Planning the perfect Halloween can be pretty spooky, and it’s not just because of the ghosts and ghouls that run from door to door. Coordinating Halloween activities, planning a festive party and pulling off the perfect costume for each family member can be frightening. But with a few technology tricks, you’ll be rewarded with a lot of treats and plenty of fun to make this holiday one to remember.

Eerie e-vites set the tone for parties

Planning a Halloween party? Email invites are perfectly acceptable for a casual soiree. Send out e-vites a few weeks ahead of time to give friends and family plenty of notice. Be sure to mention that costumes are encouraged, and list any other important details, like if the party is potluck style. The best part of email invites is you’ll receive RSVPs electronically, so you can track responses and get the perfect amount of party supplies for all attendees. And if you have an Outlook.com email account, you can flag RSVPs to the top of your inbox for easy reference, and instantly chat with friends on Facebook, Skype or Gmail to firm up last minute details, right from your inbox.

Scary inbox? Organize email easily

If your inbox is a scary sight, it’s time to tap your magic wand for an organization transformation. With Outlook.com, it’s easy to sort through hundreds of messages in a few clicks. You can use the “sweep” feature to get rid of outdated emails you don’t need, like all those costume coupon deals that have expired.

Frightful or friendly, find the perfect costume

Whether young or old, Halloween is a time to let imaginations run wild and play pretend for the day. Finding the perfect costume for each member of the family can be a difficult and costly process. Track sales from your favorite Halloween supply stores and subscribe to email newsletters to get the latest alerts on costume trends and discounts. After Halloween is over, you can use Outlook.com’s one-click unsubscribe to get off all those emails lists with little effort.

Access the perfect trick-or-treat schedule

Hit the candy motherload and have fun with all the neighborhood kids and parents by plotting your trick-or-treat schedule ahead of time. Upload it to SkyDrive and everyone can access it while en route on any device. Then, all you have to do is get your flashlights, candy bags and giggles ready.

Share boo-tiful photos from the day’s festivities

Whether you love your smartphone or are a diehard digital camera guru, there are bound to be plenty of fun photos the group needs to exchange. Use Outlook.com and SkyDrive together to share all your Halloween snaps in one mail – the file size doesn’t matter – and they will arrive in slideshow format! There’s no limit to the number of photos you can share and, since they’re all stored on SkyDrive, you can access them on any device anywhere, anytime. Share with Grandma and Grandpa, or gather the kids and relive the Halloween fun over and over again.
All of us at New Home Resource wish you a safe and festive Halloween!!!

Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2013. All rights reserved.

Well, it’s official! October, the haunted season, is here and before we know it, it will be time for Christmas. People are already starting to decorate their homes in true haunted styles, and we at New Home Resource love to see how creative people can get. While decorating your home is great fun and the trick-or-treaters love being spooked-out on their candy-hunting adventures, it is important to be safe while doing it. Here are 5 things to remember when decorating your home for the holidays!

1. Check all lights and electrical items for damage before using them for decorations. Look for exposed wires, cracking insulation, and discoloration. If they are damaged, it’s time to switch them out for new ones. Using damaged electrical goods can electrocute someone or start a fire, both of which can have severe consequences.
2. Of course, homes are not designed with decorating the outside of the home in mind, so many of us use extension cords. Invest in quality and heavy duty extension cords that can handle the wattage of the electrical goods into which you’ll be plugging. Using light duty ones can cause fires if you overload and overuse them. Don’t run cords across doorways, under rugs or carpet, or use staples to pin them to the wall. Instead,  use cord clips to run them around doorways and along walls.
3. With the Fall season comes the delicious pumpkin, cinnamon, and other Fall inspired scented candles that we all look forward to. While we are all tempted to light them all over the house, be careful about where you leave them as they can be a fire hazard if lit near flammable materials, or left on an unstable surface. If you leave the room, be sure to blow out all of the candles.
4. If you’re going to go all-out and decorate the entire house from top to bottom, it’s important to use proper equipment and safety tools. Drainpipes are not meant to hold the weight of a human being, so make sure you use a ladder, and have someone hold it steady to avoid both you and the ladder toppling over.
5. Lastly, ensure that your porch and front yard are lit appropriately with the path way clear for trick-or-treaters. The last thing you want is for your neighbor’s children dressed in their spooky outfits to trip in your front yard.

So have fun, embrace the holiday season, and be safe!

If you’re looking for a new home or wanting to sell your current one, contact a NEW HOME RESOURCE professional Realtor® today at 702-365-1000. Joanna Piette, Denise Moreno Thrasher, Evelyn “Beng” Kern, Jessica O’Brien and Lance Partin are at your service!.

Happy Holidays!   There has been quite a bit going on in our marketplace today, from even further constraint in available housing, to increased NOD filings, to even higher sales prices in recent months.

A little bit of history……   In August 2009, Clark County saw a whopping peak of 11,482 filings of Notices of Default.    The filing figures remained steady around 4,000+/- per month, from 2010 through September 2011.    The October 2011 effective date of AB284 then caused filings to fall to less than 1,000 a month.  

To clarify, the “need” to foreclose on a property did not change – what DID change was the bank’s ability to foreclose, due to the requirements of AB284.   You can read my blog post from earlier this year regarding AB284 to learn more.    According to the Board of Realtors®, foreclosures have fallen from nearly 50 percent of Las Vegas home sales to about 15 percent in October (we believe to be a direct result of AB284), and short sales now account for roughly 45 percent of the market.

As a result of AB284, default filings fell by as much as 80% through September, though the numbers have been growing over the past several months.     There were almost 2,100 Notices of Default filed in August 2012.    Additionally, as banks resolve past issues with MERS, we anticipate increased foreclosure activity – and may even see some lower prices as a result of the increased supply in available listings.

At this time, our current MLS inventory shows only 3,800+/- single family homes available, an unbelievable 10-day supply of housing!      This decreased inventory has caused asking prices for Las Vegas homes to increase 13.7% over a year ago, as reported by online site Trulia.com this morning, December 4^th.     And according to Las Vegas-based SalesTraq, the median existing home price in Las Vegas has climbed from $100,000 in January to $124,000 in October.

We do try to report the most accurate, up-to-date information to our clients, but there could be a margin of error in our reporting.   Please understand that some of our comments may also be opinions and not absolute fact.  

If you’re a home buyer or a home seller in today’s frenzied Las Vegas market, you need professional help.   Call Heather Brockhurst, Denise Moreno or Joanna Piette at 702-365-1000 and be a part of the right team!   HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM NEW HOME RESOURCE!

What is the true meaning of Thanksgiving?    We often ask ourselves that question.

When we do think about Thanksgiving, we think about being in a warm home with family, friends, food, laughter and fun.  Thanksgiving is the one time of the year that everyone comes together to give thanks and show appreciation by spending time and enjoying each other’s company.

So when you think about Thanksgiving,  what is the most favorable memory that stayed with you?    Was it the yummy smell of baking pies in the oven?  Or was it stealing pieces of the turkey as it was carved every year?   Or the home in which you were raised that gave the family a holiday experience they will never forget?     I remember my Thanksgivings moments.   Do you?   Share them with us……..

From all of us at New Home Resource, we wish you a holiday filled with food and laughter,  and all of the good things that make memories last a lifetime.

Memorial Day is usually spent watching the latest blockbuster film, but it is also a great time of year to get outside and celebrate the nice weather.  Depending on where you live you may be able to plan a traditional picnic with blanket and basket, or maybe just bring the idea of summer inside.   But either way, planning a Memorial Day picnic is a great way for you to spend the first long weekend of the season with family and friends.  Here are some great and fun menu ideas for your holiday picnic as well as some tips for giving it a Memorial Day theme!

Food & Drink!

When planning any menu,  it is always important to balance taste and nutrition.  It is also important to a have a theme and, since this is a Memorial Day picnic, choosing menu items that are simple to prepare and eat outdoors, as well as All-American, is your best bet.  Things like burgers and hotdogs are great for backyard picnics.  Fried chicken is another great main course idea, but if you want something more portable,  a hero sandwich is an easy choice.

To complete your meal, items like potato salad, garden salads, and coleslaw are inexpensive and easy to prepare sides, but if you are looking to get more creative,  then consider a nice pasta salad or a seven-layer dip.  Lastly, don’t forget dessert!  Staples like apple pie, brownies, or cookies are all great and easy choices.

For drinks you’ll want to provide several choices and some non-alcoholic beverages to make all your guests happy.  Lemonade and other fruit-based drinks will make the kids happy and are also great mixers.

Decoration Ideas

The easiest way to decorate for your Memorial Day picnic is to use red, white, and blue.  Set your picnic table with a blue tablecloth or blanket and add red and white napkins, plates, and cutlery.  You can also continue this theme by adding an arrangement of red, white, and blue carnations or other flowers, and add a few small flags to give it that finished look.

Memorial Day is a great time of year to host a party for family and friends, and these ideas can help you get your summer season started with a fun and inexpensive picnic.

Penny Womack, REALTOR®, ABR, SFR

Easter is a ‘movable’ holiday, falling on the first Sunday after the first full moon.  This can be tricky depending on which calendar is followed.  Western Christian churches do not follow the same calendar as Eastern Orthodox churches, which can cause the holiday to be celebrated on two different Sundays.

Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 22^nd and April 25^th.    The most common day is April 19^th, on which Easter falls about 4% of the time.

The largest Easter egg hunt was in 2007 in Florida, when 10,000 people searched for half a million eggs.

According to one amateur statistician, two of the top ten most popular items people give up for Lent are abstaining from Facebook and Twitter.      Not surprising, giving up chocolate, swearing and alcohol also made the list.

In ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and Persia, painted eggs were used in Spring festivals and exchanged as gifts.  It was the Europeans who took the tradition one step further to Easter.

It is said that the Easter bonnet (a hat) was a treat women allowed themselves after abstaining from other luxuries during Lent.   They would wear the bonnet to Easter morning celebrations.

The first White House “Easter Egg Roll” was in 1878.     Ever since, children gather the Monday following Easter to push with a spoon decorated hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn.

After Halloween, Easter is the next-best-selling candy holiday.      Of course, chocolate is the #1 treat choice with 90 million chocolate bunnies created in the U.S. each year.   And according to 76% of Americans, chocolate bunnies should be eaten ears first.

The most popular non-chocolate Easter candy are marshmallow Peeps, of which 700 million are sold during the Easter season.    The most popular color is yellow, followed by pink, lavender, blue and white.

According to American Greetings, Easter is the fourth most popular holiday for sending cards (behind Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day).

And A Very Happy Easter to you from all of us at New Home Resource!