted on a Friday night (or you can order a welcome box of local produce for £22). Downstairs is a living room with low, beamed ceilings and wood-burning stove; a wildlflower garden sits behind the cottage. Offa's Dyke can be reached by foot, and the gastonomic town of Ludlow is a short hop away.

• A week's stay, from 2 or 3 April, costs from £405, sleeps four. special-escapes.co.uk; +44 (0)1588 640409.

The Spinney, Cumbria

Set in the countryside between Ennerdale Water and the market town of Cockermouth in west Cumbria, this new-build house has under-floor heating, wood flooring, a four-poster bed, a great dining/kitchen and a real fire in the large living room. The house is surrounded by glorious countryside for walking or cycling – the Coast-to-Coast Cycle Route goes past the front door.

• Sleeps up to six. A week's rental starting April 3 is £780 (reduced from £890). Arrive 10 April for seven nights and the cost is £680. Cumbrian Cottages; +44(0)1228 599960.

Kendal cottages riverside apartment, Cumbria

Be the first to stay in these new luxury suites with riverside balconies looking out over the River Kent to picturesque Stramongate Bridge and on to Kendal castle. The apartment is bright and spacious with open-plan kitchen, living room and dining area and super king size beds. There's a free welcome bottle of champagne for Easter guests.

•  A week's stay costs from £650, sleeps four. kendalcottages.com; +44 (0)1539 736611.

The Granary, Forest of Dean

Set between the River Wye and River Seven this 18th-century cottage has been sensitively converted into a rural getaway in the heart of the Forest of Dean. There are 180-degree views of open countryside and forest walks starting right from the back door. Horse riding, canoeing or mountain biking are also available nearby. The owner, an award winning photographer, is able to offer individual tuition or you can play drums, keyboard and guitars in the fully equipped music studio under the guidance of professional musicians.

• A week's stay costs £325, sleeps two. holidaylettings.co.uk; +44 (0)1594 860476.

Stonechat Cottage, Worth Matravers, Dorset

Worth Matravers is often cited as the prettiest village in Dorset. This Grade II-listed, Purbeck stone, quarryman's cottage dates back to 1772 and retains many original features. Just a mile from the beach and four miles from Swanage, Stonechat Cottage is found on a no-through lane leading to a path down to the sea at Winspit. It has accommodation over three floors with a small rear decked courtyard with barbecue. Or, if you can't be bothered to cook, pop into the Square & Compass pub for a pint and a pasty and great views down to Chapman's Pool beach. Easter also sees the start of the nearby Bridport Film festival (3 – 9 April). From Page To Screen (+44 (0)1308 424204) celebrates film adaptations of new and classic books with daytime screenings and talks at Bridport Arts Centre and evening screenings at The Electric Palace cinema.

• Sleeps four. Available week commencing 2 April and costs £420, a saving of £50 off the brochure price of £470. Dorset Coastal Cottages, 0800 980 4070.

Little Barn, Polperro, Cornwall

Backing on to the river that flows down to the harbour in Polperro, this delightful property has two bedrooms set in the eaves. The cosy lounge has beams and rough stone walls with deep-set windows and window seats from which to watch and listen to the river as it hurries down to the sea.

• Costs is £473 for Easter week, sleeps four. toadhallcottages.co.uk

St Hilary, West Cornwall

Spend Easter in a cosy three-star 18th-century, Grade II listed, thatched cottage. Inside are ancient oak beams and an inglenook fireplace. There's a tree-sheltered garden at the front and meadows at the back; a track alongside links to several foot paths and cycleways. The attractive village of Goldsithney, with two good pubs is within walking distance. Mounts Bay and St Michael's Mount on the coast are two miles away. Or head down to Porthcurno for the Cornish premiere of Disney's Beauty and The Beast at open-air Minack Theatre (2-5 and 10-12 April).

• A week's stay costs £545, sleeps five. Available Saturday 3 and 10 April. Pets welcome. Reference: Z101. Helpful Holidays; +44 (0)1647 434063.

