Must-Have Apps for Professionals on the Go

I posted this on my real estate blog today, but I figured it would be good info to share here as well. Enjoy!

When I got my iPhone, I knew that it would probably come in handy every now and then when doing business. I had no idea that it would be such an integral part of my day-to-day operations! This is the case mainly because of the apps that are available. Of course, most people know about the dedicated real estate apps from Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia. And there are the productivity apps that are included, so I won’t be discussing those. Instead I’m discussing the amazing apps I’ve found that should make working on the go a breeze. And here’s the best thing: most are free!

Mobimileage
By far, this is the best mileage tracker app that I’ve found. It automatically tracks your mileage; just press start and start driving! Once you’ve reached your destination, you stop the meter. It logs the date and your miles, and it will prompt you to save notes for your trip. Whether you’re in real estate, selling Mary Kay door-to-door, an independent mover charging by the mile… whatever! If you have to log your miles for work, you need this app.

CalcMoolator
This is a great little tool for real estate agents, because you can quickly and easily come up with a mortgage payment estimate using loan amount, interest rate, taxes and PMI. This is really helpful when showing houses to clients because then they aren’t just looking at the sales price but a realistic look at how much they will be paying every month. But if you’re not an agent, you still need this app! It has so many calculators it’s ridiculous. Auto Lease vs. Buy, Pay off Credit Card Debt, Break Even Analysis for business, college savings, retirement… I could not think of a financial situation that the developers for CalcMoolator haven’t included.

CardMunch
Do you have a pile of business cards just lying around? I do. Or at least, I did. In real estate, everyone is giving you a card, and admittedly I usually did nothing with it. I just never seemed to have time to sit down and enter all of that info! So I decided to look into card readers and found CardMunch. I love it because it is as easy as snapping a picture! The difference with CardMunch is that, unlike other apps that I found, the picture is sent to a human being to transcribe the info. Then it is sent back to you and you have the option of saving the info (along with a picture of the card) directly to your phone contacts, or just within the CardMunch directory on your phone. Piece of cake! The app is free, and you get about 15 free credits; after that, you must purchase credits.

Jot List
Are you a lister? I am! I lists for just about everything. As a new agent, I list the documents I’ll need when going for a listing presentation, house showing, open house, you name it! And this little app has freed me from all those sticky notes! And of course you can use Jot List for anything, business or personal. Yes, I could theoretically use the Notes app that comes with the iPhone, but the ability to have multiple lists in one app makes this invaluable.

Print Magic
Yes, I know Apple granted printing to iPhones/iPods/iPads, but if you’re like me, you don’t own one of the handful of printers that are compatible with this feature. Fortunately, Print Magic works with any printer that is WiFi enabled. This isn’t one of those apps that I use a lot, but it definitely comes in handy. For $2.99, it’s not bad. The only drawback is that the app requires you to pay for each PDF document you print.

EasySign
One thing I dislike about real estate is how much paper gets wasted! I print off a contract, have my clients sign and then fax or email it. Then I print out the faxed or emailed counter, have it signed, fax/email it back… It goes on and on. And there are the various disclosures, agreements, addenda. You could run up a small fortune in a year on paper and ink alone! That is why I am so glad I discovered EasySign. You simply download the document that needs a signature, sign on the phone/iPad like you would on a credit card terminal, resize as needed, and save or email! No printing, no scanning. Easy breezy. Although the app is free, you do have to buy signature credits, but trust me, this is a deal compared to the alternative.

RingCentral (or any other e-fax service)
Since I’m not in the office regularly, it doesn’t really make sense for me to have an actual fax machine that I’d have to go check every day. I’ve got things to do, places to go, people to see! So why not have my faxes come to me instead of me going to them? The advent of e-fax makes this possible. Whenever someone sends a fax it arrives as an email attachment. How great is that? There are several e-fax services services, so you have to decide which is right for you. RingCentral had a plan that was good for me and the amount of pages I generally send/receive, and they have an iPhone app which makes it even more convenient. That’s a win in my book.

ZipForm Mobile
This one is strictly for real estate agents (but there is probably some equivalent for your industry if you happen to be in another field). ZipForm is software that has the real estate forms for your state (as provided by the local association of Realtors) pre-loaded. You can simply type in the information, add all necessary forms to the transaction, and save them for your various clients. Now that the mobile version is available, you can handle your transactions on the go! So when a buyer finds the one and wants to put an offer in right then and there, they can! Partner this with EasySign and you can handle your whole transaction paperlessly! That’s 21st century business for you! This app will cost you $9.95/year, but if you are truly mobile it is a worthwhile transaction.

