Owner: Synergy Homes URL:http://synergyhomes.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 11:29:38 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Home Builder in Northwest Indiana, focusing on Portage and Valparaiso and Winfield and Chesterton. Real estate and mortgage ideas for credit repairs and no down payment. Site statistics:Click here
Windscaper Buildings Generate Power 2007-05-15 15:48:00 clipped from gizmodo.comArchitect, David Fisher, has envisioned a new tower that is one part wind turbine and one part skyscraper. The tower is based around a concrete center core, with each floor spinning like an individual wind turbine. When all of the turbines are harnessed together the tower will not only be able to power itself, but up to ten other similarly sized buildings, too. Question: How do occupants not vomit when the tradewinds hit? Read more:Buildings
Localism Posts on Valparaiso Indiana 2007-05-15 14:54:00 clipped from localism.comAbout ValparaisoCommunities: (Add) Aberdeen Aberdeen Audubon Estates Beauty Creek Beauty Creek Bridgewater Brigatta Hills Cherry Hill Country Club Estates Coventry Dornoch Square Dowtown Historical Eagle Ridge Eagle Ridge Emerald Ridge Emerald Ridge Flint Lake Flint Lake Village Forest Park Glenwood Hills Greenfield Creek Harrison West Hawthorn Heritage Valled Heritage Valley Keystone Commons Lexington Farms North Lexington Farms South Manchester Meadows Maple Creek Pepper Creek Pepper Creek Pine Creek Estates Quail Ridge Ravinia Rivinia Townhomes Rivinia Townhomes Salt Creek Valley Commons Shorewood Forest South Haven Sylvan Manor The Highlands Tower Meadows Turtle Run Walnut Ridge Warren Woods Wild Rose Windsor Park Windsor Park More Valparaiso News & Events... Read more:Indiana
Some posts from experts on Active Rain 2007-05-15 14:02:00 Over on www.activerain.com there has been some mentoring on RSS feeds and subscriptions and such, mostly because there are so many great writers and so little time in a recovering real estate market to read them all. I'll post a few that I bumped into today.Good News - Derek GuyterAlexis of “foreclosures.com” reports that “foreclosure filings dropped significantly across the country last month. Just under 100,000 pre-foreclosures and notices of pending foreclosure auctions were filed nationwide in April - down 14.3 percent from the almost 115,700 filings in the March.”High Tech, Personal Touch, Why we NEED both. - Missy Caulk"High Tech, Personal Touch" is a slogan I have been using in my email signatures for many years."Old Fashion Service with Modern Technology" is a slogan I use on my web site for Ann Arbor, MI.Recently Jeff Turner wrote a post on You Engaging Others and not worrying so much about Search Engine Results. But, taking care of the people and engaging them.Pro Read more:Active
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Another real estate community? Or something different? 2007-05-08 13:58:00 clipped from blog.comeover.comWhat We Will OfferWe will provide major cities in the US with a groundbreaking “Open House Calendar” for both rental and “For Sale” properties.We will offer real estate agents FREE tools & features that will save them both time and money.Our Vision Why We’re Not A Mashed Up, Aggregating, Open House Guide Why Agents Should List With Comeover.com Why Shoppers Will LOVE Comeover.com The FREE features offered to real estate agents. Pricing & promotions Raw and honest commentary on Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Redfin.com, Homethinking.com, Shackprices.com, Extate.co.uk, and other sites. Raw and honest commentary on the current and future states of the Real Estate Industry. My choices for “The All-Star Real Estate Blogging Team” Read more:community
