The market is strong this year despite the decline in other states. Amarillo seems to be protected in a "bubble". If you are wanting to buy or sell now is the time. Don't always believe what you see or hear on TV. I deal with the market everyday. We are definately not included in the "National Average" the national news is always talking about.

What's your thought on it?

The Amarillo Botanical Gardens is holding a contest inviting residents to name the whimsical frog musician statue that welcomes visitors to the garden. Our frog is also the mascot for the summertime Music in the Gardens series. All of Amarillo is welcome to submit their suggestions by August 20th, with the winner to be announced at the Music in the Gardens' final performance on August 25th. The winner will receive an annual membership for a family of four to the gardens. So, put on your thinking caps and name our toe-tapping amphibian friend. All entries must be in writing and should be sent to the Amarillo Botanical Gardens, C/O Name the Mascot Contest. For rules and more information, please visit the Amarillo Botanical Gardens' website. What a fun way to show your civic pride!

Located in the center of the Texas panhandle, Amarillo earns its name as "the yellow rose of Texas". The millions of acres of agricultural land surrounding the city gives it a wide open "home on the range" feel. But, Amarillo remains the Texas panhandle's commercial center.

Besides Amarillo's great public elementary school system, there are several wonderful institutions of higher learning set here. These include everything from Amarillo Community College, a campus of Wayland Baptist University and the Texas Tech School of Pharmacy to the word famous West Texas A&M.

With over 50 city-maintained parks within its city limits, outdoor recreation plays a large part in the Amarillo lifestyle. It also plays host to several events throughout the year to honor the American cowby, such as the Tri-State Fair and Rodeo and the World Championship Ranch Rodeo. Native Americans are honored at the Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum.

Not everything in Amarillo is about the Old West, though. The Amarillo Opera, Symphony and Lone Star Ballet call the Globe News Center for the Performing Arts their home. Visitors and residents alike can enjoy any one of the many museums and art galleries in Amarillo as well. For science buffs, the Don Harrington Discovery Center is an interactive museum that has over 60 hands-on exhibits for children of all ages to enjoy.

There are so many reasons Amarillo real estate should be put at the top of your list of places to live that I just can't name them all here. Give me a call or drop me a line and I'll show you for myself why I love Amarillo.

Since busy home owners seek maintenance-free living, do a preemptive strike and hire a home inspector BEFORE you place your home on the market. Fix problems before you list the home and then display receipts and wait for buyers to offer kudos to sellers for being so responsible.

Professional home inspectors will provide you with a clear understanding of your home's condition, including recommendations for property enhancements. You can then decide which improvements you'd like to make before listing your home or adjust the sale price to reflect the estimated cost of any repairs. Either way, a home inspection gives you, potential buyers and real estate agents greater confidence in the condition of the property.

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The following is a list of some of the Amarillo area professional inspectors that are licensed with the Texas Real Estate Commission and who are also members of the Amarillo Association of REALTORS, Inc. There are other licensed inspectors in the area who are not members of the Amarillo Association of REALTORS and are not included on this list. Also, other persons that perform property inspections are exempt from real estate inspector licensing requirements and are not listed, such as engineers and architects.

A buyer or seller desiring to have an inspection performed should be advised that the list does not contain the names of all person qualified to perform the desired inspections and they may wish to contact additional persons who are licensed and qualified to perform a particular inspection.

Names supplied by the Texas Real Estate Commission

Nathan Bradley

Power House Inspections

1713 Brookwater Pl. 79124

674-8211

Bobby Ray Click

Click Home Inspectors

5801 Nicholas Circle (79108)

670-3167

William Elbert Fallwell

Preferred Home Services

P.O. Box 8852 (79114)

356-0233

Roy Finley

Best Home Inspections

9170 FM 1151 (79019)

806/681-2398

Vernon Grant Flowers

Flowers Home Inspections

P.O. Box 20645 (79114)

