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When designing a kitchen, most people focus tightly on organization and efficiency. While those truly are important considerations, don't forget to give your kitchen a personality as well as functionality. One classic kitchen decorating theme is the French country look.

A French country kitchen makes you feel as if you have just walked into a cottage in rural France. Such a kitchen reflects a joy of living and importance of family and friends. Whether you live in a high-rise urban condominium or a split-level in the suburbs, you can bring the warmth and beauty of the French countryside to your own kitchen. The combination of many small touches is what gives a French country kitchen its vibrant, romantic feel.

Color plays a major role in a French country kitchen. If you stepped into the kitchen of a French country cottage, you would probably find walls painted either a butter or mustard yellow, with cupboards painted cornflower blue or even salmon pink. Of course, you could choose to make your walls blue and use the lighter shades as accents.

In the country kitchens of France, natural light is part of the decor. Window dressings are often simple Roman shades. Fabric choices range from canvas to toile, solid to stripped or even prints of fruits, vegetables, or herbs. Speaking of herbs, one simple French country detail is the presence of lavender. Hang a bunch of dried lavender from a hook on the ceiling or the wall, or stand a clump in a wall vase, and you'll bring the scent of the French countryside into your kitchen.

Accessories for a French country kitchen are almost always functional. A tall terra cotta or copper vase serves as countertop storage for spatulas and other cooking utensils. Open, freestanding racks made of copper or wrought iron hold plants as well as placemats, napkins, and serving bowls. Ceramic trivets with rooster or herb designs can be displayed on walls when not in use on the table.

A plain, pine work table doubles as a place for family and friends to gather for meals or simply to socialize. Be sure to choose a size table that won't interrupt the traffic flow in your kitchen. If you have a very small galley style kitchen, you might want to skip this element. In the kitchen, the difference between cramped and cozy is enough to ruin any mood.

Since French country kitchens are small by nature, their owners make the best use of every possible space. Instead of traditional cabinets they often opt for vertical storage. Wrought iron ceiling racks keep frequently used pots and pans handy. Pot racks are very popular in kitchens around the world, and are therefore easy to find. In fact, you'll be surprised at the wide range of styles and sizes available. You can achieve the French country look even if your kitchen doesn't lend itself to an overhead pot rack. Strong hooks on the wall or on a solid core door will give save cabinet space and add to the country feel of your kitchen.

2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard. Want more decorating tips, ideas and advice? Please Visit http://www.DIYHomeDecorating.com where you'll find articles about a variety of home decorating styles, indoor and outdoor decorating ideas, decorating photos and much more!

There is no doubt that what we are experiencing today is unprecedented in real estate and mortgage lending. My name is Darren Meade, and I am a the President of Victory Mortgage.

The purpose of my article is to give you a brief overview of what is taking place within mortgage lending at this time and to offer you insights that you can share with both your sellers and buyers. This information will allow you not only to profit in todays market, but it will help you advise your clients so that they can make educated decisions about buying and selling property.

Have you ever seen on the news, the satellite photo of a hurricane? It looks rather ominous, doesnt it? And, while it certainly seems like its going to be a bad day here, anyone whos been through a hurricane knows that there is a world of difference between a Category 1 bad day and a Category 5 bad day. And, based on this image alone, we cant really say for sure what were dealing with. To adequately prepare for this storm, we need more information, dont we?

What Im going to do for you today is similar to what a pilot of a hurricane-hunter airplane does. Im going to take you right into the eye of this hurricane, so that you can prepare for the kind of storm thats about to come ashore. And, from what I can tell, the storm we are about to be hit with is major, even catastrophic.

The mortgage meltdown of 2007 is one those storms. If you were to try and compare the economic damage of this financial storm to that of the storm in this picture, dont even try. In the past few weeks alone, over $2 trillion was lost in global markets, and I dont think we are anywhere near the worst of it yet. And, to add salt to the wound, we are seeing signs that whats taking place here in the United States is starting to infect other countries as well. Within the global economy, not only are other countries dealing with their own subprime woes, other financial companies in these countries have invested in our mortgage-backed securities as well.

To get an idea of what it is that brought us here, we have to wrap our arms around whats happened. We have to understand the key determining factors. As with anything this major, there wasnt just one thing that brought this situation to light. No, quite the contrary. There were a number of factors that, once aligned, produced the laser-like heat that ignited and culminated in the meltdown we have today.

