text:
First-time homebuyers are yet to really come back to the market as much as they were before the financial crisis. In fact, only 38% of sales this year were to first-timers, down by 1% from last year, and below the long-term average. As the market continues to improve, younger buyers' confidence in the housing market will grow, and we'll see this percentage climb over the next few years.
However, when looking at some of the mortgage calculators and home affordability calculators available online, some of the numbers can be deceiving. There is much more of a cost involved with owning your home than simply paying your interest and principal each month. Before you begin the home buying process for the first time, there are some costs you need to consider.
Property taxes
If you have a mortgage, you will most likely need to pay a portion of your annual property taxes into an escrow account each month. These taxes can range from the mild to the obscene.
For example, the average $250,000 home in South Carolina pays property taxes of around $1,600. In New Jersey, the figure jumps to $6,400. In terms of a monthly payment, it is the difference between $133 and $533 tacked onto your monthly bill.
Another thing to keep in mind is if there is a possibility of renting out the home down the road. Let's say you buy a two-bedroom "starter home" with the goal of upgrading in a few years and keeping the small house as a rental property. In many locations, property taxes on rental properties and second homes can be significantly more than for a primary residence.
For instance, one such "starter home" that would sell for around $100,000 that is owner-occupied in my town pays $931 annually in property taxes, according to the county assessor's website. The tenant-occupied home just three doors down with the same floor plan pays $3,334.
In many places across the country, regular homeowner's insurance is sufficient, and will normally run you about $875 per year on a $250,000 home. It will also cover a certain amount of contents inside the home, say $100,000 worth. However, depending on where you live, there may be more to the story.
If you live in a hurricane-prone area, like much of Florida, your mortgage services might require windstorm insurance, which covers things like your roof blowing off in a storm, or an airborne tree branch flying through your window. Windstorm damages are extremely hard to predict, and therefore very few companies offer the insurance. $250,000 in windstorm coverage will cost around $3,000 annually, and could be more or less depending on how windstorm-resistant your home is.
Although hurricanes have been known to cause flooding, a windstorm policy doesn't cover flood damage. Much of the coastal areas in the U.S. are in "flood zones," and flood insurance will be required. Private companies are beginning to offer flood insurance, and $250,000 in coverage will run you from between $2,613 and $9,177 annually, depending on how flood-prone your area is.
Recurring expenses
In addition to predictable expenses like taxes and insurance, there are many other costs involved with owning a home that renters sometimes don't think about. Roofs need to be replaced every so often, as do air conditioners, appliances, flooring, and pretty much everything else in a house.
How much house can you afford?
If you plug a mortgage loan for $200,000 into a mortgage calculator ($250,000 house with 20% down), it will tell you the monthly payment will be $1,000.34 at the current interest rates (4.39% as of this writing). However, when figuring out your true payment, you need to calculate the fixed costs above and factor them in.
If you live in a flood-prone area, your monthly payment could shoot up to $1,900 or more, depending on taxes and the condition of the home. A high property tax rate in an inland area could mean a payment of over $1,600, and that's assuming no flood or windstorm risk.
When calculating how much house you can afford, it's very important to take all of these factors into account. While homeownership definitely has many benefits, it's important to get a realistic sense of how much your house is really going to cost.


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Come Join Us in Yreka
Close to Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds and Mount Shasta Ski Park
Feel right at home at our Baymont Inn & Suites Yreka hotel. Conveniently located off I-5, our location near Klamath National Forest is just minutes from historic downtown, Rain Rock Casino and many other attractions. Enjoy homestyle hospitality and a comfortable stay in the Golden State.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In the beginning was the Bible. The Bible begat the History Channel's "The Bible" miniseries. Now "The Bible" has begotten the movie "Son of God," which is essentially the second half of the miniseries, the New Testament, recut to feature length.
The film emphasizes spectacle and slights the teachings and parables of Jesus, played by Diogo Morgado. But to its credit, "Son of God" proves more than a mere watered-down "The Passion of the Christ."
The epic proportions of the miniseries hold up well on the big screen, save for the digitally composed establishing shots of Jerusalem. Whereas some editing patterns and musical cues in "The Bible" evoked co-producer Mark Burnett's reality-TV juggernaut "Survivor" (a show not without its own heavy religious symbolism), film composers Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe have changed their tune here quite a bit to cinematic effect.
The commendable color-blind casting of the miniseries was undone by the kerfuffle over the resemblance between its Satan (Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni) and President Obama. "Son of God" has excised the character altogether, effectively squashing the controversy.
Still, the film can be best analogized as the "Bible" equivalent of a "Survivor" midseason clip show. John the Apostle (Sebastian Knapp) narrates the proceedings like "Survivor" host Jeff Probst would.
If "The Bible" was CliffsNotes for the Scriptures, "Son of God" is the cheat sheet. The two-hour film condenses about four hours of what already was hasty television, and it all winds up a little dramatically static.
'Son of God'
MPAA rating: PG-13 for intense and bloody depiction of the Crucifixion and for other violence.
Running time: 2 hours, 18 minutes.
Playing: In general release.


