Archives for February 2013

Working hard to protect the dream: video

realtor_dragonIt’s been said that your home is your castle, and sometimes you need help defending it. NAR’s newest campaign, “Dreams,” assures consumers that NAR and REALTORS® are working hard to protect the dream and reality of homeownership for our families and our future.

Breakdown of A Person’s Google Results: How to Look Better

WanttoLookBetterinGoogleBetterReadThisFirst

If a Home Gets Hit by a Meteor, Who Pays?

20130218-101859.jpgAfter a meteor struck western Siberia and more meteors threatened the entire globe on Friday, CNNMoney asked the question: Who pays for damage to ahome if hit by a space object?

Rest easy, “your insurance covers falling objects,” says Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute. In the rare events when meteors have crashed through home owners’ roofs over the years, insurers have paid the damage for those insured, Hartwig says.

“Blue ice” — the frozen sewage that sometimes falls from airplanes — is more common and is also covered if it falls from the sky onto your home, Hartwig told CNNMoney.

A remnant of a meteor struck in the Urals region of western Siberia Friday injuring more than 700 people and damaging nearly 300 buildings. It was referred to as a “once-in-a-century” event.

“The earth is pelted with 40 tons of space debris a year,” says Laurie Leshin, a former NASA scientist. “Most of that is in teeny dust particles” and rarely does itinjure people or damage property.

Source: “Who Pays for Damage From a Meteor?” CNNMoney

 

Behind the Facebook Like Button [infographic]

behind-the-facebook-like-button

Car Shares by Walk Score

car-shares-by-walk-score

The ultimate childproofing guide [infographic]

TheUltimateChildproofGuide

Top 10 Most Expensive & Lavish Celebrity Houses

The life of a celebrity is full of glitz and glamour. There are celebrities who like to spend their earnings on their own make-over and cosmetic surgeries while the rest like to also change their lifestyle and switch over to a more luxurious mode of living which includes huge investments in various branded outlets and mostly in their own personal homes. Today we are going to take a look at few of the most lavishing residential wonders of the world’s most highly rated celebrities. Welcome to Hollywood you guys!

#10 Rapper and Song Artist 50 Cent

Rapper and Song Artist 50 Cent House

50 Cent’s huge house has an area of 51,657 sq.ft area which contains more than a luxurious palace! This huge abode contains 19 bedrooms, 37 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, 5 Jacuzzis, 2 snooker rooms. That’s not all. The house has an indoor swimming pool along with a night club and gym. The house also offers racquetball court, tennis court, home cinema, indoor shooting area and of course a pond as well. The house was recently renovated for around $6 million.

#9 Celine Dion

Celine Dion House

The house which is situated in Florida is actually called a Water Park rather than a house since the entire house is surrounded by artificial lakes, rivers and streams. The house has a number of swimming pools and fountains. The house requires approximately 6 million gallons of water per year. However Renee and his wife took an effort to construct 5 wells to overcome the water deficit. The house is designed in an extremely wonderful manner offering a contrast of white and black furniture in the interior region of the house.

 #8 John Travolta

John Travolta House

The Hollywood star John Travolta has a house worth $2.5 million. Although the house itself is not that beautiful but the luxurious designing and facilities provided has made the house full of fame. The house has a huge parking area, not only for cars and other vehicles, but the house offers a wonderful parking for Boeing 707 along with the parking for Gulfstream. Due to such a unique facility the house has gained a lot of attraction by others.

#7 Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey House

Now who hasn’t heard about Oprah Winfrey? The renowned talk-show host and one of the world’s most famous celebrities owns massive resort-cum-residency covering an area of around 23,000 sq. lands which is equal to 42 acres. The Californian based home which was bought for $50 million has 14 bathrooms and 8 bedrooms with lavish furniture which adds to the beauty of the place.

#6 Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise House

The most famous star Tom Cruise owns a number of houses all over the world including a few lavish palaces in the United Kingdom. Besides owning so many luxurious properties, his home in Beverly Hills which costs almost $35 million most certainly stands out from the crowd. The palace is lavishly designed from inside as well as outside. The house contains 7 Master Bedrooms and 9 bathrooms along with a private pool and a tennis court. The house took a lot of investment in its renovation and expansion and currently occupies a space of 1.4 acres.

#5 Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams House

Robbie William’s house has an area of about 10,681 sq. of land which has a beautiful pond and a swimming pool that surrounds the house. The house has 8 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms with a unique design and furnishing which makes the house look even more lavish.

#4 Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart House

Rod Stewart, a Rock star legend owes an exotic house worth $12.5 million. The house is basically famous for its football pitch, carting track and yes its own personal beach! Rod Stewart loves painting and ancient statues designed in an elegant way, due to his unique choice his house is full of such items which makes the house shine even more brightly!

#3 Will Smith

Will Smith House

Will Smith is known for his versatile movies and song productions. As he maintains a good reputation, in the same way his house located in Calabasas, California has also gained a great fame. The house has a large area off land which consists of basket-ball courts, tennis courts, sport arenas and much more. Therefore Smith enjoys a lovely life with his wife and children in his wonderful lavish palace. His home is also sometimes referred to as a fairytale castle palace by a number of people.

#2 Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison House

Larry Ellison, the founder and CEO of Oracle software solutions for Enterprises has gained a lot of publicity not only for his work and success but for his property as well. He owns more than 12 houses on which he spent $180 million. His house in Malibu is famous for its beach-side location, lavish style and an irresistible attraction makes his house different from others.

#1 Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner Mansion

Hugh Hefner’s house has an area of 20,000 sq. and is worth around $40 million. The land is actually about 6 acres and the house itself consists of 26 bedrooms. The house is lavishly designed with unique furniture design along with an underground water system which distinguishes this amazing palace from others.

They say that the life of a celebrity is filled with glitz and glamour and that is exactly what it feels when one visits the aforementioned places of pure elegance and class.

Foreclosure Crisis ‘Now Well Past the Peak’

auction-saleForeclosure filings continue their downward spiral, dropping to the lowest level in January since April 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s latest report. 

Filings — which include notices of default, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions — dropped 28 percent in January year-over-year.

“We’re now well past the peak of the foreclosure crisis,” says Daren Blomquist, spokesman for RealtyTrac.

Still, the foreclosure problem has a ways to go: Filings remain at double the pace of 2005, and foreclosure auctions are on the rise in 26 states.

“It’s likely that by this time next year, we’ll start to see 2005-type, pre-crisis numbers again,” Blomquist says.

The decrease in foreclosure starts in January was largely attributed to California, which saw a significant drop last month. Due to a new law in California that offers borrowers in default more protection, the state saw foreclosure filings fall 62 percent in January. The big drop made it the first month since January 2007 that California was not the leader in the nation in foreclosure filings — that state has been replaced by Florida.

Meanwhile, RealtyTrac also reported that bank repossessions were down 24 percent in January from year-ago levels, reaching their lowest ebb since February 2008 and putting it below half of the record amount set in September 2010.

Source: RealtyTrac and “Foreclosure Filings Fall to Lowest Level Since 2007,” CNNMoney

Music notation, a Möbius strip and explaining space-time [video]

The brilliant mind of Vi Hart tackles explaining space-time in a way that definitely won’t make you fall asleep like that wee ballerina in a box did when you were a kid.