The housing market might be in a crisis for most of the country, but the folks in Texas are doing quiet well. Around the Dallas metropolitan area there is a lot of demand for Dallas Real Estate. You would understand better if you saw some of the beautiful homes they have for sale in Texas. Any new home buyer would be happy with their new home and little white picket fence, if they chose to live in the big D. Luckily there is several Dallas Homes for Sale right now. New home owners will have a nice selection of houses to choose from, if they are in the market for a little of this Lone Star state real estate.

You couldn’t find a better place in the country to start and raise a family. The Dallas area is a perfect area for raising children and for new families searching for their first home. I love the flat land area in and around the Dallas area. I live in an area where there are lots of mountains and steep hills. I think a flat landscape would be a good change of scenery for me. I believe the flat land in Texas is one of their main selling points; when they try to attract out-of-state buyers for new homes, land, and Texas real estate.

You can’t deny all of the fun activities and local attractions Dallas, Texas has to offer. I know I love sports and Dallas is full of good sports teams. Most notably the Dallas Cowboys or America’s Team call this part of the World home. I think everyone has heard about the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders before. You also have one of the best online success stories of the 20th century in Mark Cuban; who owns the Dallas Mavericks NBA team in this growing U.S. city. The Stars offer on-ice fun for those who love professional  hockey. You wouldn’t think of an ice rink being in the warm climate of Texas, but the Dallas Stars do participate in the National Hockey League. You know with all of these sports athletes, who now call Dallas home, they are always looking for deals on Dallas Homes For Sale. If you and your family plan to buy a home in a up-scale section of Dallas; you might just become neighbors with one of these professional athletes, who give their all for the sports fans of Dallas. Now is the perfect time to find value; in all the different income levels of housing and real estate properties for sale in Texas.

A big chestnut tree that sits in the middle of a lot of buildings in Amsterdam has been talked about a lot over recent years. Some felt like it was time to remove the tree and open up the space the tree was taking up. Others felt the tree was not safe for visitors, who were going to the office building, in which Anne Frank and her family was hiding in the attic from Nazi German soldiers. On the other side of the debate was the supporters of Anne Frank and they wanted to see the tree stay up, since the big tree brought happiness to Anne; while she was a young teen growing up in a very small space for over 2 years of her life.

Famous Anne Frank Tree

The big chestnut tree has been standing strong for over 150 years now. It was well in the ground and growing high toward the sky, long before the Frank family went into hiding and before Hitler started invading his neighbors in Europe. The tree has remained firm in its original setting, since Otto Frank and his family got betrayed and sent off to prison camps. The tree survived long past Hitler’s reign of terror on the Jews and even continue to grow as the new millenium finally arrived in the year 2000. However, just a short decade later and in the month of August and in the year 2010; the 150+ year old Anne Frank Tree finally met its match. It was Mother Nature who would solve the Anne Frank chestnut tree debate, as she poured soaking rains into the Amsterdam area. The moist ground, which the famous Amsterdam tree had its roots firmly planted, finally gave way to the high winds and all of the stress being caused by the towering tree. The beloved tree that would cheer up the famous young girl, based on her entries into her diary, we all know about now is just a memory, as the clean-up process begins to remove the 150 year-old tree.

In some ways this tree will continue to grow. There have been a number of saplings taken from the tree over the years and a lot of them are growing all over the World. This famous chestnut tree is actually growing more now than it ever did during it’s 150 year-old life on Earth. This historic Amsterdam tree is like a mother for so many offspring trees which in some cases will be around for another 150 years or more. We can all shed a small tear today, knowing the Anne Frank tree will no longer stand tall in front of the Amsterdam office building. At the same time, we can crack a smile knowing the saplings from the Anne Frank tree are still very much alive and will grow long after the August, 2010 death of the original Anne Frank tree.

-IN LOVING MEMORY OF ANNE FRANK -

Born June 12th, 1929 and Died Sometime in Early March in a Nazi Concentration Camp in 1945

I use to work for the U.S. Postal Service and during my time there, I got trained on all of the different types of mail routes there were. In case I had to back-up for another mail carrier, I would have some knowledge on how to work or handle their specific mail delivery routes. The mailman that gets to deliver to the apartment mailboxes really has a nice route. Their mornings at the Post Office are the same as everyone else’s. They have to case mail for 400 to 800 households like the other mail delivery drivers do. However, once they get their mail cased and ready to be delivered, they really have it easy. They get to pull up to these big cluster mailboxes and just insert mail into them.