I’d love to know what apps you use in business. And if you use Android, I’d like to know if there are Android versions of or alternatives to the apps listed here. That would be a big help in determining whether to get an iPad or a Droid-based tablet!

*Note: I am not affiliated with the developers of these apps in any way. I am not receiving any compensation for featuring them, nor am I guaranteeing their usefulness to you. If you have questions or comments, feel free to email me.*

Must-Have Apps for Real Estate Agents (and other business professionals)

When I got my iPhone, I knew that it would probably come in handy every now and then when doing business. I had no idea that it would be such an integral part of my day to day operations! This is the case mainly because of the apps that are available. Of course, most people know about the dedicated real estate apps from Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia. And there are the productivity apps that are included, so I won't be discussing those. Instead I'm discussing the amazing apps I've found that should make working on the go a breeze. And here's the best thing: most are free!

Mobimileage
By far, this is the best mileage tracker app that I've found. It automatically tracks your mileage; just press start and start driving! Once you've reached your destination, you stop the meter. It logs the date and your miles, and it will prompt you to save notes for your trip. Whether you're in real estate, selling Mary Kay door-to-door, an independent mover charging by the mile... whatever! If you have to log your miles for work, you need this app.

CalcMoolator
This is a great little tool for real estate agents, because you can quickly and easily come up with a mortgage payment estimate using loan amount, interest rate, taxes and PMI. This is really helpful when showing houses to clients because then they aren't just looking at the sales price but a realistic look at how much they will be paying every month. But if you're not an agent, you still need this app! It has so many calculators it's ridiculous. Auto Lease vs. Buy, Pay off Credit Card Debt, Break Even Analysis for business, college savings, retirement... I could not think of a financial situation that the developers for CalcMoolator haven't included.

CardMunch
Do you have a pile of business cards just laying around? I do. Or at least, I did. In real estate, everyone is giving you a card, and admittedly I usually did nothing with it. I just never seemed to have time to sit down and enter all of that info! So I decided to look into card readers and found CardMunch. I love it because it is as easy as snapping a picture! The difference with CardMunch is that, unlike other apps that I found, the picture is sent to a human being to transcribe the info. Then it is sent back to you and you have the option of saving the info (along with a picture of the card) directly to your phone contacts, or just within the CardMunch directory on your phone. Piece of cake! The app is free, and you get about 15 free credits; after that, you must purchase credits.

Jot List
Are you a lister? I am! I lists for just about everything. As a new agent, I list the documents I'll need when going for a listing presentation, house showing, open house, you name it! And this little app has freed me from all those sticky notes! And of course you can use Jot List for anything, business or personal. Yes, I could theoretically use the Notes app that comes with the iPhone, but the ability to have multiple lists in one app makes this invaluable.

Print Magic
Yes, I know Apple granted printing to iPhones/iPods/iPads, but if you're like me, you don't own one of the handful of printers that are compatible with this feature. Fortunately, Print Magic works with any printer that is WiFi enabled. This isn't one of those apps that I use a lot, but it definitely comes in handy. For $2.99, it's not bad. The only drawback is that the app requires you to pay for each PDF document you print.

EasySign
One thing I dislike about real estate is how much paper gets wasted! I print off a contract, have my clients sign and then fax or email it. Then I print out the faxed or emailed counter, have it signed, fax/email it back... It goes on and on. And there are the various disclosures, agreements, adendums. You could run up a small fortune in a year on paper and ink alone! That is why I am so glad I discovered EasySign. You simply download the document that needs a signature, sign on the phone/iPad like you would on a credit card terminal, resize as needed, and save or email! No printing, no scanning. Easy breezy. Although the app is free, you do have to buy signature credits, but trust me, this is a deal compared to the alternative.

RingCentral (or any other e-fax service)
Since I'm not in the office regularly, it doesn't really make sense for me to have an actual fax machine that I'd have to go check every day. I've got things to do, places to go, people to see! So why not have my faxes come to me instead of me going to them? The advent of e-fax makes this possible. Whenever someone sends a fax it arrives as an email attachment. How great is that? There are several e-fax services services, so you have to decide which is right for you. RingCentral had a plan that was good for me and the amount of pages I generally send/receive, and they have an iPhone app which makes it even more convenient. That's a win in my book.