First of all, we have what is known as Subprime and Alt-A lending. Subprime lending is for people who would like to get a mortgage but havent done a good job of paying their bills. However, as were in the days when tracking ones FICO score has become a hobby for some, lows scores even in conjunction with no late pays can force someone into a subprime mortgage. Other factors mandating the necessity of a subprime loan could be little-to-no down-payment, the inability to validate income with tax returns, or the inability to source funds for a down-payment. Or, it could just be a combination of all of the items mentioned here.

Alt-A lending is a lot like subprime lending, except that the borrower will predominantly have good credit. With Alt-A loans, borrowers are unable or unwilling to provide documentation for income and/or assets. These types of loans are commonly referred to as Stated- or Reduced-documentation type loans, or the infamous No Doc or no-documentation-required loan.

All told, including some A Paper type loans, in which little to no docs were required, these loan types accounted for anywhere between 40%-70% of the mortgage business in the last few years. Folks, these accounted for a lot of the loans that were getting done.

During the time of the real estate boom, rampant appreciation was seen in the housing market. Investors clamoring for ever-higher returns turned to the real estate market and credit markets to take advantage of the boom. This insatiable appetite for new profits led to some pretty wild and loose underwriting guidelines.

To give you an idea of how loose things had become, we were able to provide someone with 100% financing for a $685K purchase this person was recently self-employed, had two foreclosures, and a bankruptcy within two years, all on stated income and stated assets. I dont think you personally would have extended money to this person, but the financial markets were willing to. The person was granted a mortgage based on perfection within the markets, both housing and investment. Today, this borrower would not be granted anything even remotely close. If this person were to slip on a banana peel, do you think he might miss a mortgage payment or lose his house? In short, yes.

I cant tell you whether or not the individual in question is still paying his mortgage on time, but others clearly were not. Consumers started showing problems in the third and fourth quarters of last year, and mortgage delinquencies started to mount. As such, bond investors started pulling back and companies started to fall.

We started to see weakness in the mortgage market last December, when the first of several large companies was set to take a fall. Own-It Mortgage, a subprime company that was set to close over $20 billion in loans in 2007 was hit with a lack of desire by investors to buy the loans they had funded. Unable to fund the loans themselves, Own-It was forced to close their doors, becoming one of the first ten companies to go down the tubes and be featured on the Mortgage Implodes website, which now lists 114 companies that have gone away.

Lets take a brief look into the world of mortgages. Few mortgages are held by the bank or the investor that funds them. Over the past ten to fifteen years, the securities markets have grown markedly as the appetite for higher yield products has grown immeasurably. With this appetite grew a desire for riskier loans that companies package and sell in pools known as mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities are sold on the open market and are traded much like any other bond, with the expectation that people with mortgages will pay monthly on their obligations, netting an expected yield for the end investor.

What happens is that a company may package a group of $100 million in loans and sell them on the open market for anywhere from $100-101 million. As investors realized these loans were not performing, they were now willing to pay only $95 million for the same batch of loans. And, in some cases, even less. In addition, as many of these investors used the loans as leverage for other investments, they were used on margin, similar to what you might do in an investment account. As the value of the funds was decreasing, the mortgage companies were also forced to pay into the investment to make their margin calls, forcing additional pressure and cash drains. In a sense, this was the perfect storm for mortgage companies, and they are paying for it with their companys life. This was seen with the recent demise of American Home Mortgage and other companies, as investors decided they didnt want these loans, forcing the companies out.

What happened next is we saw the slowdown in the real estate market, as home prices started to deteriorate in 2006. However, weve never seen a real estate market on a national scale where home prices fell. The investment and underwriting models for which these loans were originated were, in part, based on this.

As home prices started to stagnate, many people who obtained loans based on the premise of continually escalating home prices were caught in a trap, as they were unable to sell and unable to refinance their loan. The homeowner who had been living a lifestyle based on their equity was now maxed out, having spent way beyond their normal means. With no more equity to pull out to consolidate or lower their payments, they were now in trouble.

As a result of these problems, we now have loans in the investment markets where even if a lender were willing to approve them, they wouldnt be able to sell them, effectively turning them into Officer and a Gentleman loans, screaming, I got nowhere else to go!

