Pilots and their planes now call more than 600 fly-in communities across the country home, says Dave Sclair, retired publisher of General Aviation News.

“It’s a very popular trend,” he says.

John Travolta keep his Boeing 707 parked at his estate in the air park Jumbolair near Ocala, Fla.

But celebrities aren’t the only people who choose this lifestyle. Lots of serious pilots want to be close to their planes for convenience and security, says Sclair.

In Santa Paula, Calif., developers are breaking ground for what they believe is a first – two-story condos with hangars for planes downstairs and living space for pilots and their families upstairs. The units will sell for about $800,000 each and buyers will actually own a piece of airport property.

Pilot Bill Lindsay, one of the people behind the project, says many of the condos are already sold and developers aren’t concerned about selling the rest. “I think it is enough of a supply-and-demand type of thing, enough of a niche, that we’ll be fine,” Lindsay says.

Source: The Associated Press, John Rogers (10/26/2008)

If a person has been steadily employed and paying income taxes their entire life, they should not lose their home following the circus of the last 8-9 years when gas prices quad-rupled, among other things.  I have a better solution:  Forgive all home mortgages.  A person with multiple homes would write-down their primary residence only.  One could not borrow against the home used in this exemption.  Investment properties are not affected.

There may be major pitfalls to be mindful of, but this does not by it’s nature socialize the people or the banks.  Instead, the interest is eliminated from the debt, and the debt is converted to public equity with no payments due to the treasury.

Bond investors related to the mortgage market would receive a tax-loss certificate with special provisions relating to the collapsed industry.

Every person would own their home free and clear, and henceforth could move forth buying, selling, or trading their homes for its genuine value.

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Word that the Wall Street meltdown has led to layoffs at the Moonlight Basin ski resort had some locals concerned about the future of Whitefish Mountain Resort.

By mid-September, the ski resort south of Bozeman had spent $100 million on construction and lined up another $70 million in financing, thanks to its primary banking partner for the past year, Lehman Brothers.

But with the giant Wall Street financial firm declaring bankruptcy several weeks ago, Moonlight Basin’s future turned cloudy, and ski resort CEO Lee Poole announced Oct. 9 that 90 employees were temporarily laid off. Poole, however, vowed that the resort would open this season.

Since it opened in 2004, Moonlight Basin has been developing into a four-season resort, with a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, a village with hotels, restaurants and stores, and single-family residences.

A ski resort spokesman announced last December that Moonlight Basin was for sale, but the situation changed drastically as the nation’s mortgage problems spread into financial markets, and buyers for the resort’s mountainside homes grew scarce.

The situation is more drastic at Tamarack Resort, about 90 miles north of Boise, Idaho. Tamarack Resort has amassed $273 million in debt, and investment bank Credit Suisse has sued in federal bankruptcy court to take over the resort.

Tamarack Resort also opened in 2004. Lots were marketed at up to $450,000 apiece, and resort CEO and major stockholder Jean-Pierre Boespflug predicted the project would reach $1.5 billion ” including a marina on nearby Lake Cascade.

Boespflug also vows to open the resort this winter, but he’s looking for investors and buyers. Construction on the Village Plaza project has stalled and needs an additional $56 million, tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have pulled out of a luxury hotel project, and several banks have foreclosed on the resort’s conference center and employee housing.

The fact that Lehman Brothers CEO and chairman Richard Fuld Jr. is a partner in two large Whitefish projects ” Block 46 downtown and The Homestead At Whitefish out on Farm To Market Road ” had some locals wondering about the financial well-being of other wealthy investors with ties here.

In particular, they were concerned about Bill Foley, who in April 2007 held 61.8 percent of Whitefish Mountain Resort stock, and Michael Goguen, who held 17.9 percent.

” Whitefish Mountain Resort is in a very sound financial position right now,” spokesman Donnie Clapp said. ” We’re very fortunate to have received a significant infusion of cash when Mr. Foley and others became stockholders, enabling us to begin to pay down our debt and complete several needed infrastructure improvements last summer without having to borrow further.”

Two years ago, the resort raised about $20 million through stock sold to some of its 35 stockholders. That money was used to build the new Base Lodge, upgrade Chair 1 and Chair 2, install additional snowmaking infrastructure and pay down some debt.

” We’re in the best financial shape since I’ve joined the board in 1995,” Whitefish mayor and resort stockholder Mike Jenson said.

Last year was one of the first years in a long time that the resort’s operations was ” in the black,” Jenson said, noting that real estate sales often propped up operations in the past. And compared to the debt load at Moonlight Basin and Tamarack Resort, ” Big Mountain debt never reached $10 million,” he said.

