Representatives from Dell said, at a Twitter for Brands event hosted by New Media Age in London on Friday, that it has seen tangible uplifts in sales which can be directly attributed to marketing on Twitter. The brand’s Twitter account has driven $3 million in sales since it began operation in 2007, Dell said.

Moonfruit, a website builder, also said Twitter campaigns have helped the brand. Moonfruit said it spent around 10,000 pounds ($16,400) on prizes for the campaign, and that it brought in more than twice that amount in a single month in new subscriptions, reports ClickZ.

The Moonfruit campaign – which gave away a MacBook Pro each day for 10 days to someone who had sent a message using the hash mark and keyword #moonfruit – was extremely popular, though controversial. It was criticized because it was thought to be spamming users without adding value to the community.

Twitter and Facebook are go-to places for brands hoping to be seen as trendy and in-the-know. But the effectiveness of such branding efforts is questionable. Only 8% of advertisers and consumers think it’s a very effective promotion tool, according to results from a LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll.

The study also found that advertisers are more likely than consumers to know about Twitter and are more likely to believe in the microblogging tool’s future power to help promote products and services.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan – A typhoon-spawned mudslide engulfed a mountain village in southern Taiwan, burying up to 600 people, a police official and a rescued villager said Monday.

Typhoon Morakot dumped up to 80 inches (two meters) of rain on some communities over the weekend before moving on to China, where it forced the evacuation of nearly 1 million people along the east coast and left at least six dead. Earlier it had struck the Philippines, leaving at least 22 dead.

It has now been downgraded to a tropical storm.

Speaking to The Associated Press, a Taiwanese police official who identified himself by his surname, Wang, said about 400 people are still unaccounted for after Sunday morning’s mudslide in Shiao Lin village. He said about 100 people have been rescued by military helicopter or avoided the slide.

One of the rescued villagers, Lin Chien-chung, told the United Evening News that he believes as many as 600 people were still buried by the mud.

“The mudslide covered a large part of the village, including a primary school and many homes,” he was quoted as saying. “A part of the mountain above us just fell on the village.”

It was not immediately possible to reconcile the differing estimates of people missing.

The village was still cut off from the outside world Monday evening, after flood waters destroyed a bridge about eight miles (12 kilometers) away. Military helicopters have dropped provisions in the area and rescued survivors.

Taiwan’s official death toll from Morakot stands at 14. Another 51, not including the people in Shiao Lin, are listed as missing.

Morakot, meaning emerald in Thai, slammed into China’s Fujian province Sunday afternoon carrying heavy rain and winds of 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, according to the China Meteorological Administration. At least one child died after a house collapsed in Zhejiang province.

By early Monday, the storm packed winds of 52 miles (83 kilometers) per hour, it said.

Hundreds of villages and towns were flooded and more than 2,000 houses had collapsed, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Four people died in Zhejiang, one died in Fujian and one died in Jiangxi province, Xinhua said. It said another three were missing.

Village officials in Zhejiang rode bicycles to hand out drinking water and instant noodles to residents stranded by flooding, while rescuers tried to reach eight sailors on a cargo ship blown onto a reef off Fujian, Xinhua reported.

In Japan, meanwhile, Typhoon Etau slammed into the west coast Monday. Twelve people were killed in raging floodwaters and landslides, and 10 others were missing, police said.

___

Associated Press writers Gillian Wong in Beijing and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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A two-year-old child from the United States became the first person to die of swine flu outside of Mexico Wednesday, as numbers of suspected and confirmed cases continued to rise around the globe.

Quarantine officers monitor arrivals with a thermographic device at Bangkok’s main international airport.

more photos »

As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said at least 112 cases have been confirmed worldwide.

According to the WHO’s figures, the number of deaths from the virus was seven in Mexico. But with the U.S. death — confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — the number rises to eight.

The world body did not immediately provide a breakdown for the additional cases that had been substantiated through lab tests Wednesday. Nor was it clear whether the U.S. death was part of its updated figure.

The WHO list also does not include 11 additional cases reported by New Zealand health officials, four by Spain, three each by German and Britain, two in Costa Rica and one in Austria.

In the United States, the states of California, Indiana, New York and Texas also were reporting additional cases not confirmed by the CDC.

Mexico said the virus is suspected of being behind 159 deaths and more than 2,500 illnesses. Those figures are being investigated.

