Staged on Monday ~ SOLD on Friday! Home Staging Success in Portland OR
As a home staging company based in Portland Oregon, we love helping our clients sell their homes faster! This week we staged a home in Happy Valley Oregon that had been on the market for two months; the listing agent told us that buyers weren't excited about the property, even though they'd had a good number of showings. She said that buyers often commented that they didn't like the backyard. As professional home stagers, we knew that by making the house itself look amazing, buyers wouldn't be as worried about the un-landscaped backyard.
Room Solutions Staging staged this home on Monday and provided new photos for the online listing; and by Friday the house was under contract! The listing agent told me that after our staging, potential buyers no longer even mentioned that backyard!
Here are some Before & After photos that illustrate how simple staging can help buyers see themselves living in the home ... it's no longer an empty, colorless shell when it's transformed by Portland home staging experts.
First impressions Count! Living room Before
After staging, buyers can now imagine enjoying this room!
The Dining room is empty & lifeless Before
Simple staging makes it feels like a great place to entertain family & friends!
The Family RoomBefore cut off traffic flow
Staging opened up the space and welcomes buyers in!
The Master Bedroom Before was empty & cold
But Staging brought the bedroom to life and showed its purpose to buyers
Home sellers and their listing agents who add home staging to their marketing tools are discovering that it's often the "secret ingredient" that helps homes sell faster. Be sure to make YOUR property stand out in the sea of homes for sale in your area -- call your local home staging experts!
~ Staging and Photos by Room Solutions Staging ~
*** *** ***
Room Solutions Staging offers home staging services to Portland Oregon homeowners, real estate agents, builders, banks, and investors to prepare homes for the market. Our home staging clients love our customer service and our home staging statistics! Our home staging services in the Portland OR metro area include consultations, staging for both vacant and lived-in homes, and interior restyling service. For a free home staging proposal, please contact us @ 503-246-1800.
There is no shortage of opinions on what sells a house.
Before we start let's level the playing field. Let's say all houses you look at are in a price range that is adequate, nothing completely out of whack. Pricing of course plays a part but I have too often seen other components being much more important to fall in love.
Location is paramount but I see very often that 2 or 3 locations in Corvallis, OR can be of equal benefit to a client and therefore, again, other features are more important.
These 10 points (in no particular order) in my opinion sell a house:
1.Light: When people enter a house and it is bright, they love it. If it has big windows that offset even a dreary Oregon winter day, that is a winner
2.Cleanliness and order: A house that is well cared for and tidy, uncluttered, sells much better than hastily put together piles of paper and unruly shoes. Order signals a house has been well cared for.
3.Staging: that can be done with or without seller's things and furniture, important is that furniture is well placed, not overwhelming a room, giving the buyer space to imagine his own things in the room. A fresh approach, slipcovers etc. avoid a dated impression.
4.Neutral smell: If a house smells of the scent the seller loves, it easily backfires. Curry, fish and unmade bed smell do not do well either.
5.Maintenance: dirt and rot visibly in the face when you enter, drippping gutters, a mossed over roof and dirty windows make the impression the seller does not care, so what else can lure...
6.Landscaping: the grass is mowed, leafs are raked, flowers are in full bloom and not past their prime, trees are pruned, the water hose tidily hung up... that is a winning concept. And in winter, a groomed impression can still be easily achieved.
7.Updated kitchen: With comparably small investments you can update your kitchen and make it shine. Consider color, countertops and lighting.
8.Updated baths: a new backsplash, a fresh wall color and updated fixtures are a small investment and go a long way
9.Updated floors and fixtures: new carpet or even better new wood (laminate not so much!!) and new tile/vinyl are winners. The chandelier from the 80s in the entrance should go! Show your buyer that the house was updated periodically and is not stuck in the building decade!
10.Purpose and floor plan: If you have spaces in your house that people are left to interpret their uses, show purpose, a desk, a Fussball Table, a reading nook up, eliminate "dead" space. Master suites or at least a bedroom on the first floor, a separate guest area, a family room and living room, all these can make or break a sale.
It is said that in the first 90 seconds a buyer falls in love. That might be. But my experience is that people narrow choices down and the second time they go, rationality takes over and the above listed points take over.