I’m sure most people have seen the way an apartment complex will have their mailboxes set up. Each resident will have their own key for unlocking their special box and getting their mail out from the front side of these CBU mailboxes. The mail carriers for the USPS will have just one master key for unlocking the back panel of these huge mailboxes and it allows him/her access to each individual box from the rear. The mailman just has to stand there and insert each person’s mail and some of these community mailboxes will be large enough for 50 people to get their mail from. As someone who use to deliver mail for a living, its a lot easier servicing 50 customers in this fashion; than trying to drive down small streets and high-traffic roads, where you have to pull in and out each time you make a drop off.

Now in my area there are a lot of apartment buildings which are located in the business districts and where you have a lot of real estate zoned for commercial purposes. The majority of residential areas that find their self in the middle of a lot of commercial real estate, are these low-income and government funded apartment buildings or you have the high-income apartment housing for the upper-class folks. So often a mail carrier working a couple of apartment buildings on their route, will also stop by a few commercial mailboxes; which usually get a lot more mail than the average home owner or person residing in an apartment complex. Each mailman, who has a route for the USPS, can only carry so much mail in their LLV or Long Life Vehicle (most common mail vehicle). Another slight luxury for the lucky few who get apartment building on their route; if they do indeed deliver to businesses too. It doesn’t take too many businesses to fill up a load, so these mail carriers get to drop off huge amounts at each commercial box on their stop; while delivering mail to dozens of others, by simply filling up a cluster box at the apartment buildings. If you plan to get a job or start working for the USPS soon, consider yourself lucky if you have an apartment or two on your route.

The invasion has begun and its been that way for awhile now. It’s the Asian carp and it has a big appetite. This fish can eat up to 40% of its body wait daily. These Asian carp can get to be over 4 feet long and well over 100 pounds. Many of the scientists and fishermen believe this breed of fish, which is not native to America, could cause a lot of damage in our rivers and lakes. It could easily eat up all of the food resources in the water and starve out some of the other fresh water fish that is native to North America.

This breed of carp from Asia is already present in the Mississippi River and strong measures are being taken to keep it out of the other tributaries feeding the Mighty Mississippi. The best defense in place right now is electricity. Under water walls or barriers have been put in place, so they discharge volts of electricity when the carp gets near by. These barriers are not 100% effective, but scientists hope it will cause the Asian carp to change swimming directions in most of the places, where these barriers are present.

Many are calling on higher members in the political party to help. Even going all the way to the President and asking for help from Barrack Obama. These Asian carp do pose a great danger to the fishing industry in the American fresh waters. If these carp are allowed to grow and populate in the American waterways, we could see a sharp decrease in other fish like bass. The small mouth or large mouth bass is huge for fishermen and they know it could all come to an end one day, if the Asian carp is allowed to grow and reproduce in America. If you happen to catch one of these Asian carp in the places you fish, you should kill the fish immediately. Also, report where you caught the fish to local authorities, so they can take steps to help destroy other Asian carp that may be in the area. I believe fishermen will play a big role in the prevention plan to keep these fish out of our fresh waters in the United States. It would be wise if someone would start holding fishing tournaments and reward fishermen for catching these Asian carp. A tournament for Asian carp could help control the population, if the tournament host would destroy each and every Asian carp a fishermen caught in the Asian carp tournament.

More than likely we are already fighting a losing battle to this fish. If we could just find numerous ways to slow down the growth, we could help to delay this fish from taking over in the waters our other native fish live and eat in each day. For anyone that loves to fish in America, you will want to know that the Asian carp is enemy number 1 to all of us that enjoy fishing. If you hope to take your son fishing on a beautiful Sunday afternoon one day, you need to do your part and destroy all of the Asian carp you come in contact with. The fishing life as we know it now, is in danger and more measures need to be taken to keep this Asian carp from the lakes and rivers we like to fish in.

