Redwood City, CA:  Current history demonstrates how a “Super Power” like USA can fall.  You don’t have to look any further than 1985 when Mikail Gorbachev came to power of the USSR.  Gorbachev campaigned on the platform “reenergize of the socialist empire”.  You know what happen 7 years later…the wall came down and so did the USSR as we had know it.

Like the USSR, American needs to “remember, without a strong economy, a nation’s international standing, standard of living, national security, and even domestic tranquility will suffer over time. It would be a good thing to learn from the Russians on this one.

One great thing about Americans is we are resilient! If we return to the principals and the values that made us a great nation we will be fine. We need to become once again…strong, smart, and flexible enough to keep our predominance in the world.

Americans need to accept and subscribe to the two notions stated by Thomas Jefferson.  We need to support our government programs that really address our core aims as stated in the Preamble of our Constitution. These core aims help and are good for us. Secondly,  we need to get rid of government programs that are ineffectual and/or contrary to our national goals!  By doing so we will be allowed to allocate resources, (people, money, time), to targeted programs that will better serve all Americans.

Americans needs to be realist about how we spend our money. Can we afford this program or not?  Can we sustain it over a long period of time?  Some programs may be great in theory; however, if you can’t answer yes to the 2 aforementioned questions then the program should be shelved until which time a double yes can be answered.

Once again, as Thomas Jefferson said, “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debt as it goes.”  It’s time now for Washington to start making touch choices and showing some tough love towards our economy!

There have been many countries throughout their history who have survived great obstacles and turmoil. Just look at Germany and Japan post WWII.  More recently look at China and how it has gotten past its “stagnation, foreign interference, and social experimentation to reclaim their place on the global stage today”.

“No republic in history has shown more resiliency and adaptability than the United States of America.” We have the know-how and the strength to maintain a great standing in the World. What it will take though is behavioral modification on the part of Washington and Americans.  We all need to wake up and smell the roses! Currently, our American rose stinks economically. And we need to all agree it stinks and we collectively need to do something about it.  We need to move in a direction to implement the necessary step to make our American rose’s aroma to once again be admired, respected and remembered by all.  Wouldn’t that smell nice?

Here is something you may want to look at and help yourself become part of the solution.  Federal Financial Irresponsibility Index:

On the other hand if that happens look for the government to step in and start buying again. It will show them that they need to spend more than the 1.25 Trillion Dollars that they have already spent. BTW that’s yours and my money they are spending.

Problem is some damage will be done that could have been diverted if we start doing some smart things. You know things like transparency of lenders along with accountability to include halting those heafy bonuses they give each other. Let’s fix the process first guys and gals uh?

Recommendation: Buy your home or refinance your mortgages TODAY!

TIPS on buying a home: http://www.WoodsideRealEstate.com Please log in and click the the buyers’ button.

If you combined their net worth’s it would total just over 106 Billion Dollars!

There are currently approximately 6 Billion people on the planet earth.

That means those two guys could give everyone on the planet 1/4 of a million dollars and still have over one-half of their wealth.

Is the system out of whack or what? This doesn’t make logical sense to me. Is there ever enough for them?

Tell me what you think…

A: Nope. Today’s house selections is slim pick’ins. I’m no Enstein, so I can’t say I know imperically why inventories seem to be stagnant and undesirable, but they are! This is one of those delicate values we see that you can’t see by looking only at the data — the number of homes on the market are up, but the reality is that much of what is out there seems to be the same homes that have been on the market for a long period of time. And the ones that are considered new inventory are homes that have gone through some sort of financial troubles or bank ownership. Usually that means the homes lost most of its loving care it was accustomed to when times were better and it shows.

Other indicators like days on market (DOM) and number of homes on the market don’t really give you a true picture of the real estate market either. The homes that don’t “pop” when you walk into them stay on the market a long time, but the ones everyone loves sale right away, when they come on the market. Because of these extremities you get a results that is tainted from the normal market analyzation.

Change Your Thinking

It’s time for you to recall why you decided to buy a home in the first place. What was the dream of home ownership you had for your life when you start the whole process of buying a home? Was it for extra bedroom for your children? The chance to entertain the way you want to entertain? Were you motivated to buy a home in a buyers market so you could take advantage of it and not be a person placed at the sellers whims like a couple of years ago? When you do get angry or think you should give up, go back to your original motivations. Remember why you started this home buying process in the first place!

If your original reasons inspired you, they’ll once again guide you through your times of thinking about giving up. If your reasons aren’t inspirational, then you might be better off deciding to wait and maybe revisit buying a home at a later date: If you aren’t motivated or have a strong sense of urgency more than likely you probably won’t ever find the home of your dreams. Today’s market require that committment from a serious home buyer. Buying a home is hard work now-a-days.

If you do decide to get out of the homebuying process and wait, be aware of the consequences by giving up. There’s all sorts of “Gurus” discussing where prices and foreclosure trends are going in the near future, however, there’s agreement with almost all of them that interest rates are going up, along with lending guidelines getting even tougher. So buyers have to “qualify” for a loan before a bank will fund a mortgage…imagine that!

Likewise, the homebuyer tax credit ends April 30, 2010. A decision to stop looking for your new home could very well be a decision to forfeit all of those current pro-buyer market conditions.

If you decide to move forward, it’s important to get clarity on what your wants and needs really are, and be more committed to compromising on things that aren’t your strong must-haves or deal-breakers. Focus on what is truly important to you and be open to possible different scenarios that may work for you in the long run even though it may not be the decision you want right now. For example you may only want a “move-in” condition home but you haven’t found it yet. Maybe buying a fixer-upper at a discount might work for you if you plan to use your tax-credit funds to do the fixing like new painting, new carpeting and other cosmetic finishes that can show off your future diamond in the rough that is now your new home.

A good number of my clients feel the same as you may be feeling and they too seem to just be treading water. They grow more worried and impatient when they can’t find any home that they want, when a house does come on the market for sale they still hesitate before making an offer even if it would fit their criteria for their home. If that’s you, here’s some advice: Quit hesitating!

When you see a place that would work for you, make an offer — just do it! Do it decisively and quickly. Don’t worry about the small stuff like pinching pennies or agonize over spending money for something you want — be forthright and aggressive in your timing and your pricing, and you’ll have a much better chance of success. Nickle and dime a seller and they will nickle and dime you back. Make an acceptable and fair offer that will make the sellers and you have a warm fuzzy feeling in your tummies and everyone wins. If you do that you can be firm with your offer because you have given a honest and fair offer. By being fair and forthright you will get your new home. Now all your worries, anger and frustrations will gone.

What You Must Know

If you’re wanting to be fair without overpaying for a home, make sure that you and your agent study the MLS statistics in an intelligent way. When you look at the comparables, look at homes that are very similar to the home you want to place an offer on — not just in location or bedrooms and baths count, but look at the exterior curb appeal, the various upgrades and your level of appeal. When you analyse these homes, check the list-price-to-sale-price ratio: How much did they sell for compared to what they were listed for?

This can help you understand with clarity that particular neighborhood — this in turn helps create a comfort level about what to offer whether ii is more than asking or indicates limits so you don’t offer too much — when it comes to getting aggressive and being fair when making your offer on your new home, when one comes on the market.

Action Plan

1. Revisit your motivations and reasons for buying a new home in the first place. Commit to the home buying process or decide to stop looking for a home, with a full understanding of what you are giving up.

2. Be fair and decisive and move quickly to make a strong offer, when you find a home which would meet your needs and criteria for your new home.

3. Be ready to compromise or use a stategy that will still accomplish your original goal of owning a home, and plan to put your tax-credit money to use by fixing your new home so it is the American Dream you have always had since a child.

I can’t believe what I am reading here.

A school who issues laptop computers to the student body has
program them to be able to turn on the built-in webcam and watch your
child. Dressed, Naked, or whatever the school was watching.

It shows me how our school administators are out of control and scares me to death. The education system is broke.

It not that this may only be a single time occurrence, rather it has been done. This can of worms contains what else?

Did you know Townhomes are not considered the same as Condo’s by FHA? That means if you are trying to buy a home with FHA financing you may want to expand you search to include Townhomes.

Don’t forget Sunday is Valentine Day. If by chance you do forget…well you are dead meat. Good luck.