Gabriel Properties

Part D, the federal government’s prescription drug benefit for Medicare enrollees, relies on competition between private insurers to create savings for consumers. This “managed competition” model offers consumers dozens of coverage options with the goal of enabling them to reduce unnecessary out of pocket expenses.

 Critics of the plan have argued that Part D is too complicated and confusing for its target audience of senior citizens, including many who face cognitive challenges. Some have argued that the plan is so convoluted that even the insurers that participate in the plan don’t fully understand how it works. In fact, the New York Times reported in 2006 that 22 percent of calls made to Part D providers about the plan resulted in the delivery of inaccurate information.    Jonathan Ketcham, an associate professor in the marketing department of the W. P. Carey Sc Read all post…

Tags: Benefit, Prescription Benefit

Coppell may be a small city located in both Dallas and Denton Counties, but this DFW city enjoys a robust economy and a swiftly growing population. As such, Coppell new home communities are in high demand, and real estate values have seen steady increases, even during the height of the nationwide recession.

In addition to boasting many new home communities and countless amenities like shopping centers and public parks, Coppell has a number of fantastic community programs that support a strong community:

Community Gardens

The Coppell Community Gardens supports community gardens, as well as a farmer’s market and environment education. This community program is overseen by a group of dedicated volunteers who lend their time to provide a market for locally grown food and donate organic produce to needy families. T

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August 1, 2011 |

On August 4, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing regarding the nomination of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

However, House Republicans have stated they intend to block the appointment of Cordray to head the new agency unless structural changes are made to the CFPB.

The CFPB opened its doors as an independent agency on July 21, and it is off to a strong start promoting an equitable and transparent consumer financial marketplace, said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson. However, until it has a Director, the CFPB will not be able to use its full powers to protect consumers and level the playing field for community banks and credit unions.

One of the changes proposed by Republicans is to appoint a board instead of a single director to run the CFPB.

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Tags: Hearing, Senate Banking

Hi [John Doe],

I think the West Seattle market is at an interesting crossroads.  There are three major things going on right now.  The first is the recent change (since the beginning of the 2010-11 school year) in how elementary school districts are defined and governed.  This has actually been a very good thing for zip code 98116, because we have the three highest scoring public elementary schools (Lafayette, Schmitz Park, and Alki) in West Seattle.

There is a somewhat large divide between the others, although I’ve also heard good things about Gatewood and there are rumors of Fairmont reopening.  Right now a 3+ beds, 2+ baths home with a conventional configuration in 98116 is super desirable and typically flies off the market.

You’ll notice for the first time in the last several years the number of sold homes in 98116 exceeds the number of homes on the market (http://www.redfin.com/zipcode/98116–see the market trends section).  But the buying season for people with school-age children grinds to a halt starting the middle of August (the zero barrier for being settled prior to the start of school).

The second factor holding us back are the transit/commute issues reaching critical mass right now.  I’m actually of the opinion that the West Seattle Bridge/Spokane Street viaduct expansion is ultimately going to have a bigger impact on us than the 99/Alaska Way viaduct will.  The Spokane Street project is going to pose a lot of challenges for the next six months, but after that we’re going to have more avenues to and from downtown.   I expect that this project’s completion will establish the new normal for our commute.  This will then allay the anxieties of being stuck on our peninsula without a bridge (sorry for the amateurish play on “up the creek”.)

Finally, West Seattle is a bit of a lagging indicator of Seattle as a whole.  Much of our demand and gentrification for the past decade has come from a new infusion of people from other areas.  West Seattle is not somewhere you stumble into, and most Seattleites try to avoid it.  My wife and I are classic examples.  She went to grad school at UW and was renting in Fremont.  After a season of getting beat up in the Green Lake-Wallingford-Phinney-Ballard market we were looking for options.

I don’t mean to say that I think West Seattle is a consolation prize, quite to the contrary we feel VERY lucky to have landed here, but at the moment those other neighborhoods have come down in price and fewer people are broadening their search to West Seattle.  Unfortunately I’m not sure how to substantiate much of this with stats at the moment, so please excuse my gut instinct.

In short, we are lacking “good” inventory.  New listings that work for households with school-age children, that are well cared-for on the north end of West Seattle and below $600k are flying off the shelf (so long as the seller is realistic in price).  In fact I think the smartest strategy is to slightly under-price if your home fits these criteria.  That said I have no idea if you’re looking to buy or sell or both, or you’re just a real estate numbers’ junkie like us.  If you would like to go a little deeper or talk about what’s going in a specific neighborhood or price range, let me know and I’d love to connect on the phone or grab coffee.

Tags: Seattle, West Seattle