Sea Wall Cottage, Porth, Cornwall

As the name suggests this cottage is built right on the sea wall at beautiful Porth beach in north Cornwall. Enjoy the sea views from your own sun terrace or walk out on to the sand for some rockpooling, bodyboarding or surfing. Warm up after a spring swim in front of the fire in the living room. Dogs are welcome.

• £650 for a week, from 3 April. Sleeps four.beachretreats.co.uk; +44 (0) 1637 861005.

Swallow Tail Houseboat, Devon

Swallow Tail barge is permanently moored on her own tranquil jetty in the heart of the Westcountry. The boat is surprisingly spacious and comes with its own woodburning heat system. Watch the busy wildlife right outside the galley window – spot wetland birds, deer, rabbits and silently swooping barn owls. Land organic rainbow trout for dinner and in the evening watch the sun setting from the aft deck knowing that it has given its solar energy to power your lighting for the night ahead.

• Available for the week over Easter for £385 and sleeps four-six. responsibletravel.com.

The Mill House, Lee Bay, Devon

A Grade II listed 16th-century property right on the water's edge in Lee Bay. Many period features have been retained including the original milling room (now the dining room, with a grand table seating 10), inglenook fireplace, bread ovens, woodburning stove, boathouse and the drawbridge over the mill race.  French doors open on to the garden with sea views; at the front is a terrace enclosed by a stone wall.

• A week's stay from 3 April is £1,340 (reduced by £200), sleeps 10. marsdens.co.uk; +44 (0)1271 813 777.

Magenta, Aldeburgh, Suffolk

Step into this pretty cottage right off of the sea front in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. Both living room and main bedroom have uninterrupted sea views; downstairs there's an open plan kitchen and dining room. Located just a couple of minutes' walk away from the town where there's plenty of restaurants and pubs – including, renowned The Fish and Chip Shop. Freshly caught fish is sold daily at the fisherman huts on the beach. 

• Sleeps four. A week from 2 April costs £765. Alternatively, Mariner's cottage (sleeps four), a few streets back from the sea costs £560 for a week arriving on 2 April and comes with a chocolate hamper. bestofsuffolk.co.uk; +44 (0)1728 638962.

Coach House, Heathfield, Sussex

This organically run smallholding has been turned into a creative escape for those who want to write, read or paint. The Coach House – oceans of daffodils to one side, a country road to the other – has been designed as an open-plan, lofty, two-room retreat. The living area has contemporary Scandinavian-style furniture and kilims on a sweep of maple parquet running through folding doors to the bedroom on the other side. Owner Julia is committed to conservation, so the fabrics are natural, the water for the main house solar-heated, and the sheep rare-breed. Extra guests or friends can stay in the farmhouse or the Studio a flexible project space.

• Four nights for £300, full week for £400, sleeps two adults plus one baby up to two years or child over seven years. Alastair Sawday's Special Escapes; +44 (0)1435 830203.

Barn Cottage, Mersley Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight

This two-bedroom cottage is housed in one of the traditional outbuildings of rural Mersley Farm. As the name suggests it's a garlic lovers' haven – the onsite shop farm shop stocks elephant garlic, smoked garlic and even garlic honey, as well as fresh local produce. Nearby are the towns of Sandown and Shanklin and the surrounding area is good cycling and walking territory. Guest have free WiFi and use of a tennis court.

• £512 a week, sleeps four. Departing on 9 April, the price includes seven nights' self-catering accommodation and return Wightlink car ferry crossings from Portsmouth or Lymington. Wightlink Green Getaways; 0871 376 0013.

Interview by Jenny Desmond Walters for SCBWI Bologna 2010

Kendra, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions in preparation for the upcoming 2010 SCBWI Bologna Symposium. I'm sure everyone is eager to read more about your agency, so let's jump right in to some questions.

You started the BookStop Literary Agency in 1984. What was the path that led you to become an agent, and also, what prompted you to open your own literary agency?

My agency morphed from a book-fair company I started when we lived in Mexico during the late 1970s to serve the numerous English speakers and learners who needed English language books to read and cement the English language skills they'd learned in school.

