Archive for the 'Business/Consumer' Category

Getting Realistic — Prices of Homes Don’t Add Up

Even in today’s “buyer’s market”, buying a home can be frustrating. I admit my experience may a little extreme. I’m picky. I’ve suddenly become cheap. And we’ve narrowed our area down to a few neighborhoods. The latter isn’t so unusual; but what does place it outside of the norm is the fact that these neighborhoods are among the more sought after areas…each with their own unique characteristics. Basically, we’re hunting for a deal.

Even in this ‘unusual’ case, I’ve resolved that the prices of some homes are a contradiction to comparative market analysis (CMA). I’m no Realtor, but CMAs seem pretty straight forward (I’m open to some direction from Realtors out there) — comparisons based on square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, area, etc. But are there instances where you can make adjustments to the CMA?

The Price Is Not Right. The prices of homes in my area may differ from yours. So for the sake of making this easier, let’s choose round numbers. House A is updated and has little room for improvement. It’s a great home for the long-term…and for a family with little desire to upgrade. It is 2,500 sq.ft. and is listed at $100/sq.ft. House B is just down the street from House A. They are the same size (sq.ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms); and House B, like House A, was built in 1970. The mustard shag carpet, wood panelling throughout and dated appliances (not to mention the pink tile in the bathrooms) suggest that 1970 may have been the last time it was ‘updated’.

Is it appropriate to price House B using a $100/sq.ft. base? Definitely not. Is it even appropriate to use $80/sq.ft., which translates into a $50,000 difference? I don’t know. According to Realtor.org, the average cost of a [major] kitchen remodel in 2008 was $56,611. Bathrooms cost $15,899. How about a new roof, energy-efficient windows or even replacing all the outdated carpet and walls? There are any number of reasons a house may not be selling. But even with all the HGTV hours you’ve racked up, the costs add up. And that’s hard to swallow in a market with declining home values.

Cap & Trade. Forget the macro-economic implications of this bill. I only mention it to add to help qualify the argument that (I’ll try not to sound biased) outdated homes on the market ought to be discounted for their lack energy efficient appurtenances.

The 1,400-page cap-and-trade legislation pushed through by House Democrats contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that.

This means that homeowners, for example, could be required to retrofit their homes to meet federal “green” guidelines in order to sell their homes, if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law.

The bill, which now goes to the Senate, directs the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and implement a national policy for residential and commercial buildings. The purpose of such a strategy – known as the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) – would be to “facilitate” the retrofitting of existing buildings nationwide. CNSNews.com, July 1, 2009

Getting back to the inspiration for my rant…we placed a bid on a house at a similar discount to the one above. The counteroffer was just shy of the list price. So, I get the hint. You won’t budge. At what point do sellers need to get real with their list price? And is it considered poor taste for a potential buyer to offer a significantly lower amount based on perceived value?

Popularity: 19% [?]

Coveroo Your Mobile Device

While hunting for swag at the Society for Information Display (SID) in San Antonio, I ran across the Coveroo booth where they were basically ripping cell phones from attendees’ hands and etching personalized designs onto them. Well, sort of.

“You want to do what to my BlackBerry?”

The San Francisco-based company is only several months old, and it has already redefined the personalized cell phone cover scene. No need to weigh your phone down with a bulky cover complete with scratch-off designs. Let Coveroo take a laser to your device. They can also finish it off in color with its new HighColor printing process. The color option will first be exclusively available for the new Marvel and NBA designs, along with the existing UCLA, Garfield, Hot Wheels, Star Trek, Streetfighter IV, and Resident Evil 5 artwork. Prices range from $9.95 to $59.95, depending upon your phone model and design choice.

About a month ago, Coveroo added superheroes and NBA designs to its lineup. So, I opted to show my undying dedication to the San Antonio Spurs. They even swapped my BlackBerry Bold cover for a titanium-colored cover.

FYI…for most iPod models, users can opt to buy a completely new device to get the custom artwork…OR Coveroo offers a send-in option for the iPod and iPhone, as well as for laptops, the Nindendo DSi, and other miscellaneous phones and PDAs.

So go quietly, my friends. Visit the Coveroo website for a lineup of devices and designs, and get etched!