Just outside the heartbeat of New York City is Queens, NY. One of the areas in New York that is a short drive from any of the more well-known NY attractions, but Queens still provides neighborhoods that would meet any families criteria. A lot of the 5 crime families present in New York today left a bad reputation in the minds of NY residents and those that watched it unfold in Hollywood movies. The Gambino family has been one that has left a crooked past behind, but we don’t ever get to see all of the positive things a crime family sometimes leave behind. John Gotti was the last known crime boss many Americans know as being the head of the Gambino family in New York. Gotti who passed away in jail many years ago, still can be credited for developing a place like Queens, NY into the great neighborhoods it offers today.

One of the big moving companies NYC could help a family today with a move to one of these beautiful neighborhoods in Queens. It’s idea for small and large families alike, that seek to be near the big city and still far enough to leave some of the noise and bright lights of NYC in their rear view mirrors. Queens is full of good neighborhoods that have a very low crime rate; when comparing to some of the other areas located around NYC. A lot of the Italians and Italian-Americans would still see this as part of the Gotti legacy, in which him and the Gambino family help to create and leave behind for their own families to grow up and work in today. The folks at Citymove.com are available and waiting for any new home buyers to call Queens their home. I would probably rank Queens as my top choice for a new area to move to in the New York metropolitan area.

The rich gold history of the southern U.S. is well known and my state of Georgia was the first American gold strike ever. I plan to cover my home state pretty well this summer as I go on a gold finding adventure. The biggest veins of gold are in North Georgia and some of these cross the state border and travel into North Carolina. Another area that is rich in gold and contains huge deposits of the shinny stuff is the state of North Carolina. I will probably do a fair share of prospecting in the Carolina hills, streams, rivers, and valleys that already have a history with gold.

I plan to do a lot of sample panning to find the places which hold the most gold. If I do get into some heavy pockets of gold in North Carolina, I may have to enter the marketplace for Apartments in North Carolina. I’m not joking, I am being very serious when it comes to finding and tracking down where all the gold is hiding. Gold is selling for over 1K dollars an ounce right now and this is more than double what people were selling gold for 10 years ago. Any lucky spots I find up in North Carolina, I will want to work from daylight to dark, so the employees for North Carolina Apartments better be on the lookout for a dirty gold miner from Georgia.

I don’t believe I am in the minority and most prospectors would change their plans or living arrangements to keep a close eye on their gold discoveries. I do find it strange that most people haven’t put two and two together yet and started their own gold expeditions. If you and one other person could find just 1 ounce of gold a week, that’s a 500 dollar job for the two of you. Maybe some weeks you would struggle and fall short of that mark. You also have the possibility of striking it rich and may be able to work several ounces out of the Earth. It’s the days like that you would want to go get one of those NC Apartments or housing that was available in the local area. The weather is finally warming up. I need to stop talking and start walking to these areas; like the rich gold deposits the Tar Heel state provides, for anyone that is willing to get their hands dirty.

All the experts on Wall Street keep predicting when the next boom in the real estate market will be and it seems they keep missing. Real estate is still not booming like some thought it would. The overall economy is in much worse shape than most of us first thought. Many of our current problems can be blamed directly on the banking industry. I don’t think no one knows yet how deep this hole is, that we have dug for ourselves. You’re not alone, if things are tight on your end and you’re struggling to make ends meet.

Another disturbing trend outside of the real estate markets, is the fact we keep losing jobs. If the loss of job rates continue to increase, then no one will have the money to pay their bills or buy new land. The real estate market is not going to recover this year and it may even be years away from any long term recoveries. Our financial situations can’t get better with fewer jobs and this trend will have to change first, before America can begin to have any confidence in the guys that work on Wall Street. This is not a good time for a small business to start up and no one should be investing in the cheap stocks that are currently available. Your home and land just aren’t worth today what they were yesterday, but let’s hope tomorrow they will be worth the same as they’re today.

It appears President Obama is clearing the way for two new nuclear power plants to be built in the state of Georgia. No mention of where these power plants will be built in Georgia yet, but it’s one piece of real estate I would not want to be near. This will be the first time in more than 30 years that the U.S. Government has approved a new nuclear facility. Many people against these nuclear power plants say that there is no proper way to dispose of the radioactive material that these plants create.