There were no children's bookstores in Mexico. BookStop, my company, set up book fairs in the various bilingual schools around the city and sold books directly to the kids in the schools.

I ordered the books I knew would succeed, given my elementary teaching experience and knowledge of kids. I had contact with literally thousands of kids each year and learned which books caught their interest.

My business was a success, but in 1983, we left Mexico and landed in a suburb of San Francisco. I decided not to continue the company I'd started because the same "book-less" conditions didn't exist in the U.S. Scholastic Book Fairs were well entrenched.

So, after two years of trying to volunteer in the schools where I was invited to stuff envelopes, my friends suggested to me that I go into real estate since I was so good at connecting people and houses.

Well, not real estate, I said, but I could be a literary agent connecting manuscripts and book publishers. I already knew many editors and publishers from my book-fair business, and I knew kids both from my teaching days and from my book-fair days.

I was pretty sure I knew a good book when I saw one since my book tastes had already been tested when I was buying for my book-fair business.

I started my agency the day I made the decision so many years ago, and I haven't regretted it for a minute. When I needed to learn about new books, I traveled to New York where I met with editors who told me what new books they were excited about.

It took a year to sell the first manuscript, and my business has grown significantly since then. Last year I took on an associate, Minju Chang, who works with me to get the best in children’s and young adult literature into the market.

Publishers Marketplace lists a nice collection of recent sales and forthcoming books from BookStop. What are some of the titles that you’re especially excited about this year?

You're asking which of my children I like the best this year, and that is a tough question.

Here’s a sampling of some “BookStop” books that will release in 2010:

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (Philomel);

Mimi's Dada Catifesto by Shelley Jackson (Clarion);

The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Scholastic);

Saint Training by Elizabeth Fixmer (Zondervan).

In your opinion, what qualities make for a successful children's picture book?

Of course a good story with an unpredictable or simply delicious ending is paramount. Beyond that, a good picture book (or even novel, for that matter) needs well developed characters who drive a plot that makes me turn the pages.

In a picture book, I am eager to read a fresh approach to any of the myriad of familiar topics that kids can relate to–early concepts, daily life, siblings, family, friends, or even aliens. I love quirky and well-developed characters in any book, but especially in a picture book. We would never reject a great manuscript.

I also like to work with books that tell a socially important or interesting story, despite the fact that they may not experience great sales.

Kids love to learn about the world around them, and I feel there is a need for good nonfiction that teaches a subject in a non-didactic way.

Unfortunately, at the moment nonfiction is difficult to sell. Sometimes there is something magical and undefinable where the words and the pictures combine to create something above and beyond either the illustrations or the text on their own. This makes the odd equation of one plus one equals three!

Are you currently accepting submissions from writers and illustrators, and if so, do you have any specific tips or suggestions as to how they might best approach your agency?

Both my associate, Minju Chang, and I are actively seeking new talent. We work closely together so it doesn’t matter to whom you submit your work. We accept submissions from writers and illustrators for kids from age 0 to 16 years old.

Minju is especially skilled at working with authors who write at the upper end of that spectrum, and I can’t pass up a good picture book. We both work with illustrators.

You can find our submission guidelines at www.bookstopliterary.com. We prefer a query letter with a manuscript. If you send your manuscript through the mail, please make sure to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope or mailer so we can respond (and return your manuscript if you want it back). With email submissions, send first 10 pages pasted into body of email. Please do not send a query letter without the manuscript. We like to see what you write immediately.

Read our bios to get a sense of what we like. In short, we love humor and strong stories with strong and well-developed characters.

How long does it usually take for your agency to respond to a query and manuscript submission, and how many submissions do you typically receive in a given month?

We receive hundreds of submissions a month—anywhere from 200 to 300. Certain times of the year (holiday season), we're going to be slower, but we try to respond within four-to-six weeks. Usually it's two to three.

As an agency that represents both writers and illustrators, what are some of the different strategies you must employ to support these different types of clients throughout their career?

Every client has different needs and different skills.