Clapp said that thanks to streamlining operations, record-breaking snowfall last season and a favorable Canadian exchange rate, ” we had one of our most financially successful winter seasons to date in 2007-2008, putting us in a very favorable position as this fiscal year closes.”

Whitefish Mountain Resort broke its season-pass sales record for the second year in a row, he said, and advance lodging-reservations are looking good compared to last year and the rest of the industry.

” Our stated goal of turning ourselves into a ski resort that is self-sustaining ” one that does not have to resort to real estate development or excessive borrowing to survive ” looks to be within reach, and we couldn’t be more excited about it,” Clapp said. ” With the addition of several attractions next summer, including zip lines and an alpine sled, we hope to improve year-round revenue enough that we can begin to move toward a debt-free Whitefish Mountain Resort.”

State ski areas post record numbers

A superior snow year across Montana is the reason behind record-high skier numbers at the state’s 15 ski areas last season, the University of Montana’s Institute of Tourism and Recreation Research reports.

About 1.4 million skier-visits were recorded in 2007-2008, an increase of 14.5 percent over the previous season.

Seven ski areas reported their best seasons ever ” Blacktail, Bridger, Discovery, Great Divide, Lookout Pass, Maverick, Moonlight Basin and Turner Mountain.

Whitefish Mountain Resort’s biggest year was 2005-2006, when the ski area recorded 304,366 skier-visits. Last year, the Big Mountain saw 296,708 skier-visits.

Big Sky Resort has posted the highest skier-visit numbers over the past 10 years. Its biggest year was also 2005-2006, with 323,000 skier-visits. Last year, the ski area south of Bozeman saw 309,170 skier-visits.

The number of skier-visits at Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, in Lakeside, has more than doubled from its opening season in 1998-1999, when it recorded 19,061 skier-visits. Last year, the ski area saw 41,657 skier-visits.

Recent drought years were tough on Turner Mountain Ski Resort, in Libby. In 2004-2005, the ski area saw 309 skier-visits. Last season, the number was 5,872.

The Big Mountain Commercial Association looking for members

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish PilotNow in its 10th year, Big Mountain Commercial Association’s SNOW Bus program continues to provide much-needed public transportation between Whitefish and the ski resort on the mountain.

BMCA executive director Rick Cunningham said the bus service is heavily used and greatly appreciated by skiers and snowboarders as well as Whitefish Mountain Resort and village employees. With three buses running from early morning to late in the evening, the SNOW Bus program significantly reduces traffic on Big Mountain Road.

“Ridership hit 54,000 last season,” he said.

The buses are owned, maintained and operated by Rocky Mountain Transportation. BMCA recently signed a $200,000-plus contract for the upcoming season.

“That includes $20,000 more for higher fuel costs,” Cunningham said, “although there’s a clause that takes into account changing fuel costs.”

BMCA also provides about $40,000 for snow-removal and sanding on Big Mountain Road. The ski resort provides the rest of the money for winter road maintenance.

Big Mountain Road is a state highway, and Montana Department of Transportation provides salt and gravel and pays for fixing potholes, but resort officials realized long ago that in order to keep the road in a safe condition bright and early every day during the ski season, it was better to take on that responsibility itself.

“Big Mountain Road is ranked in the top-five heaviest-used state highways during the ski season,” Cunningham said.

Jennifer Fisher works at Kandahar Lodge and sits on the BMCA board. She said the bus service is a boon for guests at lodges in the village.

“Many of them come by plane or train and don’t have a car,” she said. “The SNOW Bus gives them a way to travel to and from Whitefish.”

Dale Duff, whose family has owned and operated Rocky Mountain Transportation for two generations, remembers transportation in the ski resort’s early days.

“We’ve had buses running up to Big Mountain since 1954,” Duff said. “It was organized by Norm Kurtz.”

Duff said Winter Sports Inc. paid for the buses back then, but he recalled Kurtz knocking on doors rounding up support from Whitefish merchants. The Lions clubs in Columbia Falls and Kalispell also organized bus service to the ski resort.

“Back then, buses ran only on Saturdays,” Duff said. “Sometimes it cost 50 cents or a token. Toward the end, it cost $1 each way.”

About 10 years ago, however, Winter Sports Inc. CEO Michael Collins and operations manager Michelle Reese started talking about getting a full-time bus service going, and they wanted it to be free to riders, Duff said.

“They got the Big Mountain Commercial Association started, and WSI made a three-year commitment with Rocky Mountain Transportation to run the SNOW Bus program,” Duff said.

BMCA, a nonprofit organization, raises money through membership dues and two big fundraisers — the Winefest at The Lodge At Whitefish Lake on Feb. 19 and the Brewfest in Big Mountain Village in August.

All businesses in the village are members, and other members are found across the Flathead. The $400 membership fee allows businesses to purchase discounted season passes for its employees right up to Nov. 15.

“Membership is down by more than 30, but it’s not too late to join,” Cunningham said.

Despite the fact that the $250 billion the government plans to invest in banks is intended to help them make new loans, J.P. Morgan Chase, BB&T, and Zions Bancorporation are among the financial institutions hoping to use the money to acquire other banks.

While some experts are worried such deals could further the trend of creating banks “too big to fail,” others believe they could prevent the failure of numerous small banks and boost the economy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson acknowledged that the money could be used to acquire smaller, weaker banks. He stated, “There will be some situations where it’s best for the economy and for the banking system for there to be a consolidation.”

Source: Washington Post, Peter Whoriskey and Zachary Goldfarb (10/22/08).

By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
Last update: 10:18 a.m. EDT Oct. 8, 2008

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Despite the credit crunch gripping the U.S. economy, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that an index of sales contracts on previously owned homes rose 7.4% in August from the prior month.

The index, considered a leading indicator of existing-home sales, was up 8.8% from August 2007. It’s unclear to what extent contract activity will be affected by the credit disruptions on Wall Street, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, in a statement.
Pending home sales for August rose in all four of the regions tracked by the NAR.

Gains amounted to 18.4% in the West, 8.4% in the Northeast, 3.6% in the Midwest and 2.3% in the South.
July’s pending home sales index was revised to a decline of 2.7% from a prior estimate of a 3.2% decrease.
NAR says pending home-sales activity rose because of buyers taking advantage of low prices and affordable interest rates. August’s results show an “unleashing of pent-up demand” before the credit crisis worsened in September, Yun said.

“Home buyers in July were hampered by overly stringent lending criteria in the months before the government takeover” of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Yun said. Also Wednesday, the world’s major central banks moved in concert to slash key interest rates, easing monetary policy in an ongoing struggle to head off financial turmoil that has threatened to flatten the international economy.

The coordinated rate moves saw the Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate by half a percentage point, to 1.5%. In addition, the European Central Bank trimmed its key refi rate to 3.75% from 4.25%, while the Bank of England cut its key rate to 4.5% from 5%. The Bank of Canada, the Swiss National Bank and the Swedish Riksbank cut rates as well.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The 1031 realestate exchange is popular because it allows taxpayers to dispose of certain real or personal property and defer their federal, and in most cases, state income tax liability by exchanging the real or personal property (relinquished property) for qualified use like-kind property (replacement property). But investors should remain aware that the transaction is governed by IRS rules and regulations. To use this technique you must become a student of the concept.

A good first course is to have basic understanding of the rules for a 1031 realestate exchange. A good place to start is by knowing the different types of like-kind exchanges:

A simultaneous exchange occurs when the exchange (disposition) of the relinquished property (sale property) and the purchase of the like-kind replacement property occurs at the same time. The delayed exchange, the most common form of exchange, occurs when there is a time delay between the transfer (conveyance) of the relinquished property (sale property) and the purchase of the like-kind replacement property. This type of exchange is subject to time limits set by the Department of Treasury.

When the like-kind replacement property is purchased first, prior to transferring (conveying or selling) the relinquished property to the actual buyer, it is called a reverse exchange. Built-to-suit exchange refers to the technique of allowing the taxpayer to build on, or make improvements to, the like-kind replacement property, using the exchange proceeds before they actually take title to the property. And finally, the personal property exchange occurs when personal property is exchanged for other personal property of like-kind or like-class as long as the personal property has been held for investment, income production (rental) or use in a business.

Also, knowing the types of property that can be exchanged under a 1031 will help property owners find replacement properties in a changing market place. Qualifying use property is property that has been or will be held for income production (rental), investment or used in a trade or business. Your personal residence and vacation home are not qualifying use property and thus do not qualify for 1031 realestate exchange treatment. Assuming the property satisfies the qualified use test, then the property must also satisfy the like-kind test. Real property is like-kind to real property, so as long as you are exchanging real property for real property it will qualify as like-kind for 1031 exchange treatment. In general, any type of real estate may be traded for another type of real estate as long as it satisfies the qualified use test.

Posted by tavej at 11:00 AM

http://golfrelax.blogspot.com

By Michael Inbar
TODAYShow.com contributor

updated 7:16 a.m. MT, Mon., Oct. 6, 2008
Bullish investors should turn into shrinking violets as the stock market continues its shocking downward spiral, CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer told Ann Curry on TODAY Monday.

In what Curry called a “dramatic statement,” Cramer emphatically urged any investor who has money they may need in the next five years tied to stocks to pull their dough out.

“I thought about this all weekend,” Cramer told Curry. “I do not want to say these things on TV.

“Whatever money you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market right now, this week. I do not believe that you should risk those assets in the stock market right now.”

While the animated Cramer is known for telling investors the best prospects for earning money on the stock market, he’s now saying retreat is the best position in the face of some of the worst financial news in decades. The bank lending default crisis that put financial firms around the country on the brink of collapse could bring “as much as a 20 percent decrease in the stock market,” Cramer predicted.

He noted that the world’s markets are nosing downward in the face of the U.S. fiscal trauma.

“One thing is certain — they are, in Europe, behind us,” Cramer told Curry. “We’ve experienced more pain than they have, we are surprised at their pain, we didn’t know how bad off they were.”

He called the U.S. government’s $700 billion bailout plan, which includes raising the insured rate on bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000, as a “good one,” assuring bank depositors: “Your money is safe.”

But he warned that the same may not be true for stock market investors.

“I don’t care where stocks have been, I care where they’re going, and I don’t want people to get hurt in the market,” Cramer told Curry. “I’m worried about unemployment, I’m worried about purchases that you may need. I can’t have you at risk in the stock market.”

Still, those with the assets — and the stomach — to ride out the stock market’s ups and down over a five-year period might be best served by holding their nose and holding onto their stocks.

“I think what you have to do, if you can withstand it, is just ride it out,” Cramer said.

Cramer’s gloomy scenario came from calculating individual Dow stocks and estimating how far they might yet fall, he told Curry. And companies’ third-quarter earning reports, due this week, aren’t going to be music to investors’ ears.

“I think the previous quarter, the one we’re now hearing from, was a terrible quarter — but it will look good versus the coming quarter,” Cramer warned.

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27045699/

On Lion Mountain, a line of orange and blue flagging leads off into a bramble of brush and criss-crossed downed timber. The flagging cuts across private land, national forest, and state lands. Five miles west, the flagged route pops out onto a spur connecting with Two Bear Road and continues on several more miles to Beaver Lake.

“It’s a really walkable and rideable trail,” says David Noftsinger, a partner in Forestoration, Inc., a subcontractor responsible for designing the path for A Trail Runs Through It. Forestoration is part of the bigger design team of local engineers, landscape architects, water quality specialists, and botanists working on the trail.

The 40- to 48-inch-wide trail will begin with a quarter-mile ADA path. Accessed via one of three parking lots with restrooms, the route winds through ten miles with an easy five to eight percent grade. “We want the trail to duck in and out of nuances in the landscape,” says Noftsinger. “There’s one tricky section through a cliff band, but we think we have a solution.”

While Noftsinger flagged the trail, the DNRC has been logging state lands. “The state has gone out of its way to accommodating our needs with the logging,” adds Noftsinger.

With $100,000 donated by landowner Michael Goguen, design work on the trail leapt ahead. But several land agreements still need to be sealed to proceed with construction, including Goguen’s remaining promised $3 million gift to the community to build and manage the recreation loop and conserve state lands once a land swap with the Department of Natural Resources is completed.

The City and Flathead Gateway Partners, who recently signed an agreement on Sept. 19 to re-appoint a steering committee to oversee trail development, hope to bring on the shovels this next spring. The committee is hosting an open house on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Whitefish City Council Chambers, 418 East Second Street. The public is invited to drop in to get updates on the project and give comments. Representatives will also be on hand from the DNRC and the Forest Service.

More information is available at www.trailrunsthroughit.org

Location:    The Big Mountain
Nearest city:    Whitefish, Montana
Coordinates: 48°30′10″N 114°20′25″W
Top elevation:    6,817 feet
Base elevation:    4,464 feet
Skiable area:    3,020 acres (12.2 km2)
Runs:    93
Longest run:    3.3 miles
Lift system:    10 chairs, 3 surface
Snowfall:    300 inches
Web site:    skiwhitefish.com

Description

Whitefish Mountain Resort is a is a ski resort located at The Big Mountain in northwestern Montana, located west of Glacier National Park in the Flathead National Forest. It is 4 miles (6.25 km) from the town of Whitefish and 21 miles (33.80 km) north of the city of Kalispell. The mountain is the second largest ski area in Montana, after Big Sky Resort.

The area currently has 10 chairlifts: 3 high-speed detachable quads and 7 fixed grip (2 quads, 4 triples, and 1 double). There are also three surface lifts: two T-bars and a magic carpet. Of these, 10 lifts operate regularly, including one T-bar which is normally only open on weekends.[1]

The mountain is largely separated into three faces. The front side is primarily serviced by the Chair One high speed quad and has the most skiable terrain. The front side has 8 of the mountains 10 ski lifts. The back side of the mountain is serviced by Chair 7, a high speed quad. The back side has more tree skiing terrain, and additional terrain can be accessed by T-Bar 2. The western face of the mountain contains the Hell Roaring basin. Serviced by Chair 11, a triple chair. The Hell Roaring basin is the most advanced skiing on the mountain with cliffs, vertical chutes, and tight tree skiing.

The vertical drop of the ski area is 2353 feet (717 m), with a summit elevation of 6817 ft. (2078 m) and a base of 4464 ft. (1361 m). The average annual snowfall is 300 inches (762 cm).[2]

The ski area is about 19 miles (30 km) north of Glacier Park International Airport and 35 miles (56 km) south of the Canadian border.

History

The Big Mountain opened on December 14, 1947, with a T-bar and soon after hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships in 1949.[3] The first chairlift was installed in 1960 and a second in 1968, replacing the original T-bar. In June 2007, the resort was renamed “Whitefish Mountain Resort.” By then the mountain had expanded to include 10 chair lifts, ranging from detachable high-speed quads to fixed-grip double chairs.

Olympic champion Tommy Moe learned to ski and race at the mountain, where his father was on the ski patrol;[4] they relocated to Alaska when he was a teenager and the mountain dismissed him from the team. Moe won the gold medal in the Downhill[5] and silver in the Super-G [6] at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

The mountain hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships in 2001. [3] That event is remembered for the failed comeback attempt, and life-altering crash, of 1984 Olympic Downhill champion Bill Johnson.

In December 2006, Winter Sports, Inc. (a.k.a. WSI, the privately held company formed in 1947 to manage the resort) conducted a reverse stock split, which had the effect of forcing some shareholders with small numbers of shares to cash out their positions in the company. WSI’s handling of the reverse split was criticized by some in the local community.[7]

An avalanche occurred in the Flathead National Forest, within hiking distance of the back side of The Big Mountain and killed two skiers on Jan 13th, 2008.[8]

The new operators of Whitefish Mountain Resort received criticism[9] in the winter of 2007-2008 when they closed several lower lifts each afternoon at 4pm, 30 minutes earlier than indicated by a printing mistake on their trail map. They also closed the backside of the mountain 30 minutes earlier than in previous years.

In 2008, the resort discontinued summer lift access for winter season pass holders.[10] However, said season pass holders were granted several free lift tickets.[11][12] In September of that same year, the resort reversed the decision and announced that 2008-2009 winter season passes would again convey unlimited foot-passenger lift access for summer 2009. [13]

References

^ “Whitefish Mountain Resort Hours and Dates”. Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
^ “Whitefish Mountain Resort Statistics”. Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ a b “About Whitefish Mountain Resort”. Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ Quigley, Michelle. “It’s Time for Moe”. MountainZone.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ “OL: Downhill Men Sunday (Official List), The 1994 Winter Olympics”. Oslonett. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ “OL-Alpine: Super-G Men (Official list), The 1994 Winter Olympics”. Oslonett. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ Jamison, Michael. “Locals dismayed at Big Mountain ski area stock plan”. Missoulian. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ “Trail at fatal Flathead avalanche site to reopen”. Montana Television Network (2008-01-27). Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ Testa, Dan (2008-04-16). “Resort Changes Draw Praise, Resistance”. flatheadbeacon.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ Lomax, Becky (2008-05-28). “Whitefish Mountain Resort Changes Summer Lift Policies”. flatheadbeacon.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ “Lift policy change notification letter”. Whitefish Mountain Resort (2008-06-13). Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ “Follow-up notification letter”. Whitefish Mountain Resort (2008-06-17). Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
^ Clapp, Donnie (2008-09-25). “Whitefish Mountain Resort Newsletter: Winter Passes will Include Summer Lift Rides, Donnie is Sore, and Just What are Ski School Programs?”. Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.