RE/MAX's Blog

General Excise Taxes (Read Sales Taxes) on Agent Commissions

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:14:57 -0500

Well, the State is lowering the boom on those of us who are not filing our GET taxes! Another realtor was just sentenced for failing to file GET taxes. One of us just pled guilty to six counts of willfullly failing to file her returns for tax years 2000 through 2005. This agent was directed to pay $28,935 plus $12,000 fine and court fees. Best to keep even with the requirements of the state.

Anyone conviceted of this kind of offense can be assessed a fine up to $25,000 per violation, a period of incarceration not to exceed one-year and corporations can be fined up to $100,000 per violation.

While many of us may consider it grossly unfair that we are taxed at all by this regressive tax, we need to be certain that we are on top of filing unless we want to be hauled before a magistrate. Never mind that no other profession has to pay GET on their commissions or salaries! Never mind-never mind! Realtors are perceived by the public and their legislators as being rich and thus, that we need to pay more of our "wages or salaries or commissions" than anyone else. Ahhh, wonderful living in Paradise.

Where do we go from here?

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:36:34 -0500

Well, here we are on the day after a "safe and sane" July 4 holiday. Back to reality for awhile. Crude oil prices are now our top economic concern, outweighing the housing market and credit problems. I guess this means we can now focus on selling homes in a new environment? Maybe the FED will hike rates soon just to keep things interesting? It seems that the experts, whoever they are are looking for a couple of hikes before the end of the year, just to keep us on our toes. Ahhh, life is good if we don't weaken. Of course, the price of gas could fall precipituously by then and thus, they wouldn't know what to do? Think that might happen? Ah my, what a good life!

RE/MAX Kai Lani -- 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109 -- Kailua, HI 96734 -- 808-237-5300

The Chinese Are Coming, The Chinese Are Coming, The Chinese Are Coming

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:31:52 -0500

The Chinese Are Coming, The Chinese Are Coming, The Chinese Are Coming

Wow, we have long been awaiting for the Chinese to break out of their insular habits and get out and mix with the rest of the world. Well, it is finally starting. And maybe even, they are bringing some of the dollars we have been sending their way to buy goodies and services of every shape and kind. You never know, they might even discover that our homes and land are cheap by their standards and you never know, this may usher in another boom in our Real Estate Market. I think so!

The Honolulu Advertiser broke this news to us as a big splash in their article, "China opens up package tours to U.S." in the June 18th Business Section. It seems the whole thing grew out of an agreement negotiated last December that gave the U.S. and Hawaii, China's "approved destination status". This is no small achievement. China has long guarded its country, boarders and people from mixing with those of us who are not Chinese in a big way.

But what this change means is that Chinese travel agencies can now market package tours to American destinations and it permits U.S. destinations to advertise directly to the Chinese public. This is an enormous change!

On June 17, an initial group of more than 200 tourists flew in from "Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou for a 12-day visit that will take them to destinations such as Hawai'i, New York, Washington and Los Angeles. The trips cost about $4,000 each." Once these folks find us and the word gets out, we can expect a sea change in the culture of the country and from a very selfish perspective, a very large inflow of capital into the USA, and from our own perspective, here in Hawaii.

I can only say Welcome! Good times are just around the corner for real estate agents. Be happy and learn to speak a little Chinese.

And, just to keep our perspective, China is not what it used to be. It is a modern thriving economy struggling hard to not only join the rest of the world, but to lead the rest of the world. Keep your fingers crossed.

Are you ready?

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua, HI 96734 --- 808-237-5300

We Have a New Agent

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:40:25 -0500

Are we lucky or what! Denise Saunders has just chosen RE/MAX Kai Lani over all of the other real estate companies in Kailua. She already has three listings! Sometimes it feels like she sucks all the air out of the room when she walks in. She is a veritable dynamo. We are happy, happy, happy to have her on board. Denise is a Farrington High School Graduate putting her in good standing in the community.

She is a true Hawaii Born outdoors person--in love with the beach, loves to walk barefoot in the sand and let the waves flow over her feet. "I LOVE the Beach". And ... she Loves to Cook. Can't tell it though because she is in fantastic shape -- looking good.