ZipForm Mobile
This one is strictly for real estate agents (but there is probably some equivalent for your industry if you happen to be in another field). ZipForm is software that has the real estate forms for your state (as provided by the local association of Realtors) pre-loaded. You can simply type in the information, add all necessary forms to the transaction, and save them for your various clients. Now that the mobile version is available, you can handle your transactions on the go! So when a buyer finds the one and wants to put an offer in right then and there, they can! Partner this with EasySign and you can handle your whole transaction paperlessly! That's 21st century business for you! This app will cost you $9.95/year, but if you are truly mobile it is a worthwhile transaction.

I'd love to know what apps you use in business. And if you use Android, I'd like to know if there are Android versions of or alternatives to the apps listed here. That would be a big help in determining whether to get an iPad or a Droid-based tablet!

*Note: I am not affiliated with the developers of these apps in any way. I am not receiving any compensation for featuring them, nor am I guaranteeing their usefulness to you. If you have questions or comments, feel free to email me.*

Yes, I Belong Here!

DWB (driving while black) in an affluent neighborhood.

Working twice as hard as male colleagues; three times as hard if you're a black female working with white males.

Buying more than you intended to show that "yes, I can afford not to steal" to that tag along sales associate.

Busting your tale at a PWI to show that no, you are not just there on athletic scholarship or because of affirmative action.

Showing your birth certificate to prove you were born in the United States.

I've finally got my thoughts together on why the whole birth certificate thing with President Obama and Donald Trump bothered me so. Yeah it's a few weeks late, but it doesn't apply so much to that issue as it does to a larger problem. There is a notion that certain people are inferior, inherently less than others. Whether it be due to race, gender, sexuality, whatever; so many people have historically been shut out from various circles because people felt they did not belong. And yes, a lot of the equality I've seen has been on the basis of race.

This inconsistency, this battle to prove that you belong burns me up. That's why I was so disgusted that the President, the highest official in the nation, finally felt the need to "show his papers" and let the world know that he was indeed where he was legitimately. Forget the fact that all of this had to be verified before he was even considered a serious candidate. Nooo, they want to see with their own eyes, investigate for themselves. In their minds, there was no way that he was in the White House of his own accord, hard work and intelligence. He didn't belong in their little club... Just like so many people who don't "belong." We have to work harder, be smarter, do more, hold our tongues when we want to speak out... And even with all of that, some still won't feel that we are enough. My work should be all the proof that's needed.

Quote of the Day

“There comes a time when you have to stand up and shout:
This is me dayum it! I look the way I look, think the way I think, feel the way I feel, love the way I love! I am a whole complex package. Take me... or leave me. Accept me - or walk away! Do not try to make me feel like less of a person, just because I don't fit your idea of who I should be and don't try to change me to fit your mold. If I need to change, I alone will make that decision.
When you are strong enough to love yourself 100%, good and bad - you will be amazed at the opportunities that life presents you.”

- Stacey Charter

Hot Links

Sometimes, instead of rehashing certain topics, I find others who have covered it so well that I can't say it any better. There are also topics that are new to me, or beyond my scope of reference that I find myself interested in. Since these stories and topics stood out to me this week, I'm sharing them with you. Be sure to visit these sites and give a read.

Dark Girls. The preview of this documentary popped up all over the internet yesterday. I'm anxious to see it, as I could relate to a lot of what the women were saying about their experiences, especially as children. Hopefully this will not cause a further rift in the black community, but instead help to foster dialog about colorism. Check the video and conversation on O Hell Nawl. I didn't join in this time because I got too emotional every time I started to comment. I'll try to give my thoughts once I see it.

"Easy Bake Feminism" on The Feminist Griote really struck me. She speaks of Beyoncé (and other female entertainers) who claim their sexuality as feminism and "girl power," but are still stuck playing by the boys' rules. I've never self-identified as a feminist, but it has always been peculiar to me that what many seem to consider "empowered" looks much like the chauvinistic behavior of men in the past. She was able to articulate that thought a lot clearer than I ever could, so give it a read and some thought.

Recently Cornell West has been in the spotlight for his criticisms of President Obama. Although he made very valid points, many have stated that how he said it overshadowed what he said. Instead of looking at the jilted lover tone, coop10 on Jack & Jill Politics has a fresh take on "The Linguistic Problem with Cornell West's Attack on The President."

