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Archive for January 21st, 2012

Parkchester was cited by housing experts and by all interested in public welfare as an important civic contribution. It is the largest housing project ever undertaken either by private or public agencies in the United States. Parkchester has demonstrated that convenient location, attractive surroundings, and comfortable living can be provided at moderate rentals and can still net a reasonable return on capital. It has proved the feasibility of providing such housing without Government subvention of any sort. Since the completion of Parkchester the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company launched other sizable housing developments, one in San Francisco, another in Los Angeles, and a third in Alexandria, Virginia.

At the same time the new home office building program of the company continued. By 1941 all but the last quadrant of the building between 24th and 25th Streets on Madison Square had been erected. A large and imposing office structure took shape across the way from the Tower, a fine addition to the skyline of New York. Under those two roofs more than 15,000 employees of the company took care of the ever increasing volume of business. It was a source of gratification to the executives that even during the period of disturbed economic conditions, the company continued to grow and continuously found it necessary to increase the staff at the home office in order to provide lower term life insurance rates.

On the other hand, because agents were taught how to make more effective use of their time and energies, because ordinary insurance constituted a larger proportion of the business as a whole, because monthly premium insurance grew and a larger percentage of industrial weekly premiums were paid directly, the company found it possible to handle the growing volume of business with a smaller field Force. This adjustment was made without dispensing with the services of any man properly performing his duties.

It has been so conceived as not to impose any hardship upon faithful representatives of the company and has been affected only as retirements, deaths, and resignations have occurred. At that time it had never been necessary for the company to let anyone go for the want of useful employment in the home office or head offices or in the field.

As it has been aware of peacetime responsibilities, the company dedicated itself with even greater resolution to its wartime obligations and providing different types of life insurance. It has contributed to the financial resources of the two countries it serves through the purchase of large blocks of Federal and Dominion securities. In the year after Pearl Harbor, the company increased its holdings of United States Governments by more than $550,000,000, bringing the total to nearly $1,700,000,000. Also during that year it increased its holdings of Dominion Government securities to a total of about $130,000,000. It was also encouraged the purchase of War Bonds and Stamps by policyholders through the efforts of the field force and by its own employees.

The company has made available to the Government a number of its experts, who have given valuable advice and technical assistance in various fields. In addition, Frederic W. Ecker resigned his positions as Vice President and member of the Board in January 1942, to give his full time to the LendLease Administration as special assistant to Mr. E. R. Stettinius, Jr. Both these important positions were filled by the promotion of Charles G. Taylor, Jr., formerly Second Vice President. A total of over 3,000 members of the home office and field staffs joined the armed forces. The entire organization, and the institution of life insurance as a whole, had been geared to the fullest effort in support of the Government at war.

REITs, or “Real Estate Investment Trusts,” are specialized investment vehicles for investors looking to diversify their holdings while sharing the risks and responsibilities among a group of investors with a similar focus and goals. Those ambitions are good ones, and REITs can be good, even great, places to put your real estate investing dollars. But there may be a better alternative.

Because there are so many REITs available, and they vary so greatly, it’s common to hear from investors regularly asking, “What’s the best REIT to invest in?” I’m not going to try to answer that here. Rather I’m going to propose an alternative. If you’re looking to invest in a REIT, and you’re looking for the best REIT to invest in, you should consider City Capital Corporation’s Socially Responsible Real Estate Investing Program as an alternative.

Most of the benefits of the best REITs are available with City Capital’s program, with the added advantage of social responsibility and community building that most REITs can’t offer. If you’re looking for an investment vehicle that lets you build your portfolio of properties – up to six per year – without using your own cash, without using your own “sweat-equity” or labor, and NOT assuming all of the risks yourself, City Capital’s program just may be for you.

The Socially Responsible Real Estate Investing Program at City Capital Corp. lets you invest using either your own self-directed IRA funds, or your own good credit. They invest in communities and urban areas where working families need good rental housing. These working men and women are pre-qualified and waiting for homes, ready and willing tenants for your investment properties!

If you’re considering a REIT, and looking for the best REIT to invest in, take a few minutes and learn about City Capital’s Program for yourself. It will be well worth your time.

There are few things that surprise a homeowner more than a flooded basement. Usually the damage occurs while you are at work or away from the home so it could be hours before the damage is seen. The first thought in most minds is to find the source and stop it then the second thought is will my insurance cover this.

When your home is flooded there are usually two culprits that cause this damage, a broken water pipe or heavy rain. Your insurance policy will only cover sudden and accidental disbursement of water and not rising ground water. There is a big difference between the two and the insurance companies claim adjusters do their best to determine the cause of the flood. If you have renters insurance or homeowners insurance the coverage is the same and will not cover water that comes into the house via heavy rain.

If you live in a multiple unit building such as a condo or apartment you can also have flooding occur from a neighbors unit. In most cases this happens when a washing machine hose breaks or pipe bursts. Similar to a home it usually is hours before the damage is noticed and allows the water to soak into everything. The good news is that the insurance policy of the neighbor will cover your property damage but the bad news is they may not have insurance. If the neighbor doesn’t have insurance you will have to pay your deductible to repair or replace your damaged property. Obviously you can sue the neighbor for damages but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Here are a few tips to help prevent that surprise flood:
Keep the heat above 55 degrees when leaving the house in winter Check your washing machine hoses and replace if worn Fix any leaks immediately as they can build into bigger problems later If you have a sump pump in the basement test it works every month Detach outdoor hoses from faucets in winter Water damage is very hard to repair and can cost thousands of dollars. There is no way to fully protect against flooding but having the right insurance can save you a lot of money. Make sure you understand what your insurance policy will cover.