This is a bit out of the Real Estate Tips Niche, but it is a service targeted at Homeowners. Nations Power today announced that it is providing pre-paid and real-time pricing for electricity to customers in Texas. The company will be using a Our one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art software which was exclusively developed for the company by SmartGridCIS and designed specifically for use with smart meters. According to the company, this is ideal for Homeowners who are having problems paying for high up-front deposits or high pre-payments with other electric providers.

This allows Nations Power to deliver electricity to customers who are having problems paying for high up-front deposits or high pre-payments with other electric providers. Nations Power is the first electric provider to implement pre-pay with real-time pricing anywhere in the U.S. Its pre-paid and real-time pricing products can utilize the nearly 1,000,000 advanced smart meters currently installed in Texas. The billing solution allows customers to pre-pay for power on a daily basis versus the traditional monthly post-paid or month-ahead estimated pre-paid methods. Plans are for nearly 6 million customers to have smart meters in Texas by 2013.

To pay for power, customers can access the Nations Power website and pay with a Mastercard or Visa debit card, or go to one of its 110,000 payment centers including Wal-Mart, CVS/pharmacy, and MoneyGram locations.

Chase today marked the official opening of new homeownership centers in the Bronx and Brooklyn to help families struggling with their mortgage payments. “We created these local Homeownership Centers as a place for our borrowers to sit down and discuss their situation face-to-face with trained loan advisors in these challenging times”

Chase now has five centers in the Tri-State area providing face-to-face assistance to distressed borrowers who have a loan serviced by Chase.

“We created these local Homeownership Centers as a place for our borrowers to sit down and discuss their situation face-to-face with trained loan advisors in these challenging times”

The Jersey City center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and by appointment on Wednesday until 8 p.m. All other centers are open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Customers who are late on mortgages from Chase, Washington Mutual or EMC may call the nearest homeownership center listed above to make an appointment with an advisor.

Customers may call (866) 550-5705 if they:

* Are current with payments but face financial hardship, which may lead to default
* Would like more information

The company opened 37 centers around the country since 2009, and plans to open 14 more by this spring.

Mortgage application volume increased 9.1 percent last week compared to the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

On an unadjusted basis, the index rose 10.4 percent, but was down 52.3 percent compared with the same week a year ago.

Much of the decline compared to the previous year pertained to refinances. The unadjusted purchases index increased 9.8 percent compared to the previous week and was down 19.1 percent from a year ago.

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The Home Buyer Tax Credit is a new legislation congress passed that was developed to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation.

With the Home Buyer Tax Credit, First time Home Buyers Tax Credit will be extended to up to $8,000, if you are a first time home buyer, you are eligible for this, it runs until April 30, 2010. The Home Buyer Tax Credit also expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

If you have specific questions or need additional information, please contact a tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service at 800-829-1040.

1. Inconspicuously green: A very traditional home can become energy- and resource-efficient. When this house in Washington, D.C. was built in the 1950s, most of its windows got direct sun. But then it was remodeled to better suit D.C.’s steamy summers. The porch columns are not chemically treated to repel rot or harvested from some far-off rain forest. Instead, they’re made from the naturally rot-resistant trunks of Eastern Red Cedar trees grown nearby.

2. The Eaves: A roof should overhang walls by at least one foot. That keeps the sun off windows and exteriors, which helps the house stay cool in summer. It also protects siding from the weather, meaning you may be able to go twice as long between repaintings or re-sidings.

3. Reuse and remodel: The house you fix up will probably be much greener than anything you build in its place, no matter how cutting edge the new design or how much recycled material you use. Sure, some old houses just can’t be saved. But even a building with serious problems can give you plenty to work with.

4. Size Matters: Fight the urge to go big and high. Not only is a smaller, well-proportioned house easier to heat and to cool, but you’ll need to buy less furniture to feel at home in it.

5. Use renewable energy: Let’s just say you probably won’t be installing a wind turbine in your backyard anytime soon. Even if the homeowners association didn’t come after you with torches and pitchforks, the truth is most places aren’t breezy enough.

The Sun
A solar water-heating system can reduce the fossil fuel you’ll need for showering and washing clothes. Before installing one, determine whether you have a sunny enough location to recoup the up-front costs, which can range from $3,000 to $8,000.

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NikNik over at mytechopinion.com made this really interesting post on the 10 Social Media Lifeskills for Real Estate Professionals. It is rather interesting how she show how you can use character education and lifeskills to help with our business goals and strategies. Below you will find the 10 Social Media Lifeskills for Real Estate Professionals.

1. Integrity- Be the real you. Strive for authentic engagement by being the same person you are online that you are offline. Instead of selling what you do, share who you are and your daily experiences. And when it comes to your avatar (profile picture) be a person, not a real estate logo. People connect with people, not signs and buildings.

2. Active Listening- Although it’s important to share your interests, it’s even more important to pay attention to others. Learning what your network is passionate about only helps you ask better questions, provide better resources, and become a better advisor. Who’s Talkin? and SocialMention are 2 social search engines that make it even easier to monitor certain people and topics you care about.

3. Effort- Add value! Know your expertise and passion well enough to identify resources that may be helpful to your network. If you’re not sure where to look for great resources, try a social bookmarking tool like Delicious or Digg where others share their favorite articles. Monitor your resources and share regularly, provide your own insight and strategies for implementation.

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Patrick Square, Clemson’s first traditional neighborhood development (TND), has opened three fully furnished models of its Village Homes. The models represent the various sizes and price ranges of the seven distinct Village Home styles. Featuring Colonial, Carolina, Craftsman, Greek Revival, Georgian, and Victorian architecture, the Village Homes were designed by renowned TND Urbanist/Designer Lew Oliver of Whole Town Solutions.

“Patrick Square has a traditional look, but it is an ultra modern community incorporating the latest sustainable construction practices and fiber-to-home technology for digital services,” said Patrick Square’s President Michael Cheezem.

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