The world body will next update its figures Wednesday afternoon.

For now, the WHO figures still break down as follows: 64 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States; 26 in Mexico (including seven deaths); six in Canada; three in New Zealand; and two each in Spain, the United Kingdom and Israel.

But, including figures from local governments, these are the outbreaks — confirmed and suspected — so far:

AUSTRALIA

Cases: None confirmed, but 91 cases were being investigated Wednesday morning, the country’s health department said.

AUSTRIA

Cases: One. A 28-year-old woman is doing well and recovering after contracting swine flu, the Austrian Health Ministry said.

CANADA

Cases: Six mild cases

Measures: Issued a travel health notice, saying its public health agency was “tracking clusters of severe respiratory illness with deaths in Mexico.” Tell us what you think about the swine flu outbreak

CHINA

Cases: None

Measures: Banned pork imports from Mexico, and from California, Kansas and Texas in the United States.

COSTA RICA

Cases: Two. A 21-year-old woman who returned from Mexico on Saturday tested positive, the Costa Rican health ministry said. Swine flu also has been diagnosed in a 30-year-old man, said ministry spokesman Roy Alvarada. Neither case is on the WHO list.

GERMANY

Cases: Three. None of the cases has resulted in deaths, said the Robert Koch Institute — Germany’s disease control center. The positive tests were not included in the WHO tally.

The German cases were: a 22-year-old woman in Hamburg who displayed flu-like symptoms after a trip to Mexico; a man in his late 30s being treated in the city of Regensburg in the southern state of Bavaria; and a 37-year-old woman in Bavaria who also had traveled to Mexico.

INDIA

Cases: None Watch how public health officials grade phases of pandemic alerts »

Measures: Indian health officials advised citizens to postpone their non-essential travel to the swine flu-hit regions.

Stepped up surveillance at ports and airports.

States asked to review their preparedness.

INDONESIA

Cases: None

Measures: Increased surveillance; testing the temperatures of travelers flying into the country.

ISRAEL

Cases: Two. Both men recently returned from Mexico.

The 5-year-old niece of one of the men was suspected of having the flu and was undergoing hospital treatment.

Measures: The Health Ministry has not issued special instructions to the public, nor adopted measures for monitoring those returning from Mexico.

The country is calling the outbreak “Mexico flu” so that citizens do not have to pronounce the name of an animal considered impure in Judaism and Islam. Watch efforts in Mexico to prevent spread of the virus »

JAPAN

Cases: None

Measures: The foreign ministry suspended visa waivers for visitors from Mexico.

Airport officials are checking passengers before they disembark.

KENYA

Cases: None

Measures: Screening passengers from Europe and the Americas at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Government encourages Kenyans to defer traveling to Mexico.

Kenya set up 26 screening centers to test people for avian flu following that outbreak a few years ago, and will also use the centers for swine flu testing.

MEXICO

Cases: 159 deaths and more than 2,500 infections are thought to have been caused by swine flu, said Jose Angel Cordova, Mexico’s health secretary.

Only 26 cases — 19 infections and seven deaths — have been confirmed by laboratory tests in Mexico and reported to the World Health Organization. iReport.com: Do you think we should be worried about swine flu?

Measures: Mexico City has closed its schools and universities until further notice. It has also ordered restaurants only to serve takeaway meals, so customers do not congregate. In addition, bars, clubs, movie theaters, pool halls, gyms, sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5.

Troops passed out 4 million filter masks in the city of 20 million residents.

Officials are considering shutting down the bus and subway systems.

Citizens are asked to avoid large crowds, refrain from kissing, and stay at least six feet from one another.

The World Bank is offering $205 million to deal with the outbreak.

NEW ZEALAND

Cases: 14. All inflected were part of a study group from Auckland’s Rangitoto College who returned to New Zealand from Mexico over the weekend.

Three people tested positive for the swine flu virus, and those cases were confirmed by the WHO.

Because the rest of the group exhibited similar symptoms, and all of them returned positive result for Influenza A — the general category of strains that includes the H1N1 swine flu — the health ministry said it was assuming that everyone who traveled with the Rangitoto College group has swine flu.

Measures: New Zealanders who traveled to Mexico or North America in the past two weeks are asked to get in touch with health officials if they have flu-like symptoms.