With illustrators, we are constantly on the lookout for manuscripts that might fit their styles. We are pretty good at matching writers and illustrators, so when we hear an editor is looking for an illustrator, we try to find out about the text, to see if we might have an appropriate illustrator on board. Sometimes we'll send a manuscript in with illustrator suggestions to give an editor an idea of a style of illustration that might work.

With writers, we try to think about what sort of illustration goes with the manuscript and offer that as a suggestion to an editor who may be on the fence. With writers, we also have to keep our eye on what the next book might be because we understand that a publishing house is most interested if they can count on the fact that the author has more than one book in their mind.

In an article in Publishers Weekly, Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody books and also one of your clients, talked about how she shared a series of short “Judy Moody” vignettes with you and that you led her to the brilliant idea of combining them together into the first Judy Moody short novel.

Can you give us some examples of other recommendations you might make to clients after they submit a project to you?

It's difficult to say because this depends so much on the manuscript. We enjoy the editorial process, and if we think you’ve got a good strong character, we're more than happy to work with you to integrate that character into an equally strong plot.


Judy Moody was a great character to start with, and Megan found she could put her into almost any situation. It was the editor who led Megan to the short-novel format for Judy Moody.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Ryan started as a picture book. We kept trying different formats until someone suggested making it a novel.

Although Pam had never written a novel before, she took the suggestion and ran with it. It is clear the novel format gave her the space she needed to tell the story.

Sometimes our job is only a matter of figuring out what works in a story and what isn't quite working. Lack of tension? Episodic structure? Stagnant relationship? Undeveloped character. We know that the character needs to come first.

Some of your best known projects include Esperanza Rising, the Judy Moody book series, and the Froggy picture book series illustrations.

Can you tell us the story behind how you found, offered representation to, and then sold the work of one or more of these clients?

My clients typically find me. The three cases you mention above are representative. In one case, the author found me in a writer's handbook. In another, I was recommended by the author's editor, and in another, I was recommended by a friend of the author.

There is no single road to meeting the right agent. Sometimes authors hear of me from several different sources and tell me that, after the fourth person recommended us, they had to contact us. We are very open to reading manuscripts from first-time writers. We are as eager to start careers as we are to take on already established careers.

What aspects need to be considered about a book before an agent presents it to a publisher?

We want to be able to identify what makes this book stand out. What makes it different from comparable titles? Is there a large enough target audience to ensure the book’s success? And we need to really be its advocate.

We need to think about how we could pitch the book to a child and how that child might react to the book. How will the editor pitch this to their editorial and sales team? How will the publishers pitch this to kids? Does the subject matter fit into the curriculum (school sales and library sales are critical to a book's success). Is this a new take on a perennially favorite subject that can never go out of favor?

And, these are questions we also ask ourselves when we're reading each submission.

You served as a featured panelist at the Stanford Publishing Courses Writers Workshop in July 2009. What can you tell us about your experience there last year?

It was a very exciting couple of days where the participants learned everything from writing skills to publicity and how to actually manage social media. I was on a panel of agents talking about the ever-changing market in children’s books. Since the focus was not only children’s books, I was able to attend more general sessions and learn from well-known adult writers. Such conferences are invaluable for writers who want to get to know all phases of the business.

Unfortunately, the course has been suspended for the foreseeable future.

What kinds of things do you like to see new or unpublished authors or illustrators doing to promote themselves at the start of their careers?

They should be able to help with the publicity of their books. Today that includes being able to use the usual social networking tools – facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, blogs, etc. It is clear that the publishers are scaling back their publicity efforts and expecting authors to take up the slack. Authors who are really "out there" seem to enjoy better sales, and their publishers notice!

One of our clients, with a book about a dog, has become a one-woman marketing machine although she didn't start out that way. She’s worked relentlessly pursuing every single possible lead or tangent related to dogs, and it's paying off with good blurbs from a variety of organizations. We so appreciate her tenacity and hard work.

Seeing our clients work so hard makes us want to work that much harder to support their efforts.