New power plants fueled with nuclear energy will help the United States to be less dependant of foreign oils. Nuclear energy is a cleaner fuel and will produce less greenhouse emissions that some of the coal plants that are in operation now. These two nuclear power plants in Georgia will cost about 8 billion dollars to construct. At least the government is giving a loan for 8 billion dollars and most of this money will go to Georgia, to build both of these nuclear power plants. The President is calling this “homegrown energy” but at some point in the future someone will be calling this a ”homegrown problem”.

We do need to figure out ways to be less dependant on the Middle Eastern Nations that supply us with so much oil each year. We are in a collision course with a future energy crisis and it doesn’t look like we will avoid it. The oil in the ground can’t be pumped out forever and the Earth will run out of this precious oil in less than 25 years. We are using our oil reserves too fast now and everyone is going to see big changes in 20 years from now. I’m not convince that building nuclear power plants in Georgia is the best way to go, but these new power plants will create new jobs in Georgia. It seems a remote location in Alaska would be the idea place to build nuclear power plants, but Barrack Obama and his administration have their heart set on the state of Georgia. It should be interesting to see exactly where these two new power plants will be built in Georgia and I look forward to seeing the proposed areas.

Hillary Clinton Travels to the real estate of Haiti that was leveled by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake last Tuesday.

A trip down south for Mrs. Clinton led her to a piece of land that the whole world’s attention is focused on right now. Haiti and their citizens must have been shocked to see a powerful 7.0 earthquake hit their area this past week. Haiti is nothing like California, where we expect earthquakes to take place. None of the structures in Haiti were designed to hold up against the effects of a small earthquake, so you can imagine the damage that took place Tuesday when a powerful one struck this tiny island; that is one half of the Hispaniola Island. The other half is the Dominican Republic and they seem to escape the powerful land shocks from the earthquake that affected the Western part of the Island.

Hillary Clinton got to see first hand the damage in Haiti. She also probably got to witness thousands of people needing food and medical attention. It’s been a slow process delivering aid to these people, since the main seaport was damaged badly and the airport in Port-au-Prince was also hit hard. It’s taken a lot of work just to get the airport up and running to the limited capacity it has right now. The supplies have been accumulating nicely over the last couple of days at the airport, but the challenge still remains, how do they get these supplies out to other parts in Haiti. The most deliveries were made on Saturday and this is really the first day where help arrived for the needy that were not located near the airport. Sunday will be a pivotal day in this region of the world as it becomes a race to deliver more food, water, and medicines to the people living in remote regions and the outer parts of Port-au-Prince; which is the capital of Haiti.

I’m not sure how much good it does for Hillary to be in Haiti this soon after the earthquake. If she is willing to roll up her sleeves and help distribute some of these items out to the locals; then her arrival will be a welcomed one. If she is just doing this trip to Haiti for show and plans to return back to the USA in the coming days, then I think this will be a negative impact on her political status.

The people in Haiti have waited so patiently for these supplies and this has to be the number 1 thing for those on the ground and lending help for the relief effort. Hopefully Hillary Clinton understands this and plans to stay in Haiti until the situation has stabilized down there. This could take a few weeks to a few months to complete, so hopefully Clinton is up to the task.

Mr. Clinton has teamed up with George Bush Jr. and they are trying to collect money for the releif efforts in Haiti. They want to present their charity as a place people can make donations and know their money is going straight to the cause. You don’t always get this with other charities and Bush and Clinton hope their efforts will bring in a few more dollars for those that are reluctant to give their hard working money to charities.

How long do you think Hillary Clinton will stay in Haiti?

A. 1 Day

B. 2 Days

C. 3 Days

D. 1 Week

E. 10 Days or Longer

Hopefully the answer to this question is “E” and we will see one of our American leaders braving the conditions and learning to live on the limited resources that is currently available in Haiti.

Where is everyone going to live at in the 21st century? The housing market isn’t improving like it should be and this industry is going to be getting some major work soon. According to Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money, he says America is building new homes for a population of 180 million citizens. However, we currently have a population close to 310 million, so our housing development is losing ground daily. Now with winter here, we are going to see our normal slow downs and who knows what it will be like in the Spring time of the year.