RUSSIA

Cases: None

Measures: Banned all meat imports from Mexico and the southern United States.

Announced it will screen incoming passengers from those two countries by taking their temperatures.

Set up a government commission to plan response, and advised citizens against traveling to Mexico.

SOUTH KOREA

Cases: A 51-year-old woman, who recently returned from Mexico, tested positive for type-A influenza. Tests are being conducted to see whether the influenza is of the swine flu strain. The woman has been quarantined.

Measures: Suspended pork imports from Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Stepped up inspections of passengers returning from affected areas.

Took steps to double its stockpile of Tamiflu anti-viral medicine — enough to treat about 5 million people, or 10 percent of the country’s population.

SPAIN

Cases: Four cases confirmed and 59 others suspected — many of whom had recently traveled to Mexico, the health ministry said. None were in serious condition.

Measures: The government is trying to reach passengers who were on flights with people suspected or confirmed with the flu.

THAILAND

Cases: None.

Measures: Airport officials are keeping a closer eye on passengers arriving from Mexico.

The health ministry is calling the virus “the flu that has caused an outbreak in Mexico,” so that the public does not confuse “swine flu” with “bird flu.” The ministry also said it did not want to hurt the pork industry.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Cases: None

Measures: The ministry of health issued a circular, asking doctors to be prepared to deal with any potential swine flu cases.

UNITED KINGDOM

Cases: Two confirmed, in Scotland. The patients are recovering.

Measures: The Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Mexico.

UNITED STATES

Cases: 64 confirmed by the CDC — 10 in California; six in Texas; two in Kansas; one in Ohio; and 45 in New York.

It is unclear whether the 64 includes the toddler in Texas whose death the CDC’s acting director reported Wednesday morning. In addition, health officials in California, Indiana and New York reported other cases that the CDC had not yet added to its list late Tuesday.

Among the new cases not included in the CDC figures:

A Nassau County, New York, resident tested positive for swine flu, the county health department said Tuesday night. The resident is “associated” with the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, where at least 28 of the United States’ 64 confirmed cases were reported after several students returned from a trip to Cancun, Mexico. The Nassau County information was not included in a CDC tally released at 11 p.m. Tuesday.

A college student in Indiana tested positive for swine flu and is recovering, state health officials said. They attributed the test confirmation to the CDC. The case has not yet been included in CDC’s latest figures.

California’s public health department confirmed 11 swine flu cases — one more than CDC figures.

CDC: Swine flu viruses in U.S. and Mexico match

U.S. health experts also are concerned because more than 1,000 people have fallen ill in Mexico City in a short period of time.

“This situation has been developing quickly,” said acting CDC director Richard Besser. “This is something we are worried about.”

New York health officials announced Friday they are testing about 75 students at a Queens school for swine flu after the students exhibited flu-like symptoms this week.

A team of state health department doctors and staff went to the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens on Thursday after the students reported cough, fever, sore throat, aches and pains.

There have been no confirmed cases of swine flu there. The tests results are expected as early as Saturday.

Of the 14 Mexican samples tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven were identical to the swine flu virus found in Texas and Southern California, Besser said at a news conference.

An eighth U.S. case was reported Friday. All of the eight U.S. patients have recovered, Besser said. Watch for more on the U.S. cases »

As a precaution to avoid further contamination, schools and universities in Mexico City and the state of Mexico were closed Friday, said the national health secretary, Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos. He said the schools may remain closed for a while.

Sixty-eight people have died in Mexico City, Cordova said at a news conference. More than 1,000 other people have gotten sick, he said.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon canceled a trip Friday to northern Mexico so he could remain in Mexico City to monitor the situation, the state-run Notimex news agency reported. Calderon met with his Cabinet on Thursday night to discuss the outbreak.

Six of the U.S. cases were found in California, and two in Texas, near San Antonio, CDC officials said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada issued a respiratory alert for Mexico on Wednesday, recommending that health providers “actively look for cases” in Canada, particularly in people who’ve returned from Mexico within the last two weeks.

An alert issued Friday by the International SOS medical and consulting company said more than 130 cases of a severe respiratory illness have been detected in south and central Mexico, some of which are due to influenza.

