No Paws Left Behind

Displaced borrowers haven't been the only victims of the foreclosure crisis. An alarming number of pets are being abandoned in vacant homes and properties. Shelters in areas with high numbers of default properties and foreclosures have warned of over-crowding of animals while neighbors of foreclosed properties report stray animals roaming the streets and parks.

No Paws Left Behind is one way that Real Estate Professionals can help save these animals. 63 percent of U.S. households own a pet, according to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, which equates to 71.1 million homes. If foreclosure rates continue at current levels, more than one million animals could be abandoned over the course of the next year.

Bloomfielders for the 350 Project

Congratulations to Bloomfield's environental groups led by Bloomfield College.for your valiant efforts, on a stormy Saturday, in supporting the 350.org efforts on climate change awareness.
I just wish they were positioned a little closer to the cameras.(Click on photos to enlarge)

New British Map shows Impact of Climate Change

The British government yesterday raised the political stakes on climate change when it published a new map of the world that details the likely effects of a failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The map shows the impact of an average 4 degree Centigrade rise in global temperature, which John Beddington, the government's chief scientist, said would be "disastrous". A study by the Met Office last month said that such a 4C rise could come as soon as 2060 without urgent and serious action to reduce emissions.

There's Still Time to Get Your $8,000

Know anyone ready to purchase their first home? There's still time to move to receive that $8,000 Tax Credit before it expires on November 30. We work with attorneys and Mortgage specialists who(depending on the situation) can help you close on a home in less than 4 weeks -- if you act NOW.

Treehouses On the MLS

Tree houses are a dream living space for so many kids, yet some of the most amazing tree buildings are planned, designed and constructed for adults – from restaurants and resorts to homes away from home. Not something you'd expect in NJ, this one posed a bit of a challenge for one Montclair homeowner. We have mobile homes in Wayne listed for less than this sky high property -- but that's another story.

Once a far-fetched futuristic idea, a living tree building is now not only possible but is also a reality – amazing living architecture that uses growing trees as their structural supports, twisted, shaped and connected as they make their way skyward.

Mortgage Delinquicies Mapped by County

The Federal Reserve considers the record rate of mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures and their impacts on communities an urgent problem. The New York Fed uses its expertise and knowledge to provide detailed data on U.S. credit conditions to the public to establish a body of factual data for use in forming policy decisions and developing mortgage foreclosure mitigation efforts.

The website, which also tracks other measures of consumer credit, including auto loans, student loans, and bank loans, is intended to help "government agencies, community groups, commercial institutions and other practitioners better understand, monitor and respond to local conditions associated with foreclosures and credit and mortgage delinquencies.

(The New York Fed's site has full data on each county.)
Red indicates counties where delinquencies have worsened, green indicates areas where conditions have improved, and the gray shading indicates areas where there has been no change. See extended comments at Huffington Post:

Climate Change Brewing Washington State

Visibility dropped to zero in parts of eastern Washington on October 4, as a large dust storm blew through. This image of the storm was captured on NASA’s Terra satellite shortly after noon. According to local news, the storm brought strong winds gusting to 43 miles per hour in places that propelled the dust across the southeast corner of the state. After numerous multi-vehicle accidents, sections of Interstate 90 near the town of Moses Lake and several local roads had to be closed for several hours.

Looking a bit like a new Starbuck's concoction, A thick, rippling plume of dust runs northeast to southwest through the center of the image. Dust stretches as far south as the cities of Pasco and Kennewick, which sit on opposite banks of the Columbia River.