TOP 25 FITTEST & FATTEST CITIES

Top 25 Fittest Cities according to Men Fitness Magazine
1. Baltimore, MD

2. Honolulu, HI
3. Virginia Beach, VA
4. Tucson, AZ
5. Milwaukee, WI
6. Colorado Springs, CO
7. San Francisco, CA
8. Seattle, WA (1)
9. Louisville-Jefferson, KY
10. Boston, MA
11. Sacramento
12. Nashville-Davidson, TN
13. Albuquerque, NM  
14. Tulsa, OK
15. Phoenix, AZ
16. Atlanta, GA
17. Portland, OR
18. Washington D.C.
19. Oakland, CA
20. Denver, CO
21. Minneapolis
22. Arlington, TX
23. Austin, TX
24. Jacksonville, FL
25. Omaha, NE

  Top 25 Fattest Cities according to Men Fitness Magazine
1. Chicago, IL
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Los Angeles, CA
4. Dallas, TX
5. Houston, TX
6. Memphis, TN
7. Long Beach, CA
8. El Paso, TX
9. Kansas City, MO
10. Mesa, AZ
11. Indianapolis, IN
12. San Antonio, TX
13. Fort Worth, TX
14. Miami, FL
15. Detroit, MI
16. Columbus, OH
17. Oklahoma City, OK
18. Cleveland, OH
19. Wichita, KS
20. Charlotte, NC
21. San Diego, CA
22. Fresno, CA
23. Philadelphia, PA
24. San Jose, CA
25. New York, NY

CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES FOR BUCKS COUNTY, PA.

Should you buy property for your college student to use while in college?

You're already helping pay for your kid's expensive college education, so the idea of also buying a house on top of that might sound crazy. But buying a property for your kid to use while in college could have some real financial benefits and possibly turn into a profit if it's right for you.

Room and board is the second-highest expense for college students. Room and board on campus for a private, nonprofit, four-year college or university can average $11,516 a year. Going a little cheaper, on-campus room and board for an in-state public four-year college or university can average $10,138 a year, which isn't much cheaper, according to the College Board's website.

This can quickly add up after four years.

When purchasing a home for your student, it's vital to understand that owning a rental property is a business, and problems are likely to arise. Like most business ventures, a full understanding of the arrangement by everyone involved is key, even if your child's friends are also tenants - it can be great, but ... be warned ... it can also create some uncomfortable situations. 

Facts

• Purchasing real estate is a long-term investment, and typically it takes about seven years for the investment to increase in value enough to exceed the costs associated with buying and selling the property, so you've got to be prepared to stick it out for a while.  
• Although the purchase process (buyer-seller contract negotiation, inspection, closing, etc.) is similar for primary and secondary residences, you'll find major differences in getting a second-home mortgage.

Pros

• Money that would typically go toward renting an apartment or dorm instead goes to an investment in homeownership.
• Income from roommates or tenants after graduation can meet or even exceed the home's mortgage and related maintenance costs.
• The house can provide you student with increased responsibility and real-life experience.

Cons

• It's not possible to control the local housing market or economy, so an increase in value can't be guaranteed.
• Second-home loans usually require more money down and better credit scores, and lenders take an in-depth look to ensure that a second-home buyer is financially capable of paying two mortgages - they even have formulas for calculating shortages in expected rental income.
• Property tax rules and possible deductions for second homes are very complicated and vary widely, so it's important to talk with a tax professional before buying a second home.

Tips

• Carefully consider your current financial position and be sure you can fully support the extra mortgage and maintenance costs of a second home for an extended period of time, even if rental income will be provided by the students' roommates.
• Whether you're familiar with the area or not, consult with a Realtor. A Realtor can provide extensive information about the current conditions and history of the local housing market and are also usually well-versed in the idiosyncrasies of a college's location/population.
• Will the house sit empty a few months during the summer? Is it in an area that students like?
• To best ensure the house retains its own value, maintain it with proper upkeep inside and out, as well as landscaping and major systems.
• Since it can take a while to see an increase in value that's enough to offset the costs of buying and selling the property, be prepared to hold on to it for a while - purchase the property before a student starts school, and hold on to it for a few years after graduation (or through graduate school or siblings).

Now matter where you may be considering doing this, I can refer you to a TOP NOTCH Agent through my extensive network of Keller Williams Agents. Call or email me with any questions!