We are all so pleased to have her on board that we can hardly stand it. Welcome Denise!

RE/MAX Kai Lani -- 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua, HI 96734 --- Telepone: 808-237-5300

Is Perception Reality? Or What?

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Sat, 31 May 2008 15:35:56 -0500

Reality bites if we are not aligned on our perceptions. Here are some thoughts to get you interested in reading the attached link. I have to tell you, this gets you thinking. Edward Marshall wrote an insiteful article at the attached link. Here are a few of his thoughts to get you started.

"Perception is reality. Or is it? Is my perception true about a particular work decision? Or am I simply trying to convince myself that I am right? What if others disagree? Does that make them wrong? What if our differences in perception involve key decisions critical to the business? How important is it that we are aligned and on the same page?

"If we are not aligned on how we perceive these things, we run the risk of falling into the Perception Trap - a situation in which everyone is right and no one is wrong, but no one is on the same page and the business is directly affected.

"To understand the power of perceptions, envision yourself wearing a pair of glasses. Your lenses are shaped by your history, experiences, expectations, hopes, understandings, needs and perspectives. They affect how you perceive everything you see.

"Now, realize that everyone else has their own glasses with lenses shaped by their own experiences. Everyone is looking through different lenses and perceiving different things.

"Therein lies the challenge.

"The perception trap happens when a group of us have to come to a decision, resolve a problem, or address a concern, and we don't completely share our perceptions of that reality. We work through the issue, think we have arrived at a decision that we all agree with, and then leave the meeting with what we thought was the agreement. Then we find out we didn't agree at all the way we thought we had. Hence, everyone is right and no one is wrong, but we're not aligned."

http://www.bizjournals.com/extraedge/consultants/in_the_workplace/2008/04/28/column15.html?ana=e_sol

Plan, Plan, Plan

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:30:35 -0500

Just a quick Reminder!!!!

It's time to quit wishing for sales success, and make a plan to achieve it! This is a tough buyer's market, but one can't sit by and wait for cleints to come knocking! A goal without a plan is only a wish. Most of us just sit by wishing for things to happen and they seldom do. In this kind of market, you might now have a little time to get planning. Make a detailed plan of action and then start implementing it. Your business is up to you. Just a short thought for the day.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734 - Aikahi Park Shopping Center - www.remaxkailani.com

Phishing and Spoofing can be dangerous to YOU!!!!

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:31:10 -0600

If you receive email requesting confidential information of any type, please be very VERY careful. "Phishing" and "spoofing" email cannot be taken at face value; they are fraudulent in every sense of the word. They may appear if you look at them only casually, to be from a well-known company and ask you to click on a link. They may ask you to provide, update or confirm information that may not even appear to be confidential, but may be a route to confidential information they can access by other means with the information you provide. Most of us are pretty alert to watch for requests for Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and passwords. Even your clicking on a link can sometimes be dangerous, even if you don't answer the questions asked. A Word to the wise should be sufficient. Be Careful!

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734 Telephone: (808) 237-5300

Maui and Lanai are having a Hard Time

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:32:56 -0600

Sales of single-family homes on both Maui and Lanai fell dramatically to their lowest point in several years in January. There were only 56 homes sold last month, 55 of which were on Maui and only one on Lanai. This compares to 106 that were sold in January of 2007.

This was the lowest number of sales in the last five years. By comparison, the lowest number of sales last year occurred in September when 74 homes were sold. I surely hope this isn't catching.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, #109, Kailua, HI 96734 (808)237-5300

Successfull Pricing Strategies for a Buyer's Market

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:35:59 -0600

It's not easy to be a Seller's Agent in this Buyer's Market. And, while our agents really love to work as Buyer's Agents, it is not at all wise to pass up an opportunity to take a good listing.

I doubt that it comes as news to anyone, that all Housing Markets are "Local". This is true even in a "Small Town" like Hawaii.

With a little research, however, our odds of making and closing any given sale are improved tremendously.

William Poorvu, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School and author of "Creating and Growing Real Estate Wealth." Notes that "You've got to know more than you would have if you'd sold a year ago." Boy, is this ever true now when the number of units being sold is down, waaaay down! There are still some serious buyers out there, but boy, are they shopping hard for the right home at the right place in the right condition, in the right location. And this at the RIGHT price.