It's important to remember that publicity doesn't always have to happen on a large scale. Sometimes it's about pursuing individual contacts one at a time. Another client has a natural gift for charming and talking to almost everyone she passes. She just has charisma, which makes her an extremely successful face-to-face promoter. She never "sells" to people; she's just who she is and people want to know about her. For example, after she just struck up a conversation with a couple of strangers on an airport shuttle, she learned that they later bought six copies of her book! I'll bet they spread the word even farther to their friends and family.

The underlying message is: use your talents and think outside of the box. If you're a video-editing pro, use that. If you're a great public speaker, put yourself out there in schools, stores, conferences, etc. Use your connections, too. If your kids are fabulous at building websites, ask them to do it for you. And also get their feedback on what appeals to kids.

Don't be afraid to be different. We’re always around to help you brainstorm.

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and expertise. We're excited about hearing more from you in Bologna!

Cynsational Notes

Kendra Marcus started BookStop Literary Agency in 1984, and since then the agency has grown to be one of the most well known and well respected agencies for children's book writers and illustrators.

Kendra gravitates toward texts and illustrations for quirky and funny picture books. She is also interested in stories with Hispanic or Latino characters and unusual nonfiction and is always thrilled to find unforgettable and vivid voices or stories that will bring her to tears.

Jenny Desmond Walters is the founding regional advisor of the SCBWI Korea chapter. She is an experienced education professional with a love of learning and literature. She has worked in public television developing curriculum and promoting instructional programs, as well as worked extensively with educational publishers and learning materials companies. For the last several years, Jenny has lived in east Asia where she has become an avid writer and observer of life in Japan and Korea. Her articles have been published in national children's magazines and writing journals, and she has been a member of SCBWI for more than 10 years. Jenny currently resides in Seoul with her husband and three daughters, and she rarely runs out of interesting stories to write.

The SCBWI Bologna 2010 interview series is brought to you by the SCBWI Bologna Biennial Conference in conjunction with Cynsations. To register, visit the SCBWI Bologna Biennial Conference 2010. Note: Special thanks to Angela Cerrito for coordinating this series with SCBWI Bologna and Cynsations.

Real estate news and views from around the globe that make you go, “Really?” TOWERS DEADLINE: Developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have been fighting virtually since the Sept. 11 over redevelopment of the World Trade Center. Talks continued today to meet an arbitration panel’s Friday deadline to come [...]

Really? WTC talks go down to the wire is a post from: Lansner on Real Estate

By Rieva Lesonsky Did you miss one of my blog posts from around the Net this week? Here’s the rundown: Get my 7 tips for using Twitter to grow your business at my blog on iBank.com. Find out how the coming commercial real estate crash could threaten your business in my post on Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends. Over [...]

Micozzi Management Inc., an Allston real estate company, has agreed to pay $3,000 and adopt an antidiscrimination policy to resolve allegations one of its agents refused to rent to a couple with a young child.

Micozzi Management Inc., an Allston real estate company, has agreed to pay $3,000 and adopt an antidiscrimination policy to resolve allegations one of its agents refused to rent to a couple with a young child.

Though I'm not sure that anybody knows for certain, I saw that the iPad is due out the first week of April. Whether it's a runaway hit or not, the iPhone certainly has been. Do you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod app yet? Or, are you thinking about one? I'm using thirty or more of them on my iPod with Wifi. They're useful for all sorts of things.

There are vendors out there already doing apps for Realtors, so you should be investigating them for your future app. I've done one, and believe that it will be a great resource for my local real estate business in the future. Here's a profile of the iPad app vendor I chose.

Are You Getting Your App Ready for the iPad? originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 09:07:07.

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I sat here making an effort to finish writing an article covering the 2 most crucial things to consider about your website when I was derailed by the topic below. The following is based on a phone rant that I have let loose so many times that I’m starting to feel myself on auto-pilot, almost thinking about something else, as I explain the basic formula to guaranteed blogging success. It struck me that I need to write this down before I mistakenly consider it to be no longer relevant. The fact is that it couldn’t be more relevant for new and struggling real estate bloggers. I am adding this article to the Pre Class Homework that all of our new clients will receive, for it is the foundation of their path to blogging reward. 1. Define Your Target Audience/Ideal Reader In a past article I wrote this: Your knee-jerk first...

