2008 Mar/Apr

Women need to take part in financial planning

The home market across Cape Cod and Plymouth County certainly has felt the sting of the nation’s housing downturn. Signs of optimism early in 2007 continually eroded, with forecasts of a recovery first expected last fall now postponed at least until this autumn.

What to expect in the coming year?

We spoke to a number of local real estate brokers about the current market and how to sell or buy your home under today’s conditions. Here are some of their recommendations:

It’s never been a more competitive time for those who want to rent their house. To get the best price and make your tenants happy, consider these tips offered by Joan and Jeff Talmadge of WeNeedaVacation.com, which lists more than 3,000 Cape and Islands vacation rentals.

Cape Business asked Charles Robinson, President and CEO of Rogers & Gray Insurance Agency, Robert W. Miller, principal of Dowling & O’Neil Insurance Agency, Jeff Helm of Atlantic Advisers Insurance Agency Inc. and Geoff Gordon of Andrew G. Gordon Insurance Agency Inc. for their perspective on the residential insurance front for 2008. Their insights offer cautions to homeowners, but a growing sense that there may be some relief in sight. These are excerpts from our interviews:

The outdoor living market is being driven by baby boomers, second-home owners and retirees. They are fueling trends we saw emerge in 2007 that are accelerating into 2008. It’s about convenience, saving time and enhancing the home’s investment value.

There are a variety of ways to add interest to your garden this year – here are some of the top trends:

Energy-saving, environmentally friendly ways to conserve natural resources, save money and contribute to a more sustainable world

Believe it or not, advancements in product and technique have allowed homes today to be built of styrofoam. In fact, Cape Cod builder Todd LaBarge of LaBarge Homes has become a passionate advocate of Insulated Concrete Form home construction, which uses foam forms and poured concrete for stability and energy conservation.

Cape Business spoke with with Anastasia Welsh Perrino, president of the Barnstable County Bar Association.

During the last four months, Cape Business has interviewed more than three dozen individual law firms, from Boston-based Nutter, to solo practitioners like Barbara Sullivan, whose Sagamore Beach office faces Cape Cod Bay. Our mission: To discover how the law profession on Cape Cod is changing. And what does it all mean – both to the profession itself and to the thousands of businesses that depend on legal services?

Bruce Bierhans rushes into his Chatham office two minutes ahead of his appointment on a Monday afternoon. He is carrying only his BlackBerry. He beckons his guest into a conference room that is shared by several other attorneys in a condominium office that he partly owns.

William Yates is not only a new face of law on Cape Cod. He also represents the baby boomer invasion – white-collar professionals establishing new businesses and homes here, with no intention of retiring. His story is illuminating for any Cape company striving to understand the rapid changes to our economy and population.

In a tiny, windowless room deep within Nutter’s ever-expanding Hyannis office are several computer servers that play a profound role in the Boston law firm’s unique success on Cape Cod.

Several years ago, the partners at Masterman, Culbert & Tully LLP decided to become more strategic. How could their impressive individual specialties mesh more productively? What companies could be their best clients? How could they better communicate their firm’s value? How could they assure a long-term relationship with a client?

Longtime local attorneys become partners in a Boston law firm – without leaving the Cape.

Joe Berlandi personifies the changing face of Cape Cod’s population, economy and legal profession.

With technology, this lawyer maintains offices on both sides of the canal

We sought out the experts – Here’s some of what we learned.
Thanks to Margy McEnaney of Cape Cod Fitness Company (capecodfitness.com) for sharing her expertise.

We asked our audiology consultant, Dr. Theresa Cullen of Cape Cod Hearing Center, to help us help our readers address one of the most common realities of the 55-plus crowd: subtle hearing loss. Baby boomers – especially men – are facing this reality in large part because of a lifetime of rock n’ roll, mowing lawns and handling rush-hour traffic. The good news: today’s hearing devices are state-of-the-art, computerized and miniature enough to be virtually invisible.

Capt. “Hurricane” Bob Levangie turned his passion for boating into a second career working at Bass River Marina teaching boat owners the ins and outs of boat handling and navigation. Hurricane also conducts all the ‘on the water’ training for new members of Freedom Boat Club of West Dennis. With spring upon us, his first column naturally focuses on how to get started.

We recently joined Come Wine With Us for a tour of the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, and of Sharpe Hill Vineyard in Connecticut. Come Wine With Us (comewinewithus.com) offers wine and food tours throughout New England and beyond, with transportation provided by Cape Destinations.

We all know that fads come and go, but there are a few that are sticking around and are worth giving a try.

Every year about 3 million people take up the game and call themselves golfers – but another 3 million exit the game. The challenge for me as a PGA professional is to improve the quality of play for golfers and make sure they are not unnecessarily frustrated.

Since the beginning of the New Year, a frequent topic of conversation has been the decline in the stock market, and what it means for individual investors. The catch phrase has been, “Everything is so uncertain.” There is certainly some truth in that, but let’s take a closer look and try to figure out if the current situation is all that unusual.

I was asked that question by Karen Hube, who was writing a special report for the Wall Street Journal titled: “Yes, real estate can still help your nest egg.”

Changes in the tax code starting under the Clinton Administration in 1997 and continuing through the Bush presidency have greatly expanded the individual’s ability to save for their retirement. Contribution limits on 401(k)s, SIMPLE Plans and traditional IRAs continue to go up each year, hitting $15,500, $10,500 and $5,000 this year, respectively. But the real benefits have been extended to small business owners and the self-employed.

A primer on how to contribute to a favorite charity as part of your financial and estate planning

For a while we had seen small signs of forgetfulness in my mother-in-law, but we just chalked it up to her getting older. But the statement, “I’ve never made chicken pot pie” was a major turning point.

1. SWITCH TO COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS
Changing five of the most frequently used light bulbs in your home can save you $100 per year on electric bills.