“Public health officials in Mexico began actively looking for cases of respiratory illness upon noticing that the seasonal peak of influenza extended into April, when cases usually decline in number,” the medical alert said. “They found two outbreaks of illness — one centered around Distrito Federal (Mexico City), involving about 120 cases with 13 deaths. The other is in San Luis Potosi, with 14 cases and four deaths.”

Authorities also detected one death in Oaxaca, in the south, and two in Baja California Norte, near San Diego, California.

There was no indication why the International SOS tallies did not match the Mexican health secretary’s figures.

The majority of cases are occurring in adults between 25 and 44 years of age.

The CDC first reported Tuesday that two California children in the San Diego area were infected with a virus called swine influenza A H1N1, whose combination of genes had not been seen before in flu viruses in humans or pigs.

The first two cases were picked up through an influenza monitoring program, with stations in San Diego and El Paso, Texas. The program monitors strains and tries to detect new ones before they spread, the CDC said. Other cases emerged through routine and expanded surveillance.

The human influenza vaccine’s ability to protect against the new swine flu strain is unknown, and studies are ongoing, Schuchat said. There is no danger of contracting the virus from eating pork products, she said.

The new virus has genes from North American swine and avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza normally found in Asia and Europe, said Nancy Cox, chief of the CDC’s Influenza Division.

The new strain of swine flu has resisted some antiviral drugs.

The CDC is working with health officials in California and Texas and expects to find more cases, Schuchat said.

A pandemic is defined as: a new virus to which everybody is susceptible; the ability to readily spread from person to person; and the capability of causing significant disease in humans, said Dr. Jay Steinberg, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. The new strain of swine flu meets only one of the criteria: novelty.

History indicates that flu pandemics tend to occur once every 20 years or so, so we’re due for one, Steinberg said.

“I can say with 100 percent confidence that a pandemic of a new flu strain will spread in humans,” he said. “What I can’t say is when it will occur.”  Swine Flu Video

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[Related content: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, hedge funds, financial crisis, rich]

By Forbes.comThe world has become a wealth wasteland.

Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. Today there are 793 people on our list of the world’s billionaires, a 30% decline from a year ago.

Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year’s ranking, 373 fell off the list — 355 saw declining fortunes, and 18 died. There are 38 newcomers plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.

The world’s richest are also a lot poorer. The collective net worth of this year’s 793 billionaires is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from the total wealth of last year’s 1,125 billionaires. The average net worth of those on the list fell 23% to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003.

Warren Buffett

Carlos Slim Helú

Microsoft’s Bill Gates lost $18 billion but regained his title as the world’s richest person. Warren Buffett, last year’s No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, news, msgs) fell 40% in 12 months, but he still managed to slip just one spot, to No. 2. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helú, No. 2 a year ago, also lost $25 billion and dropped to No. 3.

 

It was hard to avoid the carnage — in stocks, in commodities, in real estate, in technology and elsewhere. Even people running profitable businesses were hammered by frozen credit markets, weak consumer spending or declining currencies.

• Billionaire playgrounds: Where the world’s superrich go for fun

 

The biggest loser in the world this year, by dollars, was last year’s biggest gainer. India’s Anil Ambani lost $32 billion — 76% of his fortune — as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Ambani is one of 24 Indian billionaires, all but one of whom are poorer than a year ago. An additional 29 Indians lost their billionaire status entirely as India’s stock market tumbled 44% in the past year and the Indian rupee depreciated 18% against the dollar. It is no longer the top spot in Asia for billionaires, ceding that title to China, which has 28.

Russia became the epicenter of the world’s commodity bust, dropping 55 billionaires — two-thirds of its 2008 crop. Among them: Dmitry Pumpyansky, an industrialist from the resource-rich Ural Mountain region, who lost $5 billion as shares of his pipe producer, TMK, sank 84%. Also gone is Vasily Anisimov, the father of Anna Anisimova, the Paris Hilton of Moscow. Anisimov lost $3.2 billion as the value of his Metalloinvest, one of Russia’s largest ore mining and processing companies, fell along with his real-estate holdings.

Twelve months ago Moscow overtook New York as the billionaire capital of the world, with 74 tycoons to New York’s 71. Today there are 27 in Moscow and 55 in New York.

After slipping in recent years, the U.S. is regaining its dominance as a repository of wealth. Americans account for 44% of the money and 45% of the list’s slots, up 7 and 3 percentage points, respectively, from last year. Still, the U.S. has 110 fewer billionaires than it did a year ago.

