A couple of firms have estimated the value of the White House as if it were for sale. A local DC firm has put the asking price of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave at $110 million, though it estimates it would probably close for around $80 million. That figure doesn’t take into account the historic one-of-a-kind nature of the deal. Zillow is more generous, estimating the value at over $220 million, though like much of the country the price has declined over the last year.

Inman’s recent review of The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom (on financial guidance for women), piqued our interest. We have a substantial personal finance collection of our own in our library—in both electronic and print.

Are yard signs going the way of the buggy whip in Aspen, Colorado? The Aspen Board of REALTORS® is seeking a voluntary ban on yard signs, in order to eliminate visual pollution.  Some approve of the measure, others are in opposition.  “The issue of real estate signs in Aspen is not a simple ‘for or against’ question. It’s multi-faceted,” said Will Herndon, President, Coldwell Banker Mason Morse. He defended a firm’s right “to serve our clients’ interests in marketing their properties to the best of our ability within governing codes and regulations of Aspen, Pitkin County and ABOR.”

Fannie Mae, the largest source of U.S. housing funds, said it would not need to request more taxpayer aid this quarter after posting a $2.7 billion profit in the first three months of the year.

Austria’s ‘upside down house’ becomes tourist attraction.

Summer travel season is just around the corner. If your holiday plans include overseas excursions, you might consider getting a credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee. These bank fees can add up quickly if you’re not careful. Luckily several companies offer cards without these pesky charges.

And credit cards are not the only ones with fees on the rise. Watch out for the airlines, as they nickel and dime their way back to profitability.

Peek behind the scenes at Paramount Pictures as the studio celebrates 100 years with a look at pictures from Life Magazine’s coverage of a massive ‘housecleaning’ that took place in 1970 at the iconic studio.

Though the economy is showing signs of recovery, and housing inventory is down, many of us are still working with a tight budget. A Times economist offers some budgeting guidance on dining out. Speaking of recovery, we’ve noticed a lot of new construction in our downtown Chicago neighborhood, including this 1970s office building converted to green hotel. A $600/month eletricity bill for a 63 room hotel ain’t too shabby.

So you’ve moved back home since you can’t afford to buy a house.  Are you killing the housing market? The Washington Post says  “Yes.” What does this mean for the economy? “It has trimmed demand for housing.” However, looking at home ownership from a historical perspective, home ownerships rates appear to return to their historical norm.

Are you looking at confidential client information on your train or plane commutes? According to the New York Times, you may be inadvertently exposing sensitive client information–such as business deals, personnel issues, and clients list–to the general public.  Data thieves target conferences, work commutes, and other public spaces to steal valuable competitive intelligence data.

Horse race fans anxiously await this weekend’s Kentucky Derby: mint julep anyone? To get into the spirit, we share a history of top derby icons. Our favorite: the gloriously ostentatious hats.

We close out with a bow to Air Quality Week, a joint effort of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Though we all have our own opinions on the environment, we all breathe the same air and thus each have a stake in the need for high quality, clean air.

Members and staff can also borrow up to six electronic books, digital audios and/or videos at no cost, through the Virtual Library eBooks Collection.

Capitalization Theory and Techniques Study Guide, Third Edition
By Charles B. Akerson
Appraisal Institute, 2009

While markets, methodologies and technology may change, the need to understand the mathematics of finance does not. Capitalization Theory and Techniques Study Guide, third edition, provides practitioners and students of the income capitalization approach to value with an essential reference tool for their appraisal offices and classrooms.

Transformational Leadership in the New Age of Real Estate
By Christopher Lee
Institute of Real Estate Management, 2012

As we enter a New Age of Real Estate, what can you do to ensure that your company is not just one of the survivors-but one that prospers under the new realities? More than ever, companies must respond to rapidly changing market conditions, competitive pressures, and shifting customer demands and expectations-to look ahead and put themselves in a position to seize the opportunities presented by the “new normal.”