Looking at the Monthly Stat report published by the Honolulu Board of Realtors there are significant differences in what similar units sell for from area to area. Duh!

I guess the state of Hawaii is a good case in point. While prices throughout the mainland are generally down, Hawaii prices are, at worst, level, but even here, some regions on Oahu are going up while others are down. Condo prices might be going up while single family home prices are going down a little, or vise versa. High end properties behave differently from the homes the rest of us live in.

I guess it might be an oversimplification to note that this just reflects the supply and demand requirements of the market. There is a lot more demand for homes in Kailua, than there might be in Aiea for example, but even this statement is an oversimplification because demand is not necessarily the same for the same type of home. Demand changes depending on the price range as well as the neighborhood and locale.

This is where our research must get specific. One has to ask, specifically, how much demand is there for a house like your client wants to sell in the area where the home is located. A multimillion dollar home in Makakilo is a lot harder to sell than would be the same home in Kailua, and it would sell for more in Kailua, particularly if it were to be "on the beach". There is just not a large pool of home buyers looking to spend a couple of million dollars in Makakilo; there are a few looking to do so in Kailua.

Here is where we council our agents to look carefully at what is being sold and the prices at which similar units are sold. It's not good enough to wet one's pointer finger and hold it in the wind; you simply have to do your research.

We have to look at the comps, study prices for the places that have sold. And one has to look at what sold over the past year, nine months, six months, three months, and consider what the market was doing then as compared to now.

One has to ask, what the trends are, particularly in the specific area where the home is located. What are prices doing in the area, are they going up or going down, and how much are they changing and how quickly. How long did the comp stay on the market. When pricing the unit, it necessarily needs to be priced ahead of the trend. It hardly ever works to follow the trend, particularly in a dropping market.

Looking at the homes that have sold, did the seller have to mark them down from the original listing price, and by how much? It is really important to have the home priced right at the time it is first listed; a quick sale benefits everyone. If the seller is being greedy, it may help to remind him how much he is losing every day the property doesn't sell because it is priced too high. In this effort, rental values can be used to make the situation understandable, and this is where an alliance with a competent Property Manager can be a big help. It is not unusual at all for me to get a call to meet with a client of another agent, even from another office, to help him determine rental values of a property.

And, in the final analysis, one has to be really careful to realize that the selling agent on any comp one is evaluating, may have had to throw in a few, or a lot, of concessions. This information will not be readily apparent, and one might be well advised to call one of the recent selling agents of a comp to find out.

Research in pricing our listings is an imperative of the Buyer's Market in which we now find ourselves.

Surviving in a Buyer's Market

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:19:58 -0600

Surviving in a buyer's market is tough at best. At times like this, it is imperative that one makes themselves and their companies indispensable to the people they serve. We must all become the "must-have" provider of solutions for our clients and for those who will be buying, selling, or leasing property. This means that they need to believe that they simply can't get by without our services, and that no one can service their accounts as well as us, and here is where it becomes really personal. We all need to be as customer service oriented as we can possibly make ourselves and strengthen that personal relationship we all have with our clients. This often means that we will need to swallow our pride and get our emotion under control. Remeber, you are the professional! Remember, that's why your client needs you. Keep your cool at all times, even if it makes you want to cry.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive 109; Kailua, HI 96734 www.rxkl.com

California Home sales off 1/3 in December!!!!!!

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:52:25 -0600

Wow, it's worse than I thought, According to the California Association of Realtors home sales are off 33% in December as compared to December of 2006. Prices are not off that bad, dropping only 16 1/2 per-cent. Prices in the Bay area are holding better with a comparable drop of only .2%.

I think Uncle Sam is priming the pump for a temporary fix though with FHA incrasing the loan ceiling for qualified buyers and the cuts in the interest rate. Cash rebates to selected taxpayers or non-taxpayers will pump additional liquidity into the economy. Pretty soon these will take hold. I am the eternal optimist.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109 in the Aikahi Park Shopping Center in Kailua, 96734. www.RXKL.com And, yes, there is a Kailua on Oahu!

