Rented Spaces

Pandora's Profitablity Means More Music for All

Brett Widness — 2010-01-12T17:00:00 00:00

Some people are late to the Pandora party, shucking out 99 cents or more for downloads from iTunes or Amazon (or heaven forfend, buying vinyl or CDs in an actual brick and mortar store!) Chumps!

With the music recommendation service's announcement Tuesday that it will be profitable this quarter, hopefully it will be around at least a little longer, while other services have faded.

Firstly, Pandora is great for at-work listening, since you don't download any software.

Secondly, if you don't have an iPhone, (and even if you do) Pandora is a nice alternative for music on the go.Lastly, expect to see more and more Pandora integrations into your TVs, stereos, alarm clocks, etc. My Roku device recently added Pandora as one of it's channels, so that makes it at least twice as useful as it was before (besides streaming Netflix.)

While some people may use those digital music channels that come with Comcast or Time Warner Cables, why not use a custom Pandora station for your next house party? Or, set your phone or alarm clock to wake you to one of your stations.

For example, Samsung unvelied a bunch of devices at CES that have Pandora baked in, including this sound bar.

Guess what I want for Valentine's Day?

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AT&T Tops Verizon in 12-City Test

Brett Widness — 2009-12-22T09:00:00 00:00

Filed under: How To

If you are like me, you are getting a little sick of all these "AT&T vs Verizon" Luke Wilson commercials mucking up my weekends.

In a nutshell, Verizon says they have more 3G coverage, while AT&T says their network is better. But no one really cares what the network is like outside of where they spend 90 percent of their time.

Gizmodo did a survey of 12 cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Vegas, L.A., New York, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco. As a D.C. resident, this seems a little West Coast-centric to me, but whatever.

In nine out of the 12 cities, AT&T finished either first or second.

Verizon finished first in Vegas, Phoenix and Seattle, so that may be why you hear so much complaining about AT&T from people who live or often travel to those three cities.

T-Mobile finished first in Portland and Sprint topped the charts in Tampa, file that under random.

At the same time, Sprint won Gizmodo's survey of 3G coverage in 2008, so by this time next year, things could be totally different. But for now, AT&T is at least OK.

Maybe until Verizon gets an iPhone?

Now, here is a video of random clips from horror movies where people freak out about not having a signal on their cell phones.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

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City Considers Licensing Landlords

Brett Widness — 2009-12-18T09:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Renting 101

As a young Keanu Reeves once pointed out in the movie Parenthood, you usually need a license to drive a car, catch a fish or own a dog, but not, in this case, to rent out that spare bedroom over the garage or the other unit in your duplex.

The good people of Oak Ridge, Tenn., are considering changing that:
"The ordinance, which would require residential landlords to have an operating license, could make rental properties subject to inspection. The biennial license could cost property owners $25 each, regardless of the number of rental units they operate."

The bad thing here is that a landlord who rents out one room is charged the same fee as one that rents out a building of 30 units, but the implication seems to be that the smaller operators cause more of the problems.

"Under the ordinance, municipal workers would have the right to inspect rental properties for a variety of reasons -- including when a code violation is suspected, the landlord license is renewed, or an inspection is requested by the owner, agent or tenant."

Landlords may get a bad rap, but as a landlord myself, I don't think it'd be unreasonable for some kind of certification and inspection program for rental properties. Another option might be some kind of voluntary association, although that might look like collusion to some local authorities.

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'Landlord' Rents Out Home He Doesn't Own

Brett Widness — 2009-12-15T10:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Renting 101

A 45-year-old man, posing as a real estate agent, signed an unsuspecting tenant to a lease for $2,200 in rent per month for a boarded-up, Baldwin, Long Island home he didn't even own.

Eventually, the tenant stopped paying the "rent" after Ozell Neely didn't follow through on some of the repairs he had promised her. Mr. Neely initiated eviction proceedings, at which point the true owner showed up.

Neely, who allegedly pocketed more than $10,000, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

"His crime does not rank up there with the most sophisticated," Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice told the New York Daily News. "But for a brief period in time, it worked and he profited."

Mr. Ozell allegedly got more than $10,000 from the tenant before being caught. He has been charged with burglary and grand larceny, and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

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Doesn't Hurt to Look, But to Buy ...

Brett Widness — 2009-12-15T09:00:00 00:00

Many renters are being tempted to look at buying, whether it's because of the first-time buyer tax credit, the low interest rates or the low prices. And there's certainly no harm in looking.

