Columns

  When selling or refinancing a home, problems often arise during the appraisal process. If the appraised value is lower than it should be, it will seriously effect your bottom line and it could kill the deal entirely. Appraisals are often based upon recent sales prices of comparable homes in your area, and most appraisers are in your home for only a few minutes. The best thing a homeowner can do to get the highest appraisal possible is to make sure that you’re well prepared before the appraiser walks in the door. Be sure the appraiser knows the neighborhood. This …

  In the course of your research, it’s easy to get involved in too many families at once. For example, if you’re using birth and marriage records to trace your ancestry, you have to find documents for two parents, then four grandparents, then eight great-grandparents, then 16 great-greats, then 32 greats-to-the-third. Only five generations in and you’re now dealing with 62 individuals in 31 families. It’s at this point that some folks decide that genealogy is beyond them. If you start tracing the descendants of these ancestors as well as their siblings and THEIR descendants, you’ve easily expanded your search to …

  Good retirement planning needs to take into account other issues besides cash flow and return on investments. For example, how much thought have you given to things like long-term care and how it will impact your overall health care and in turn your plans for retirement? Many people make the mistake of assuming that Medicare is going to cover all of your healthcare needs, but that’s rarely the case. The reason is that the older a person gets the more complex matters pertaining to their health become. Furthermore, there is often a need for someone to go into nursing …

    December seems to be the month the Fed is most comfortable with. They raised short-term rates in December 2015 for the first time since 2006 and now it looks almost certain that they will raise them again in December 2016. Last year was interesting in that all rates moves up prior to the Fed raising rate in December but in the months following the hike, mortgage and treasury rates actually fell. Mortgage and treasury rates move up or down based on economic reports. The months following last year’s hike showed that economic indicators were average at best and …

    Christmas is once again upon us. It is, of course, a time for wishing the best to everyone. It is also a time for family gatherings where there will be plenty of storytelling with lots of laughter. I’m sure there will also be impromptu debates as to whether the stories are based on real events and retold just as they had happened. Why would there be any question? I’m sure we all remember Ralphie’s Christmas Story and his wish for a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock? If we …

  “Carmen” has been in the very first circle of popular operas for over a century. Anyone with any level of interest in the Grand Art should develop some kind of familiarity with it. As it is with all other very beloved operas, first and foremost “Carmen” is loaded from beginning to end with beautiful and memorable music — solo arias, ensembles, choruses — and even a number of purely instrumental passages that are unforgettable. The music is the creation of composer Georges Bizet, who unfortunately died young (at 36), and before he knew what a triumph “Carmen” had become. …

  On one occasion when Maria Callas was asked which was her favorite operatic role, she said she had two — Violetta, from Verdi’s “La traviata” and the title role from Bellini’s “Norma.” When you think about it, it is hard to imagine two more dramatically and psychologically different characters — the emotionally vulnerable and sickly Violetta, forced to be what she is by the callous “man’s world” that is Paris, and Norma, the super-powerful Druid priestess, who can decide peace or war for her people, and life or death for her subordinate priestesses. It is indicative of the soprano’s …

    The Federal Reserve decided not to raise rates at their September 20-21 meeting, citing a lack of inflation and point out that the overall economy is moving at a steady pace and not overheating. The vote was 7-3 within the Fed not to raise rates. While there were some strong opinions from the three Fed presidents in favor of a rate hike, Chairwoman Janet Yellen cited that employment was in check and there was not a need at this time to make a move. The futures markets had only placed a 12 percent chance that the Fed would …

    Last month I described a multitude of features in familysearch.org, and hopefully I helped beginners, intermediate level and advanced genealogists. One area I have not spent a lot of time in is the Learning Center, most likely because I have been at this for so long, that I don’t look at beginner material. However, for those of you who are just starting out with your Italian research, the Learning Center is a great place to find out how to begin (besides this column, of course!) If you happen to have other ethnicities to research besides Italian, it can …

    So you’ve closed on the home of your dreams and you’re all ready to move in right away! Prior to the big day, though, there are a few things to take care of in order to assure that your home is ready for years to come. The most important item, which I suggest to all my clients on day one, is changing the locks! You really don’t know who has had a copy in the past in addition to the previous owners. At the same time, reprogram any garage door remotes. This can usually be done right from …