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Effects of Local Elections 2007-05-08 06:13:00 I was asked today by a customer, "Steve what affect will the elections tomorrow have on real estate and home building."My thoughts, summarized of course. First I think that the current state of anti-growth in Porter County is beginning to reach it's natural end. Our commissioners have shown little energy or strength to combat this obviously failed policy. If we stop growing, we stop creating jobs. We need the jobs.In Portage I think that Dave Highlands untimely death portends a classic power struggle in the Democratic Party, with the winner facing some unknown Republican in November. I think the Democrats will hold their mayor's seat, but lose some council seats. Does it even matter? Yes, because we need office holders that believe in growth. Doug Olson believes in growth, will his successor?In Valparaiso, Jon Costas will coast to an easy victory tomorrow. Then, surprise surprise, Dave Buterfield former mayor for 20 years will throw his hat in the ring to face Jon in Novemb Read more:Effects
, Elections
, Local
Links for Portage Indiana 2007-05-07 03:00:00 clipped from www.google.comPortage Indiana
Official web site offering park department information, police blotter, fire safety tips, tax rate history and information about the mayor and other city ...www.ci.portage.in.us/ - 23k - Cached - Similar pages - Note thisAccess the police blotter and read the arrests and investigations, learn about the divisions, and view the crime statistics.www.ci.portage.in.us/police/ - 26k - Cached - Similar pages - Note thisPortage-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Indiana state average. It is 68% greater than the overall U.S. average. ...www.city-data.com/city/Portage-Indiana.html - 63k - Cached - Similar pages - Note thisPortage (IPA: [ˈpɔɹ.tɪdʒ]) is a city in Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 36789 at the 2005 census. It is the largest city in Porter ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portage,_Indiana - 61k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Reader Question Number 7 - Northwest Indiana 2007-05-05 20:26:00 I respond to questions that are submitted by email or by comment here, on my other blogs, and on Active Rain. Today's question: "Steve, the television and newspaper talk about all kinds of economic news, but so little seems to relate to NorthwestIndiana
, what are your thought on our local economy?"Answer: Northwest Indiana is not very different than the rest of the United States, we follow the major trends but our delta (or rate of change) is always much slower and our peaks and valleys are definitely shallow. I guess what I'm saying is that though we slow down and speed up, we do so at a very measured pace, and we sure don't have dramatic swings.For example, one of our major employers is our own construction industry. I have estimated that approximately 10% of employees in Northwest Indiana work for construction related companies. That's a lot, perhaps as many as work in the entire steel industry, and more than work in government. While the rest of the country was swelling Read more:Number
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Portage Indiana New Homes - Model Grand Opening Soon 2007-05-05 17:15:00 Home Builder Synergy Homes
is showing pre-opening model in Shadowood in Portage. clipped from www.synergyhomes.comHome Ownership Made AffordableSingle Family Homes In Portage-Shadow WoodDirections - Rt. 6 to Samuelson Road and head north. Prior to the IN Toll Road overpass, Shadow Wood is located on the west side of the road, turn left. Continue to the end of the neighborhood, turn right onto Costello Drive, home is the second from the last home on your right. Contact: Chris Sloan @ 219-405-9925 or email at chris@synergyhomes.com Homes For Sale Monthly Special Press Releases Synergy Homes Wisconsin Read more:Grand
, Indiana
Some new friends from Active Rain 2007-05-05 17:00:00 I posted earlier this week on 21 new friends on Active
Rain, collectively we're pursuing some links to help our customers find us easier.I've had the opportunity to do some research on three of these new AR friends, and will put those links right here as well.Northeast Pennsylvania ExpertClearwater, Florida Home & Condo Real Estate ResourceBlue Ridge Georgia - Spotlight on Bill VernayMore in a couple hours, still working on the posts. Update: Ok, finally finished my committment to write three.Tina wrote a post on Synergy Homes over on Active Rain. Portage Indiana Home Builder Pro
Focus on Portage Indiana 2007-05-03 14:23:00 Are you looking to move to Portage, or moving out of Lake County and just taking a look at Portage? Here are the top five links to information and maps on Portage:City of Portage Indiana
