Cafe Rio Pork

Pork Tacos


1 pork loin
2 cups pace medium salsa
2 cups brown sugar
Tortillas, your favorite toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, sour cream, etc.

Put in your slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low. Shred and let sit for one more hour. Serve in crunchy or soft taco, top with your favorite toppings

Lime Rice
3 cups of rice
3 cups of water
1/2 onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 can green chilies
4 t garlic- minced
4 t chicken bouillon
1/2 t salt
1 T butter
4 T lime juice

Blend/Chop onion, cilantro, and chilies in a food processor (or you can just chop onion and cilantro by hand). Then put all ingredients in with the rice and cook; either on stove or in a rice cooker. Stove top: Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook 15 minutes with cover on pot, do not remove cover. Let sit for 10 minutes with cover on. Stir with fork or follow directions on rice cooker.

30-Year Mortgage Rates Make New Lows, But Look Ready To Spike

No doubt you've heard that mortgage rates are low. They're lower than they've ever been in history.  The news is everywhere.

Just check out some of these headlines from the last 24 hours:

• Mortgage rates set new lows for the 6th straight week (Reuters)
• Mortgage rates fall again; 30-year fixed at 4.54% (Wall Street Journal)
• Mortgage rates hit another low : 4.54% (NPR)

Fixed mortgage rates are now down more than 1/2 percent from the start of the year, and 3/4 percent from just 1 year ago. The drop has dramatically improved home affordability for home buyers while creating refinance opportunities for existing homeowners.

From a payment perspective, a conforming, 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now cheaper by $41.94 per month per $100,000 borrowed versus July 2009.

A homeowner with a $300,000 mortgage, therefore, is saving $45,295.20 over 30 years.

Low mortgage rates rarely last long and rates appear to have troughed. After a big downhill between April and July, they're now flat. This could mean rates have finished falling, or that they're gearing up for another drop lower. Either way, if you haven't talked to your real estate agent about home affordability, or your loan officer about refinancing, it may be time to make that call.

If today's market marks the end of low rates, rates are expected to rise quickly.

Falling Consumer Confidence Helps Drag Mortgage Rates Lower. For Now.

For the second consecutive month, U.S. consumer confidence is plunging. July's official reading is its lowest since July of last year and the figures run in stark contrast to just two months ago, when the index touched a multi-year high.

According to The Conference Board, July's figures are reflective of a more pessimistic consumer; one concerned about "business conditions and the labor market".

Falling confidence numbers are presumed to be poor for the economy. For homeowner and home buyers , however, they can create opportunity.  Low confidence can influence the mortgage market in a positive manner, driving mortgage rates down.

Mortgage rates are already at their lowest levels of all-time.

The link between consumer confidence and everyday mortgage rates roots in consumer spending.

Consumer spending accounts for close to 70% of the overall U.S. economy so, the thought goes that, a less confident consumer is less likely to spend money, thereby retarding economic growth. This harms the stock markets and drives cash to bonds, including mortgage-backed bonds.

More bond demand leads bond prices to rise which, in turn, pushes mortgage rates lower.

The other side of lagging confidence is that Americans may be less likely to take new financial risks when they're feeling unsure, including buying a new home. This can then drag on the housing market, negatively impacting home prices.

Falling home values can help buyers, harm sellers, and stymie would-be refinancers.

It's tough to predict how consumer confidence data will work its way through the economy, but in the near-term, it appears to be helping mortgage rates stay low. If you're floating a mortgage rate with your lender, or contemplating a refinance, the time may be right to lock in a rate.

Low rates can't last forever.

Case-Shiller Shows Home Price Improvement In 95% Of Cities

Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, between April and May 2010, home prices rose in 19 of Case-Shiller's 20 tracked markets.  It's the second straight month of strong Case-Shiller findings.

Also, May's numbers are a mirror-image of February's. In February, 19 of 20 markets lost value.

In its press release, the Case-Shiller staff resisted calling May's data proof of a housing recovery, noting that home values remain flat as compared to October of last year. However, there are some noteworthy numbers in the Case-Shiller report.

1. 13 of the 20 tracked cities are showing home price improvement year-over-year
2. Foreclosure posterchlld San Diego has now shown 13 straight months of improvement
3. San Diego, San Francisco and Minneapolis are showing double-digit annual growth

These are all good signs for the housing market, but the Case-Shiller Index is not without its flaws. Most notably, the data is limited to just 20 cities nationwide -- and they're not even the 20 largest ones. 

Cities like Houston, Philadelphia, and San Jose are excluded from Case-Shiller, while cities like Tampa (#54) are not.

Another Case-Shiller flaw is that it reports on a 2-month delay.

Therefore, today is several days from the start of August but we're now reflecting on data from May. Given the speed at which the real estate market can change, May's data is almost ancient.  Today's values may be higher or lower than what Case-Shiller reports.

For home buyers, reports like the Case-Shiller Index may not be useful in making a "Buy or Not Buy" decision, but can aid in watching longer-term trends in housing.  For real-time data, talk to a real estate agent with access to local figures instead.

5 Reasons Why You Should Buy a Home Today

Homeownership almost seems like a dirty word in today's society. People are blogging, tweeting and facebooking their belief that buying a home is just plain stupid. I respect their opinion on the issue though I totally disagree. Why?
This might be the best time to buy a home in American real estate history.