Whats next for real estate? Lets think about this. With changes to credit tightening, a huge number of people will now be unable to purchase a home. On a percentage basis, were talking about a minimum of 15% of borrowers will be impacted by processing styles and loan availability alone. In a U.S. market where six million people buy homes, you just took 900,000 buyers off the market. It doesnt mean that people wont still need to sell though. Consequently, were seeing increasing inventories and increasing marketing times. I dont think that 12 months of inventory is an unreasonable estimate, as many areas of the country are already experiencing well in excess of 18-24 months. Accompanying this will be more foreclosures. Foreclosure activity in July was double what it was for the same time last year.

Its estimated that in the next 12-18 months, over 2 million people will be faced with their Adjustable Rate Mortgages resetting, resulting in an increase in their minimum payments of anywhere from 30-100%. While this one action will not push people over the top, what it does do is add additional strain to an already over-leveraged consumer. Add in any life events such as injury, loss of job, or increasing payments due to rising interest rates in the consumer arena and you have a recipe for financial disaster.

If I am a seller, I need to be aware of this in light of a slowing housing market. For anyone who has seen rapidly appreciating property values the past few years, it could be difficult to accept the fact that their home is now worth less than before. However, to use a stock market analogy, if you need to sell stock that yesterday warranted $10,000 and today was worth $8,500, would you decide not to sell, even if you were now losing money? Of course not, provided you had the means to absorb the loss. Well, the same beliefs should apply here.

The borrowers who will be caught up in this mess are the ones who were looking to obtain minimal-to-no documentation type loans. This includes those with great, good, and poor credit alike. Some have estimated that these types of loans account for nearly 40%-70% of all the loans originated in 2005-2006. What this means for real estate moving forward is that there will be far fewer buyers who are able to qualify under the terms of their last mortgage. While this wont necessarily take all of these people off the market, obtaining financing going forward will be a much more difficult process for them.

Not everyone is caught up in this mess. For the plain vanilla type of borrower, someone who has a job, savings, and the ability to provide documentation as used to be required these borrowers are still fine. And, with some products, there will still be some stated income opportunities without exorbitant rates. In addition, government loans will pick up a lot of the slack for those individuals with credit issues and minimal down payments.

However, as this situation continues to evolve, things are subject to change. So its important not to get too comfortable.

Let me ask you a question. What would your business look like if you were to close 50% fewer deals over the next 12 months? All of the factors mentioned here so far could very well have that kind of impact on many in our business.

However, it doesnt have to be this way. There are opportunities for everyone in our business. There are opportunities with sellers and with buyers, but we have to act fast, act decisively, and get started now.

For sellers, its important that they get real about their price, and quickly. They cannot afford to wait as pressures will build rapidly, and, when they do, money will be lost. The lowest price that they may be willing to accept today could very well become an unrealistic wish six to twelve months from now. And, if they dont reduce their price, their home may never even get shown. Also, as lenders have now pulled back on second mortgages, sellers may need to consider holding a second in some cases.

Absolutely do not accept an offer from a buyer who has not been pre-approved by a reputable lender under any circumstances. And make sure that the approval is recent. With buyers becoming few and far between, sellers dont want to take their home off the market, only to have the deal blow up six weeks from now.

Finally, get sellers pre-approved. You dont want to have a deal blow up because the seller cant buy later.

What about buyers? For buyers who are seeking 100% financing, where it is available, it will be more expensive either in the form of higher rates or non-available seconds. This doesnt mean that for some programs, as in community homebuyer, etc., that it isnt available. But, for more expensive homes, its going to be difficult in many cases.

With second mortgages cutting back, its time to start thinking about getting PMI again. For many people, its become tax deductible this year.

Before a buyer gets too busy shopping, they need to take a look at their credit. In many cases, improvements to FICO scores can be had through just some minor changes to their profile.

Finally, borrowers should go ahead and start collecting their paperwork. This includes all the traditional information like tax returns, bank statements, and pay stubs. This will always help someone to achieve the best possible rate.

The reason checking credit is essential is that FICO scores are very important. There are some hard, fast lines in the sand when it comes to certain approvals, and the numbers were looking at are 720, 680, and 620. Depending on the loan program, a certain score is needed and, without it, you can forget it. Exceptions are now basically non-existent.

Proper credit repair and maintenance can be the difference between a homeowner and a tire kicker today. When you have control over the buyer, try to get them started on this process 3-6 months in advance. The difference this could make to them and to you is a home priced tens of thousands of dollars higher.