Over on The Atlanta Post, they discuss Peter Thiel. The co-founder of PayPal had the same epiphany I did (although mine was several years too late): automatically going from high school to college isn't always a great idea. He is so convinced of this that he is offering a fellowship which requires delaying higher education--or putting it off altogether. Where was he eight years ago?

Just in time for swimsuit season, The Curvy Fashionista posted about over-confidence and "big girl shame." Big girl shame is something I was all too familiar with at one point (and still struggle with from time to time). Marie Denee discusses two articles that take aim at the plus-sized women with body confidence. Excellent post.

Goddess Intellect discusses acceptance of the female body in "Naked Female Bodies and Booty Shaking." She also discusses & disagrees with the criticism of Beyoncé's video for scantily clad women and "too much booty shaking." On what side of the argument do you fall?

While I was gone...

Osama was killed. Not long after finally producing his birth certificate to shut the yapping mouths of Donald Trump and other birthers, President Obama called a super secret, late night press conference--which just happened to interrupt The Apprentice--to say that Osama bin Laden was killed. Some rejoiced, some scolded those who rejoiced, some worried about the backlash. Members of the

Psychology Today called yo momma ugly. Mine too. Then they punked out and removed the article after the wave of outrage. (Fortunately the Internet never forgets.) Well PT's momma is so fat.... Oh wait, this isn't a round of The Dozens? Well then I'll just say that this is a bunch of BS. I find it rather interesting that Black women are supposedly less attractive than all of the other races, yet you have people tanning and injecting their lips and butts with collagen to look like us. But we know what this is really about, don't we? The number of clicks! Want to get your name out there, post something controversial. And since black women are the world's "whipping boy" lately, just go in on them! That's a sure way to get your name retweeted several thousand times. After all, there's no such thing as bad publicity now is there? It is a shame that PT would resort to publishing junk science for clicks, though.

Oprah taped her last show. I'm still a little salty because I didn't get tickets to any of the season 25 shows. They must've known I was just in it for the giveaways. Honestly, I've never been a huge Oprah fan, though her story is amazing to me. I found a new level of respect for her after watching her episode of Master Class. Still would've loved to have been in the audience when she paid everyone's student loans. I needed that! Oh well...

The world ended... or at least, people claimed it would. I guess if you are reading this, they were wrong. Actually, the predictions were more along the lines of the rapture taking place on May 21. I didn't believe it because I happen to believe the scripture that says "No man knows the date or the hour." Sooo yeah. Plus, if I were to believe any prophesy about the end of the world, it would be the 2012 predictions. Too many of those to just ignore. (And while I don't necessarily believe it will be the end of the world, I do hold to the belief that Dec 21, 2012 could spell catastrophe for the earth. In what way, I'm not sure.)

Mother Nature started going off and hasn't stopped yet. Just in the U.S. alone, we've seen a record number of tornadoes, droughts, and flooding. It's still snowing in some places, and it's reached 97 degrees in others. To a lot of people this is a sign, but of what? An approaching doomsday caused by man's hand (global warming)? A sort of rebirth for the planet? The return of Christ as prophesied in Revelations? Shoot, you tell me... I won't sit here and pretend to know, but I do know that it is cause for concerned and a reason to pray if you're the praying type.

Since I've kinda been in my own little world the past couple of weeks, let me know what else has been going on!

The Urban Lit Challenge

While packing boxes in preparation for our move, I realized just how many urban lit books I bought in high school and the first couple of years in college. I knew my literary tastes had evolved over the years, but it was quite a surprise to find 35 books that fell into that category on my shelves! (And that doesn't count the books I gave away and the ones that I borrowed and read).  In the past I've tried to go back and reread some of the books that I vaguely remembered, but I just couldn't! The writing seemed... well, I'll just say it wasn't what I was looking for. That was really disappointing and it made me wonder how I would feel about the stories that I really liked if I went back and read them again, too.

I've kinda given books of this genre the side-eye since "growing up" for various reasons. One is that the editing is usually shoddy or non-existent. That is a big distraction for me. Another hang up is when it seems like the writers are content to let stereotypes determine the characters. I like my protagonists to give me something new, or to at least grow and develop in some way. Stereotypical characters are both boring and annoying. Finally, I don't like reading the same story over and over, and although little details may have changed, the stories usually seemed all too familiar.