FSBO listed on 03/12/2010 - Beautiful light and natural woodwork fill this Ranch Style Home

FSBO listed on 03/12/2010 - LOWEST PRICE IN AREA !!

Need a logo for my company. I am a Real Estate Investor and my company name is A.B. Home Buyers LLC and we buy and sell real estate. I am looking to incorporate the following colors: Blue, Red, White, Black, & Brown, I am open to any design... (Budget: $30-250, Jobs: Corporate Identity, Graphic Design, Logo Design)

It could be the end for the Mosquito acoustic youth dispersal device, if a committee of MEPs from the Council of Europe have their way. They've voted to have them banned across Europe.

The device emits an unpleasant audio signal that can only be heard by anyone under twenty, the young - all of them.

Mosquitos have been used across the UK and other countries to prevent young people from gathering and causing problems outside shops, or on estates etc.

The committee reckons the mosquitos should be outlawed because they treat teenagers as though "they are unwanted birds or pests."

There use may also contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.

Whilst I have every sympathy with people whose lives have been blighted by anti-social behaviour you have to ask yourself is the mosquito really the answer?

Surely its use says more about the society which condones it, than the young people it's meant to offend. 

A picture is worth a 1,000 bucks... or for Getty Images co-founder and CEO Jonathan D. Klein many millions, as evidenced by his recent $10 million apartment purchase at coveted co-op 760 Park Avenue. The Getty go-getter and his wife, Deborah, bought the 10-room, full-floor residence from real estate tycoon William Mack and his wife, Phyllis, according to city records.

In 2008, Ms. and Mr. Mack, who chairs AREA Property Partners and co-developed the Time...

At the beginning of a panel entitled “The View From 10,000 Feet,” part of the N.Y.U. Schack Institute of Real Estate’s 15th Annual REIT Symposium on Thursday afternoon, the always outspoken Steve Roth had a question for moderator Robin Panovka.

“Is there press in the room?” asked Mr. Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust.

Perhaps Mr. Roth was wary because of a controversial talk a...

According to Indeed’s February Industry Employment Trends Report, ten of the 12 major industries tracked had more openings this February than in February 2009. Hospitality experienced a 44% increase in open jobs over last year. Retail improved by 35% and real estate had a 33% jump. Other sectors trending upward are accounting, education, financial services [...]

The start of my latest newsletter:

Cynicism is a dreadful thing. But when you receive a press release from a major public sector employer proclaiming a "vision for the future," promising greater efficiency and containing a pledge on staffing that is hedged like the maze at Hampton Court, the jaded eye skips instinctively down the page to find where the job cuts have been hidden.

There will be 700-800, TfL thinks, 450 of them among ticket office staff (it's all in here). Its defence is that more and more people are using Oysters and they have more points at which to purchase them, which means the need for ticket office staff is shrinking. It addresses concerns about safety - deserted stations and dead of night, that kind of thing - by pointing out that there are more police officers patrolling.

The Lib Dems aren't impressed and neither are Labour, though their guns are semi-spiked by the fact that Ken Livingstone planned to close ticket offices too. I'd guess that Boris's rationalisation for breaking a manifesto pledge, "ensuring there is always a manned ticket office at every station" (see page 2) may draw on this fact at next week's MQT. Meanwhile, the RMT has pledged "an all-out fight".

What happened to that no-strike deal (see page 6)? And what will happen to the flow of investment if and when George occupies the Treasury? Or indeed if Alistair remains there? Ponder this from Regeneration and Renewal:

Mayoral agency Transport for London is to publish a report next month to make the case for using a US infrastructure funding tool to fund a £600 million extension of the Northern Line to the Nine Elms area in Wandsworth.