In order to obtain the best-priced loan, let your clients know that they need to get their documentation together. Once we have it in hand, we no longer have to make estimates on what people can afford and qualify for. It will save them money and help them to buy more home.

Now is not the time to go it alone. And its not the time to refer three lenders. Partnerships are critical to your success. Unfortunately, too many people became comfortable with the idea that everyone could get a loan and it wasnt important who a buyer got their loan from. Not today. You need one go to lender who not only has product, but whos also an expert in underwriting and credit analysis, has a great credit repair partner, and is local and accountable. A loan officer from Quicken Loans, or an out-of-the-area lender, doesnt stand to lose much reputation-wise if your deal goes south. I do.

The news isnt all bad though, and there are future possibilities. Instead of focusing on what the media is harping on each day, think about the fact that subprime only accounted for a little over 12% of mortgage production last year. There is still massive opportunity. But Im going to need you to keep your head up and do things a little differently from now on. Whether you work with me or another lender, you need to have them involved from the very beginning with both buyers and sellers. We can present facts together that may be more compelling and also keep the fire under them.

For those who follow the steps Im suggesting here, theres definitely profit for you ahead. However, you need a plan. Part of that plan includes educating your sellers regarding whats taking place today, not just in real estate, but in mortgages as well. Let them know whats on the horizon, and obtain significant reductions. Make sure any buyer, while desirable, is properly scrutinized. By positioning the property appropriately, you can get it off the market and save marketing dollars. And, by all means, make sure your sellers get pre-approved. We dont want them to be the reason why theyre unable to move.

For buyers, many of the same rules apply. First and foremost, dont spend time showing them a home without checking them out first. This will benefit both you and the buyer. Even the best of candidates may have issues we dont know about. Also, keep in mind that investors are more important now than they were during the boom. Cultivate these relationships, they will be important.

What I want you to leave here with is a plan to meet with not only your sellers, but also any buyers you may be working with as well. Have action meetings with them. Inform them of the current crisis, and educate them in order to get them to act. When it comes to sellers, use me to find out what they are really willing to do under a worst case scenario. When you find their dollar amount, market the heck out of it to other agents, letting them know you have someone who is hot to sell, I mean REALLY HOT!

Start to think of buyers as almost the same as listings today. Once you let them know that they may not be able to qualify in the future, they should be more motivated to act today. Get them pre-approved and keep them pre-approved based on current conditions. Once you have them, direct them towards your realistic sellers. Also, be sure to communicate with other listing agents and make them aware that you have a real buyer. Theyll let you know who it is that theyre working with whos hot to sell.

Together, we can work through this and position ourselves to really succeed when this cloud lifts, ensuring great years ahead.

My name is Darren Meade with Victory Mortgage Lenders, and I look forward to working with you.

http://darrenmeade.zaadz.com http://www.victorylenders.net

Darren Meade is a national and local real estate financing expert. He is available for speaking engagements, personal coaching and consultations. He may be reached at (949) 499-1785

Pillows aren't just at the head of your bed for aesthetic reasons. They are so much more important than that. Pillows are meant to provide the correct support for your neck and spine while you are sleeping. Therefore, the position in which you sleep plays an important role in determining which pillow best suits your needs.

"The materials contained in the fill of a pillow determines its firmness," Everloft Vice President of Sales Mike Schwieger said. "The amount of filling material also decides a pillow's firmness as well. The more fill present, the firmer a pillow will feel."

He added that different combinations of filling materials are used to create varying comfort levels and lend additional features and benefits.

Following are some criteria to consider when choosing a pillow maintaining longevity of your pillow:

* The purpose of a pillow is dual: to provide comfort and to keep your neck and spine aligned while you sleep.
* Soft pillows are best for people who sleep on their stomachs.
* Medium firmness pillows are best suited for individuals who sleep on their backs.
* Side sleepers need the most neck support, which can be found in the firmest pillows. Side sleepers should make sure the height of the pillow is roughly the same as the length of their shoulders - (the distance between the base of the neck and the end of the shoulder).
* Fluff your pillow regularly. This incorporates fresh air into the pillow and helps keep its shape.
* Clean your pillow often. Read and follow the manufacturer's care instructions.

Even if Chevrolet stands drauf, puts under the durable sheet metal dress everything else as a genuine American. The Captiva in with Daewoo in Korea is built, is conceived it for the European market. We tested the multi-cultural SUV.