That being said, I know that can't be the case for the whole genre. I can't down all these African-American writers; after all, they are what I want to be: a published author. Plus I know that even though I won't be writing urban fiction I may be lumped into that category simply because I am a Black writer. So, to prove to myself (hopefully) that they aren't all bad, I'm challenging myself to objectively read five "street lit" books penned by five different authors by the end of the year. I refuse to spend more money on these books, so I'll be going back to some of the books in my library that I remember reading and liking but can't quite recall the story.  The books I'll be reading are as follows:

Conception

by Kalisha Buckhanon

In the same vein as her critically acclaimed debut novel, Upstate, Kalisha Buckhanon again shares an emotionally beautiful story about today's youth that magnifies the unforgettable power of hope and the human spirit.

Buckhanon takes us to Chicago, 1992, and into the life of fifteen-year old Shivana Montgomery, who believes all Black women wind up the same: single and raising children alone, like her mother. Until the sudden visit of her beautiful and free-spirited Aunt Jewel, Shivana spends her days desperately struggling to understand life and confront the challenges she faces growing up in a tough environment. When she accidentally becomes pregnant by an older man and must decide what to do, she begins a journey toward adulthood with only a mysterious voice inside to guide her. Then, when she falls in love with Rasul, a teenager with problems of his own, together they fight to rise above the circumstances and move toward a more positive future.

Through a narrative that sweeps from slavery onward, Buckhanon unveils Shivana's connection to a past filled with tragedy, courage, and wisdom.

In Search of Pretty Young Black Men
by Stanley Bennett Clay
"Los Angeles has no ghettos, according to some. And that is nearly true. But even behind the sun-kissed facade of privilege in its Black upper middle class is a harsher reality. In Search of Pretty Young Black Men is the tale of Dorian Moore, a mysterious and seductive young man who provides comfort to the moneyed, the neglected, the lost, and the lonely in an elegant hilltop community in Southern California. Among the women is Maggie Lester-Allegro, who, disillusioned by a loveless marriage, finds support in her small circle of women friends and sexual healing in Dorian's arms. The blessing brought by this pretty black man soon becomes a fatal curse, as terrible truths come to light. Maggie's husband, Lamont, seeks sexual solace outside of their picture-perfect marriage as well. He lives in the shadow of his larger-than-life father, a member of the Baldwin Hills gentry, and under the weight of secrets and lies that threaten to tumble the walls of his carefully guarded life and standing among the elite. This stunning new novel, by the author of Diva, is a poetically rendered, provocative, and revealing tale that challenges every notion of what we believe equals success, prestige, and, most of all, love. "

Leslie
by Omar Tyree
At the historically black college of Dillard University in the lush mystical city of New Orleans, the beautiful and serious Leslie Beaudet is struggling with a dark secret of power in a world that is pulling her in many different directions.

In the eyes of her Haitian immigrant father, Leslie is a queen who deserves more than the broken dreams and carnage of poverty. To her Black Indian mother, she is a source of pride and strength, a reason for carrying on. To her younger sister, already a mother of two and a high school dropout, Leslie is the only person who cares enough to share her woes. To her brother, she is the victim he failed to protect. To her college peers and teachers, Leslie is a determined, resourceful student, most likely to succeed, yet impenetrably private.

When a series of murders befall her New Orleans' community they point in Leslie's direction. Slowly, her friends and relatives realize they've never really known Leslie -- a complicated young woman terrified of failure, struggling with painful family secrets, praying for security that has eluded everyone around her, and craving the power to change her fate, a power that was hidden from her until now...when it's too late to stop her.

Child of God

by Lolita Files

In this searing novel, bestselling author Lolita Files tells the tale of a Southern family torn apart by the secrets it struggles to keep.
Everybody knows everybody else's business in Downtown, Tennessee. Neighbors while away afternoons at the local bar, swapping rumors about voodoo, incest, and illegitimate children. Usually they're gossiping about the Botens.
In this epic saga, Lolita Files unveils the hidden lives of three generations of the Boten clan, a family as cursed by fate as they are blessed with hope. There's Grandma Amalie, who's willing to sacrifice everything for her son; there's Grace, who manages to conceal the identity of her child's father for more than twenty years; there's Aunt Sukie, whose strange power over her husband, Walter, is matched only by the strength of her dark magic; and, finally, there's Lay, whose secret betrayals will set the Boten clan in motion, sending its members on a quest for self-discovery that will lead them from one end of the world to the other.
From the drug-infested world of inner-city Detroit to the jungles of Vietnam, Lolita Files deftly captures one family's struggle to drag demons out into the light in this compelling story of the bonds of blood, forbidden love, sacrifice and redemption.