Understanding Property Law, 3^rd Edtion
By John G. Sprankling
LexisNexis, 2012

This comprehensive and authoritative Understanding treatise is suitable for use in conjunction with any Property casebook. Features include complete coverage of all standard property topics, including landlord-tenant law, adverse possession, rights in personal property, estates and future interests, marital property, land sale transactions, servitudes, nuisance, zoning, takings, and other land use issues, analysis of cutting-edge topics, such as property rights in human bodies, current takings issues, the new Restatement (Third) of Property (Servitudes), rights and duties of homeowners’ associations, and property rights in personal names and likenesses, discussion of the policy and historical underpinnings of property law doctrines, and clear writing and detailed organization to facilitate student understanding of both basic concepts and controversial topics.

Appraising Residential Properties
Appraisal Institute, 2007

Appraising Residential Properties, fourth edition, has all the information an appraiser needs to perform residential appraisal assignments competently. The fourth edition is written in response to the new AQB requirements for licensed and certified residential appraisers. New data sources are highlighted throughout the text and the discussion of residential property design and building construction has been significantly reorganized and updated.

Understanding Modern Real Estate Transactions, 3^rd Edtion
By Alex M. Johnson, Jr.
LexisNexis, 2012

Although the initial focus is on a residential real estate transaction, Understanding Modern Real Estate Transactions also addresses issues applicable to commercial real estate transactions. This treatise also provides case analysis, focusing on the cases that appear in the most prominent and widely used texts for modern real estate. Numerous simple hypotheticals throughout the text explain the more complicated theories and rules.

The New RESPA Rule: Navigating New Disclosures
By Carl G. Pry
LexisNexis, 2011

Complying with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and HUD’s implementing Regulation X can be frustrating for consumer bankers. Changes to RESPA regulation were implemented in 2009 and 2010, and the forms are much different than previous versions. HUD has continuously issued interpretations, questions and answers, and amendments to these forms, complicating things even further. This special pamphlet, The New RESPA Rule: Navigating New Disclosures , examines the principal areas of confusion and uncertainty with regard RESPA disclosures.

Real Estate Valuation in Global Markets, Second Edition
By Howard C. Gelbtuch and Eunice H. Park
Appraisal Institute, 2011

Business has gone global and international expertise is in demand. Consider how these global changes can affect your business and discover the opportunities that await the international valuer!

The uniform standards have guided the appraisal process in federal land acquisitions since they were first published by the Interagency Land Acquisition Conference in 1973. They have earned a prestigious position among legislators and valuers and are frequently cited by Congress. This new edition recognizes the vast changes that have recently characterized the real estate appraisal profession and includes updated case law and expanded treatment of novel and difficult valuation questions.

1. Field Guide to Quick Real Estate Statistics
2. Field Guide to 1031 Exchanges
3. Field Guide to Marketing Tips for REALTORS®
4. Field Guide to Open Houses
5. Field Guide to Real Estate Office Policy Manuals
6. Field Guide to Buying vs. Renting
7. Field Guide to Listing & Selling Luxury Properties
8. Field Guide to Real Estate Transfer Taxes
9. Field Guide to Short Sales
10. Field Guide to Mortgage Interest Deduction

Have an idea for a new field guide? Let us know!

The burgeoning foreclosures-to-rental business could become a $100 billion industry as increasingly sizable investors infiltrate hard-hit markets from Florida to California to Arizona to the Midwest.

Signs are pointing to a housing recovery, as stated by numerous news and government authorities. Some markets have picked up so much, that competition is forcing buyers to set themselves apart.

Internet access via a PC will cease for many due to a new Windows virus. Hackers recently discovered a Windows vulnerability, and seized the opportunity to infect over half a million PCs with their new virus. The FBI, in conjunction with a partner, set up a site to check your machine for infection and get a fix.

In these tough times a little bit of business etiquette can go a long way in making you stand out from the rabble. Time shares 5 rules to help refine your sense of propriety and decorum.

Before you pull out the mop and bottles of cleaning solution for your annual Spring cleaning, you might want to check the labels. Time reports that several popular brands contain toxic ingredients.