Badge tightness Institution of Electrical Engineers ring is called the magic word, if it concerns to lower development and production costs of an automobile. For the Chevrolet Captiva means: He is not only the twin brother of the OPEL Antara, no, he also still divides the underbody with Chevrolet Equinox, Saturn Vue and Pontiac Torrent - all three SUVs for the US market.

Obligingly/pleasingly

The high front of the Captiva makes properly which ago, the large radiator grille and air intakes in the front apron symbolizes Kraft. A Unterfahrschutz from silver plastic and the roof railing provide for Offroad feelings, the simple tail against it work rather good and inconspicuously. The Captiva is offered alternatively with a four or a six cylinder Benziner as well as a four-cylinder diesel engine. While OPEL shifted the market start of the Antara Selbstznders because of its striking starting weakness on February 2007, Chevrolet already delivers the Dieselmodel.

No weakness

Coupled with a gently switching five-course mechanism however much is not to be felt by the starting weakness of the 150-PS-Aggregats. With 2.000 routes the Captiva gets 320 Newtonmeters from its two litres combustion chamber.

One distributes Kraft fully automatic to all four wheels - under standard conditions 100 per cent of the torque go to the front axle. Only if the system states the fact that emergency does more traction is sent up to 50 per cent to the rear wheels.

Good twelve seconds gnnt itself the Chevy for reaching the 100 km/h mark. The handswitched models create the Sprint in only 10.6 seconds. Starting from speed 140' s in the interior, with 180 km/h becomes clearly louder ends certainly, after some approach, the forward urge. During moderate travel the Captiva is content with approximately nine litres of Diesel, goes one more quickly to the work, may it already times twelve litres be.

Cosiness

During the chassis tuning engineers measured highest priority to the comfort out. The soft suspension irons unevenness well out, also short impacts fits itself with springs the Captiva cleanly for off completely like it for a SUV belonged. Sporty driving is not taken into account against it, but also the long translated steering element is too inaccurate. While on highways rather the curves stop order (ESP is standard with all models), are it to the Chevrolet on the motorway the Spurrillen and the cross-wind. From both the Captiva can be enticed only too gladly to leaving the given course.

In the hand turning

When desired the Captiva with seven seats is available. If the third row is not needed, the seats disappear concisely in the baggage compartment floor. For setting up both the armchair is sufficient a handle. The Hinterbnkler enjoys comfort only conditionally, but it sits itself in the second row the better. A reason for the good space offer in the rear are the short seat tracks of the first row. Some large driver would continue to push his armchair surely gladly to the rear. Apart from the fact it can be borne on the comfortably padded seats even on longer distances.

Strongly

The cockpit of the Captiva is arranged solid, which works green instrument lights however old-bakes. The steering wheel keys at the handy Volant must get along completely without lighting. The operation of radio and ventilation, which are on board computer with compass and other Schnickschnack against it hopelessly overloaded, is simple. Whose overflow bags before mobile phones, purses and keys, open and closed fan can be pleased about a multiplicity. The actual Gepckabteil offers litres of volume up to 930 (with turned down back bank). Deficiency: The low-friction rear flap opens not very far. But the disk can be opened unfold separately.

For each taste

Three equipments are for the Diesel Captiva in the offer: LS, LT and LT exclusive one. Always also on board are six Airbags, electrical window lifters, rain sensor, air conditioning system and a CD radio. Also the all-wheel drive is included with the self fuzes in the price. The Toplinie supplemental by 18-Zller, a MP3-fhiges radio with CD change-over switch, the electrically adjustable driver's seat and leather equipment. However also 34,890 euro become due for the high-quality LT exclusive equipment. As extras only the mechanism for 1.200 euro remains, a glass sun roof for 850 euro as well as the 490 euro expensive metal IC lacquer finish. The basis Captiva 2,0 LS (only as Fnfsitzer available) stands starting from 29.390 euro in the price lists.

Result

Compared to the brother Antara receive Chevy buyer more car for fewer moneys - the OPEL is available only as Fnfsitzer. Whom do not disturb the soft tuning and the indirect steering element, a solid SUV gets. Its play the trump card plays the Captiva as comfortable travelmobilely out, during moderate travel recompences it his driver with moderate consumption.

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Automotive Talks Blog

Automotive Talks Blog