Chasing Destiny
by Eric Jerome Dickey

Billie is as notorious for her beauty as she is for the hot yellow Ducati motorcycle she rides down L.A.'s meanest streets. Tough and talented, she does things her way. Until an unplanned pregnancy spins her life out of control. Her problem: Her lover Keith's divorce decree has been revoked, forcing him to choose between Billie and his dangerously manipulative wife, Carmen, along with their troubled and deceptive daughter, Destiny, a fifteen-year-old dancing on the edge of womanhood. Horrific things happen when Keith's daughter disappears in the company of low friends in dark places. And in chasing Destiny, Billie, Keith, and Carmen find their lives inextricably linked by a dangerous and seductive pursuit-at any speed, at any cost.

Pictures and summaries courtesy of Goodreads.com

So what is your take on urban literature? Are you a fan or could you do without it? Why do you think it gets a bad rap? Do you feel that African-American authors are automatically thrown into this category? Would you consider some books by non-AA writers (such as my fave, Angry Black White Boy) to be urban/street lit?

Quote of the Day

“If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you."

T. Alan Armstrong

Seven Neighbors That Can Hurt your Home's Value

Written by: Brian O'Connell 05/05/11 - 1:22 PM EDT

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- Woody Allen once said, "We're all our brother's keepers, but in my case I share that honor with the Prospect Park Zoo."

Bad neighbors are nothing to laugh about, according to the Appraisal Institute. An unkempt yard, close proximity to a sex offender, or having an unfortunate commercial facility nearby (like a power plant or funeral home), can reduce the value of surrounding homes by as much as 15%.

"The impact can vary tremendously depending on a few factors: how 'bad' the bad neighbor is, the kind of neighborhood you're located in, and the type of market that exists," says Carlos Gobel, director of residential services at Integra Realty Resources in Miami.

But what exactly is a "bad" neighbor? Definitions vary, but real estate professionals say it boils down to any home or business enterprise that turns people off.

"A bad neighbor is one that has no consideration for the rest of the community," says Mindy Pordes, co-founder of Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing in Aventura, Fla. "For example, someone who doesn't take care of the outside appearance of the home, such as the gardening, painting of the outside of the home, roof, garbage and general upkeep. In addition, a bad neighbor may have constant visitors taking up parking spaces, perhaps on the street, loud house parties, dogs that bark all night or stray cats lingering around."

A "bad" neighbor can also be a business or government enterprise whose very existence drives the value of your property down. Here are seven suprising neighbors that can reduce your home's value:

Power Plants. The data is fairly clear on the impact of power plants on nearby home values -- it usually hurts them. A study from the University of California at Berkeley shows that home values within two miles of a power plant can decrease between 4% and 7%.

Landfills. A study from the Pima County (Arizona) Assessor's office shows that a subdivision located near a landfill (with all other residential factors being equal, like house size, school quality and residential incomes) loses 6% to 10% in value compared to a subdivision that isn't located near a dump.

Robert A. Simons, an urban planning professor at Cleveland State University, says that if you live within two miles of a Superfund site (a landfill that the government designates as a hazardous waste site), your home's value could decline by up to 15%.

Sex Offenders. Living in close proximity to a registered sex offender is one of the biggest downward drivers of home values. Researchers at Longwood University's College of Business & Economics conclude that the closer you live to a sex offender, the more your home will depreciate. In the paper, "Estimating the Effect of Crime Risk on Property Values and Time on Market: Evidence from Megan's Law in Virginia," Longwood researchers say, "the presence of a registered sex offender living within one-tenth of a mile reduces home values by about 9%, and these same homes take as much as 10% longer to sell than homes not located near registered sex offenders."

Delinquent Bill Payers. One surprising way that neighbors can bring down the value of surrounding homes, especially in town home or condo communities, is by not paying their maintenance fees or their mortgages. "Bad neighbors bring values down by not paying their maintenance fees, in some cases their mortgage payments, and not maintaining the home's appearance," says Pordes. "These homeowners usually do not care about real estate values."

