Question and Answer Christmas Jokes

Q: What do elves learn in school?
A: The Elf-abet!

Q: What’s the most popular wine at Christmas?
A: “I don’t like sprouts” !

Q: If athletes get athletes foot, what do astronauts get?
A: Missletoe!

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A: Frostbite.

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While at UCSF Erika couldn’t resist snapping a pic of these McDreamy’s, a group of researchers! We appreciate these gentlemen and scholars and are proud and grateful of all that UCSF medical center brings to San Francisco!

Erika met these gals near Macy’s and said “Ladies, this is what they mean when the say shop till you drop”,  she just had to get a picture!

Union Square offers amazing shopping with some of the worlds most exclusive designer stores! At the Estates Group we believe that it is impossible to overdo luxury!!

Now is the time to do it! The remodeling industry is suffering a double dip in sales, not unlike the double dip in home prices. So the logic of this being a buyers market and the time to buy an affordable home applies to the remodeling market. Now is an amazing time to budget for and negotiate a home improvement deal.

The Fall 2011 U.S. Remodeling Sentiment Report* shows that the unrelenting bad news about the economy this summer is driving many homeowners to reconsider and either delay or scale back their remodeling plans. This contraction in spending is expected to last until summer 2012. Continue reading →

Our very own Belvedere! The FBI named this city by the Bay the Safest City in California for the third year running. Their violent crime rate in 2010 you ask? ZERO! Guess you can’t beat that.

The low crime rate in Belvedere is the norm for Marin, which consistently ranks among the state’s safest counties in federal and state crime indexes.

So when are we moving?

Apple is adding fuel to the flame of a rumor that their newest model of the iPhone, the iPhone 5, will be released on October 5th by closing down one of it’s San Francisco retail stores with the promise of re-opening on that date.

Here are some of the popular speculations of the features Apple will add to the new iPhone 5:

• iOS 5.0 was announced by Apple this June. The user interface is based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. It is expected to come with more than 200 new features that will include improved Notification System, News Stand and iMessage (think Blackberry Messenger).
• Scratch proof and shatter proof screen.
• iCloud, which is a new service for wireless remote access of music from all computers and mobile devices.
• Sleeker body design.
• A5 processor to power the iPhone 5 (technically the same chip that currently powers the ipad2). In non-tech speak this means that the iPhone5 can do twice the work at once.
• Improved camera and video.
• Not only higher screen resolution, but also a bigger screen (sources say that Apple is planning to increase the screen size from 3.5 to 4-inch).
• Face recognition security.
• Extended battery life.

The iPhone 5 event will be the first in Apple’s post-Jobs era, with the iconic CEO having resigned last month amid speculation regarding his ongoing health issues.

So how much do you think this bad boy is going to cost us?!

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For the second time in a month, fixed and adjustable-rate mortgage rates set new record lows this week, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. The previous record lows were set Aug. 18.

Take a look at the rates:

30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.12 this week, down from last week’s 4.22 percent. The 30-year rates’ previous low was 4.15 percent, set on Aug. 18.

15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.33 percent this week, down from last week’s 3.39 percent average. Its previous record low was 3.36 percent.

5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.96 percent, holding steady at the same record low it set last week.

1-year ARMs: averaged 2.84 percent this week, down from last week’s 2.89 percent average. Its previous record low was 2.86 percent.

The Obama administration is expected to announce a new mortgage relief program next week to help struggling home owners stay in their home and reduce the number of foreclosures, Reuters reports.

While the exact details of the proposal are still unknown, analysts are speculating that President Barack Obama is likely to announce a plan that would help more borrowers to refinance loans, allowing them to lower their monthly payments and ward off possible foreclosure.

The refinancing plan will reportedly apply to loans backed by government-owned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or the Federal Housing Administration, allowing more home owners who have been unable to refinance due to poor credit, owing too much above their home’s current value, or unemployment, to take advantage of current low interest rates.

Other lawmakers who have pushed for such a move have argued that by lowering home owners’ monthly payments, it would free up cash for other spending, which will help stimulate the overall economy.

Source: “White House Could Unveil Mortgage Plan Next Week,” Reuters (Aug. 31, 2011)

More than 20 transit lines run down the street…. So, should San Francisco close off Market Street to private vehicles? ”We’ve had this debate for 20 years,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said. “We need to do it in a comprehensive way.” A number of mayoral candidates at a Monday forum agreed that closing Market to private cars would speed transit and make bicycling safer. I am not a fan of driving on market street as it is- the second I turn on it I immediately regret it- but then I can’t make a left turn to get off of it!