Popularity: 31% [?]

Clever Advertising Slogan: Your Wife Is Hot

I’m no expert on effective marketing, but occasionally an advertisement catches your attention. In fact, some are so good you have to tell your friends and family all about it. Depending on the venue, the placement of some memorable ads can cost millions while others cost significantly less and are just as engaging.

Jon Wayne Air Conditioning in San Antonio has accomplished that with its ‘made you look’ slogan.

Jon Wayne Air Conditioning

I rarely notice billboards. In fact, I can’t think of one that caught my attention like this one since the GodSpeaks billboards.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Move Over Snuggie…

Um. I haven’t checked Snopes.com yet, but I’m gonna go with fake.

Veg on the couch with your special someone — watch the big game while she updates her Facebook for the 5th time today.

Popularity: 20% [?]

That Just Happened — Starbucks Sells Out To Survive

Nothing new. They already do it in Malaysia.—–

Did you ever imagine the day when a specialty coffee shop would start selling breakfast? I don’t mean the complimentary sugary confections we’re all used to…but breakfast. That day hath come. Starbucks announced that beginning on March 3, 2009, it would pair a drink with one of two new breakfast sandwiches.

“Welcome to Starbucks. How may I help you today?”

“Yeah…lemme get a…a Siren Sausage Sandwich and a tall caffe latte…non-fat, no whip, double trouble…no, no…make that a black eye…and half caf.”

By obscure comparison, the Amazon Kindle is like a Jonas Brothers album. You don’t know anyone that owns one, yet somehow Amazon can’t keep them on the shelves. Now the Kindle 2 is being released on February 24, 2009. It’s about as thin as a magazine, boasts a 25% increase in battery life, and can hold over 1,500 books. How many college kids would rather have this than lugging around ten 20-lb. text books in their backpack?

Courtesy ESPN

A-Roid, Ster-Rod, A-Fraud, Agent Orange (nice tan)…the nicknames are flying after ARod’s interview with Peter Gammons on ESPN. Orange you glad you told the truth, ARod? Smart move.

Speaking of orange…the Texas Longhorns got a commitment from another McCoy this week…Case McCoy. According to InsideTexas.com, the younger brother of Colt McCoy will play join the ‘Horns squad. No word yet on whether or not he will be accompanied by an attractive girlfriend that will sit with his parents at the games.

Along the college recruiting lines…it seems things get more and more ridiculous each year. Recruits are being treated like kings before they even step foot on campus. The result? They often develop an attitude of entitlement. South Carolina recruit, Alshon Jeffery, was told by head coach Steve Spurrier that he could keep his #2 jersey digit.

The problem? It’s retired.

Sterling Sharpe donned the number while he attended the University of South Carolina. Sterling is opposed to the idea. Don’t give in, Sterling! You’ll just add to the growing attitudes of entitlement among college recruits. Just a piece of the spectrum of college recruiting’s thin gray line.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Video On Demand Services — Blockbuster vs. Netflix

Digital distribution of movies is becoming more than just a convenience. Video on demand (VOD) technology is becoming the status quo. As video formats have evolved, so has the method of delivery. Reel-to-reel. BetaMax and VCRs. DVD players. High-definition Blu-Ray. And now delivery of videos goes beyond format. There are an increasing number of utensils to feed your video appetite. In fact, there is a large list of video on demand services. If you have a broadband Internet connection, then you’re ready to explore the world of VOD.

So, how do you choose?

I’m a DIRECTV customer as well as a Blockbuster.com user. I’m contemplating a VOD service as an alternative to my Blockbuster service. So, I decided to take a look at Blockbuster’s VOD service and compare it to Netflix. Pretty smart, eh? Yeah…I thought so too.

BLOCKBUSTER. I’m already partial to Blockbuster over Netflix, so naturally Blockbuster.com was the first place I went to get some details. According to Blockbuster’s current offer, when you rent 25 movies in advance — which costs $99 — Blockbuster will send you one of its 2wire MediaPoint digital media players. The box includes composite, HDMI and component outputs.

Unfortunately the information available on Blockbuster.com is routine at best — an electronic brochure of the service actually. So, I contacted BlockBuster with a slew of questions.