Access the police blotter and read the arrests and investigations, learn about the divisions, and view the crime statistics.www.ci.portage.in.us/police/ -Portage, IndianaPortage, Indiana information, discussion, links, and more.www.northwestindiana.com/cities/portage/portage.htmPortage, Indiana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPortage (IPA: [ˈpɔɹ.tɪdʒ]) is a city in Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 36789 at the 2005 census. It is the largest city in Porter ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portage,_IndianaCity of Portage, Indiana. Find local hotels, realtors, job openings, restaurants and businesses in Portage.Portage, Indiana (IN) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate ...Portage-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Indiana state average. It is 68% greater than Read more:Focus
How does a person read so many sites in one day? 2007-05-01 06:13:00 This is an actual question to me in the last week, so a couple links to explain.First in short RSS, the big orange logo on many of the sites you go to, allows you to save a special link in Google Reader or right on Internet Explorer 7. These "feeds" then can be read quite quickly by scanning the headlines. Much quicker process than jumping from site to site on favorites or bookmarks.Feed Your Need To ReadRead: RSS Explanation From A Non-GeekRSS Compendium Blog This is actually a great site with news on RSS feeds Read more:person
Three Bedroom 1,700 square feet at $180,000 - Best Seller in Porter County 2007-05-01 05:56:00 Compliments of Chuck Dellorto "Talk to Chuck"clipped from activerain.comNORTHWEST INDIANA - PORTER COUNTY - 1st QUARTER SOLDS 2007 PorterCounty
Indiana -- Single Family Homes1st QUARTER - SOLDSSold 2 Bedroom
3 Bedroom 4 Bedroom 5+ Bedroom All BR #Units2122511925390 Dollar Value$2,427,600$40,198,095$27,641,140$8,547,658$78,814,493 Average List Price$120,424$182,993$238,481$390,180$209,836 Average Sold Price$115,600$178,658$232,278$341,906$202,088 Average Market Time72939714496 Average Square Feet11141714231931261957 % of List Price95.9997.6397.4087.6396.31 Read more:Seller
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Some great real estate links 2007-04-30 23:43:00 Find A RealtorMortgage SearchQueen Creek Real EstateBreast Cancer BraceletsFind a MortgageGilbert AZ Real EstateDenver CO Real EstateAbq HomesHighlands Ranch RealtorTucson AZ Real EstateSanford NC HomesQuinte Real EstateHuntington Beach MLSSpring TX Real EstateBend Oregon Real EstatePortland Oregon Real EstateDutchess County Real EstateIndianapolis RealtorCrescent City RealtorSeattle Condos For SaleBlue Ridge GA Real EstateCelina TX Homes For SalePortage Indiana Home BuilderWallenpaupackClearwater Homes & CondosLa Pine Oregon Real EstateAnn Arbor RealtorRhode Island Real EstateSandy Oregon Realtor Read more:links
Choose Your Home Builder Porter County 2007-04-29 05:59:00 Question: How in the world do I choose a new home builder in Northwest Indiana?Answer: Go to www.synergyhomes.com and,There are times that I try and post too much information, at least that's what I've been told lately. Tonite a very simple article on choosing a Home Builder
to build your new home in PorterCounty
Northwest Indiana. We focus on the key communities in Porter County, namely Portage, Valparaiso, Hebron, Kouts, Chesterton and Aberdeen. But you can probably use these questions to gain an understanding of the trust in this new home builder anywhere.I'll provide a series of five questions to ask your home builder, questions that I think will help you find a good home builder but also grow your family net worth, the real goal.Could I please talk to five of your trade partners, also called subcontractors by some old school builders? If the new home builder does not want to provide this list, a red flag. If the new home builder needs a couple days to pull it together, a red
Homethinking.com 2007-04-28 03:15:00 clipped from www.homethinking.comHomethinking helps you find real estate agents by showing you what each real estate agent has done in the past and what customers have said about the job they did. Simply use the top search box to enter in the location you are thinking of selling or buying in to get started.