Even in New York City, where it is estimated that 70 percent of the population rents, some long-time renters are considering buying. Even tenants with so called "rent control" are taking the plunge, according to a recent New York Times article.

In one scenario, a man who is renting for just $725 a month is considering moving. The first reason is he wants to move anyway, and if he rented at a new location, he'd probably double his rent anyway. Also, at 61, he wants a building with an elevator and a doorman, so he's willing to pay a little more for certain amenities.

For some one on a fixed income, buying probably makes sense, as 30-year mortgage helps to keep costs from rising.

But what people who bought at the peak are only now learning is that it can cost up to 10 percent just to sell your home, so if you don't have much equity, and prices go down, you are lucky if you can just break even and walk away.

Also, just making your normal mortgage payments isn't going to do much to help you build equity. Your mortgage is set up so that you mostly pay interest at first, which is great for your tax deductions but sucks for your equity. After a year or two, you won't have paid your mortgage down hardly at all, maybe $1,000 or so.

Lastly, you need to give yourself some flexibility. Is your boyfriend/best friend going to move in with you/move out? Do you want to get a dog or a cat?

The gentleman mentioned in the Times article is already retired, so hopefully he has a sense of where he wants to live for the next 10 to 20 years, but if you don't, then buying probably isn't the smartest move for him right now.

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NBA's Worst Owner Also Pretty Bad Landlord

Brett Widness — 2009-11-24T17:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Ask a Landlord, Renting 101

The Los Angeles Clippers have been referred to as the NBA's most accursed team. Their most recent first-round draft pick, of which they have many since they are consistently terrible, Blake Griffin, hurt himself before the season even started and hasn't played a single game yet. They also have the bad luck of being in the same town and same stadium as the L.A. Lakers, and have never won a title in the franchise's history.

Most, if not all, of this bad karma can be laid at the feet of owner Donald Sterling.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Sterling will be coughing up a record $2.75 million fine for discriminating against African Americans, Hispanics and families with children, as part of his business owning apartments and commercial space in Los Angeles' Koreatown.

Considering how many fans of the NBA fall into one of these three groups, this seems like it will not help Mr. Sterling or his team's popularity.

"The settlement, which must be approved by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, is the largest ever obtained by the Justice Department in a housing discrimination case involving apartment rentals, officials said."

Sterling, a divorce and real estate lawyer by trade, has also been involved in sexual harassment allegations.

Needless to say, he might not be our first choice for either the owner of our favorite sports team or the guy we have to send rent checks to every month.

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More Multi-Family Buildings in Foreclosure

Brett Widness — 2009-11-23T13:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Advice, Ask a Landlord

Renters who think they are safe from the foreclosure crisis, may be in for a rude awakening. If the buildings they live in enter foreclosures, maintenance may slip, repairs may go unmade, and they can eventually be evicted.

According to the Washington Post, foreclosures are rising for multi-family buildings, so tenants may have to either live with substandard conditions or eviction.

As reported in the Post: "A recent study by Richard Parkus, the head of research in commercial mortgage-backed securities at Deutsche Bank, found that loan performance on multifamily buildings is deteriorating at a dramatic pace. Some 65 to 75 percent of multifamily buildings could face problems refinancing at their current rates, he said in an interview. These problems could "sit and fester" for a while, he said, or result in a burst of loan failures."

While the specter of renters being evicted is not a new one, the weakness in the commercial real estate market and the ongoing employment crisis may be increasing the likelihood that the problem will continue to grow.

As less tenants can make rent and more landlords cannot pay their debts, the remaining tenants have to survive with the bare minimum of services.

Even in the case where Fannie Mae has taken over a property, the court-appointed receiver had to go to state court to get Fannie Mae to pay $20,000 for maintenance costs for a building in the Bronx.

The problem is not isolated to New York City. D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and smaller cities such as Des Moines are seeing doubling and tripling in default rates on multifamily properties from a year ago.

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Nightmare for Builder's Dream Home

Brett Widness — 2009-11-20T14:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Each year, the National Association of Home Builders does a "New American Home" as part of their conference. The home is built to display futuristic design concepts, and eventually sold.

This year's entry has run into some issues, according to today's Wall Street Journal. The builder, Domanico Custom Homes, has halted construction on the project before completion after a private investor pulled out. Most of the flooring, landscaping and pool are unfinished. The builder has been unable to secure any other financing to finish construction.

The home was "priced" at $3.39 million in August, but is now being offered at $1.8 million, and the builder may go out of business if it can't get a reasonable price. They owe various contractors $400,000 and had already put $800,000 of their own capital into the project.

