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EXPERT ALERTS
- The Big Apple Merits a Big Twitter Presence
- First-Time Homebuyers
- Downsizing Your Home
- Will Extravagant Renovations Help Sell Your Home?
- What You Need to Know About Short Sales
- The Technology, Law Clash in Twitter Contempt Case
MEDIA JOBS
- Editorial Assistant - Baltimore
- Web Editor - NYC
- Investigative Reporter - Springfield, Ill.
- Reporter - Los Angeles
- Reporter - Miami
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES
- Upcoming #ConnectChat: The Power of Reputation
- Covering Real Estate: An Introduction
- Freelance Focus: Query Letters
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EXPERT ALERTS
Expert Alerts are listings of ProfNet members who are available to discuss timely news topics. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact their media representative at the end of the listing. You can also find Expert Alerts online at bit.ly/pncalerts
The Big Apple Merits a Big Twitter Presence
Hal Licino
Email Consultant
Benchmark Email
"Given that the mayor of New York City is Michael R. Bloomberg, an individual who is no stranger to online business thanks to his financial industry-leading website Bloomberg.com, it is natural to expect that the Big Apple would lead the country in applying online technologies to municipal management and citizen involvement. @NYCMayorsOffice is an exemplary Twitter presence that keeps New Yorkers up to the minute on city news, replies to citizen questions, links to press conferences, and much more. From monitoring road repair and maintenance, all the way to pointing out parks where the city has established free Wi-Fi, New York City is showing municipalities across the country how to truly harness the power of social media to make a difference in citizens' lives."
Website: www.benchmarkemail.com
News Contact: Jennifer Perez, jennifer.perez@benchmarkemail.com or +1-562-481-4795
First-Time Homebuyers
Chip Poli
CEO
Poli Mortgage Group, Inc.
"For the first-time homebuyer, the jargon, details and process of obtaining a mortgage loan can seem daunting, to say the least. If you are prepared in advance, you can take all of the trepidation out of the mortgage home loan process. It's important to understand the differences among the types of mortgages available to you. Once you know your short- and long-term financial strategy, you should educate yourself about the terms, benefits and drawbacks of fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, as well as Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage loans. Your personal research can go a long way. Ask yourself what types of loan you might qualify for, and which types might best suit your lifestyle and ability to make your monthly payments."
News Contact: Anna Steinbock, anna@exposeyourselfpr.com
Downsizing Your Home
Peggy Patenaude
Realtor
Prudential Howe & Doherty
"There are so many reasons to contemplate downsizing your living space. Whatever the reason for your move, downsizingyour home and your stuff can be overwhelming to contemplate. The best approach is to take it in steps. Ask yourself 'what, when, where' questions to get to the heart of what you really want in your new space. The most important steps include considering your needs, determining location and the time you want to move, taking inventory of homes available, and then to start shopping around."
News Contact: Anna Steinbock, anna@exposeyourselfpr.com
Will Extravagant Renovations Help Sell Your Home?
Jim Lowenstern
President
Castles Unlimited
"Renovating your home now in hopes to sell later is not a new trend. It is important to maintain your home in order to stay up to date with the current market. However, some remodeling techniques may in fact lose you money when it comes time to resell. If you are thinking about selling your home in the future, remember that extravagant upgrades are not always your best bet. Instead, upkeep. By keeping your home up to date little by little, and by doing small repairs instead of large over-the-top additions, your home will remain in good standing, and you will save yourself a whole lot of cash."
News Contact: Anna Steinbock, anna@exposeyourselfpr.com
What You Need to Know About Short Sales
Kristin Brown-Orr
Realtor
Coldwell Banker
"With the slump in the housing market following the huge real estate boom a few years ago, more families than ever are finding themselves in the position of owing more on their homes than they are currently worth. So, what happens if you need to sell your home for less than you owe on it? One possibility is a short sale. A short sale is the sale of property for less money than will cover the debt still owed on it by the borrower. In order to qualify for a short sale, the lender for the property must agree to accept less in payment than is currently owed on the property. The unpaid balance of that debt following the sale is called a deficiency."
News Contact: Anna Steinbock, anna@exposeyourselfpr.com
The Federal Reserve and QE3: Good or Bad?
James J. Cerna
CEO
Armada Oil
“Will quantitative easing (QE3) create hyperinflation? Our recovery outlook right now is flat on its back, or low-to-no growth. QE3 is failing to yield the results as it did in the past. There needs to be some qualitative efforts to stimulate growth. Is the government failing by excessively spending?"
Cerna is available to discuss the impact of U.S. economic recovery efforts in the oil and gas industry, and is able to provide insight on methods to stimulate growth.
News Contact: Jerry Schranz, jschranz@beckermanpr.com or +1-201-465-8020
Technology, Law Clash in Twitter Contempt Case
Jonathan Smaby
Executive Director of Texas Center for Legal Ethics
Author of "On the Merits" blog
"Upset with the plea bargains offered to two teenagers who sexually assaulted her, a Kentucky high-school student was hit with contempt charges after violating a court order by posting the names of her attackers on Twitter. This is yet another example of growing conflicts between technology and the law. Courts that handle cases involving juveniles routinely order that no one discuss the case because of the potential harm to both the victims and defendants. It's a means of trying to protect the young people who become involved in the criminal justice system, and it typically works well. But in this case, we're seeing how the Internet has changed the playing field."
News Contact: Bruce Vincent, bruce@androvett.com or +1-800-559-4534
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MEDIA JOBS:
Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: bit.ly/pncjobboard
- Editorial Assistant - Baltimore
- Web Editor - NYC
- Investigative Reporter - Springfield, Ill.
- Reporter - Los Angeles
- Reporter - Miami
See more listings here.
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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:
Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at profnetalerts@prnewswire.com
- UPCOMING #CONNECTCHAT: THE POWER OF REPUTATION: ProfNet Director Maria Perez will interview PR pro Chris Komisarjevsky on July 31 from 3-4:30 p.m. EDT: goo.gl/QRLy7
- COVERING REAL ESTATE: AN INTRODUCTION: Jonathan Lansner, writer for the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism, details how to write about real estate nationally and locally: goo.gl/2UBZE
- FREELANCE FOCUS: QUERY LETTERS: ProfNet Director Maria Perez interviews two reporters about how they write pitches: goo.gl/4CtqA