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Healthy dieting is possible, but anyone who contemplates losing some weight should concentrate on the planning so they do not end up feeling awful for some time.  Healthy dieting is possible with advice from the experts on health and nutrition.  Some people decide they need to lose some weight, and they often want to accomplish their goals quickly.  Some people intent on losing weight are intent on dieting and not on healthy dieting.  Some of these people end up starving themselves, and they often fail quickly as they return to the bad habits that put the pounds on in the first place.

Healthy dieting probably requires losing some weight over an extended period of time rather than in a very short period of time.  The person intent on healthy dieting will probably want to eat the most nutritious foods.  These nutritious foods usually include a balance of protein, fat, fruits and vegetables.  Healthy dieting should include plenty of fruits and vegetables even if the person involved does not like these food groups.  Many people intent on healthy dieting will have to consume some foods that they do not like, and they will have to eliminate some foods that they crave.

Healthy Dieting Can Help Millions Of People

Many people around the world are overweight and losing the excess pounds will make them feel better.  Many families have several members who are overweight, and sometimes it is a good idea for the whole family to diet together.  Once the family uses healthy dieting strategies to lose some weight, it will be a great idea to practice healthy eating every day of the year.  Many families can start their healthy dieting program by eliminating drinks that have too many calories.  Some soft drinks have many empty calories that can add pounds quickly.  Alcoholic drinks can also add many empty calories.  Drinking plenty of water in place of sugary drinks can be helpful to those looking for a healthy way to lose weight.

Many people can eat their favorite foods and lose some weight.  Some people eat nutritious food, but they eat too much of it.  Cutting down on portion sizes can often be a great way of healthy dieting.  People might want to eat less but eat more often to make sure that they do not have the cravings that lead them to fail at dieting.  Sometimes people cheat because they leave too much time between meals.  People might eliminate certain foods from their diets in order to

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There are at least as many different dieting plans available as there are people who want to lose weight, but not all of the plans will benefit everyone. It is not just the basics of the dieting plans that some people struggle with, it is the inconvenience or expense of the plans that are unmanageable for many people.

Many of the dieting plans require participants to buy special foods and only eat what is on their menu. While the prices may not be exorbitant, to some it may be out of their financial reach, making them unable to join the diet program. This can be disheartening to many of those wanting to lose weight, as they see celebrity endorsed dieting plans that they believe may work for them spiral out of their price range.

Additionally, many dieting plans also call for memberships and regular attendance at meetings, which they may not have the time or the means to attend. Believing they are being left out of the opportunity to lose the weight, they may surrender to the notion that are destined to remain heavy. This is not necessarily the case, as there are many dieting plans that do not include buying special foods or having to attend meetings that can greatly benefit just about everyone.

Simple Dieting Plans Call For Determination

Many who fail on dieting plans blame it on a lack of will power but the reality is it is a lack of dedication to reaching a personal goal. It has been argued that being overweight, in some cases, in an economic issue claiming that people who cannot afford to eat right tend to be overweight. Many experts argue that eating right is not contingent on the food budget, rather what it purchased with that budget.

Good dieting plans include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are typically priced cheaper than meals in a fast food restaurant and apples or other fruits are cheaper than snacks made with processed ingredients. By reviewing any of the dieting plans on the market today, it is noticeable that none call for sweet or salty snack foods. Salt, in addition to being unhealthy for blood pressure, may increase water retention, causing weight gain.

Soft drinks, even the so-called diet varieties, can still harm dieting plans as they usually contain sodium and possibly carbohydrates. Many of the best plans call for reducing the intake of calories and exercising more. Typically, if a person burns more calories than they take in, they will lose weight.

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Finding the right first home starts with a price range and a short list of desirable neighborhoods. But there are many other factors you’ll need to consider before investing in what may be your biggest asset.

Many mortgages today are being resold in the secondary markets. The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is a government-sponsored organization that purchases mortgages from lenders and sells them to investors. Mortgages that conform to Fannie Mae’s standards may carry lower interest rates or smaller down payments. To qualify, the mortgage borrower needs to meet two ratio requirements that are industry standards.