Some might think I’m crazy. Cynics might think that I am saying this because I still hold a real estate license (though I have not listed nor sold a home in ten years). My reason for saying it is actually quite simple. Owning a home makes more sense than not owning a home for the vast majority of families in this country. Let me give you five reasons why.
1. Real Estate is a Great Long Term Investment


Don’t take my word on this. This is what Mike Mandel, former chief economist at BusinessWeek and current Senior Fellow at Wharton’s Mack Center for Technological Innovation, had to say:

We’ve just had the biggest boom and bust in real history in recent history. Nevertheless, real estate has still greatly outperformed the stock market over the past ten years.

Below is his chart actually showing the difference between real estate and the stock market.

2. A Home Is a Better Place to Raise a Family


Don’t take my word on this. When Fannie Mae asked current renters for the major reason to buy a house in their National Housing Survey 2010, these were the answers renters gave (they could pick multiple answers):

78% said it was a good place to raise children

75% said because they would feel safe

70% said because you have control of your own space

3. A Home Creates a Sense of Community

Don’t take my word on this. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York just published a paper The Homeownership Gap. The paper explained:

Because owners have a financial interest in their property, they have incentives to take measures that will maintain or increase the value of that property. Some of these measures—such as fixing a leaky roof—are closely related to the house itself. Others, such as investing resources in the betterment of the neighborhood and the community, have broader beneficial effects on the local area, creating what economists call “positive externalities.”

4. It’s Cheaper to Own Than Rent in Many Parts of the Country

Don’t take my word on this. Housing Wire just reported on a Credit Suisse study:

While a segment of the renting population continues to rent, many are looking to dip their toes in the homeownership waters. Credit Suisse said the percentage of median household income needed to pay the mortgage on a median priced home is at a 30-year low… Low mortgage rates and property values makes homeownership more attractive than renting for many. In many markets — including Washington DC, California’s Inland Empire, Las Vegas and Phoenix — paying for a mortgage is less expensive than renting.

And here is a graph from the study:

5.  People who do buy a home don't regret it.

Don’t take my word on this. Probably the best people to ask if buying a home makes sense are the people who currently own homes. A recent national poll commissioned by Bankrate.com found:

Ninety percent of homeowners say they don’t regret buying their home despite a nationwide tsunami of foreclosures, short sales and loan modifications.

It’s a great long term investment. It’s a great place to raise a family. It gives you a greater sense of community. It’s less expensive than renting. People who currently own have no regrets. Buying a home seems like a no brainer to me.

KCM

New Homes Sales Gain in June, But Gains Are Relative

After a down month in May, the sales of newly-built homes appears back on track.

As published by the Census Bureau, June's New Home Sales report showed:

1. A 24 percent sales volume increase from the month prior
2. A 2-month drop in the supply of newly-built home

There are now just 210,000 new homes for sale nationwide.

June's data is a major improvement over May, but it's possible that the true "new home market" may be softer than the statistics suggest.  This is for several reasons.

First, we're comparing June's sales data to the worst month in New Home Sales history.

In May, sales of new homes totaled just 267,000 units nationwide. That's one-quarter fewer sales than in the previous worst month in New Home Sales history. May's sales levels were awful by any measure but June's improvement to 330,000 units remains second-worst sales levels ever posted.

Second, although much improved, June's new home supply of 7.6 months is elevated versus the historical norm near 6.0 months.  The last year has averaged 7.7 months.

For buyers of new homes , this combination of low sales volume and higher-than-normal inventory may be a positive.  It's the main reason why homebuilder confidence is reeling and the downturn has opened some doors for big discounts and deals. Free upgrades and closing cost credits can make a well-priced home even more attractive.

Plus, with mortgage rates at all-time lows and expected to rise, home affordability is may never be better.

How To Prevent Mercury Poisoning With CFL Light Bulbs

According to the EPA, if every household in America replaced one "traditional" bulb with an energy-saving compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) light bulb, it would result in $700 million in energy cost savings each year, plus a greenhouse gas savings equivalent to that of 800,000 automobiles.

They're expensive, but CFL bulbs tend to pay for themselves in less a year, and often last for several. It's no wonder they're so popular.  But, CFLs also come with health risks.

 

Namely, CFL bulbs contain mercury -- an average of 4 milligrams per bulb.

 

The mere presence of mercury doesn't make CFLs dangerous. It just means that you should exercise care when handling them, and take certain precautions when disposing of them.

The Environment Protection Agency offers some tips:

1. Screw/unscrew the bulb from the base and not the bulb to prevent breakage
2. Never force a CFL bulb into a light socket
3. When the bulb burns out, bring it to one of 3,106 recycling centers

The EPA website also give guidance for dealing with broken bulbs. Among the recommendations: Don’t wash mercury-covered clothing to prevent contaminating other clothing, too, and don't vacuum up the poison, either. There are special handling instructions to prevent poisoning yourself and others in your household.

The EPA's CFL safety PDF is 3 pages long and can be viewed on its Web site.

CFLs provide long-term energy and environment cost savings. And, with some common sense care, their risks to your health can be minimized.