Speaking yesterday in London at a conference organised by real estate advisers CB Richard Ellis, Matthew Hudson, head of corporate finance at TfL, said the report would set out a "concrete example" of how Tax Increment Financing could be used to unlock the regeneration of the Nine Elms opportunity area.

The Tif model, widely used in the US, finances infrastructure projects by borrowing against future tax revenues resulting from regeneration. "We have a report coming out in five weeks time, that will set out a concrete example of Tif, Hudson said. "It will have all the cashflows, all the structures, which I hope will stimulate the debate and move things forward."

Remember Tif? Sounds like a nice girl. Boris thinks thinks so too.

When President Barack Obama's jobs bill passed the House in early March, it contained a little-noticed provision to recover part of its $35 billion price tag by cracking down on offshore tax evasion, which costs the US some $100 billion a year in lost revenue. The provision, which requires foreign financial institutions to report more data to the Internal Revenue Service, was likely prompted by a 2008 Senate investigation that revealed the systemic efforts made by Swiss bank UBS to help moneyed Americans hide massive sums from the IRS.

The insider information that formed the backbone of the investigation—insight that eventually helped the feds recover billions in unpaid taxes—was provided by a former midlevel executive at UBS, American-born Bradley Birkenfeld. Birkenfeld is the only international banker who has ever blown the whistle to the US government on Switzerland's legendarily secretive banking practices. He is also the only person connected to UBS' massive tax evasion scheme to have been sent to prison: Birkenfeld is currently serving a four-year sentence for fraud. Whistleblower advocacy groups warn that this punishment could have a "chilling effect," discouraging other financial whistleblowers from coming forward. Did Obama's Department of Justice (DOJ) exact retribution that could cost US taxpayers billions?

Birkenfeld first raised alarms about UBS' banking practices in a series of emails to his superiors in 2005, after a colleague allegedly brought to his attention a year-old memo that forbade soliciting Swiss banking services while either the banker, client, or prospect were on American soil. "When I read it," Birkenfeld said in an October 2007 Senate deposition, "I was very concerned about what was going on in the bank because this contradicted entirely what my job description was." From at least 2001 until he resigned from UBS in 2005, Birkenfeld had worked to help rich people hide millions in taxable assets from the US government. Birkenfeld claims he only realized that what he was doing was criminal after reading the memo.

Two years later, Birkenfeld began providing the US government a cache of UBS internal documents, business emails, and insider knowledge. The US used this information to extract a plea agreement from the Swiss government and UBS, in which the bank agreed to pay a $780 million penalty and to release the names attached to 4,450 of its 19,000 undisclosed US accounts. Those accounts hold a significant portion of the estimated $20 billion in previously hidden assets held by UBS' US clients. This agreement, which is now pending in the Swiss parliament, could be a model for indicting other banks in offshore tax havens—countries with low (or no) taxes on banking assets, and strict secrecy laws to conceal the identity of their depositors. That is, provided the US can convince more whistleblowers with evidence of financial crimes to speak up.

In the wake of the Birkenfeld conviction, whistleblower advocacy groups say that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Jesselyn Radack, the national security director at the Government Accountability Project, says that her organization has been in contact with at least four financial whistleblowers—including clients and employees of major Swiss banks—that "saw what happened to [Birkenfeld] and are not going to come forward." She adds, "I can't in good conscience tell someone to go to the government given its treatment of Birkenfeld." When Birkenfeld was locked up, whistleblower advocates mounted a campaign to commute his sentence—which they referred to as "an American tragedy" and "a disgraceful miscarriage of justice." Stephen Kohn, the director of the National Whistleblowers Center, says the message sent by the US government was: "If you come forward, you will go to jail and have your life ruined."

But the story is a bit more complicated than that. Birkenfeld wasn't indicted simply because he was involved in the illegal activities at UBS that he helped expose. The primary reason was his failure to disclose in his initial June 2007 meetings with DOJ the longstanding relationship he had with a former client named Igor Olenicoff, a billionaire real estate developer then on trial for tax evasion. In April 2008, Olenicoff was sentenced to work 120 hours of community service, put on two years probation, and forced to pay a $52 million fine for dodging $7.2 million in taxes.