Charles here is an excellent writer and his post here on Radon Gas is a fine example of how some issues are blown out of proportion and people rely on bad science to reach conclusions. What is comes down to is money.
After recent events here in the rain, it should be obvious to everyone just how true this statement is.There is tremendous danger in “assuming” that what we think is true---is in fact true. It is entirely possible for large numbers of people to be misinformed by non-digital information as much as we can be fooled by digital information.
Right off the bat, I want to make it clear that in some cases it may not even be possible to know what the truth is.It is obvious to me that when it comes to those sorts of things---it is best to keep an open mind.
When the government "gets on board" and says something is “so” it becomes even more difficult to keep an open mind.In fact, the government's simply saying something is “so,” is enough to convince most people---end of discussion.When that happens, a chain of events that affects anyone tied into, and dependent on, the government's information stream is affected. I find this fascinating in light of how most of us at one time or another speaks of not trusting the government.Just look at all the bickering about how the government handles almost anything.Yet when it comes to other things we just turn into the Stepford Wives.
While the psychology of all of this would make for a better subject of a book, as opposed to a blog post, I will do my best to keep this from turning into a book.
Today I want to talk about Radon---and raise the question: "What is the real truth about radon?
Rather than claim that I personally know what the “truth” is, I am going to attempt to show that there is at least the possibility that there may be a truth that is different than what one is used to hearing regarding Radon.I would ask that you keep an open mind and check out the hard science behind Radon.If you start to dig deep, you will notice that a lot of what is claimed about radon is in fact parroting of information that is dubious at best.
So what is Radon?
1. Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas.It is a result of the decay of uranium and is present to some degree everywhere on the planet.It is found in higher concentrations in some areas of the country than in other areas.If that was all we had to know about radon, life would be simple.
2. Radon is a multi-billion dollar industry.There is a tremendous amount of money to be made by testing for radon and mitigation of radon.Like other fear based industries it is fairly easy to get people on board with misinformation and half-truths.Once on board and invested, it is very difficult to jump off the wagon.
So which is closer to the truth?Are both the truth?Well obviously the first statement is true.Perhaps not so obvious---the second statement is true as well.
Now let’s visit the science behind the claims that Radon is a health risk.If there was no purported health concern regarding Radon there would be no industry built up around it.
I will start out by quoting Forensic Industrial Hygienist, Caoimhin Connell:“A large portion of the general population is under the misconception that the frequently published risks associated with radon are well accepted scientific facts. In reality, the vast majority of well designed studies do not support policy or positions that exposures to indoor radon pose a significant threat to health, and indeed, the majority of those studies indicate that, at concentrations typically seen in homes, as the level of radon increases, the risk of lung cancer goes down, not up.”
Now I don’t know about you, but this sounds HUGELY different than what we are used to hearing from those that have a vested interest in promoting radon as being a problem.
A blog post is an extremely poor means to cover this topic adequately.The most I can hope for is that my post will peak your interest enough to read the “story” behind this topic on your own.As an introduction to the topic I recommend reading, Radon—A Brief Discussion, by Caoimhin P. Connell.This article is where the above quote came from, and after reading it I suspect that most will find it difficult to not at least question the claims made by the EPA.
It is important to keep in mind that political organizations such as the EPA (we would love to think they are “neutral” wouldn’t we?), while they produce reports that attest to the elevated risk associated with radon, according to Caoimhin Connell, “to date (2010) there are no scientific studies that have ever actually shown that radon gas, as typically seen in houses, increases the risk of cancer.”In a position statement by the Health Physics Society “…risks of health effects are either too small to be observed or are non-existent.” The EPA itself even admits that there is no hard evidence to support the notion that Radon causes cancer at levels found in homes, but instead extrapolates its version of the truth from the fact that it is carcinogenic in amounts that miners are exposed to. Such an extrapolation is simply not supported by current knowledge.
Other interesting stuff that one can find, if one digs into the literature far enough (and is thoroughly discussed in Radon—A Brief Discussion) is that not only does the presence of radon in homes not increase the risk of cancer but that in homes with lower than normal levels of radon, health risks actually slightly increase.Exactly backwards of what the radon industry would have one believe.
In a study undertaken by Richard E. Thompson, and published in 2011 (EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR POSSIBLE RADIATION HORMESIS FROM RADON EXPOSURE: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY CONDUCTED IN WORCESTER, MA) it was also found that Radon exposure in homes actually decreases the risk of lung cancers. So that no one has to look it up, "Hormesis" is the principle that some things that are harmful in large doses actually have a beneficial effect in small doses. Doesn't his sound like so many things we consume? While Radon clearly has a detrimental effect on human tissue at the levels found in mines, there is no comparison between the very highest levels found in homes in relation to levels found in mines---and certainly no comparison behind levels "typical" of homes that are considered to be in "actionable" areas.
The EPA has added two new studies to its website that attempts to deal with the criticism that concerns about radon were improperly extrapolated from studies of miners exposed to HUGE doses of radon. These studies, called "pooling studies," are where one combines the results of many studies and attempts to come up with conclusions more to one's liking than would otherwise be gleaned from the studies individually. Of course this is a bit "cynical" interpretation, but pretty much what this pooling approach amounts to.
While I realize that I am in full and familiar uniform as Don Quixote (those that know me have seen me ride this horse before) when it comes to doing battle with the Giant Radon Industry, I will end my ride today hoping that you will do a little more real investigation of the topic on your own.
With a squeaking and crunching of armor I will leave you with this important excerpt from, U.S. Department of Energy, (Radon- Radon Research Program, FY 1989, DOE/ER-448P., March 1990), “Currently there is very little information about...the health effects associated with exposures to radon at levels believed to be commonly encountered by the public. The only human data available for predicting the risks to the public are studies examining the health effects of exposure to radon and its progeny in underground miners. This information would be appropriate for predicting the risks to the public if everyone was a miner, everyone lived in mines, and a large fraction of the general population smoked cigarettes.”
Based on the 2011 study by Richard E. Thompson, this statement is just as true today as it was in 1990 and is likely why every other TV add is not about the dangers of radon, why there aren’t Radon billboards on every street corner or the sides of every bus, and why most of the information and warnings we do hear about radon is from the industry that is built-up around it---a case of following the money.
Charles Buell, real estate inspections in Seattle
* * * * * * * * ** ** * ** ** * * * * * * * *
Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group
PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
Do you want to understand what is going on with the banks in this country and where your tax dollars are going. I have understood this, but this well written post describes how the American Tax payer is being screwed. Note this is Democrats and the left, but I think both sides of the isle have fingers in the pie.
Several times per week, I get phone calls from attorneys. These calls all start out the same. “I am unable to get loan modifications done through a lender. What can I do?” The first question I ask is if the lender is Indymac/One West. Invariably, it is.
I also field the same type of calls from homeowners and from loan modification companies. Everyone is having the problem of Indymac not cooperating with regard to doing loan modifications. Furthermore, if I google the issue or check out loan modification forums, the same is true on the internet.
What is going on with Indymac/One West? Why aren’t they doing loan modifications? This article will try and bring together the known facts for a better understanding of the situation, and discuss what the Indymac situation means for foreclosures in general — and the government’s response to the crisis. First, to understand the situation today, one must have an understanding of the recent history of Indymac.
History
Indymac was a national bank in the U.S. It was insured by the FDIC. On July 11, 2008, Indymac failed and was taken over by the FDIC.
Indymac offered mortgage loans to homeowners. A large number of these loans were Option ARM mortgages using stated income programs. The loans were offered by Indymac retail, and also through Mortgage Bankers would fund the loans and then Indymac would buy them and reimburse the Mortgage Banker. Mortgage Brokers were also invited to the party to sell these loans.
During the height of the Housing Boom, Indymac gave these loans out like a homeowner gives out candy at Halloween. The loans were sold to homeowners by brokers who desired the large rebates that Indymac offered for the loans. The rebates were usually about three points. What is not commonly known is that when the Option ARM was sold to Wall Street, the lender would realize from four to six points, and the three point rebate to the broker was paid from these proceeds. So the lender “pocketed” three points themselves for each loan.
When the loans were sold to Wall Street, they were securitized through a Pooling and Servicing Agreement. This Agreement covered what could happen with the loans, and detailed how all parts of the loan process occurred.
Even though Indymac sold off most loans, they still held a large number of Option ARMs and other loans in their portfolio. As the Housing Crisis developed and deepened, the number of these loans going into default or being foreclosed upon increased dramatically. This reduced cash and reserves available to Indymac for operations.
In July, 2008, the FDIC came in and took over Indymac. The FDIC looked for someone to buy Indymac and after negotiations, sold Indymac to One West Bank.
OneWest Bank and its Sweetheart Deal
OneWest Bank was created on Mar 19, 2009 from the assets of Indymac Bank. It was created solely for the purpose of absorbing Indymac Bank. The principle owners of OneWest Bank include Michael Dell and George Soros. (George was a major supporter of Barack Obama and is also notorious for knocking the UK out of the Euro Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 by shorting the Pound).
When OneWest took over Indymac, the FDIC and OneWest executed a “Shared-Loss Agreement” covering the sale. This Agreement covered the terms of what the FDIC would reimburse OneWest for any losses from foreclosure on a property. It is at this point that the details get very confusing, so I shall try to simplify the terms. Some of the major details are:
OneWest would purchase all first mortgages at 70% of the current balance
OneWest would purchase Line of Equity Loans at 58% of the current balance.
In the event of foreclosure, the FDIC would cover from 80%-95% of losses, using the original loan amount, and not the current balance.
How does this translate to the “Real World”? Let us take a hypothetical situation. A homeowner has just lost his home in default. OneWest sells the property. Here are the details of the transaction:
The original loan amount was $500,000. Missed payments and other foreclosure costs bring the amount up to $550,000. At 70%, OneWest bought the loan for $385,000
The home is located in Stockton, CA, so its current value is likely about $185,000 and OneWest sells the home for that amount. Total loss for OneWest is $200,000. But this is not how FDIC determines the loss.
‘FDIC takes the $500,000 and subtracts the $185,000 Purchase Price. Total loss according to the FDIC is $315,000. If the FDIC is covering “ONLY” 80% of the loss, then the FDIC would reimburse OneWest to the tune of $252,000.
Add the $252,000 to the Purchase Price of $185,000, and you have One West recovering $437,000 for an “investment” of $385,000. Therefore, OneWest makes $52,000 in additional income above the actual Purchase Price loan amount after the FDIC reimbursement.
At this point, it becomes readily apparent why OneWest Bank has no intention of conducting loan modifications. Any modification means that OneWest would lose out on all this additional profit.
Note: It is not readily apparent as to whether this agreement applies to loans that IndyMac made and Securitized but still Services today. However, I believe that the Agreement does apply to Securitized loans. In that event, OneWest would make even more money through foreclosure because OneWest would keep the “excess” and not pay it to the investor!
Pooling And Servicing Agreement
When OneWest has been asked about why loan modifications are not being done, they are responding that their Pooling and Servicing Agreements do not allow for loan modifications. Sheila Bair, head of the FDIC has also stated the same. This sounds like a plausible explanation, since few people understand the Pooling and Servicing Agreement. But…
Parties Involved
Here is the”dirty little secret” regarding Indymac and the Pooling and Servicing Agreement. The parties involved in the Agreement are:
The Sponsor for the Trust was…………Indymac
The Seller for the Trust was……………Indymac
The Depositor for the Trust was………..you guessed it………….Indymac
The Issuing Entity for the Trust was……………….(drumroll)……………….Indymac
The Master Servicer for the Trust was……..once again………Indymac
In other words, Indymac was the only party involved in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement other than the Ratings Agency who rated these loans as `AAA’ products.
To make matters worse, Indymac wrote the Agreement in order to protect itself from liability for these garbage loans. By creating separate Indymac Corporations — which the Depositor, Sponsor, and other entities were — Indymac created a bankruptcy-remote vehicle that could not come back to them in terms of liability. However, they did not count on certain MBS securities and portfolio loans coming back to bite them and force them under.
Now, the questions become:
If Indymac was responsible for Securitization at every step in the Process, and was responsible for writing the Pooling and Servicing Agreement, can they be held accountable for the loans that they are foreclosing on?
Since Indymac was the Issuing Entity, can they actually modify loans, but refuse to do so because they can make money for OneWest Bank by refusing to do so?
Does Indymac have to “buy back” the loan from the Indymac Trust in order to do a loan modification?
These are questions that I have no answer for. All I know is that at every step of the way, Indymac was involved in the process, and have taken steps to protect themselves from liability for loans that should never have been made.
Loan Modifications
As referred to earlier, the Agreement covers all aspects of the Securitization Process. With respect to Loan Modifications, the Agreement for Indymac INDA Mortgage Loan Trust 2007 – AR5, states on Page S-67:
Certain Modifications and Refinancings
The Servicer may modify any Mortgage Loan at the request of the related mortgagor, provided that the Servicer purchases the Mortgage Loan from the issuing entity immediately preceding the modification.
Page S-12 states the same “policy”:
The servicer is permitted to modify any mortgage loan in lieu of refinancing at the request of the related mortgagor, provided that the servicer purchases the mortgage loan from the issuing entity immediately preceding the modification. In addition, under limited circumstances, the servicer will repurchase certain mortgage loans that experience an early payment default (default in the first three months following origination). See “Servicing of the Mortgage Loans—Certain Modifications and Refinancings” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related To Newly Originated Mortgage Loans and Servicer’s Repurchase Obligation Related to Early Payment Default” in this prospectus supplement.
These sections would appear to suggest that the only way that OneWest could modify the loan would be as a result of buying the loan back from the Issuing Trust. However, there may be an out. Page S-12 also states:
Required Repurchases, Substitutions or Purchases of Mortgage Loans
The seller will make certain representations and warranties relating to the mortgage loans pursuant to the pooling and servicing agreement. If with respect to any mortgage loan any of the representations and warranties are breached in any material respect as of the date made, or an uncured material document defect exists, the seller will be obligated to repurchase or substitute for the mortgage loan as further described in this prospectus supplement under “Description of the Certificates—Representations and Warranties Relating to Mortgage Loans” and “—Delivery of Mortgage Loan Documents .”
The above section may be the key for litigating attorneys to fight Indymac. If fraud or other issues can be raised that will show a violation of the Representations and Warranties, then this could potentially force Indymac to modify the loan.
HAMP
At this point, it becomes important to note that Indymac/OneWest signed aboard with the HAMP program in August 2009. Even though they became a part of the program, they are still refusing to do most loan modifications. Instead, they persist in foreclosing on almost all properties. And even when they say that they are attempting to do loan modifications, they are fulfilling all necessary requirements so that they can foreclose the second that they “decide” the homeowner does not meet HAMP requirements, — which, since they can make more money by foreclosing on the property, meets the HAMP requirements for doing what is in the best interests of the “investor”.
Why did Indymac even sign up for HAMP, if they have no intention of executing loan modifications? Clearly, just for appearances.
One Final Question
It now becomes incumbent upon me to ask one final question. The Shared-Loss Agreement states the following:
2.1 Shared-Loss Arrangement.
(a) Loss Mitigation and Consideration of Alternatives. For each Shared-Loss Loan in default or for which a default is reasonably foreseeable, the Purchaser shall undertake, or shall use reasonable best efforts to cause third-party servicers to undertake, reasonable and customary loss mitigation efforts in compliance with the Guidelines and Customary Servicing Procedures. The Purchaser shall document its consideration of foreclosure, loan restructuring (if available), charge-off and short-sale (if a short-sale is a viable option and is proposed to the Purchaser) alternatives and shall select the alternative that is reasonably estimated by the Purchaser to result in the least Loss. The Purchaser shall retain all analyses of the considered alternatives and servicing records and allow the Receiver to inspect them upon reasonable notice.
Such agreements are usually considered to be interpreted to the benefit of the homeowner, as with HAMP and other programs. In legalese, it is called “Intent”.
What was the “Intent” of the Shared-Loss Agreement? Was the intent to provide OneWest Bank solely with a profitable incentive to take over Indymac Bank? If so, then OneWest has been truly successful in every manner.
Or was the intent to offer to OneWest Bank a way to be compensated for losses for foreclosures, but with the primary goal to assist homeowners in trouble? If this was the intent, then OneWest has failed miserably in its actions. And if so, could OneWest be actionable by the Federal Government for fraud?
In fact the true “Intent” was to limit losses to the Treasury Department. Each and every loan modification done would save the Treasury, and the tax payer, from 80-95 cents on every dollar.
Since, technically, One West would get 5-20 cents of any savings, it should have been an incentive to use foreclosure alternatives. But the reality is that the quick turnaround on foreclosure seems to give OneWest a better return. As a result, OneWest appears to simply ignore the intent and just foreclose (as far as I can tell).
So, OneWest’s failure to modify loans may actually amount to fraud on the Treasury and US taxpayers.
Conclusion
I have presented the story of Indymac/OneWest and what is happening today. But the story does not end with OneWest. There are over 50 different lenders and servicers who have Shared-Loss Agreements executed with the FDIC. Each Agreement offers essentially the same terms. Though other Lenders do not appear to be acting as flagrantly as OneWest, they are all still engaging in the same actions.
What is the solution for this problem?
For homeowners individually, the most successes are being achieved by borrowers who are getting knowledgeable attorneys who will not just threaten litigation, but are also willing to act and file the necessary lawsuits. That tends to bring OneWest Bank to the table.
For the country as a whole, and homeowners in mass, the problem must be brought to the attention of your local Congress Critters. You must hold their feet to the fire. They must know that if they do not respond to what OneWest and other lenders are doing, then they are subject to being voted out of their nice and cushy Congressional Offices.
Will this be easy? No way. After all, the lenders have the money and the ears of Congress. But if we do not draw the line here, then in 10-15 years, the Banks will devise another plan to “loot” the economy, as they do every 10-15 years.
There is a lot of Wisdom here on Credit Scores. I would not have known any of this and want to share it with you.
I think credit scoring is stacked against consumers right now and you should use every tool and technique you can to put yourself in a position to buy a home now.
Historically, the function of Credit Bureaus first began as collection agencies and they only gathered negative information. Then, Fair Isaac & Company developed the FICO scoring system to improve the credit reporting system. Today, the credit rating-system uses both positive and negative information of consumers’ payment histories to provide a risk-grade rating that estimates your credit worthiness.
I was recently consulting a couple that had previously disputed some items online directly on the credit bureaus websites, and I thought it might make an interesting topic to share. I highly recommend you NEVER use their online dispute systems. It's like the fox watching the hen house and I'll explain why.
Reason #1: As most of you know, one factor you have on your side when disputing credit is time. The legal thirty-day limit is not a lot time for a credit bureau, creditor, or collection agency to properly investigate a dispute. The Credit Bureaus online dispute system is set up in such a way that when you use it, it makes their job not only that much easier but cost efficient. The information you put into their limited dispute fields falls right into their electronic verification system.
Reason #2: This one is probably the most obvious. You have no proof or paper trail. Any attorney would advise you that much of credit repair is about good records and paper trails.
Reason #3: When the Fair Credit Reporting Act was amended, they put in a section for "Expedited Dispute Resolution" Section 611a(8) the on-line dispute system. It reads as follows…
"…the agency shall not be required to comply with paragraphs 2, 6 and 7 with respect to that dispute if they delete the tradeline within 3 days.”
Paragraph 2 requires the CRA to forward your dispute and all related documentation you provide to the furnisher. They rarely forward the documentation.
Paragraph 6 requires the CRA to provide you with written results of the investigation.
Paragraph 7 requires the CRA to provide you with the method of verification on request from the consumer.
What they are doing is…
The Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) can delete a disputed trade line for 30 days, then, the trade line can reappear when the furnisher (creditor or collector) reports it again in the next cycle. That is because the CRA is not required to tell the furnisher you disputed it thanks to section 2 being omitted. This is sometimes called a “soft delete” and it is not permanent.
Furthermore, you lose your rights to request "Method of Verification" (MOV) so you lose this powerful tool in the dispute process thanks to Paragraph 7 being omitted.
Finally, another powerful tool we use often is the five-day written notice of re-insertion. Essentially, what that means is that if a credit bureau is going to re-insert a previously deleted item, they must inform you in writing five days prior to re-inserting it. I have rarely ever seen them give that notice.
That five-day notice is only required if the credit bureau takes longer then 45 days to complete. IF it is deleted via the expedited system, often completed in three days, the five-day written notice is no longer required.