353-4164 Cell 670-4154

Kelly D. Hance

Kelly Hance R. E. Inspector

5700 Enterprise Cir., # 113 (79106)

680-9709

Clayton Dale Lane

C. Dale Lane Inspection

Box 51327 (79159)

468-8216

Sean Lanier

Up2Specs

4306 Olsen Blvd. (79106)

679-3047 Cell 679-2320

David McFather

M and M Inspections

6700 Nicholas (79109)

359-0472

Larry Ray

Lone Star Inspection

5104 Arden Rd. (79110)

468-7040

Lance Rogers

Lance Rogers Inspection

PO Box 1306 (79015)

655-8505

Jeremy Rupprecht

Professional Home Inspections

4425 S. Hayden (79110)

358-4621 Cell 282-8552

Ron Simpson

6703 Falcon (79109)

670-5999 Cell 341-1930

Ken W. Watson

Eagle Eye Enterprises, LLC

P.O. Box 20172 (79114)

622-0333

Geno Wilson

Geno Wilson Home Inspection

Box 31141 (79120)

356-0707

Jeff Worsham

Archstone Home Inspections

7618 Tarrytown Ave. (79121)

640-2199

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GETTING YOUR HOME SOLD CHECK OUT:

As your community college, Amarillo College works hard to bring you high-quality academic and technical programs, plus hundreds of continuing education programs. We offer affordable tuition, and small classes when you want them - morning, afternoon, evening, or weekends. Our technical programs provide guaranteed training in fields where job prospects are good and there is the most long-term need for qualified personnel. AC is an ideal place to begin your college career. Our transfer programs let you complete the first two years of a bachelor's degree-conveniently and at a low cost. AC is a warm, friendly caring place, that's what our students say. We feel good about that and we hope this information will help you feel more relaxed and comfortable with AC.

Contact

Amarillo College
PO Box 447
Amarillo, TX 79178

806.371.5000
800.227.8784

For more information on the Amarillo, TX area check out:

Northwest Texas Healthcare System combines traditional values while bringing you the most advanced technology in healthcare.

Northwest Texas Healthcare System serves the city of Amarillo and the surrounding region. NWTHS is owned by a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc., one of the country's premier healthcare management companies.

NWTHS is a 489-bed acute care medical center located on a campus that also includes an 85-bed behavioral health facility that provides inpatient and outpatient services. NWTHS is staffed by more than 350 physicians representing 38 specialties. These physicians have established excellent standards of quality care and community service.

Find out more about Northwest Texas Healthcare System check out: http://www.nwtexashealthcare.com

To find out more about the Amarillo, TX area check out: http://www.amarillodreamhomes.com/

Amarillo, Texas has coined the name, "Rotor City, USA" to market our region for aviation-related businesses. When Bell Helicopter Textron decided to locate their V22 Tiltrotor Assembly operations in Amarilllo in 1998, the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (Amarillo EDC) and Bell Helicopter had never envisioned the facility needing to expand sizably within the short period of time it has grown. With the expansions of the facilities, came new programs for Bell to incorporate into their assembly plan. This growth led Bell to rename their facility Bell Helicopter Amarillo Assembly Center to encompass the different rotorcraft being manufactured, assembled, and remanufactured.

Find out more about the Amarillo, TX area check out:

Below you will find a listing of Amarillo companies who want to share with you the job descriptions of positions they are often hiring for. If you are interested in applying for a position, please visit the individual company website for further information about current opportunities.

AIG Annuity
The Amarillo Annuity Service Center employees are high performing and dedicated, serving in a number of capacities from providing administrative support on one of our operations teams to top-flight customer service in our call center.... from accounting support in our finance area to systems and IT infrastructure functions... AIG Annuity in Amarillo has a depth and breadth of opportunity waiting for you. View more of what AIG Annuity has to offer.

ASARCO operates the Amarillo Copper Refinery which is among the world's largest and most modern. The refinery employs chemical engineers, electrical engineers, metallurgical engineers and mechanical engineers. View more on what ASARCO has to offer in Amarillo

Bell Helicopter
Imagine ... working in a new, clean, state-of-the-art aerospace facility ... building the most advanced vertical-lift aircraft in the industry ... and doing it all while living in a community where your family feels at home and where traffic jams just don't happen. Visit more on what Bell Helicopter has to offer!

Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas knows health care coverage in Texas; they invented it. They are Texas born and bred, and this is the only place they do business. 2007 marks the opening of the new BCBS facility in Amarillo. All positions for BCBS can be found at www.bcbstx.com under BlueRecruit.

Hastings Entertainment, Inc.
Founded in 1968, Hastings Entertainment, Inc. is a leading multimedia entertainment retailer that combines the sale of new and used CDs, books, videos and video games, as well as boutique merchandise, with the rental of videos and video games in a superstore format. View the opportunities Hastings has to offer.

Hilmar Cheese Company
With locations in California's Central Valley and Dalhart, Texas, Hilmar Cheese Company is the largest single-site cheese and whey products manufacturer in the world. They specialize in the production of cheddar and American cheese utilized by private label and national brand companies. Learn more about what Hilmar has to offer in Dalhart, TX

Nationwide Insurance
Over the last 80 years Nationwide Insurance has gone from a small auto insurer for Ohio farmers, to one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world with more than $157 billion in statutory assets and over 28,000 employees. This Fortune 500 Company is headquartered in Columbus, OH. In 1997 Nationwide established a new property/casuality customer service center in Amarillo and employs over 350 people. Nationwide is currently hiring Insurance Agents. Find out more at www.nationwide.com

Utility Engineering Corporation
Utility Engineering Corporation is a full-service engineering firm headquartered in Denver, CO, with offices in Amarillo, TX, Minneapolis, MN, and Omaha, NE. The UE design portfolio includes engineering services for over 34,000 MW of diverse electric power plants. These services include design, project management, project development consulting, procurement, construction management, and start-up and commissioning. UE has over 300 employees, with approximately 150 of those residing here in Amarillo. Learn more about the types of jobs UE offers.

To find out more about the Amarillo, TX area check out:

The Amarillo economy continued to grow as gains in employment, retail sales, and rising commodity prices carried our index higher. The Amarillo area continues to show strength in the housing market. Buyer demand remains strong, aided by mortgage interest rates that have remained relatively constant around 6.0% for a 30-year fixed rate loan. The average sales price for the Amarillo area is now about $145,000.00.

Apply online for your next mortgage loan :

Bruce Fielder
Lone Star Reliable Mortgage, Inc. - 7639 Canyon Dr - Amarillo, TX 79110
Office: (806) 359-4600 Fax: (806) 359-4700
Cell: (806) 206-6608 Toll Free: (877) 455-4700
bfielder@lonestarrelmtg.com
Click below to pre-qualify on-line:
http://www.lonestarrelmtg.com/calc_qualify.html

Amarillo National Bank
Mortgage Loans
7205 I-40 West
Suite G
Amarillo, TX 79106
806-356-1456 ezapproval@anb.com
Click below to pre-qualify on-line:
http://anb.mortgagewebcenter.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1

Find your next dream home at :

Baptist St. Anthony's Health System was rated one of the safest hospitals in the country for the second year in a row by an independent health care ratings company. The designation recognizes BSA's efforts to make the hospital safer.

BSA was the only hospital in the Texas Panhandle to earn the distinction. Seventeen Texas hospitals made the 2008 list.

Baptist St. Anthony's Health System (BSA) is an extensive hospital system providing clinical excellence to the Texas Panhandle and the tri-state area. BSA is acclaimed for its superior quality and Star Customer Service - compassionate care delivered by a diverse team of skilled professionals.

• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety
• One of Only 242 Hospitals in the Nation to Receive Award
• Only Hospital in the Texas Panhandle to Receive Award

To find out more about BSA go to: http://www.bsahs.org

To find out more about the Amarillo, TX area go to: http://www.AmarilloDreamHomes.com