Real Estate Voices 2007-04-28 03:11:00 clipped from www.realestatevoices.comRealEstateVoices
is a real estate social news site designed to help you discover the most interesting articles of the day, as voted and suggested by your fellow users. Read more:Real Estate
Who should "Rent to Own" and who shouldn't? 2007-04-26 16:23:00 A lot of the articles and links I post here at Synergy Thoughts are HOME BUILDER in nature, but today a much more specific article that I think affects a lot of you looking for a new home in Northwest Indiana. RENT TO OWN is proclaimed in advertisements and on websites and on signs hung from telephone poles. What exactly is this and when is it a good idea? We've had the opportunity to do our own RENT TO OWN deals in Valparaiso and Portage and Chesterton in the last couple months.If you are a decent individual who has suffered some credit set-backs, RENT TO OWN may be a good idea for you. If you have a morally challenged view of credit, one that suggests you can pay the bills you want to pay, but foresake the rest ... please don't use this program to take advantage of another person. It's time you step up and pay your bills.General Parameters:Rent to Own programs allow the renter a chance to build equity while they clean up their credit and prepare to purchase the home they are livi
Top Blogs in Northwest Indiana 2007-04-24 15:45:00 I've been ranking the top blogs at http://nwiblogs.blogspot.com and trying to use Alexa and Technorati. Takes some time, and frankly there aren't very many blogs worthwhile in our Region. clipped from nwiblogs.blogspot.comSynergy Thoughts RSS My own real estate and home builder blog for NorthwestIndiana
. I ranked it first until I can figure out how to pull other rankings from Technorati or Alexa. Technorati Rank: 30,405 (154 links from 129 blogs) Daltons Briefs on Active Rain RSSMusings on Real Estate and Home Building in Northwest Indiana. Active Rain site has a high Technorati Rank but for some reason each individual blog can't be ranked.Home Staging Kim is an ASP Stager in Northwest Indiana, serving both Porter and Lake Counties. Increase the salability of your listings with my staging services. Visit my website for before and after photos!Porter County Politics Political stories and opinions with a decidedly conservative slant. NWI Times Interact Most active message board tha Read more:Blogs
New Home Construction in Porter County Indiana 2007-04-24 06:15:00 Well here it is the first quarter results for Synergy Homes in 2007:Sales - 15 new homes. This amounts to more than one a week, and frankly a 25% increase over 2006. We're way, big time, excited about our new neighborhoods in Kouts and Portage. Home builders are having a return to big sales and specs in general are selling quickly again.Interest Rates - Still at very decent levels. I for one hope that the rates stay where they are, but I have every reason to believe that with the stock market going crazy recently, we'll see increased rates this summer.Cost of Construction
- Up an average of 4% year to date. This is a very big jump, with prices having leveled off in 2006, I think costs were just waiting for the market to jump back into gear. Now costs are increasing and I am guessing we'll see about 10% for the year. We look for Valparaiso and Hebron and Chesterton to jump the highest this year due to lot prices.Property Taxes - Look for a jump on assessments this year. Local gov Read more:County
, Indiana
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Question: Can you give a list of Porter County Sites? 2007-04-23 15:41:00 Answer: I will start a list, but encourange readers to submit additional sites that I've missed.http://www.goportercounty.orgTop 15 Active Rain Real Estate Professionals in PorterCounty
http://www.valparaiso-real-estate.com/ Steve and Jan Hoardhttp://www.post-trib.com/index.html Post Tribune is one of the two market leading newspapers, daily circulation varies but most would say that the Times is read in Porter County and the Post in Lake County.www.nwi.com is the site for the TimesImages from State Library of Porter County Indianahttp://www.countyhistory.com/porter/start.html Lots of interesting stuff that I didn't knowPorter County Indiana Home Buildershttp://www.city-data.com/county/Porter_County-IN.htmlhttp://www.portercountyindiana.com/index.htmlPorter County Governmenthttp://www.northwestindiana.com/counties/portercounty.htmPorter County Convention, Recreation & Visitor CommissionPorter County, Indiana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttp://localism.com/real-estate/IN/ Read more:Question
, Sites
Decisions for Leaders 2007-04-23 14:44:00 Brad Inman asks a perplexing or perhaps compelling question: Do we care so much about the environment that we would prefer to see the poor stay poor?While in India I too noticed the same he noticed in China. Literally millions of people lifted from extreme poverty ... but the means have caused severe environmental duress. Is this a decent trade off? Or, is there a mid-point balance that can be struck?Review his full article, and his dramatic "stop" to allow the comments to flow. Let me know what you think please. Read more:Decisions
, Leaders