In Summary, never dispute errors online if you want them permanently removed. If you are going to dispute items on your credit report, do it in writing, and do it by certified mail with a signed receipt.
I think we have all been watching the shocking treatment of the Catholic Church and other religious institutions this week by the Obama Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services as they prepare us all for Obama Care.
Over the last couple years people have talked about the Death Panels under the new Health Care Laws. Although many people claim the term “Death Panels” is an exaggeration, you might begin to think more and more about how accurate that term might be.
This little video gives us an idea of how they might work. Note at the very end of the video how the Government Class moves through the scene.
Large Single Story Homes in Brentwood – An Alternative
Large Single Story Homes can be very expensive. There are a number of reasons for this. 1) They have a larger footprint (foundation) that cost money. 2) The larger footprint means you need a bigger lot. 3) They are harder to find.
Many people shopping for Single Story Homes are at a point in life where they are down sizing and do not need a Large Single Story Home so not as many are built.
However, I have had clients with a need for a very Large Single Story Home. I once had a couple where one of them was wheel chair bound. They had extended family living with them (adult children and a parent) and they both worked out of the home.
We spent months shopping for that Large Single Story Home. We found a few, but for one reason or another they did not work or they were too expensive.
Finally we had an idea. We found a two story home that met all the needs; except being single story. They bought the home and installed an elevator. We are talking full fledged elevator and it cost about $75,000.00. This was more economical than the Large Single Story Home. I also understand there are other elevator options that are cheaper.
Just a thought if you need a Large Single Story Home. Call me directly if you need assistance at 925-260-4321.
People might quibble over what constitutes a Big Home and many people think Big Homes are a thing of the past. I hear talk of sustainable, green, back to basics, and small living.
I am here to disagree. I think Big Homes are very important and will make a big come back. Here is why I think Big Homes are in our future:
More and more people will move to self employment and/or telecommuting. They will want to work out of the home.
Although I believe we have a great country and will recover from this economic down turn I do think economics will mean more multi-generational homes. Again this means bigger homes, in-law units, and all that come with it.
This country has been trending away from traditional and large families for 40+ years. I think that trend will begin to reverse itself. Part of the reason will be economics, but part of it will be a return to traditional values.
People like to be home more. A lot of socializing has moved to the internet (for good or bad) and people keep a closer eye on their kids. There is less roaming and more at home. You can argue that these are bad trends and I might agree; but that fact is people want a home that they can do stuff in. They would rather stay home than go out.
Home schooling is a growing trend. People will need room at home for education.
I think Americans like to live large. If they can afford it they want the best/the biggest/newest/trendiest. This is true for a lot of things – Including Homes.
Big Homes are Green and Socially positive. Although a Big Home might cost more and take more utilities the cost per person in a Big Home can be substantially less. Large family units living in Big Homes tend to live cheaper per person than those that live alone. Large Family units can be more self sustaining.
Big Homes might not be popular now. People are trying to get by, but I think that trend will turn around in a year or two. A Big Home is a good investment and Big Homes are priced right in Brentwood CA.
A Big Home Buying Tip – Always make sure there is at least one bedroom and a full bath downstairs. Even if you don't need a downstairs bedroom now you may in the future and it will help the resale value.
For more information on Big Homes in Brentwood call us directly at 925-260-4321.
This is just a great post about a great thing a guy is doing for veterans. One thing that I love about this country is there are so many people that really do great things for others.
They are looking for sponsors and veterans to work with.
Do you want to do something great for a Purple Heart Recipient? Bob Paschal does and he does. You can help him or get in contact with him if you know a purple heart recipient you'd like to get to participate in a pheasant shoot. Bob stopped by my office today for a visit and I helped him out just a little. He wanted help with a letter to mail out to seek sponsorship for these Veterans. You see Bob runs a foundation dedicated to helping this young veterans. Why? Well because he's walked a few thousand miles in their shoes.
Bob, center of photo served 5 tours in Korea and Vietnam. Today while visiting at my office he shared that sometimes he never even knew where he would be flying on his next mission. Today he does know what his mission is and I know it's my and My Donald's missions to do what we can to support our wounded service members as well. So today I put together some address labels and a saved a flier in .pdf for Bob to go and get printed to mail out in hopes of getting some sponsorships.
The pheasant shoot will be in October and you can help too. Bob's organization "Americans Helping Wounded Veterans" is dedicated to helping those who have been wounded in service to our country while protecting our freedoms. I hope to get to actually go this fall to meet some of the veterans who participate. Not long ago I attended a benefit concert. I was actually honored to meet a medal of Hon or recipient at that concert.
If you know of a purple heart recipient contact Bob Paschal at 478-836-5816 to find out how they can participate. He'd love to meet them and share this wonderful experience. He's been doing this for years and years. If you'd like to help you can certainly do so by mailing a donation (any size donation is wonderful and welcome) to Americans Helping Wounded Veterans P.O. Box 531 Roberta, GA 31078. I'm going to share with you some photos from the 2011 hunt that I hope will inspire you to donate. I can't think of a great cause that makes a difference in our daily lives... for all of us.
Please, if you would consider helping sponsor a purple heart recipient who has sacrificed SO much to protect our freedoms. Help give them this opportunity to have this weekend together, to be together and have a little fun. Thanks for your consideration.
706-485-9668
(Click on Lane Realty Logo for web site)
Tammy Lankford, Broker/Owner
Broker License # 169695 Lane Realty License # H-11420
Call me today for all your Lake Sinclair real estate needs.
For readers who are not members of ActiveRain feel free to also add your comments or you can click on the EMAIL me link to the right of this blog and email me. Thanks for reading.
All content belongs to me unless otherwise stated. Do not use without permission. Logos and photographs may also be copyright registered. Please do not use without my express written permission.
Good Youth Pitching Coaches are hard to find. My son has been pitching starting in Little League and in Travel Baseball or Tournament Baseball. Everyone tells us he has good form and it seems natural to him, but we knew we needed a Good Youth Pitching Coach.
I met Ken Salyer at a Travel Ball Tournament. He was just setting in the stands watching my son pitch. Not sure if he knew it was my son. He told me several things right away that I as a non expert could understand about what my son needed to do to get to the next level.
Kenny Salyer is a Youth Pitching Coach at Game Plan Allstars. Kenny runs clinics and coaches on Treasure Island in San Francisco. He attended El Cerrito High and lives in San Pablo. He works as a Youth Pitching Coach with kids in San Francisco and the East Bay, including Pinole, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Oakland, and Berkeley. Being on Treasure Island in San Francisco means he is very accesible from the East Bay Area.
Anyway we hired him as a Youth Pitching Coach for our son Corbin. It was far more affordable than we expected and he offers some package plans. After 5 Lessons he has taken Corbin to the next level and he is as good a pitcher as any kid on his Tournament Baseball Team.
As part of the Coaching he has taught proper warm ups to my son to help protect his arm, as well as working on his form and his accuracy. There are a lot of exercises and tools Kenny has employed to teach the muscle memory so important to a good pitcher.
As a Pitching Coach Kenny has helped our son improve his speed and accuracy; as well as giving him insights into managing his came and developing strategies for handling different types of batters.
We plan to continue to use Kenny to Coach our son as a pitcher in order to get him ready for High School Baseball.
If you are looking for a Youth Pitching Coach for someone in Little League, Pony Baseball, Babe Ruth Baseball, Travel Baseball, Tournament Baseball, or even High School Baseball, we highly recommend Kenny Salyer and Game Plan Allstars.
Just to keep the FCC happy I will advise you that I have not been paid or given any inducements to write this post.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
After recent events here in the rain, it should be obvious to everyone just how true this statement is.
all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
Reason #1:
Bob, center of photo served 5 tours in Korea and Vietnam. Today while visiting at my office he shared that sometimes he never even knew where he would be flying on his next mission. Today he does know what his mission is and I know it's my and My Donald's missions to do what we can to support our wounded service members as well. So today I put together some address labels and a saved a flier in .pdf for Bob to go and get printed to mail out in hopes of getting some sponsorships.
As part of the Coaching he has taught proper warm ups to my son to help protect his arm, as well as working on his form and his accuracy. There are a lot of exercises and tools Kenny has employed to teach the muscle memory so important to a good pitcher. 
;)
;)
;)