The lack of access to capital is forcing private builders out of business at a "phenomenal" rate, said Ara Hovnanian, chief executive of the public Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., at an industry conference this week. "It's scary, the number of home builders that are closing their doors," he said.

The International Builders' Show is scheduled for January 19-22 in Las Vegas, hopefully a buyer will be found before then so that the home can be finished. See more pictures of the home at the IBS Showcase.

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Makeover Houses Too 'Extreme' to Sell

Brett Widness — 2009-11-20T11:45:00 00:00

Filed under: Advice, Design

Two Las Vegas homes that were featured on the hit show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition are currently on the market, according to a Las Vegas CBS affiliate.

This 3 bedroom, 3 bath home was built for the Cerda family and is on the market for $500,000. As part of the show, the crew demolished the old home, which had mold, allergens and plumbing issues.

Zillow's algorithm says the house is only worth $250,000, so we'll see if the Cerda's get anything close to their offering price in the tumultuous Vegas housing market. The house across the street sold for just $72,000.

Another home, built for Patricia Broadbent and her three adopted children, is expected to be put on the market soon.

There are no issues reported with either house: Mr. Cerda is relocating because of his employer, and Ms. Broadbent wants to downsize because her children have grown up and moved out of the home.

The Broadbent makeover was in 2004, so it's not unreasonable that she'd be selling their house five years later, except that the market is so weak.

That may call into question the whole concept of the "extreme" makeover. People are learning to live with smaller homes, less space, and lower cost, so does it really make sense to continue demolishing homes and building McMansions?

Particularly people who are middle-aged or older, do they really want a monstrosity of a house, even if it is customized for them and their families.

To be fair to the show, in most cases there is some kind of health or financial issue that is being addressed by the remodel, but the show may need to scale back on how extreme these makeovers are.

Seen on Zillow Blog

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Home Depot's Orange Outlook

Brett Widness — 2009-11-18T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Lifestyle, Design and DIY

Home improvement bellwether Home Depot's third-quarter earnings were better than expected, mostly due to lower expenses.

"There is still a great deal of pressure in the housing and home improvement markets, though there are some positive signs of stabilization," said Chairman and Chief Executive Frank Blake.

CFO Carol Tome said that Big Orange did gain market share in some areas, particularly appliances, paint, electrical and lumber products.

It's no coincidence that these four areas represent some of the cheaper projects that home owners, either prepping their homes for sale or accepting that they aren't going anywhere. A fresh coat of paint or a new dishwasher are savvy improvements, and even a new deck can be fairly cost-effective.

Hurricane season has also been relatively light, so that means less demand for plywood and other products associated with repairs.

Home Depot also indicated they may increase their stock buyback and their dividend, generally a sign that they are less interested in capital intensive moves like acquisitions where they'd need that cash.

Home Depot has generally done better than rival Lowe's in the downturn, which posted a 30 percent drop in quarterly profit on Monday.

Both Home Depot and Lowe's are no doubt hoping that the extension and expansion of the home buyer credit will pay dividends next spring.

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Tiger's New Lair: Hook or Hole in One?

Brett Widness — 2009-11-13T15:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Tiger Woods, his lovely Swedish wife and their two Tiger cubs should be moving into their newly built house on Florida's Jupiter Island in the near future. But the design is not drawing rave reviews from the local media.

A Palm Beach Post blogger is comparing the structure to a Motel 6. Particularly with all those cars out front and little or no landscaping yet, it's hard to disagree that it lacks curb appeal.

El Tigre bought four adjacent properties on the tony island for a Martin County-record $44.5 million in 2006. He then tore down the existing homes on the 12 acres, including a classic Bahamas-style manse, raising a few local hackles.

The new 9,700-square-foot home is split between the living quarters (right on the photo above) and a gym (left side). Both sides will be connected with a glass-covered walkway, according to the blueprints.

In an informal poll of 5,500 readers/haters at page2live, 60 percent said the house was "too ugly" for Jupiter Island, part of Florida's hallowed "Treasure Coast."

SportsbyBrooks wonders if the design makes a wry joke, as its design seems to be saying "Hi" to the sky above.

Woods is building the main house (shown below) with an elevator, a guesthouse, a guardhouse and boathouse on his 12-acre site, which stretches from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean.

One of Tiger's neighbors is former golfer Greg Norman. His home has been on the market since 2007, with no takers even at the reduced price of $47.5 million. He recently raised the price back up to $60 milllion. Brilliant!