The housing expense ratio compares basic monthly housing costs to the buyer’s gross (before taxes and other deductions) monthly income. Basic costs include monthly mortgage, insurance, and property taxes. Income includes any steady cash flow, including salary, self-employment income, pensions, child support, or alimony payments. For a conventional loan, your monthly housing cost should not exceed 28% of your monthly gross income.

The total obligations to income ratio is the percentage of all income required to service your total monthly payments. Monthly payments on student loans, installment loans, and credit card balances older than 10 months are added to basic housing costs and then divided by gross income. Your total monthly debt payments, including basic housing costs, should not exceed 36%.

Many home buyers choose to arrange financing before shopping for a home and most lenders will “prequalify” you for a certain amount. Prequalification helps you focus on homes you can afford. It also makes you a more attractive buyer and can help you negotiate a lower purchase price. Nothing is more disheartening for buyers or sellers than a deal that falls through due to a lack of financing.

In addition to qualifying for a mortgage, you will probably need a down payment. The 28% to 36% debt ratios assume a 10% down payment. In practice, down payment requirements vary from more than 20% to as low as 0% for some Veterans Administration (VA) loans. Down payments greater than 20% generally buy a better rate. Lowering the down payment increases leverage (the opportunity to make a profit using borrowed money) but also increases monthly payments.

How Much Home Can You Afford?

Bob and Janet’s combined income is $50,000 a year, or $4,166 a month. Their housing expense ratio of 28% yields a monthly maximum of $1,166 for mortgage, insurance, and taxes ($4,166 x 0.28 = $1,166).

Their total debt ceiling of 36% is $1,583 (4,166 x 0.36 = $1,500). Their monthly debt payments include a $200 car payment, credit card payments of $100, and student loan payments of $200. Subtracting this total of $500 from the $1,500 permitted leaves $1,000 in monthly housing payments.

Many home buyers are surprised (shocked might be a better word) to find that a down payment is not the only cash requirement. A home inspection can cost $200 or more. Closing costs may include loan origination fees, up-front “points” (prepaid interest), application fees, appraisal fee, survey, title search and title insurance, first month’s homeowners insurance, recording fees and attorney’s fees. In many locales, transfer taxes are assessed. Finally, adjustments for heating oil or property taxes already paid by the sellers will be included in your final costs. All this will probably add up to be between 3% and 8% of your purchase price.

In addition to mortgage payments, there are other costs associated with home ownership. Utilities, heat, property taxes, repairs, insurance, services such as trash or snow removal, landscaping, assessments, and replacement of appliances are the major costs incurred. Make sure you understand how much you are willing and able to spend on such items.

Condominiums may not have the same costs as a house, but they do have association fees. Older homes are often less expensive to buy, but repairs may be greater than those in a newer home. When looking for a home, be sure to check the actual expenses of the previous owners, or expenses for a comparable home in the neighborhood.

Before you start looking at homes, look at neighborhoods. Schools and other services play a large part in making a neighborhood attractive. Even if you don’t have children, your future buyer may. Crime rates, taxes, transportation, and town services are other things to look at. Finally, learn the local zoning laws. A new pizza shop next door might alter your property’s future value. On the other hand, you may want to run a business out of your home.

Look for a neighborhood where prices are increasing. As the prices of the better homes increase, values of the lesser homes may rise as well. If you find a less expensive home in a good neighborhood, make sure you factor in the cost of repairs or upgrades that such a house may need.

If you are a first-time home buyer, you will probably want to work with a broker. Brokers know the market and can be a valuable source of information concerning the home buying process. Ask lots of questions, but remember that most brokers are working for the seller, and in the end, their primary obligation is to the seller and not to you. An alternative is a so-called buyer’s broker. This individual does work for you, and therefore is paid by you. Seller’s brokers are paid by the seller.

Make sure that the broker has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This service lists all the properties for sale by most major brokers across the country. Brokerage commissions average 5% to 7% and are split between the listing broker and the broker that eventually sells the home. Don’t be surprised if your broker is eager to sell you their own listing since they would then earn the entire commission.

Once you’ve determined a price range and location, you’re ready to look at individual homes. Remember that much of a home’s value is derived from the values of those surrounding it. Since the average residency in a house is seven years, consider the qualities that will be attractive to future buyers as well as those attractive to you.

Although it can be difficult, try to remember that you will probably want to sell this home someday. The more research you do today, the better your decision will look in the years to come.

Summary

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