text:
I need the help of some smart people ;)
I want to draw a picture with TikZ, which is heavily based on randomization and I want to make it quite parametrized. It's actually a graph of n nodes where edges are incident to nodes based on previous node placement, so one can not do it all in only one for-loop, that's not possible (and i need x- and y-coordinates independently). In my plans i store x- and y-coordinates in an array and retrieve the data later for calculations. but I run into problems....
Array usage in TikZ is either limited or badly described (how to store/change data after initialization?)
So I use the package
arrayjobx. below is a minimal non-working example (from my memory, unfortunately, my coding PC is currently not accessible; but I hope you see the problem without having a 100%-guaranteed compilable example):
\def \n {5}
\foreach \i in {1,...,\n}
% roll randomvalues and store them in arrays xcoord
\foreach \j in {1,...,\i}
% access data in second nested loop; accessing is done with \checkArrayname and \cachedata to avoid parsing errors
% next line is just for "debugging"
\node[draw,circle] at (\i,\j) {\xf};
I can access the data without problems in the first loop. It's working fine. But in the second nested loop, no matter what value
\j should have,
\xf gets the value of
\xcoord(\i), instead of
\xcoord(\j). I tried it in different ways, using a counter for
\j, using length-parameters instead of
\let, etc. but the result is always the same.
What could cause this behaviour? Does anyone of you know a workaround?


text:
Clothing Manager
Hereford Hereford Unit 47, 5 Trinity Square Maylord Orchard Shopping Centre HR1 2BX 52.05756 -2.714742
Job Details
Contract Type
Working Pattern
Full Time
Competitive + Benefits
Closing Date
Do you have a passion for Fashion? Are you looking to further your career in retail clothing?
Our new clothing brand PEP&CO is expanding into more Poundland stores and we have numerous opportunities available.
About this amazing opportunity...
After a very successful start, our clothing brand PEP&CO is continuing to expand, providing affordable fashion to families in the communities where Poundland stores already operate. We call it a "shop within a shop"; a distinct PEP&CO area selling a range of clothes including children, women's and men's lines.
We're looking for someone who will take ownership to drive the PEP&CO brand forward. You'll deliver amazing customer service by ensuring the clothing range is merchandised and replenished efficiently. Every day the store will look fantastic!
About You…
It goes without saying that you'll have a passion for fashion and have lots of retail experience working in fashion or with clothing products, and you'll certainly have an interest in working in a fast paced store environment like ours. You'll be happy to roll up your sleeves to get the job done and live up to our values of putting our customers first.
On a day to day basis you will need to use your own initiative to ensure the store is always looking great, and deliveries are managed efficiently, the Pep & Co section is merchandised correctly, and that the colleagues are motivated and trained to succeed.
What you'll be doing….
As a Clothing Manager (PEP&CO) you'll also be responsible for managing daily rotas to ensure cover on the PEP&CO section, health and safety checks, stock replenishment and most importantly support, coach and motivate your team to deliver amazing results!
You'll be a key support to your Store and Assistant Manager, and also to the Area Sales Manager (both from Poundland and PEP&CO) on their regular visits to the store.
We're a fantastic company to work for...
Here at Poundland we're a fun and friendly place to work, recognise and celebrate success and we'll encourage you to make the most of your potential.
You'll be an important part of a growing UK retailer, and part of the expansion of the successful integration with PEP&CO. You get the opportunity to work with hardworking dedicated colleagues and enjoy other great benefits.
Providing opportunities to grow is important to us, and this role is a great stepping stone to a long-term career with us.
Job Details
Contract Type
Working Pattern
Full Time
Competitive + Benefits
Closing Date


text:
Knowing and understanding what potential customers want is essential to the buying process. Good customer service is a must and it speaks volumes about your company.
Savvy sales representatives realize the need to create a vision of growth and improvement for their customers. Getting involved with customers earlier in the buying process can be crucial to whether or not that customer chooses to make the purchase.
It has been estimated that 70 percent of buyers/customers want to engage with sales reps before they decide to make a purchase.
"Great sales professionals don't wait until the customer recognizes a problem and decides to do something about it. They create visibility and awareness of the opportunities the customer might be missing," said Dave Brock.
Effective sales nurturing should begin earlier in the buying process. For your customers this is the time when they are in need of something and are open to knowledge, insight, and guidance from professionals.
Early contact with the potential customer and being available to answer any questions and concerns they may have is essential. Engage with the client during their decision-making. Keeping communication open on both sides is key. This encourages your potential customer to feel free to ask questions or comment on their concerns.
Did you know that many buyers would add radiant heat if it was presented early when they are making their initial flooring choice? That tip alone will help you sell radiant floor heating along with your flooring project and realize incremental sales.
Now that summer is here, it's the opportune time to start thinking about heating that cold bathroom floor. Let your customers know that summer is the best time to add radiant heating to their home, especially outdoor radiant heating, such as snow-melt, roof, and gutter deicing systems.
WarmlyYours offers radiant electric floor heating solutions for any room in the home. We provide a wide variety of heating systems to suit your customers' specific flooring choice. 99 percent of WarmlyYours customers report complete satisfaction with our product.
We won't share your information and you can unsubscribe at any time with a single click.


