Queercents Professional Directory

I’m excited to share some great news:

I’ve been invited to panel an innovative teleconference
on work life balance for the National Gay and Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) on August 25, 2009!

For those of you who know me well, you know I’ve been a passionate supporter of the NGLCC since it was founded about six or seven years ago.  In a few short years, NGLCC has already established itself as an organization that advocates for the interests of all GLBT’s, and particularly the cross section between politics and the marketplace.

The NGLCC is headquartered where it needs to be – at the foot of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  I’ve been to several of their events and continue to spread the word as best as I can about them through my many face-to-face, online and virtual connections.

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A client called my cell phone last weekend because they came back from vacation to find their basement flooded with a couple inches of water. During the downpour we had that Saturday, one of their gutters had overflown (due to not being cleaned recently) and the subsequent deluge filled 10 inches up in the egress windows. This leaked into their basement and soaked the carpet. They were able to dry the carpet using dehumidifiers and fans and that was the extent of the damage. The call to me was to see if replacing the carpet would be covered by their insurance.

Unfortunately, rain water coming into your house from the outside is considered flood and therefore is not covered under most homeowners policies. Had this been a sudden pipe bursting within the house it would have been a different story. While frustrating, the client understood.

Tips:
- Clean gutters regularly to prevent water overflow that can leave standing water up against your home
- When leaving town, have a friend/neighbor check on your house (in its entirety) 1-2x per day. This person had a friend watching their home, but they did not go through the entire house; therefore they did not notice the flooding downstairs.

*Also make sure the person watching your home has the contact info for your agent and the claims department. Had this been a covered loss, the friend could have let us into the house to prevent further damage and start cleanup without interrupting the homeowners vacation.

April 25, 2009

Now ranked the 5th largest city, PHOENIX is one of the most popular cities in the entire United States. Phoenix is also one of the first large cities to approach the bottom of the Real Estate Market, making it one of the first to begin to bounce back. Phoenix (and the greater metropolitan area) is being hugely impacted by bank owned (foreclosed/REO) properties continuing to batter the market in record numbers. It is Unbelievable…  Almost like a light switch has been flipped, Banks have finally sped up the process for getting foreclosed homes on the market and available to the buyer. But more importantly they have started accepting offers. For far too long the banks have been holding multiple offers, on numerous properties, in turn stalling more than a few buyers. In the past, the banks seemed reluctant to take the low offers, and now suddenly the banks are signing off, and the market is finally beginning to move. Nevertheless, the selection of available homes for sale in Phoenix is tremendous. Never before have there been so many choices in all types of residences: Waterfront homes, Gated Communities, Adult Communities, Horse properties, Mountainside Homes, and Golf Course properties. Now…, with the acceptance of these offers, hopefully it will bust the log-jam of buyers so the market will move in a more forward direction. However you look at it…, it is a hopeful sign. Buying activity in the Phoenix area is now approaching the volume in which market stabilization is likely to occur.  It’s too early to tell for certain, but in all likelihood, the near free fall of housing prices in the Phoenix Metropolitan area is likely finding a landing point.  Let’s hope it lasts.

By Lori Hicks