Man has domesticated and mutated dogs for centuries to suit our needs and whims, but an article in American Scientist reveals some scientists belief that dogs cause humans to evolve too. Humans are the only ape species to have a white part of the eye around the pupil as a default–perhaps a competitive advantage for early dog owning humans by allowing dogs to more quickly follow an owner’s gaze to help hunt prey.

Research published last month finds that the personal characteristics of real estate agents matter to house prices and the length of time a house is on the market, even after controlling for the quality of the house.

What will good schools cost you?  About $200K, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. Home values are $205,000 higher, on average, in neighborhoods with high-scoring public schools versus schools with low scores. Homes in high-scoring neighborhoods typically have 1.5 additional rooms, and 30% fewer are rented, the study found. Housing costs average $11,000 more per year in areas with better schools.

Got gizmos? For those who love gadgets as much as we do, Fox News compiled this collection of the must-have gadgets of the week. From Frisbees to fridges, smartphones to headphones, here’s the best of the best.

DOGTV, a television channel for dogs (no, not dog lovers, actual dogs) is headed for national distribution. The Telegraph reports on the upstart commercial-free channel started in San Diego and includes some video highlights.

Time has a new top 100 list: Top 100 most influential people in the world. Chelsea Handler? Hmm….

The Great Titanic Disaster (Library of Congress)

Sunday, April 15, marks 100 years since the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  Three REALTORS® were among the 1,500 people who were lost when the “unsinkable” ship struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic.

The three men were all from Winnipeg, Manitoba — at the time nine Canadian real estate boards were part of the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges (now known as NAR). 64-year-old Mark Fortune was a former president and charter member of the Winnipeg Real Estate Exchange. He was returning from a European vacation with his wife, son, and two daughters. J. Hugo Ross and Thomson Beattie, both 36, were friends who had offices across the hall from each other in Winnipeg’s old Merchants Bank Building. Ross was also a former president of the Winnipeg Board, and Beattie was a business partner of the city’s mayor, R. D. Waugh. They had been traveling in Egypt and the Aegean Sea when Ross fell ill and they decided to return home early, booking passage on the Titanic.

According to the National Real Estate Journal, Fortune moved to Winnipeg in 1874 and entered the real estate business four years later. “Within the past ten years,” the Journal reported in May 1912, “he has been one of the most successful real estate operators in the city. Property which he had held for years became very valuable…he is said to have owned property in nearly all the principal blocks along Main Street and Portage Avenue.” Fortune served four terms on the Winnipeg City Council and was very active in Knox Presbyterian Church.

Ross had served as secretary of the Winnipeg Stock Exchange and attended the fourth NAR convention a year earlier, in Denver in 1911. Beattie took over management of the firm of Waugh and Beattie when his partner was elected mayor. “In many respects they resembled one another,” the Journal wrote of Ross and Beattie. “Both were typical opportunistic westerners, positive of the future of Winnipeg and western Canada.”

Fortune’s 19-year-old son Charles also perished in the disaster, while his mother and sisters were put off in lifeboats. A month later Beattie’s body was found with two others adrift in a collapsible life boat, and he was buried at sea.

At the national convention in Louisville two months later Fortune, Ross and Beattie were remembered in prayer by their fellow REALTORS®, who then voted for Winnipeg to host the 1913 convention.

Interested in colonizing the moon or other planets? One big hurdle to overcome (and there are lots of course): no private property. Several international treaties on space and the moon prohibit sovereignty claims and private property. But if we want to jumpstart colonization and exploration, some scientists are suggesting these treaties be scrapped or wiggled around.

The census released a study recently that shows the economic recession and high gas prices continue to impact the farthest ex-urban regions of metro areas. Population growth for counties on the fringes of metropolitan regions has collapsed while closer in counties continue to see growth. USA Today has great sliding tool to compare 2006 data with 2011. One big growth area that stands out: the oil boomtowns of northwest North Dakota.

April 30 is the deadline for Illinois salespersons to upgrade their license to the new minimum standard of broker. The state gave salespersons two years to get the training to upgrade, but as of March 30, only 35% of agents have transitioned to broker.