How can this help me in the stock market? That’s a good question and investors might have a play in this current pattern we are in. A home builder like Toll Brothers would be a descent choice for a long term investment. The home supply stores like Ace Hardware, Home Depot, and Lowe’s would all be solid choices too. How about investing in the company that owns the most land in the United States? I think that would be the best play in the stock market and the largest U.S. real estate owner really isn’t in the housing market. Real estate companies may need to purchase some of this company’s land, but I’m not so sure it is for sale. This is actually a good trivia question and ask your family or your smart friends “what company owns the most U.S. property in America?”. I have a feeling most will not get this question right. The answer would be Plum Creek Timber and they own like 7 million acres or something like that. If this company interests you; then you can find them under the stock symbol: PCL

Plum Creek Timber is a $35 stock and they were up .73 cents at the close on Friday’s trading. They offer a nice dividend with their stock and the company has enough cash on hand to pay out a full year’s dividend without making another cent. Shareholders are getting about $1.68 yearly in dividends for each share of PLC they own. If the stock price doesn’t going higher, you will still double your money in 14 years with the dividends alone. I think a $43 price target is within range for the next 3 months and could be a $50 stock in December 2010. This would be a nice investment if this did play out like this and investors would still be getting that huge dividend from Plum Creek Timber too. I like this stock and so does the people at MSN.com. They have a stock rating system there and it goes from 1 to 10. The higher the number, the better they like a stock and currently PLC is listed as a 10 and a moderate buy. I’m not sure why the real estate market is still lagging behind, but a timber company like Plum Creek is one indirect play investors could choose; if they want a stock with potential and huge dividends. Look it up and let me know what you think about Plum Creek Timber.

A piece of real estate worth considering these days is located in North Myrtle Beach. There is a resort area there that has 4 star service for it’s guests and you can take advantage of these awesome services, by being the next guest to enjoy the luxuries at Seaside. This Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Hotel is one of the nicest places you will find in South Carolina or any other areas on the Atlantic Coast of the United States. The white sandy beaches and the warm sea breezes blowing through your hair is only the start for you and your family; when you select the Seaside as your next place to stay in Myrtle Beach.

Myrtle Beach is a great choice for a family vacation. The resort area at Seaside is 2nd to none and you will be hard-pressed to find a better place to stay at in Myrtle Beach or any other destination you could choose for you and your family. The other Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Hotels just don’t offer all the amenities that the Seaside hotel and resort area have to offer. You just won’t believe all the attractions, shopping, and entertainment that is available to choose from in North Myrtle Beach.

Does a golfing vacation sound fun to you? Golf is very popular in Myrtle Beach and they offer a wide selection of golf courses to choose from. If you’re planning a vacation soon and would like to hit a few golf balls around; then the Seaside is the place you want to make reservations for today! You can check around for other hotels in the area to choose from, but I have a feeling you will select this Myrtle Beach Hotel to stay at this year. This is your chance to start living life on a piece of oceanfront property that is located on the beautiful beaches in Myrtle Beach.

The recent problems in the economy with banks and the housing industry has created a lot of value in the real estate stocks. We may start to see a sharp increase in some of these stocks moving forward. It’s hard to determine which real estate stocks will surge ahead the most in 2010, but we can still take advantage of this industry in our stock portfolios. A mutual fund or an ETF (exchange traded fund) is a good way to take advantage in the real estate market. You can start investing in a fund that is geared toward a bunch of different companies that deal with the real estate industry.

You always want to diversify in your investment portfolios. Only a small percentage of your stock buying desires should be focused on the real estate markets that look poised to go higher in 2010. In case something else happens in our short term futures, we won’t feel the effects as much if we are properly diversified. A shift in your current portfolio toward the real estate companies is a good idea. Just make sure you do this process gradually and make sure real estate is not taking up more than 20% of your entire investments. You can find several good mutual funds and ETF’s that will help you benefit from the real estate markets; that should see a sharp increase in 2010. Still too risky of an area to commit to just one real estate company, so a ETF or a mutual fund that focuses on land and property is your best way to invest in the real estate stocks.

I would miss my old state of Georgia, so a bordering state that is like Georgia would be Alabama, Tennessee, North and South Carolina. I would probably feel at home in either of these 4 states located in the deep south. If I ever did get put in this position; where I could get a large chunk of money for selecting a piece of land or real estate outside of Georgia; then I think I would probably choose one of these 4 U.S. states. How about you? Which state or states would come up the highest on your list, if you had to move to a new state in the USA?