The DOJ argues it could have won a harsher judgment against Olenicoff had Birkenfeld been more forthcoming. In May 2008, when the DOJ claims to have first discovered the connection between the banker and billionaire, it charged Birkenfeld with conspiracy to defraud the US government. During his trial, Birkenfeld pled guilty and admitted to, among other things, smuggling diamonds into the US in a toothpaste tube for Olenicoff. "Oh, it was just a way of carrying them so I wouldn't lose them," Birkenfeld told 60 Minutes. "Where would you put two diamonds?"

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to reconsider Birkenfeld's case, his attorneys argue that because he mentioned his relationship with Olenicoff to Senate investigators, as well as other inquiries that were being conducted by the IRS and Securities and Exchange Commission, Birkenfeld was not trying to shield his client from the law. They also contend that Birkenfeld would have been more forthcoming had he been offered the full immunity from prosecution that he'd requested. That explanation didn't wash with Holder. The attorney general's office, which did not directly respond to Birkenfeld's complaints, said in a written statement that his case had been "carefully considered" by the district court.

Gerald Lefcourt, the former president of the National Association of Criminal Lawyers, agrees with Holder. "The Senate is politics," he explained. "What's important is making a deal with the US attorneys…the other stuff is icing on the cake." Lefcourt adds that the sentence simply indicates the DOJ's low tolerance for witnesses who are not entirely cooperative. Notorious mafia informant Sammy "the Bull" Gravano "got five years for 19 murders," he points out. "It's in the public interest to see that if you cooperate, you will get just rewards."

But even taking into account Birkenfeld's failure to be fully frank with the DOJ, the whistleblower groups contend that he got a disproportionately harsh punishment. Judge William Zloch of Florida's Southern District Court handed him a sentence 10 months longer than the 30 months the prosecution had requested.

Whistleblower advocates say there's one thing the government could do to encourage other Wall Street insiders, accountants, or corporate financial officers to expose fraud: Cut Birkenfeld a big check. Under an IRS whistleblower reward program, informants are eligible for 15 to 30 percent of the collected tax proceeds resulting from any details they provide on a scam that they weren't directly involved in creating. But the program hasn't awarded a payout since it was created in 2006. Kohn of the National Whistleblowers Center is one of two lawyers representing Birkenfeld in his application for the award (and may earn a sizeable cut of the reward if it's successful). The Government Accountability Project’s Radack, a Bush-era whistleblower profiled by Mother Jones, noted that a payment from the IRS "could hopefully defrost the current chill on whistleblowers coming forward."

The idea of imposing a lighter punishment—or making a hefty payout—to someone who has admitted breaking the law may sound distasteful. But the economic crisis has illustrated that there's no shortage of financial malfeasance to be uncovered, and as Birkenfeld has shown, just one whistleblower can make a big difference. There's no way to know whether the DOJ is working with other informants behind the scenes—but if it eventually turns out that Birkenfeld's prison sentence did dissuade more financial whistleblowers from coming forward, then he may be one fraudulent banker who didn't belong behind bars.

CITIC Group, the state-owned financial conglomerate, is planning to spin off its real estate unit in an initial public offering in order to raise funds for expansion, state media reported. Speaking at

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In January, Orange County real estate and finance bosses employed 199,200 workers, 24,600 below 2009 levels and 85,100 less than the recent cycle’s peak, by the state Employment Development Dept.'s revised math.

Providence, RI Washington Trust's commercial real estate group provided $460,000 in financing to FCG Associates ......

Leominster, MA Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has brokered the transaction of a 158,705 ......

East Providence, RI Mick Hogan and Peter Hayes of Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services, in cooperation with Coastal ......

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Apparently, Facebook agrees with the old real estate maxim — it’s all about location, location, location.

It has been a while since we looked at real estate sales in the Citrus Heights area. It doesn’t look like we have missed much, however. In fact, Citrus Heights is one of the few places in Sacramento county that seems to have been among the most stable areas in terms of prices. When it [...]