Foreclosed Homes. Perhaps the biggest single factor that drives nearby home values down is a foreclosure. A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concludes that a neighbor's foreclosed home can slash the value of homes within 250 feet of the foreclosed properties by an average of 27%. Says Federal Reserve Governor Joseph Tracy recently in his economic outlook for 2011: "The growing inventory of defaulted mortgages continues to weigh down any recovery in the housing market ... Problems in housing markets can impact economic growth."

Lackluster Landscaping. Studies show that lawn care has a big impact on surrounding home values. Virginia Tech University released a report stating that pristine landscaping can jack up the value of a home by 5% to 10%. But if the lawn looks like it just hosted the world rugby tournament, it can be a green thumb to the eye of local home prices.

Closed Schools. Sometimes, neighborhood problems can stem from local government action. For example, if a cash-strapped city or town closes a neighborhood school, that can easily steer home values south. The National Association of Realtors says that 75% of home shoppers, the quality and availability of schools in the neighborhood is either "somewhat important" or "very important."

So can you fight back against problem neighbors? In the case of a landfill, power plant or sex offender, your options are severely limited. As long as your neighbors are following the letter of the law, you'll just have to grin and bear it--or move. If not, you have every right to petition your local government authorities for a grievance and at least get the matter reviewed.

If it's a residential property causing the problem, however, you might have better options.

For starters, you can leave a polite letter in the offending homeowner's mailbox to get his or her attention. In addition, Pordes says that if the home is located within a homeowners association or condo association, the association can send letters to the homeowner and deny the homeowner community privileges to try to ensure the homeowner complies with the community rules and maintains home values.

Most cities and towns do have ordinances against messy yards and junk-laden driveways, so check your community's rules and regulations to see what applies.

Unfortunately, many cities and towns also have landfills, power plants and other less-than desirable commercial-sized neighbors.

Most likely, you're just going to have to live with them.

Another Hair Horror Story

Since I've been completely natural, I've been handling most of my hair care myself. Although it's been challenging at times, it is rewarding. However, I've missed the feeling of laying back and letting someone else pamper me. The last time I stepped foot into a salon was last September to get my ends trimmed, but a few weeks ago I decided it was time to make a return visit.

I went to Ulta Salon and had the same stylist who trimmed my hair before. Let me pause and say that she was recommended to me by another natural whose hair always looks great, so I felt like I was in good hands. I told her "I want to dye my hair a rich dark chocolate color, slightly darker than [other natural's name]'s hair." She said fine. I see her mixing up the color and it is gorgeous in the bottle, just what I'd envisioned. She puts it on, we're talking and laughing with other stylists and customers. She casually asks, "Do you mind if I straighten your hair?" For a split second I almost said no. After all, that's not what I came for. I just wanted a color and trim. But I figured what the heck.

Long story short:

My hair is the same darn color that it was before I went.
STRIKE ONE.

The blowout was frizzy by the second day and didn't last a full week.
STRIKE TWO.

When I washed my hair I noticed a few pieces of hair didn't have the same curl that it used to. So I deep conditioned. Several times. Yet I still have about six pieces of straight, heat damaged hair that stick out like sore thumbs.
STRIKE @!#$%^&*( THREE!!!

 

[caption id="attachment_1009" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="the look on my face only begins to show my pisstivity"][/caption]



I blame myself for letting this happen. I should've been more watchful while she did it. Probably should've asked questions about her straightening methods. Definitely should have listened to my first mind that said don't do it. Then I wouldn't be faced with the dilemma of camouflaging my damaged tresses. Interestingly, the ends of the straight pieces remain curled, even though the texture of the strands has completely changed from root to tip. Also interesting is the fact that they are all on one side of my head, mostly in that weird extra rough patch of hair. My guess is that when that section wouldn't succumb to the heat she turned it up. I also have two sections right up front that are dangling lifelessly.

From everything I've read, there is no coming back from heat damage, but I can't just chop off those pieces and have a little bald spot right at my hairline! Truly, Big Sexy has seen better days. For now she is being kept in a puff. Once there is some more growth I'll have to re-evaluate the situation and decide what to do then.

Oh, to add insult to injury? That was the most I'd ever paid to get my hair done. $110.

Have you ever had to deal with heat damage or some other hair horror at the hands of a professional stylist? How did you handle it?