A sad story coming out of the state of Georgia where a man lost his life while hunting in the woods. Apparently a 68 year old man was in a tree stand and on his attempt to come down from the stand, he was bitten by a snake. The snake bite proved to be fatal as the man’s grandson tried to get him to safety by the use of an ATV or 4 wheeler. The 68 year old man continued to pass out on his journey out of the woods and would fall off the 4 wheeler. By the time emergency personnel had reach the man, he was unresponsive to their treatments and passed away.

The man’s name was Dick Rupert and he is from Winder, Georgia. I’m sure it’s been a rough weekend for his family, from this horrible hunting accident that occurred on Saturday morning in Oglethorpe County located in Georgia. Normally we think of a gun shot wound as a hunting accident, but there is many forms of hunting accidents that take place each year in Georgia and the rest of the country too. The hunting accident that ended Mr. Rupert’s life on Saturday was apparently caused from the venom of a snake; when it bit Dick Rupert on the calf. While most of us know that some snakes are poisonous, it is rare for them to actually kill people. Especially when someone goes for immediate medical treatment like in this case with Rupert’s hunting accident.

The people that are associated with this hunting accident are thinking the snake was a timber rattler (a type of rattlesnake); which are found commonly in Georgia. The picture above is one of a timber rattler and perhaps was a snake of this size that bit Mr. Rupert on the calf. If you look closely at the tail on the left side of the picture above, you can see how blunt the tail comes to an end. A rule of thumb with poisonous snakes, is that their tails will be very blunt at the end. This means that instead of the tail gradually decreasing in size near the tail, it comes to a drastic decrease at the end. A snake that isn’t poisonous would gradually decrease in size near the tail and would have a more symmetric looking body shape. This is only a rule of thumb and this isn’t 100% accurate all of the time. It is wise to just avoid all snakes, but especially the ones you find that have this quick and blunt tail look to them, like the timber rattler has in the picture above.

Rattle snakes are poisonous snakes and their venom can kill people. Most people know these snakes due to the rattler that is at the end of their tails and they will shake their tails causing a “rattle noise” that warns people and other animals that they are in the area. I’m not sure if the rattler was being heard Saturday morning when Dick Rupert was hunting in the woods of Georgia, but it is a sound you can hear very well. I would imagine the snake was just at the bottom of the tree stand and Mr. Rupert surprised the snake when he was climbing down and the snake felt threatened or got stepped on. This rattle snake probably didn’t have time to use their rattler, that would have surely warned Rupert to stay away and could have avoided this tragic story.

Let’s just hope Dick Rupert didn’t die in vain on Saturday and someone out there will learn from this accident. If we can use his story to warn other hunters the dangers that are out there and especially the dangers with snakes; then we can make the best out of a bad situation. The tree stands are great in the woods and give us the surprise factor over deer, but we do surprise the other animals in the woods too; when we use these tree stands. It sounds like this rattle snake made it’s way to the base of this tree stand and wasn’t expecting anything coming down from the tree. A snake senses are great about picking up vibrations from the ground; when a person or other animal is on the ground walking toward them. The snake in this story didn’t have a chance to really use it’s natural senses, since a hunter was coming down from a tree stand. If the timber rattler would have seen the hunter climbing down; then chances are the snake would have crawled away or used it’s rattler to warn the hunter of it’s presence.

The topic mainly seems to be on health care these days and not sure what is being done to our housing and real estate problems. This was the big story a few months ago and the housing industry was getting hit hard. Is real estate ready for a come back in 2010? Or perhaps later on this year?

I think we forgot about land and what a great investment it is these days. A person that can afford a nice piece of property right now; should really take a chance on it. Very good prices are in the marketplace on land for sale and I think now is a good time to buy. After the health care issues get worked out in Washington, we may see the focus go back to the banks, lending institutions, and real estate properties. I think before that happens is when investors could make the most profits in the real estate market. Just don’t forget about land and I think if you have the opportunity to buy some at a cheap price, I would take full advantage of it. Investors that get in on the action now will have the chance to make a really nice profit in about 2 to 3 years from now. Land should be on it’s way back up real soon and those getting in now will enjoy the ride they are about to see in the real estate market.