Top 5 Articles Today 2007-04-20 14:58:00 Top 5 Articles
Worth Reading Today
1. Take Control of Your Name Part II - YOU WILL BE SPOCKEDNew Site http://www.spock.com/ , currently in beta, will allow you to check what info exists on the web about you. This information could be positive, negative, correct, or incorrect. Realivent Blog suggests something feels a bit sinister.2. Affluent Reading and Writing BlogsI would post the statistics right here, but then you wouldn't go over to the site. Good news, the affluent read blogs. Better news, they are starting to right blogs too. (From Mortgage Cicerone)3. Hold the phones!!! Google just took a radical step into the real estate arena by offering a property search tool right within their search engine results pages for real estate related searches! (From Christian Real Estate Network)4. How Google Blogsearch ranks weblog posts . . . Ok now I am a little confused, is a blogroll a good idea? If so then I will go back to my project I started months ago to divide my blogroll up b
A Day of Mourning in Virginia 2007-04-18 05:47:00 "Today, we're all Hokies" (yesterday)To the University Community: The shootings this morning at Virginia
Tech have turned a seemingly normal day into one filled with grief and disbelief. For U.Va., especially on this day, Virginia Tech is family. Many of us have parents, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, and friends who study, teach, or work in Blacksburg. Many of us are Tech alumni.Our hearts are with Virginia Tech and its many families today, and they will be so long into the future as we remember this awful day. Our thoughts and prayers belong to those who must deal tonight and in future days with a grief that must seem almost more than mind and spirit can bear. Together, we extend our sympathy, concern, and fellow feeling for lives destroyed and bodies broken today and for families and classmates and faculty members who must go on despite these losses.In the course of this day, we have offered support and assistance as Virginia Tech may need them from us. This offer includ Read more:Mourning
Top 10 Portage Indiana Outings 2007-05-21 08:18:00 I know many of you like to give me ideas on things to do in Northwest Indiana
, so here's your chance. I'd like to create a top 10 Portage Indiana outings or events or things to do list this week. So, send in your nominations by commenting below, and I'll form up the list and go find photos where possible. What's your number one? I'll update every day this week until we get to the Top 10 Things to Do or Outings in Portage Indiana.
Indy 500 - Back Home Again in Indiana 2007-05-24 23:06:00 clipped from www.indy500.commore >>Actor-entertainer Jim Nabors will not attend the 91st Indiana
polis 500 on Sunday, May 27 and sing "Back Home Again
in Indiana" during pre-race ceremonies due to illness. Nabors will address the Race Day crowd on the video boards at IMS from his home in Hawaii and then ask the fans to sing the beloved song together in his place. 500: Grid / Lineup | 100: Grid / Lineup | IMS Tickets
Featured Blogger 2007-05-24 22:27:00 I joined the Rembex Webring, thought I'd do a link to each of the other members, randomly, for the next couple months. They all seem to have something to offer to those of us in Northwest Indiana. Today, Eric Haggin suggests some books for investors. Since we too sell duplexes and quads, perhaps this will be handy to one of our investors as well. clipped from eastbayplus.wordpress.comReal Estate in the SF East Bay area,Plus…Real Estate investing information and other rants from Eric HagginWhen I consult with clients who are new to real estate investing I always suggest reading 4~5 books before making any investments.These are some of my current favorites:Investing in Duplexes Triplexes & Quads by Larry Loftis The Real Estate Investor’s Pocket Calculator by Michael Thomsett The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller (I teach a free workshop based on this book) Read more:Blogger
, Featured
Automated Home-Building could revolutionize Housing in Developing Nations 2007-05-22 22:10:00 Found on clipmarks today. What is the next big technology revolution in home building? clipped from www.cbsnews.comCould This Robot Build A House In A Day?California Engineer's Invention Could Roll Out Concrete Homes Starting This YearNEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2007Khoshnevis — an inventor, engineering professor and director of the Center for Rapid Automated
Fabrication Technologies at the University of Southern California — says the idea is a simple one:For the past ten years he's been working on an idea he calls Contour Crafting, a process by which a concrete mixture-depositing bulky one-armed robot layers rows atop each other until a structure forms. The robot takes its orders from a computer, and prints the concrete onto the earth the way a printer lays down ink. Watch a robo-builder in actionDr. Dan Boss, Associate Director of the Discovery Group at construction-supplier USG's Corporate Research and Technology Center,Boss watched Khoshnevis's machineand USG decided to invest in Read more:Building
, Housing
, Nations
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