This blogger shares his pros and cons of the Blockbuster service and related hardware.

With the lack of information available on the Blockbuster site, I decided to email them for some answers:

Dear Derrich,

Roughly 2,000 titles are currently available. The library changes frequently.

The device upscales up to 1080i resolution if used with an HDMI connection, cable not included. Some of the titles, such as the IMAX titles, are compressed with high definition, but not all titles will be in such high quality. The device also only offers stereo only for the audio.

The prices range from $1.99 to a max of $3.99.

There is no long-term storage available. Rentals are only made available for a maximum of 30 days after download. Once you actually start to watch the movie, however, there is only a 24 hour license issued to play the movie as many times as you wish. The files are auto-deleted either when the 30 day period or 24 hour watch period expires.

There are no other fees or membership requirements to use the OnDemand service. Once you have the device and use the 25 prepaid rentals, if you never rent again..you’ll never be billed.

Please let us know if there’s any other questions we can help with.

NETFLIX. The Netflix website on the other hand was refreshingly informative about its offering. Heck, it even points you in the direction of the manufacturer, Roku, for a more in-depth resume of abilities.

Right off the bat, this thing is the epitome of ’straight foward’. Box is $99 (MSRP). Buy it, keep it. If you already have a Netflix unlimited plan (from $8.99/month), then you’re all set. The terms and conditions isn’t a bunch of legal jargon — it consists of six bullet points. Your existing Netflix plan doesn’t change. The number of movies available on demand is limited to a little over 3,500. One blogger even went so far as to compile a list of Netflix On Demand movies. Netflix claims 12,000 selections; we can assume the other 8,500 or so are TV shows. More importantly, watching movies or TV shows instantly does not affect the number of DVDs you get.

In addition to the Roku player, you can use the Netflix service with a number of other devices such as the Xbox 360, on a TiVo DVR, and a pair of Ethernet-capable Blu-ray Disc Players.

In addition to those devices, today LG announced the first broadband-enabled HDTVs with Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the TV, eliminating the need for one of the above boxes.

THE WINNER IS…. It looks like Netflix has found a way to marginalize Blockbuster. I’m tempted to take advantage of the 30-day free trial to see if I like the ‘DVD by mail’ service as much or better than Blockbuster. If so, why wouldn’t I make the switch to the company with a better On Demand product?

The bottom line is that Netflix rules the VOD battle.

While I test drive the two services, there are still some other VOD services out there for me to research such as Amazon Video On Demand, and other services available through gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 3, or the recently announced video distribution service on the Nintendo Wii…and, of course, Apple TV and Vudu for the “high-def only, thank you” videophiles.

Popularity: 45% [?]

That Just Happened: And The Heisman Goes To…A Dog?

The Heisman ballots are due Wednesday. Despite my usual attention to the underdog, my unsexy Heisman picks are far from consideration. The Heisman race for 2008 appears to be undecided. The Heisman Pundit, Chris Huston, certainly believes so. He hasn’t revealed his prediction yet, but he makes great points for each of the top three candidates in what has turned out to be one of the tightest races in quite sometime.

So where does the dog come in? Well in case you missed it, a traffic camera in Santiago, Chile captured some amazing footage of a dog that dodged traffic to pull the body of another dog to the shoulder. The other dog had been hit by a car earlier — apparently his buddy didn’t want his corpse to be hit again. See the video of this dog rescue in Chile.

Speaking of videos, The Dark Knight was released today. No doubt it’ll be a top seller…and a perfect stocking stuffer. Buy it on Blu-Ray, DVD w/Digital Copy so it can be transfered to your computer or portable, or the good ol’ Widescreen version.

Can you remember the last time Antonio Bryant was good? That’s right. At Pitt. So far this season, he’s pulled in 66 receptions (for nearly 1,000 yards…currently 10th among WRs), but none as pretty as one-handed catch.

My wife was making her nightly rounds on BabyCenter.com last night trying to find out how large our daughter should be (we’re on Week 31, I believe), and she stumbled upon an interesting service. The BabyCenter’s Booty Caller sends ovulation alerts to your phone to let you know when you’re most likely to be fertile. Wow. I guess you can never be too safe.

Popularity: 21% [?]