text:
Without an established role, Smyly thriving in 'pen
DETROIT -- Drew Smyly went to Spring Training as the guy who was supposed to fill out the Tigers' rotation. He was never expected to be the one holding the defending American League champions' bullpen together and saving a Max Scherzer victory. He wasn't even expected to make the Opening Day roster if he wasn't a starter.
The way the Tigers' season has gone, expectations are no longer a relevant term.
DETROIT -- Drew Smyly went to Spring Training as the guy who was supposed to fill out the Tigers' rotation. He was never expected to be the one holding the defending American League champions' bullpen together and saving a Max Scherzer victory. He wasn't even expected to make the Opening Day roster if he wasn't a starter.
The way the Tigers' season has gone, expectations are no longer a relevant term.
This is the bullpen they have now, without an established closer. Smyly, without an established role, might be the keystone in it. Not even the man in charge knows what they'll have after the non-waiver Trade Deadline.
"We're comfortable with this group right now. I can't speak for August," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said on Friday. "I'm not a fortune teller."
Manager Jim Leyland opened the season less than three months ago with a seven-man bullpen. Just three of them have spent the entire time since then on the active roster.
One, Joaquin Benoit, opened the season as a closing option, became the primary closer, went back to setup and is now closing again. Another, Darin Downs, went from second left-hander behind Phil Coke to an oft-used reliever over the last week.
Then there's Smyly, part Opening Day long reliever, part early-season insurance starter, part current lefty specialist, part setup man. The best term to define his role right now might simply be a necessity.
"He's been a blessing," Justin Verlander said. "He's pitching absolutely phenomenally for us and has allowed our team to come up with a lot of big wins."
Only Minnesota long man Anthony Swarzak has pitched more innings among Major League relievers. No other Major League reliever has delivered two three-inning saves this season.
Only one strikeout separates Smyly from the AL relief lead. He's second to Benoit among current Tigers relievers in saves, holds and ERA. Smyly has given up the lead in only one of his 25 appearances.
Smyly pitched in the first inning of one game and the 13th inning of another, within three days of each other. They're the same to him, he says.
"It might be a different role, it might be a different game situation," Smyly said Sunday, "but I still have the same job: Go get three outs. I don't even look at the rest of it."
The Tigers do. After 2 1/2 months struggling to find outs in the late innings, they're not the same.
"He's been an integral part of our club," Dombrowski said, "and I don't see any reason why he wouldn't continue to do that."
As Leyland tries to sort out a bullpen-by-committee again, he's trying to find a way to get Smyly into as many games as possible to hold down leads. If he's going to make this bullpen setup work, he has to.
"The key with him for me is to get him one inning at an important time and be successful and then get him an inning the very next day at an important time and be successful," Leyland said Sunday. "He can go back-to-back [days] if he pitches one inning, but when his pitch count gets up to 35, 38, 39 pitches, then I lose him for a couple days."
In some ways, the conundrum Leyland faces with Smyly is the same he has with Benoit. Leyland can save them for the critical outs of a game, and only the critical outs, or he can stretch him out in one close game and give his team the best chance for that single contest.
Ideally, Leyland would use Smyly alongside just-recalled right-hander Al Alburquerque to bridge the gap between Detroit's starters and Benoit, while mixing in others like Coke. Smyly's last two outings have shown why it's not easy.
Leyland wanted to rest Smyly from Thursday's series opener against the Red Sox, which is why he turned to Coke hoping for four outs. Coke struck out Jacoby Ellsbury to preserve a 2-2 game in the seventh inning, but nine consecutive balls to begin the eighth created a go-ahead RBI chance that David Ortiz, previously 1-for-15 against Coke, converted.
With right-handed hitters due up, Leyland made the unusual move of replacing one left-hander with another to face a righty. A starter's repertoire, including an underrated cutter, has allowed Smyly to hold right-handed hitters to a .238 average to complement his .141 average to lefties. Smyly held it there and allowed the Tigers to win it in the ninth.
Three days later, Leyland hoped to rest most of his relievers and get through the series finale with Verlander, a refreshed Smyly and a well-rested Benoit. That hinged on Verlander delivering his usual seven innings. Instead, the Red Sox battled Verlander for 112 pitches over just five innings.
Rather than pitching the eighth inning, Smyly entered in the sixth. He still carried it to the eighth, delivering 2 2/3 innings and again setting up a Tigers comeback for Benoit to finish with the final four outs.
"It's not a perfect situation just yet," Leyland said, "but we're working on it."
He's trying to get it there. Yet whatever the role, Smyly keeps delivering big outs.
"It's very exciting," Smyly said. "Yeah, I want to start one day, whenever that day comes, but this is an exciting experience. It's an adrenaline rush. It's something I never got to experience before, and I'm doing it at the Major League level. So it's pretty cool trying to come in and save a game or just hold the lead down for Max or any of our starting pitchers.
"It's cool. It's fun. I soak it in."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason.