MORTGAGE: HOW SHOULD I SEARCH FOR A HOUSE?
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That’s easy. Start doing some research on your own on the Internet, even before contacting a real estate agent. If the Internet was invented for any particular industry it has to have been for real estate. Before the World Wide Web was born, one could typically locate houses only in the newspaper on the weekend. If you saw a house that you liked, you’d contact the agent selling the home. Then came the endless cycle of driving around in a real estate agent’s car looking at houses until finally, finally you found a home you wanted to buy.
The Internet has helped agents become more productive by letting consumers do a little shopping first before they get serious enough to use an agent. An agent who advertises a house is called the ‘‘listing’’ agent, because he puts the house for sale on the multiple listing service, or MLS.
The agent will show you the home and ask if you are using another agent. If you aren’t, the agent will ask if you would like to see other homes for sale. You of course say ‘‘yes,’’ and the agent then becomes a ‘‘buyer’s’’ agent as well, helping you find a home to buy and not just listing a house for sale. You give your agent your requirements for your dream home, such as four bedrooms on a culde sac with a swimming pool. Your agent would then scour the MLS to search for such homes. After the search, you’d both get in the agent’s car and go see the homes.
But viewing homes on the Web gives both you and your agent a head start. You only look at homes you’re interested in, and the agent’s not dragging you all over town to look at homes you’d never buy. Your agent spends more time selling or listing homes and less time driving all over the place.
You can start with www.realtor.com. At this official site of the National Association of REALTORS, you can search for homes anywhere in the country or across town using home listings from your local newspaper to your local or even national real estate brokerage. It’s really cool. You simply log onto the site, choose where you want to live, and select your preferences, like four bedrooms in this zip code in this price range with a pool or without, and so on. Next thing you know, there are your potential dream homes right on your computer screen. Some sites even have ‘‘virtual’’ tours showing different views of the house. This way you can see what homes are selling for and what’s generally available.
2011 White House Easter Egg Roll Poster Design Contest
Get Email UpdatesContact Us Go to homepage. The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Live Streams Podcasts Briefing Room Your Weekly Address Speeches & Remarks Press Briefings Statements & Releases White House Schedule Presidential Actions Executive Orders Presidential Memoranda Proclamations Legislation Pending Legislation Signed Legislation Vetoed Legislation Nominations & Appointments Disclosures Visitor Access Records Financial Disclosures 2010 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff 2009 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff Ethics Pledge Waivers Issues Civil Rights It Gets Better Defense The Way Forward in Afghanistan Disabilities Economy Financial Reform Innovation Startup America Education Educate to Innovate Higher Education Race to the Top Commencement Challenge Energy & Environment A New Foundation Deepwater BP Oil Spill Ethics Family Fiscal Responsibility Foreign Policy Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Trip to Asia 2010 Haiti Earthquake Speech in Cairo Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Poverty Rural State Fair Tour Seniors & Social Security Service Taxes Tax Cuts, Unemployment Insurance and Jobs Technology Urban Policy Veterans Women Additional Issues The Administration President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet 2010 Video Reports White House Staff Chief of Staff Bill Daley Deputy Chief of Staff Nancy-Ann DeParle Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco Counselor to the President Peter Rouse Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House Interactive Tour History White House Rooms White House Art Presidents First Ladies The Oval Office The Vice President's Residence & Office Eisenhower Executive Office Building Camp David Air Force One White House Fellows President’s Commission About the Fellowship Current Class Recent Class Staff Bios White House Internships The Story About Us Program Apply Here Submit a Recommendation Tours & Events 2011 Easter Egg Roll Kitchen Garden Tours Holidays 2010 Inside the White House Our Government The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch The Constitution Federal Agencies & Commissions Elections & Voting State & Local Government Resources /* Maximize height of menu features. */if(typeof(jQuery)!='undefined')jQuery.each($('.topnav-feature','#topnav'),function(i,v){var o=$(v),oh=o.height(),sh=o.siblings().height();if(oh Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases table.system-status-report th, table td, table th { padding: 5px;}.item-list ul.pager {margin: 0;}.view-display-id-page_1 {padding: 20px;}.node-form .text {width:95%;}.node-form, #node-delete-confirm, #user-login {max-width:648px;}dl.node-type-list {max-width: 615px; padding: 20px; margin: 20px;}#edit-delete, div.submenu.revisions {display: none;}ul.secondary li {display: block;}ul.secondary a.active {border-bottom: 1px solid #999;} The White House Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release March 21, 2011 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll Poster Design ContestWASHINGTON – Today, the White House is announcing an Easter Egg Roll Poster Contest for local school children. The First Lady will be selecting the winning design, which will serve as the official 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll poster. The White House invites all elementary and middle school students in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia to submit poster designs by Monday, April 4th at 11:59pm EST for consideration. The poster design selected by the First Lady will be used as part of the White House 2011 Easter Egg Roll program. The winning student artist will be invited to attend the event, along with his or her class.
Students from the Washington, D.C. area have had a special relationship with the White House Easter Egg Roll for generations. In the early 1800s, local children rolled eggs on the Capitol Steps the day after Easter. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes invited D.C. area children to roll their Easter eggs on the White House lawn and a tradition was born, growing into the national event that it is today. The Easter Egg Roll was the largest public event held at the White House in 2009 (and 2010). Close to 30,000 people from the DC area and across the country gathered on the South Lawn to enjoy the festivities.
This year, the President and First Lady will again open the South Lawn for children 12 years and younger and their families. Activities at this year’s event include cooking stations, storytelling, sports, live entertainment, and the tradition that started it all, Easter egg rolling. The 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll is focused on promoting health and wellness with the theme “Get Up and Go!” All of the activities will encourage children to lead healthy and active lives, which is a central part of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move!” initiative, a national campaign to combat childhood obesity.
For more information about the poster contest entry process or submissions, please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/eastereggroll/poster. The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 4th at 11:59pm EST. Submissions may not exceed 2 megabytes (high-quality scans measuring either 8.5” X 11” at 600 dpi or 20 x 16” at 300 dpi must be available upon request) and should relate to this year’s theme, “Get Up and Go!” Please note: submissions may be made public during the selection process.
Ticketing details for the 2011 Easter Egg Roll can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/eastereggroll.
First Lady Michelle Obama gets the White House Garden ready for spring and talks to kids as part of her Let's Move! initiative.
March 16, 2011 11:18 AM EDTSunshine Week 2011 and Our Ongoing Commitment to Open GovernmentSpecial Assistant to the President for Justice and Regulatory Policy Steve Croley discusses “Sunshine Week," a time to assess open government, and to encourage citizens to seek information from their government and participate in public affairs.
March 14, 2011 11:02 AM EDTFamilies Facing Foreclosure With Facts Not Fear: HUD Foreclosure ConferenceThe Housing and Urban Development Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership Center wants to equip faith-based and community non-profit leaders to help their congregations and clients on how to prevent foreclosure. The Center will be hosting a conference, which will also be broadcast, in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2011, from 10 AM to 3:30 PM.
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Remarks by the First Lady at White House Kitchen Garden Planting
Office of the First Lady
3:33 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: What’s going on? How are you guys doing?
AUDIENCE: Fine.
MRS. OBAMA: Fine! Are you excited?
AUDIENCE: Yeah!
MRS. OBAMA: You ready to do something?
AUDIENCE: Yeah!
MRS. OBAMA: All right, first I’ve got to find out who’s here. I see some Bancroft t-shirts. Are you guys all from Bancroft?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
MRS. OBAMA: It’s good to have you back. What grades are you? What grades do we have?
AUDIENCE: Fifth!
MRS. OBAMA: Fifth grade, nice! Awesome! Now, Tubman? Is Tubman in the house?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
MRS. OBAMA: Where are the Tubman people? Let’s see some Tubman action. Yes! And what grades are you all in?
AUDIENCE: Fourth! Fifth!
MRS. OBAMA: Fourth and fifth. How exciting. Now, who’s been here before? All right, cool, cool. And who -- all right, let’s see new hands, new hands. Anybody who hasn’t been here before? All right, great.
Well, this is exciting for all of us because this is the planting season for the White House Garden.
AUDIENCE: Yay!
MRS. OBAMA: And we’re excited to have you guys. We rely on you all so much to get all this done, because look how much we have to plant. There’s no way we would get this done without your help. So we really appreciate it. So how many of you guys know what we’re going to plant today? All right, give me something. Let me hear it. What are we going to do? Who told you?
AUDIENCE: Spinach.
MRS. OBAMA: Spinach? We got some --
AUDIENCE: Cauliflower.
MRS. OBAMA: Got some cauliflower, got some cabbage. Collards, cauliflower, what else?
AUDIENCE: Peas!
MRS. OBAMA: Peas, we got some peas! Beets. Uh-oh. The President doesn’t like beets. (Laughter.) But it’s okay. We’re an equal opportunity garden. (Laughter.) What else? Swiss chard, that’s what it is. Do you know what Swiss chard is? It’s like a green. It’s like a -- it’s like a lettuce that you cook. It’s like greens, collards, mustard -- something like that. Yeah, yeah.
So what kind of vegetables do you all like?
AUDIENCE: Broccoli.
MRS. OBAMA: Do I hear a little broccoli? Malia and Sasha’s favorite -- broccoli. Spinach. We’re spinach lovers, too. Turnips? A little lettuce? Some corn? Corn is good. I think we’re going to try to do some corn. Yeah. Was that me? Oh, he’s giving directions to other people. No corn yet, but we’re going to get there. Leeks -- you like leeks? You guys know what leeks are?
AUDIENCE: No.
MRS. OBAMA: All right. Sam, explain leeks.
MR. KASS: Leeks are in the family of --
MRS. OBAMA: The leek family.
MR. KASS: Leek family -- (laughter.) And the thing about leeks, when you plant the leek you keep putting soil on top of it as it grows. So the part that you want to eat stays white -- gets no sun so it stays white and really tender. They’re delicious.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: What would happen if --
MR. KASS: Then it would just grow really green and you can’t eat it --
MRS. OBAMA: So the fun thing is, is that after we plant it, this stuff starts growing, we can try all this stuff. So that’s going to be the fun part, is trying some new things. So maybe if you haven’t had leeks, you’ll try some leeks. Yes, you’ll try some leeks with me. (Laughter.) Maybe some Swiss chard. You’ll try some of that, too.
All right, that sounds good. But more importantly, you guys are helping do something that’s really important to me and that’s be a part of a program that we started here called “Let’s Move.” Have you guys heard about “Let’s Move”? “Let’s Move” is to fight the epidemic of childhood obesity, to make sure you guys are getting off to a healthy start. But it’s not just about planting good vegetables; it’s about passing the information on.
So you guys are lucky enough to be here and we are grateful to have you here, but there are a lot of kids who don’t get the opportunity to come plant at the White House. You’ve got family members and other people who need to know what you’re learning. So we’re going to want you guys to pass this information on, especially go home and get your parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles to cook some vegetables, to make sure you guys are trying new things -- because a lot of times they say they don’t try it because you guys won’t eat it. So you got to let them know you’re ready to try some things, right? And you’ve got to talk to the other kids at your school as well, right?
Well, we’re grateful to have you. We know that our White House chefs have also been working with the Tubman School on Chefs Move to School. So they come and hang out with you guys all the time, I understand.
And this is Bancroft. You guys have been here for the full three years that we’ve been working on the garden, so it’s really exciting to have you guys back.
So I’m going to stop talking and we’re going to start getting to work. Okay. We ready?
AUDIENCE: Yes!
MRS. OBAMA: All right, let’s move! Let’s get it done! (Applause.)
END 3:37 P.M. EDT
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson answers your questions on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, a Clean Air Act protection, in a live chat on Thursday, March 17, at 10:55 a.m. EDT.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius talks about the open government efforts underway at her department.
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Statement by Press Secretary Jay Carney on House Passage of the Three-Week Continuing Resolution
Get Email UpdatesContact Us Go to homepage. The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Live Streams Podcasts Briefing Room Your Weekly Address Speeches & Remarks Press Briefings Statements & Releases White House Schedule Presidential Actions Executive Orders Presidential Memoranda Proclamations Legislation Pending Legislation Signed Legislation Vetoed Legislation Nominations & Appointments Disclosures Visitor Access Records Financial Disclosures 2010 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff 2009 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff Ethics Pledge Waivers Issues Civil Rights It Gets Better Defense The Way Forward in Afghanistan Disabilities Economy Financial Reform Innovation Startup America Education Educate to Innovate Higher Education Race to the Top Commencement Challenge Energy & Environment A New Foundation Deepwater BP Oil Spill Ethics Family Fiscal Responsibility Foreign Policy Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Trip to Asia 2010 Haiti Earthquake Speech in Cairo Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Poverty Rural State Fair Tour Seniors & Social Security Service Taxes Tax Cuts, Unemployment Insurance and Jobs Technology Urban Policy Veterans Women Additional Issues The Administration President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet 2010 Video Reports White House Staff Chief of Staff Bill Daley Deputy Chief of Staff Nancy-Ann DeParle Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco Counselor to the President Peter Rouse Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House Interactive Tour History White House Rooms White House Art Presidents First Ladies The Oval Office The Vice President's Residence & Office Eisenhower Executive Office Building Camp David Air Force One White House Fellows President’s Commission About the Fellowship Current Class Recent Class Staff Bios White House Internships The Story About Us Program Apply Here Submit a Recommendation Tours & Events 2011 Easter Egg Roll Kitchen Garden Tours Holidays 2010 Inside the White House Our Government The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch The Constitution Federal Agencies & Commissions Elections & Voting State & Local Government Resources /* Maximize height of menu features. */if(typeof(jQuery)!='undefined')jQuery.each($('.topnav-feature','#topnav'),function(i,v){var o=$(v),oh=o.height(),sh=o.siblings().height();if(oh Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases table.system-status-report th, table td, table th { padding: 5px;}.item-list ul.pager {margin: 0;}.view-display-id-page_1 {padding: 20px;}.node-form .text {width:95%;}.node-form, #node-delete-confirm, #user-login {max-width:648px;}dl.node-type-list {max-width: 615px; padding: 20px; margin: 20px;}#edit-delete, div.submenu.revisions {display: none;}ul.secondary li {display: block;}ul.secondary a.active {border-bottom: 1px solid #999;} The White House Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release March 15, 2011 Statement by Press Secretary Jay Carney on House Passage of the Three-Week Continuing ResolutionThe short-term funding bill passed in the House of Representatives today gives Congress some breathing room to find consensus on a long-term measure that funds the government through the end of the fiscal year. The President urges the Senate to pass this bill to avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery. But the President has been clear: with the wide range of issues facing our nation, we cannot keep funding the government in two or three week increments. It is time for us to come together, find common ground and resolve this issue in a sensible way. There is no disagreement on whether to cut spending to put us on a path to live within our means, but we can’t sacrifice critical investments that will help us out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our global competitors to win the future. We have already met Republicans halfway, and we are optimistic that Congress can get this done.
Blog posts on this issue March 16, 2011 7:58 PM EDTMaking Workplaces More Flexible March 16, 2011 4:24 PM EDTOpen for Questions: A Conversation on The Clean Air Act with Administrator Lisa JacksonEPA Administrator Lisa Jackson answers your questions on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, a Clean Air Act protection, in a live chat on Thursday, March 17, at 10:55 a.m. EDT.
March 16, 2011 3:08 PM EDTSunshine Week at the Department of Health and Human ServicesHealth and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius talks about the open government efforts underway at her department.
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