HOW TO SELL YOUR HOUSE QUICKLY

Ask any realtor and they'll tell you: houses that sell within the first five weeks of their listing are most likely to fetch their asking price. The longer your house lingers on the real estate listings, the more pressure you'll feel to knock the price down - and the less likely it is to sell without some incentives from you, the home seller. Even if you don't have to sell your house fast, it's the best way of getting the price that you want for it. Put your home sale on the fast track with these tips and tricks from professional Realtors.

Find a Realtor

Your best option for selling quickly is to give the job to a professional, and let their experience guide you. A realtor knows all the ins and outs, as well as what selling strategies work best in your area. They can help you set the right selling price for your property (which is the second most commonly offered piece of advice to help your home sell quickly), offer concrete suggestions for improving the chances of a sale, hook your home into the Multiple Listing Service, and guide you through every step of the selling process.

Choose your Realtor carefully, and accept their advice. He or she knows what will sell your house. A good Realtor will suggest most of the house sell tips listed below.

Set The Right Price

Every Realtor asked said that the most important factor in selling a home quickly was to price it right. Further, the most common mistake sellers make is pricing too high. Experienced real estate agents strongly suggest starting from the average price in your area and working from there, rather than starting with your desired net gain. Your best gauge to determine the right selling price for your home is the recent selling prices of similar homes in your neighborhood. Your realtor is the best source of those prices - they have insider access, after all.

Prepare Your Property BEFORE Listing It

There are a number of things you can do to make your property more appealing, and they should be done before you start showing it - and this is called home staging. 'Staging' has been known to make home sell faster. The key is being sure that your house looks its very best from the start. Now is the time to make needed repairs. If it needs sprucing up, get that done first. Fresh paint, trimmed bushes, mowed lawns and immaculate cleanliness are all important factors in making your home attractive and saleable.

After Listing, Keep The House Immaculate

Be ready to show the house at a moment's notice. Make sure you pack up the junk and rent a storage unit as clutter and junk will erode the potential equity your house will bring. If there are too much 'junk' in a room it makes the room look smaller and distracts the buyer's attention. Perform a thorough house cleaning. Make the windows shine and wipe down the baseboards. Keep the sink empty and wiped, and make sure that the bathroom and kitchen are spotless. Don't forget to eradicate unpleasant odors. It's important that your house should look as close to move-in condition as possible - all the time!

Fade Into The Background

When the house is being shown, be as unobtrusive as possible. If you've contracted with a Realtor let him or her do the selling. If you're doing the selling yourself, be available to answer questions and conduct a brief tour - but give the prospective buyers plenty of 'alone time' to explore and kick the tires.

Offer Incentives To Make The Asking Price More Attractive

Got a buyer that just loves the house, but needs a little extra boost to make the commitment? There are a number of incentives you can offer as an alternative to lowering your asking price. This is another place that a good realtor can make valuable suggestions based on their own experience. An offer to cover buyer closing costs, for instance, can bring the up-front expenses of buying your home into range for a first-time buyer struggling to meet a down payment, points and closing costs.

Other common incentives include a 'decorating allowance' or including household items and appliances in the purchase price.

Take Advantage Of Employer Help If It's Available

If you're relocating for work, check your company's relocation assistance plan. Some may cover the cost of long-distance selling, or even purchase the home and resell it, depending on the circumstances.

There you have it. Apply these tips to sell your house fast as the peak home selling and buying season is upon us

10 EXERCISE MYTHS

WARNING: Don’t weight train until after you’ve lost weight!
NO, NO, NO pleeeeease don’t believe that ! That’s one of the many myths associated with weight loss and fitness. If you’re interested in losing weight and getting fit as quickly as possible, don’t let these myths throw you off track:
Myth #1 – Some fancy exercise machine-of-the-month burns more calories than any other exercise.
FACT – One thing that many people seem to be confused about is how many calories are expended during different types of exercise. Caloric expenditure is directly related to the amount of effort an activity requires. In general, the more difficult it feels, the more calories you burn. The easier it feels the fewer calories you burn. That’s it! I  don’t care how fancy or expensive the equipment is, the harder you work the more calories you burn.
Myth #2 – Weight training with free weights is much more effective than with machines.
FACT – For the purposes of general fitness, muscle toning, and weight loss, it doesn’t matter. My suggestion is to do whichever you are most comfortable with and are most likely to do on a regular basis.
Myth #3 – Low intensity exercise puts you in the “fat burning zone” and is ideal for weight loss.
FACT – The “fat burning zone” doesn’t matter. Here’s how it got started. Your body is always “burning” a mixture of carbohydrates and fat for fuel. This mixture tends to contain a little more fat during lower intensity exercise. Somebody took this to mean that a lower intensity workout was best for losing weight.. not so!
It all comes from the same “pot”. It doesn’t matter if you’re burning a little more fat or a little more carbohydrate at any particular time in your fuel mix. It all comes from the same calorie pool. The bottom line is, how many calories are you burning.
Myth #4 – Exercising for 30 minutes two to three times per week is sufficient for weight loss.
FACT – That’s better than doing nothing but it’s not optimal. I firmly believe that God designed our bodies to be active daily. When we exercise daily we are healthier, leaner, more energetic, and the list goes on and on. Also, daily exercise boosts your metabolism like nothing else can. I recommend working up to 30 to 60 minutes of daily aerobic exercise and three days of weight training per week..... YOU"RE WORTH IT!!!
Myth #5 – You can lose fat from a specific part of your body by doing an exercise for that part of your body. For example, abdominal crunches will remove fat from your abdominal area.
FACT – You can’t spot reduce! You cannot control where fat is removed from your body.
Myth #6 – You can’t lose weight.
FACT – You CAN lose weight but it usually happens much slower than you’d like it to. Believing that you CAN lose weight is critical to making it happen. Realize that if you are consistently doing the right things, it will happen. Don’t get side-tracked by every new crazy diet or exercise gizmo. Keep plugging away at healthy eating habits and daily exercise – it will happen!
Myth #7 – You shouldn’t start weight training until you’ve lost most of the weight you want to lose because it will slow down your fat loss, or trap your fat in the muscle, or who knows what else.
FACT – Weight training is VITAL to a weight loss program because it turns up the metabolic fires that burn calories – and it tones your muscles. You should start weight training immediately.
Myth #8 – You burn more fat if you exercise on an empty stomach.
FACT – Exercising on an empty stomach does not affect how you lose weight. In fact, it may hinder it if you don’t have the energy to exercise. You should at least drink a glass of juice prior to your workout if you’re exercising in the morning.
Myth #9 – You should always do your weight training just before your aerobic exercise session because you burn more fat that way. I’ve even heard that you should weight train, eat two raw carrots, and then do your aerobic exercise.
FACT – The order in which you exercise does not affect how you lose weight. I always recommend weight training just after your aerobic exercise (such as walking) simply because your muscles are warm and supple and much less prone to injuries.
Myth #10 – You’ll burn more calories jogging a mile than walking a mile.
FACT – Caloric expenditure is 62 calories per 100 pounds body weight per mile traveled (walked or jogged). For example, if you weight 150 pounds, you expend 93 calories per mile walked or jogged (62 x 1.5). Of course, if you’re jogging, you’ll cover the distance in less time than if you’re walking. Thus, you’ll burn more calories in a given period of time if you’re jogging.

WHICH SEASON IS THE BEST TO SELL A HOME?

Most families want to make the purchase of their home and complete the transaction before the summer months, when the kids and family are on summer vacation. Parents are keenly aware that school registrations need to be dealt with -- and who wants to be loading a moving truck in the middle of August?

Sensibly, spring also offers the best time of year to showcase your home. After a long winter, the first hints of cherry blossoms and crocuses seem to trigger the “moving bug” in many people. Gardens tend to look their best in fresh bloom, when the leaves are on the trees. Homes appear more appealing when the weather is warming up and buyers tend to be in high spirits.

It’s also usually easier to get your home ready for sale at this time of year -- from painting inside or out, to the simple ability to keep the house cleaner without the winter muck being traipsed throughout every time someone walks through the front door. Just remember, when you sell at the busiest time of the year you will face more competition, so make sure your home shows at its best!

If you’re selling anything over a certain price (and that depends on where you live -- but we’ll say anything in the top 20% price range of your community), expect the summer months to be particularly slow. Expensive homes require buyers with big pockets -- and where are they in the summer? Most likely away on vacation, not looking for a home….so that’s where the early to mid fall selling season comes in.  

Fall is considered the next best time to list your home on the market– especially if it's a nice long Indian summer. Linked to the “back to school” mentality, with the leaves turning fabulous colors and nice cool crisp temperatures, you’ll have another good shot at selling a family home -- often to someone who’s already in your neighbourhood. That being said, be prepared to keep up that curbside appeal as the weather changes.

Some properties will sell at any time of year -- such as those aimed at first time home owners, especially condominiums and town homes. Often these buyers are not faced with the constraints of school catchments, and are much more interested in amenities like underground parking, recreation facilities and the nearest coffee shop. These buyers are happy to shop at any time of year, so sales will often be a bit steadier throughout.

Vacation properties always do their best in the spring and summer months, because that is when buyers visit these destinations. They benefit from the fact that vacationers will actually be where these listings are, and not just looking at pictures online or in a brochure. It’s also hard to imagine water skiing when the temperature is hovering at zero and the cottage for sale has had the water and power shut off for the season. 

Having said this, there really is no wrong time to list your home, because if you price your home right, and make every effort to present it in a superior way, chances are you will sell your property in a timely manner. However, if you find that you have to list in December because of a change in career or what have you, remember to be realistic. The holidays in particular can be the hardest time to sell, when everyone’s minds are on other things. Don’t be frustrated though -- you never know. After all, one of my listings sold last year on Christmas Eve.

5 Tips for Staying in Shape over Labor Day Weekend

Everyone knows staying in shape is hard, but if you apply these five tips, you might survive this holiday weekend without tipping the scales.

 

Taking the time to do what is necessary to stay fit can be a serious pain, especially on your day off. But if you apply these five tips for staying in shape during this Labor Day weekend, you may find that the rest of your week, and possibly year, will go a lot smoother.

• Work out over the weekend.

This bit of advice is probably the most likely to be ignored, and the last thing anyone wants to do on a holiday weekend. But one of the biggest complaints people have about working out is finding the time. A three-day weekend is a perfect opportunity to catch up, or work ahead on exercise, as it offers a day off between work outs if you work out every other day (as you should). Having to exercise after working all day is something that almost no one wants to do, so use this precious time to crank out a little cardio now, so you don’t have to do it during the week.

• Don’t go crazy with the food.

There is something about holidays, even ones that are devoid of any association with food or indulgence, that make people want to eat truckloads of fatty foods. A study conducted by health psychology researchers Raymond C. Baker and Daniel S. Kirschenbaum found that when they monitored the weight fluctuations of 36 women and six men, the subjects gained 500 percent more weight over the holidays I’m not saying don’t eat; just don’t eat enough to become 500 percent fatter.

• Work ahead.

Many studies, including one conducted by the University of California in 2007, link weight gain to stress. So it logically follows that the less stressed you are, the easier it’s going to be to avoid overeating. Getting ahead on your work before the weekend arrives means you won’t have to suffer the crunch of the four-day work week that will inevitably follow the holiday. This will also help to keep your mind off of work so you can enjoy yourself.

• Take it easy on the sauce.

It’s no secret that most people do their drinking on the weekends. And the longer the weekend is, the more drinking that’s likely to occur. Alcoholic beverages can have pretty high calorie counts depending on what you’re drinking. A single 12-ounce bottle of most beers will run you 100 calories and one shot of distilled liquor can hover around the same. And no one ever stops with only one shot or bottle of beer. Pick out one day during the weekend to go nuts, but lay off after that. You can still get plastered (if that's what you're into) and you’ll likely drink significantly less than if you drank moderately every day of the weekend.

• Pace yourself.

If you are just beginning a weight loss regime, no matter what time of year it is, it’s important to remember that there’s no such thing as fast results. With perseverance, the weight will come off, if indeed that is what you’re trying to accomplish. But don’t starve yourself or completely deprive yourself of things you enjoy or you will fail. In fact, if you have already been on a weight loss program for a while, the Labor Day weekend might just be the perfect time to give yourself a break and cheat a little.
At the end of the day, nobody needs a six-pack. But even if you aren’t dieting, watching what you eat over the holidays will help you keep from gaining a lot of weight in the long run. Be happy, be healthy and enjoy your holiday weekend.