Rumor has it that all the construction workers at the Woods' home had to sign confidentiality agreements. We think we see why.

Don't worry, we'll leave the light on for you!

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Target Reveals $3 Appliance Deals for Black Friday

Brett Widness — 2009-11-13T11:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Lifestyle, Advice, Entertaining

Target is getting a lot of heat as some of its Black Friday deals are unveiled. How about a coffeemaker for a $3 stocking stuffer?

Other Chefmate appliances include a 2-Slice Sandwich Maker, a 2-Slice Toaster and a Slow Cooker, all priced at $3 (while supplies last).

Target is also offering a $10 gift card for every $100 spent from 5 a.m. to noon on Black Friday, so there may be some early morning insanity as that's 10 percent cash back.Other deals include a Garmin GPS for under $100, a $69 1 TerraByte External Hard Drive and some flat-screens for under $450.

For more Black Friday Deals 2009, go to our friends at Walletpop.com.

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Dorm Life: Rent or Buy?

Brett Widness — 2009-11-11T07:30:00 00:00

Coldwell Banker has released their annual index of college town affordability. While your average freshmen may be more worried about beer money than paying the mortgage, some families may consider buying a home for their student.

Particularly with the first-time buyer credit being extended into 2010, it may be something for undergrads and grad students to consider. The average four-bedroom home in Louisville, Ky., (shown) is just $198,721.

One of the great things about college towns is that they tend to be good, stable job markets, and you have the built in rental population of students who are going to be coming and going.

But not all college markets are cheap by any stretch.

For example, if you look at the breakdown by conference (left), the West Coast-based Pac-10 is by far the most expensive, with an average home price of almost $750,000. Four of the most expensive colleges on the entire list are in the Pac-10, including Stanford, Southern Cal, UCLA and Berkeley.

The Ivy League wasn't included, because the index is focused on big-time football, but Boston College is the third most expensive schools, so you wouldn't think Harvard, Columbia and UPenn would bring the curve down much on affordability.

Boston College is actually in the ACC now, so you would think that actually messes up the average for the Atlantic Coast Conference some what, as schools like Clemson generally have fairly cheap housing.

Of note, the index has the U.S. Naval Academy as one of the most expensive housing markets at 111 out of 117, but midshipmen all live on campus in Bancroft Hall. Plus, they are one of the "Independents," so they also bring that average way up at $687K.

At the other end of the spectrum, colleges in the Midwest or Southeast usually have much cheaper housing, but renting is going to be cheaper also.

God forbid if the kid ends up transferring!

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Veteran Finally Gets Home of His Own

Brett Widness — 2009-11-10T17:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Advice

Steve Sacre left home at 17 to join the Army. He spent five and a half years in the service, serving 12 months as a gunner on a jeep escorting convoys in Vietnam.

In Vietnam, he used opium and pot "so [he] could climb up on that jeep every day because you knew someone was going to get blown up."

Since then, he has spent 32 of his 62 years behind bars, battling drug and alcohol addiction. The rest of his days have been spent either in homeless shelters, living under bushes or sleeping on the occasional friend's couch.

On a Friday in late October, he moved into an apartment, his first home in 45 years.
"This is my first real home," Sacre told the Albany Democrat Herald.

Mr. Sacre is one of many veterans who has battled addiction, homelessness and other issues. As we honor them on Veterans Day, it should be noted that veterans constitute as much as 25 percent of America's homeless population. The Veterans Administration has recently announced a $3 billion plan to help the more than 100,000 homeless veterans. For those who have served since September 2001, the unemployment rate is nearly double that of other veterans.

After leaving the military, Sacre returned to his hometown of Salem, Oregon, burglarizing drug stores for barbiturates and stimulants. In January 1974, he said he was involved in a shoot-out with Salem police, for which he served 10 years.

He will cover his $142-a-month rent with his Social Security Insurance checks. His only furniture in the living room (so far) are a webbed lawn chair, a stool and an old analog television set.

Sacre says he would still be on the streets if it were not for Judith Hamilton with the InReach Clinic in Albany and Robin Schaeffer, a program advisor for Senior Disabilities Services with the Oregon state Department of Human Services.

Sacre says he no longer uses drugs or alcohol; his days are mostly spent dealing with problems associated with cirrhosis of the liver. His doctors say he should have died months ago but, at least for now, he has a home of his own and friends who care enough to visit him there.

Source: Man homeless for about 45 years gets apartment via Huffington Post

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Landlord Does Time in Own Property

Brett Widness — 2009-11-10T16:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Advice, Ask a Landlord

A Richmond, Va., "convicted slum lord" will spend 40 days in one of his own rental properties after being convicted of more than 180 property maintenance violations.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Oliver C. Lawrence will spend 30 days in Richmond City Jail as part of a 70-day sentence. Then he will spend 40 days in home incarceration with electronic monitoring at a small, single-story house owned by his company, Bayou Properties.

"Until recent improvements, the East End house at 1429 N. 19th St. was unsecured and had a smashed-out window, and its shed was littered with needles, other drug paraphernalia and feces, according to a city inspector."

Assistant City Attorney Greg Lukanuski, who handled the prosecution, supported home incarceration on the condition that the city could approve the property. Lawrence also has a $1 million house in Ashland.

City officials have been fighting with Lawrence over the condition of his properties for more than two years. He owns 150 to 300 properties, according to city estimates. In 2007, the city cited 175 violations on Lawrence's buildings, including some in the 300 block of West Broad Street and the 200 block of East Grace Street that had been heavily damaged by suspicious fires.

Lawrence's troubles aren't likely to end with his release in 70 days. His sentence also includes fines of more than $177,000, according to the Associated Press. Plus, city inspectors are promising to keep the pressure on him.

Sound familiar? The judge may have been inspired by the movie, The Super, starring Joe Pesci.

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Rich Use Home as ATM Too

Brett Widness — 2009-11-09T17:30:00 00:00

According to a page one story in today's Wall Street Journal, the wealthy can be just as bad about diluting their home equity as your average Joe, if not slightly worse.

Ronald Burkle, a grocery store billionaire and Bill Clinton supporter, has apparently borrowed $56 million against his two homes, including $9 million in the past year, according to the Journal.

The craziest part of the scenario may be the rate Mr. Burkle pays on this super-jumbo loan -- a reported 3.25 percent, less than most people can get on a traditional 30-year.

Pretty sure you or I can't get that rate just by walking into the local bank branch.

At the same time, hopefully these billionaires are not using the money to buy groceries or a new flat-screen, but investing it.

"U.S. Trust, which is the private wealth-management arm of Bank of America Corp., has seen a 33 percent rise this year in home loans, compared to last year, with the average size over $3 million. Jan Reuter of U.S. Trust says clients are using the cash to buy stocks and other assets. ... The federal tax code doesn't smile upon giant mortgages. It allows mortgage interest to be deducted only on home borrowings of about $1 million or less."

While we don't see this becoming standard practice for the well-to-do, it's never a smart investing strategy to have all of their money tied up in one asset, whether it's a house, a car or an IRA with Bernie Madoff and friends.

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Do Not Flip This House!

Brett Widness — 2009-11-06T14:00:00 00:00

This Australian beach house was named the best house in the world at this year's World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. While we're not going to go quite that far in our accolades, it is pretty flippin' sweet looking, and not far from the city of Melbourne or the nearby beach.

Designed by McBridge Charles Ryan, it is known as the "Klein Bottle" House, referring to a type of geometric object with no edges.

It was a big year for Australian designers, taking three of the top prizes.

Take a tour with a brief slide show (below) or see some of the winners in other categories.

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Congress Extends Buyer Credit Through April

Brett Widness — 2009-11-05T14:30:00 00:00

The House and Senate passed an extension to the home buyer credit, which would allow first-time buyers to continue to receive an $8,000 credit, and would also extend a $6,500 "trading up" credit to current home owners.

Both credits will apply to valid contracts signed by April 30, 2010 and closed by July 1.

The move-up credit does not begin until Dec. 1, so anyone buying a house in November will actually have an incentive to wait until 12/1.

But the impact of the extension of the first time buyer credit is likely to be muted.

Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that an incremental 200,000 sales occurred between February and November of 2009 because of the credit. Since the credit was due to expire, most of the would-be buyers would have tried to get their purchases completed by the deadline.

How many renters will now decide to buy because they have until next April, assuming the credit isn't extended again? The simple extension "should result in fewer incremental first time purchases than the first round of the credit did," writes Goldman economist Alec Phillips.

It seems unlikely that more than another 100,000 potential buyers will come out of the woodwork now and buy because the credit has been extended for a five months, and it could be even less than that.

On the "trading up" side, Goldman Sachs estimates as many as 70 percent of owners will be eligible. But the $6,500 credit would amount to just two percent of the purchase price of a $325,000 home.

While the extension of this credit may do wonders for consumer confidence and the stock prices of home builders like Toll Brothers and Lennar, the impact will most likely be modest.

At least one would-be buyer said that the tax credit's extension will only moderately increase the likelihood that she will buy next spring.

Maureen Pratt, an Old Town Alexandria resident, had decided there wouldn't be enough time for her to take advantage of the credit this fall, so the extension may make her reconsider.

"An extension would definitely make me look more closely at real estate, but, for the D.C. area, it's hard to see any 'cooling effect' in housing prices as compared to other parts of the country," says Pratt. "Also, it seems like rent is now down so that is a factor for me."

Pratt said that friends in other housing markets such as Phoenix are more enthusiastic about buying since prices have fallen so dramatically.

Even the bills sponsor, Sen. Johnny Isakson, says this is probably it for home buyer credits.

While the bill was unopposed, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., questioned it's efficiency: "[F]or the small minority of buyers whose decision was directly caused by the credit, this raises the question of whether we are subsidizing buyers who may not have been able to afford buying a home in the first place."

HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT: REVISED NOVEMEBER 2009

FEATURE

Jan 1 - November 30, 2009 Rules as enacted

February 2009

December 1 - April 30, 2010 Rules as enacted

November 2009

First-time Buyer:

Amount of Credit

$8000

($4000 married

filing separate)

$8000

($4000 married

filing separate)

First-time Buyer: Definition for Eligibility

May not have had an interest in a principal residence for 3 years prior to purchase

Same

Current Homeowner: Amount of Credit

No Provision

$6500

($3250 married

filing separate)

Effective Date:

Current Owner

No Provision

Date of Enactment

Current Homeowner: Definition for Eligibility

No Provision

Must have used the home sold or being sold as a principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years

Termination of Credit

Purchases after November 30, 2009.

(Becomes April 30, 2010 on Date of Enactment.)

Purchases after

April 30, 2010

Binding Contract Rule

None

So long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until

July 1, 2010 to close.

Income Limits

(Note: Increased income limits are effective as of date of enactment of bill)

$75,000 - single

$150,000 - married

Additional $20,000 phase out

$125,000 - single

$225,000 - married

Additional $20,000 phase out

Limitation on Cost of Purchased Home

None

$800,000

Effective Date of Enactment

Purchase by a Dependent

No Provision

Ineligible

Effective Date of Enactment

Anti-fraud Rule

None

Purchaser must attach documentation of purchase to tax return

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Colorado Ski Town Decriminalizes Weed

Brett Widness — 2009-11-04T17:00:00 00:00

(AP) Breckenridge made pot legal, Denver rejected a get-tough proposal on unlicensed drivers, and tax hikes were turned back around the state Tuesday in municipal elections that appeared to show a public in an anti-government mood.

In Breckenridge, 72 percent of voters in early returns voted to make up to 1 ounce of marijuana legal for adults over 21. The measure is largely symbolic - pot possession is still against state law - but supporters said they wanted to send a message to local law enforcement to stop busting small-time pot smokers.
"We believe this a signal to the state of Colorado and the nation as a whole," said Sean McAllister, a Breckenridge lawyer who pushed the decriminalization measure. Denver approved a similar decriminalization in 2005.

The Breckenridge vote came as communities nationwide are struggling with how to enforce pot laws at a time when medical marijuana has surged in popularity, especially in Colorado and California.

McAllister said the vote shows people want to skip medical marijuana and legalize pot for everyone.

"They're saying, 'We've seen this drug war, and it has failed,"' McAllister said.

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Wal-Mart Kicks Off Holiday Season Early

Brett Widness — 2009-11-04T14:30:00 00:00

Wal-mart appears to be getting a jump on holiday shoppers, offering some deals starting this Saturday instead of waiting until after Thanksigiving.

According to Gizmodo, some of the steals include:

A $29 DVD player
A $148 Blu-ray DVD player
A $298 HP Notebook
An Xbox 360 for $199 with a $100 Gift Card
A Sharp 42 inch tv for $498 (Model lc42sb45ut)

While you may not be in the market for a new flat-screen that's bigger than your entire apartment, there are appear to be a lot of deals on electronics, both for you and for those on your gift list.Of course, the top of our wish list is always lower rent.

If there's no Wal-marts near you, you may have to wait till next Christmas.

For true Black Friday deals, check out Walletpop's Black Friday page, including the leaked 40-page K-Mart circular.

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