A new Super-PAC is born: Friends of Traditional Banking to make an impact on the American legislative and regulatory process. How will this PAC effect real estate finance and lending? Only time will tell.

What is the perfect career for an ex-rapper, hand model or actress?  Real estate of course.  The New York Times profiles 3 brokers who have made the transition from entertainment to real estate.

Gone are the glory days when only PCs had to worry about viruses. Macs have gotten popular enough that ne’er-do-wells are targeting them for mischief. The latest virus is called Flashback and targets a vulnerability in Java. With a slow release of a patch from Apple, an estimated 1 million or more Macs might have been infected. Check to see if yours is with this simple guide from Wired.

The Dept. of Justice is suing Apple and several publishers in an eBook antitrust case. The big winner? Amazon.

The 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking is approaching. The New York Times explains how high tides and optical illusions could have contributed to the disaster.

As librarians, we watch for updates to the banned books lists. The ALA recently noted that the Hunger Games trilogy has cracked the top 10 list of most challenged books, though it appears that some of the complaints are more directed at the movie than the books themselves…I’m not sure how any of these books are anti-family, satanic, or anti-ethnic, but there you go.

Waypoint Real Estate Group is buying five to seven houses a day, 1200 since 2008, and is fixing them up and reselling them to investors at a big discount.  The company plans to buy 10,000 to 15,000 more homes by the end of 2013.

With home prices down more than a third from their peak and the market swamped with foreclosures, large investors are salivating at the opportunity to buy perhaps thousands of homes at deep discounts and fill them with tenants. Nobody has ever tried this on such a large scale, and critics worry these new investors could face big challenges managing large portfolios of dispersed rental houses. Typically, landlords tend to be individuals or small firms that own just a handful of homes. But the new investors believe the rental income can deliver returns well above those offered by Treasury securities or stock dividends. At the same time, economists say, they could help areas hardest hit by the housing crash reach a bottom of the market.

Warren Buffett famously said that he would buy up “a couple hundred thousand” single family homes if it were practical to do so. Looks like Waypoint has beat him to the punch.

Travel & Leisure comes out with another top list: America’s 20 greenest cities. Portland (surprise!) is #1, followed by Savannah, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, & Chicago.

Perhaps you think land ownership in your city or town is a challenge, but trying living on the border of North and South Carolina. The two states are currently reassessing the state line, likely leaving some 30 property owners paying property taxes in two states, dividing utilities payments, and obtaining a new driver’s license.

One in five American adults read an electronic book in the last year, as gift-giving sped the shift away from the printed page, a Pew Research Center survey showed on Wednesday. And why limit it to ebooks? Just as Hulu was launched by several major broadcasters, some of the country’s biggest magazine groups have banded together to create Next Issue, an e-magazine reader and app.

Foodies in Detroit are helping revitalize the city by opening restaurants, food stores and gardens on cheap or abandoned property. Outside developers are beginning to show interest in the Motor City. And Whole Foods Market has plans to open a store next year in the Midtown neighbourhood, which is the centrepiece for Detroit’s revival. The food and real estate pioneers are optimistic, hoping that Detroit will be able to rise to a million residents from the current 715,00 to support sustained growth of this new trend.

Got a sweet tooth? Many of us were surprised at the initial results from a five year study conducted at the University of California at Davis’ recent study that shows a link between sugar consumption and cholesterol, shown on 60 Minutes last week.

Looking for a timeshare to purchase? No one else is either. Unable to sell his timeshare, John Chase and his wife gave away their Orlando timeshare for $1.00. Like many owners, the couple is dealing with rising timeshare maintenance fees on top of other bills. Alternatives to this drastic move include renting out timeshares to vacationers and seeing if the owners would buy back the time share. Owners also counsel patience and leaving the timeshare on the market.

Here’s a good reason to do some low-cost redecorating: The choices you make can result in enhanced mood, less stress, and better sleep. To turn your space into a healing haven, follow these easy 10 decorating tips for a stress-free home.

From all of us at Information Central, we wish you a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover!