Property DD

In 2005 we noticed that even with our nations push to recycle more, our landfills and dumps kept filling up and over filling across the nation. In many regions in the United States getting permits for new dumps was very difficult due to the NIMBY; Not In My Back Yard; affect as residence stormed city council and country commissioner’s meetings in protests. But that does not solve the problem of our overfilling dumps.

Recycling at our current rate is a noble effort and one we should all be proud of as we separate out our own person trash and assist in the process. Yet it is far from enough.

We have a crisis on our hands as we see mountains of old tires, old hazardous dumps with plastic liners which are decomposing due to oils and acids and melting holes in the bottom. This is causing leaching, often into underground aquifers and ground water which maybe picked up in wells for homes and farming.

We have stacked up automobiles and rusty equipment leaching iron oxides, asbestos from brakes and other heavy metals and petroleum distillates into our waterways. All this coming from normal run off from streams, creeks and ditches into rivers, lakes and even the ocean.

In 2006 we will see entrepreneurs find easier ways to convert old material profitably into new material using innovative recycling techniques. We will see a continuous push from a public relations standpoint to get all Americans to take recycling seriously.

We will see NASA explain the seriousness of recycling everything in Space for Lunar Colonies and long-term space flight; this will usher in a new generation who take it much more seriously than the rest both here on Earth and beyond. Expect this in 2006.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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The smell of ginger and cinnamon conjures up memories of helping my grandmother prepare for Christmas. Any age child will enjoy making gingerbread men. While my eldest daughter helped to string the garland, younger children will enjoy counting and sorting the gingerbread men. We hung these fragrant garlands as a nostalgic tribute to Christmases past.

Ingredients

1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Small gingerbread man cookie cutter
Twelve yards of 1/4-inch satin ribbon
A child’s embroidery needle

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 3500.

2. In a large mixing bowl, blend the shortening and the sugar.

3. Beat in the molasses and the water.

4. Add the flour, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Mix well.

5. Separate the dough into two balls and refrigerate for one hour.

6. On a floured board, roll each ball out to 1/4-inch thickness. With a small cookie cutter, press out the gingerbread men and place them on a greased cookie sheet. To make quarter-inch holes for stringing the garland, use the eraser end of a new pencil. These holes will later shrink during baking. Press two holes into the chest of each gingerbread man.

7. Bake at 3500 for eight to ten minutes.

8. Cut the satin ribbon into twelve pieces, each one-yard in length. Tie a knot two-inches from the end of each piece. Thread the other end through a child’s embroidery needle.

9. When the gingerbread men have cooled, let the children group them into piles of ten. Thread them, one at a time, onto the ribbon. The hands of the gingerbread men should almost touch. After stringing the tenth man, tie a knot in the ribbon. Do not be discouraged if a few gingerbread men break. Toss the broken pieces together with a few sprigs of pine for a Christmas potpourri.

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About the Author: Rondi Hillstrom Davis is the co-author of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that’s jam packed with family ideas, visit http://www.togetherparenting.com

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I attended recently a terribly smart cocktail party in a Belgravia Embassy. I hovered contentiously, as I usually do, near the bar and the exit of the kitchens.

As I reached discreetly for my 10th little foie gras toast in nearly so many seconds, I was addressed abruptly by a very distinguished but firm Lady in a large (and quite silly) hat.

She addressed me; chin up, with a chilly “now young man, what are you doing with yourself these days”.

Her question had the tone of a sarcastic demand full of contempt for a young man who wasted his life so well.

I recovered from the embarrassment of dropping the foie gras toast, and, only slightly put off, answered in my most polite voice that I was indeed selling flats in Mongolia.

My distinguished interlocutor visibly stiffened, in a sudden jerk, brought her handbag closer to her chest, and remained thus startled in a state fit for Madame Tussauds.

“It’s very exciting you know! Very interesting market out there.” Finally she declared, in utmost frustration in a barely controlled high pitched voice “MONGOLIA!! What on earth for!! Never heard such nonsense!!!” long pause “I didn’t even know they had flats!”

With this declaration she did an abrupt about turn and went off muttering something to the likes of “silly little man, what gibberish, Mongolia”

I was not in the least disturbed by this incident but instead found it rather amusing as this was not the first time I had a similar reaction, usually bewilderment.

Mongolia is not a country which people would associate with investments of any kind, neither did I until recently.

When I think of Mongolia the image of Genghis and his fierce warriors come to mind, I expect most people think alike.

I recently went there and was surprised, if slightly shocked, to find a country in a full economic expansion.

I had epic and romantic visions of proud horseman wondering around a city of tents; instead I was greeted by a large full scale soviet city complete with international restaurants, traffic lights and jams, bars and trendy nightclubs.

I enquired as to the reason for that incredible sight; here is what I learned:

In the past 18 months or so, Mongolia has enjoyed a kind of delayed post-Soviet boom, as years of gradual reform (and U.S. aid) finally begin to pay off. While other former satellites, including Ukraine and Belarus, never fully recovered from a post-Soviet economic depression, Mongolia has regained its Soviet-era income level ($500 per capita) and is not looking back.

The economy has grown at a rate of 10.6% for 2004 but is expected to stabilise around 8.5% for 2005. Mongolia cleared off its debt to Russia for assistance received during soviet times in 2003. Inflation is reducing every year and was only 5% in 2005 compared to the 53% seen in 1995 while its external debt is equally decreasing and has reached 1.1 billion USD. “Mongolia has made great progress towards its transition to a market based system since the early 1990’s” (IMF, letter of intent on Mongolia, 2003)

In 2004 large deposits of gold and other minerals such as copper, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, iron and ore were found; this is expected to create an incredible growth in the economy. A number of British and American Mining companies have moved in and will start extracting soon, this means a lot of foreign investment and a considerable expatriate community will develop from it.

Foreign investment is increasing every year and so are the numbers of tourists and expats. Political corruption is very low for the region and the government is stable and democratically elected.

Sadly the picture for the Mongolian economy is not all rosy, they export copper, apparel, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals but everything else has to be imported. Unemployment is decreasing but is still at 6.7%. “This is a rough neighbourhood, with rough neighbours,” says a Western diplomat in Ulan Bator. “No former Soviet state has come so far, and no former communist country in Asia has shown as much commitment to reform as Mongolia.”

The Real Estate market is possibly the most interesting part of the economy. The numbers of apartments approved by the city has increased by about 20% every year for the past three and the rental yields are some of the highest in Asia at about 18%. It has been calculated that demand so far outstrips supply that it will not be equilibrated before 2015. There are an increasing amount of developers such as the American entrepreneur Mr Lee Cashell who make the most of this situation by developing large luxury residential projects in the heart of Ulaan Bataar as an investment opportunity for European Investors.

Mr Cashell has barely completed a very successful residential complex called the Park View Residence that he is already in Europe selling his new property to British investors and agents: the Regency Residence. This promises to be the most luxurious and attractive development in Mongolia.

What makes the Regency Residence so unique in Ulaanbaatar is that there are very few modern, new build apartment blocks. Especially ones built to a luxurious Western European standard. Other apartments in the city date back from the Soviet era and most could do with some serious renovation work. This makes new apartments like the ones at the Regency Residence extremely sought after, particularly as demand outstrips supply.

High interest cost, lack of investment capital and low equity financing is hampering the developer’s ability to build large scale luxury apartments and thus meet the large demand.

In the coming years it is expected that developer will be able to increase capacity and produce more apartments however the scarcity factor is expected to remain for years to come.

UB is one of the only cities in the world where half of its residents are not living in apartments as many citizens remain in the traditional dwellings in the hillside surrounding the city

For further information please visit our website at http://www.mongolia-realestate.com.

Christopher de Gruben is the European Director of Business development in London.

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