I just read some good news today for Bank of America customers who have their mortgage with BofA and are having difficulty paying the mortgage.  

Below is a link to the article.  

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100324/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_of_america_mortgages

Bank of America said Wednesday that, 

"...it will forgive up to 30 percent of some customers' total mortgage balances. The homeowners must have missed at least two months of mortgage payments and owe at least 20 percent more than their home is currently worth."

This program will certainly help some homeowners keep their house and continue to make payments that they can afford.  

Sold!!! Foreclosure in Rio Dell, Humboldt County California. Call Lucky 707-954-7926 for more REOs and other homes for sale in Humboldt County (Arcata, McKinleyville, Eureka, Bayside, Fortuna, Ferndale and more). If you would like Lucky to help with your home buying or selling, call or email Lucky anytime. He is knowledgeable in the local real estate market as well as transactions involving REOs, short sales, BPOs, cash for keys and provides you with constant updates with your real estate transaction.

HELP!!!!!

With the earthquake hitting home in Eureka CA last Saturday January 9, 2009, I am glad that no one was seriously injured or killed in Eureka.  

But on Tuesday, January 12, 2010,  the capital of Haiti was hit hard with a 7.0 earthquake that could potentially have killed up to 100,000 people and there were lots of buildings that collapsed.  

You can do your part and donate as little as $5 by visiting this site: http://twitter.com/wyclef or texting YELE to 501501 via your cell phone. 

If you feel like donating more, you can donate $10 by texting Haiti to the number 90999 via your cell phone.  This money will be donated straight to the Red Cross.  

For more information, visit: http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93314?fp=1

Today in Eureka, there was a 6.5 earthquake that was the biggest to hit  Eureka, CA if almost 20 years.  Most of the lights are out in Eureka tonight and businesses were closed do to no electricity.  I myself came home to find all my belongings on the floor and some flower vases were broken.  

Here is a link to an article about the Earthquake:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/09/BALS1BG3RV.DTL

 As we look forward to 2010, all of us, Real Estate professionals as well as buyers and sellers are wondering the same things. Is the housing market going to get better? Is it going to bottom out? What factors are involved that will help the housing market? How about interest rates? Employment? Economy? All these factors are important in determining the outcome of the housing market.

Here is a list of 10 things to know about the housing market in the coming year that will help answer some of those questions:

10 Things to Know about Real Estate in 2010

Today is my day of relaxation from a long vacation of visiting my friends and family in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA.  I drove the entire trip so you can image how tired I was getting home around 11pm from driving almost 11 hours straight (from Seattle WA to my home in Eureka, CA).  Well, today is my “clean up” day.  A day for organizing my life, for paying any outstanding bills, for cleaning my house and getting rid of any unwanted or unneeded items, and for setting my personal and professional goals for the coming year. 

I think it is good to reflect on life and how the past year has treated us, to have some quiet time in order to figure out where we are and where we want our lives to be in the coming New Year.  So with these thoughts in mind, I would like to quote one of the most memorable quotes I have keep with me growing up that has helped me to preserver in achieving big dreams and goals.  The quote is, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step (or, a single step).”  I am sure there are many variations of that quote, but the idea is that in order to begin the journey of achieving our dreams and goals, whether that is to achieve the highest number of sales in the coming year, or to help as many home buyers and sellers as possible, we first need to start by taking that first step of sitting down, writing out those goals and set reasonable time lines to achieve them. 

With that said, I would like to wish everyone good luck and Happy New Years!

 It is after Christmas and I am still on my family vacation in Seattle, WA.  The home of Active Rain believe it or not.  Well, being on vacation and visiting my family, I have realized something important that I mostly forget during the rest of the year when I am frantically working.  I realize that we have to take time out to invest in ourselves and our families the way we put all that effort into our jobs and work because without those family moments and enjoying personal happiness, then what is the point of all that hard work?

After hanging out with the cousins, nieces and nephews all day yesterday and taking them to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie as well as ice skating (something that I have not done before) in Bellevue, it dawned on me that these few and precious moments are what we will remember for the rest of our lives, not our routine jobs or the next sale.  And on our death beds, these few precious moments are probably what we will ultimately remember as we lay there reflecting on our lives. 

 So for the new coming year, I will prioritize my Business action plan as well and my own personal time, and the time spent with family and friends.  Sometimes we as real estate agents tend to work so hard and get wrapped up in chasing our next deals or joggling multiple deals that we forget to stop and smell the roses for instance, and remember why we do what we do.  I think that by scheduling time off from work will also help us to rejuvenate our energies and strength for when we do work, so that we do not burn ourselves out of business and enjoy our work more.

So for the coming new year, I toast to all my real estate professional friends out there and my clients and future clients, to always remember what are the important things in life and to give yourself time to spend with your family and friends and to yourself, as well as your work.  Happy New Years!