Real Law Central -- LAWYERS want our Commissions

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:44:28 -0600

I put a blog in Active Rain yesterday concerning a really urgent issue. The legal community in Hawaii has done an end run on us that will allow them to take a huge chunk of an agent's commission if their initiative passes. Every Realtor needs to pay immediate attention to this issue. See my BLOG below on URGENT ACTION REQUIRED. I can't overestimate the need for everyone to do something about this NOW.

It's interesting that the Legal Profession read my blog even if not many of us in the real estate industry did. Seems as though I might be quoted in Real Law Central. This is a prestigious magazine published on the Internet that talks about legal issues impacting real estate agents and Realtors.

You only have today and tomorrow to take action. Please get cracking! Jerry

URGENT - ACTION REQUIRED NOW!

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:02:09 -0600

The Hawaii State Bar Association is muscling in on the Real Estate Business in Hawaii BIG TIME!

Hawai'i Rules of the Supreme Court, Proposed Rule Regarding the Unauthorized Practice of Law

The Legal Profession has just done an end run on us in Hawaii. They are proposing that the Hawaii Supreme Court Change the Rules in a way that would require every real estate agent to insert the services of a lawyer into every transaction that would be done in the State. This is a blatant attempt by the legal community to insert themselves into the real estate and other businesses when there is no reason to do so. As real estate agents, we know, understand and comply with the law. There is no legitimate reason to make the change.

We can't let them drive up the cost of buying and selling homes by legitimizing this outrageous proposal by a self serving group of people wanting to expand their services in areas where they are currently not competitive and are not needed. This would put over 8,000 of us real estate agents on the island of Oahu out of business, or would drive the cost of our doing business sky high. What they really want is a huge chunk of every commission you earn.

THERE IS NO TIME!!! ACT NOW!!! The State has solicited comments on this by FRIDAY, January 25. Please get active and take a position. You can access the site at http://www.courts.state.hi.us/ I was able to figure it out and it only took a few minutes. PLEASE, take action on this NOW.

RE-MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734 - 808-237-5300

Kailua Sunrise

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:08:51 -0600

A Sunrise in Kailua is like none anywhere in the world! It is just and absolutely splendid.

It is not unusual for us to awaken to a site like this from our home in Kaimalino in Kailua! What a wonderful place to live. We are generally favored with this kind of view in the winter when we have a little more rain than usual and temperatures in the mid 70's during the day. Evenings are another matter! Temperatures dive to 65 degrees and we absolutely freeze! It's tough to have to put on sweats or a jacket and long trousers to sit in the back yard at such times. Brrrrrr!

I hope everyone has an opportunity to visit Hawaii! It is truly Paradise. And should you choose to stay, give us a buzz.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734 -- 808-237-5300

Hawaii "Big Island" Home Sales

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:57:20 -0600

Just by way of comparison with the earlier report on the home market on Kauai, Sales on the Big Island of Hawaii show a very different trend. Sales of single-family homes there fell 20 percent and prices are off 6 percent. Condos show a similar trend with sales off 31 percent while median prices are off about 8 percent.

Clearly, each Island has its own market. We are still having great business here on Oahu, but even still the number of homes, both single family homes and condos are off pretty substantially but prices are holding reasonably firm. Our agents are staying very busy. We still believe we are in a typical Hawaiian market as we have seen things this way before.

There is another issue that is really interesting. We have all been expecting a lot of real estate agents to leave the profession, at least until things firm up. It's kind of strange that this simply isn't happening as we have more agents with active licenses at the end of 07 than we did in January. Hope springs eternal they say, and we are all watching carefully for any sign of an improvement in the market from international buyers. It may be happening in Kauai. We are all watching carefully.

REMAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Aikahi Park Shopping Center, Kailua, HI 96734 Telephone: 808-237-5300.

Kauai Real Estate Market

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:42:00 -0600

Some pretty interesting stuff going on in the real estate market here in Hawaii. There are some indications that off island money is starting to come into the market in increasing amounts as evidenced by some recent advances in prices. Kauai is noteworthy in this regard as condo prices there are up 40 percent last year, even if the number of sales is off substantially. Single Family Home Prices there are holding firm with prices off a paltry 4%.

On Oahu, our Property Managers are getting a lot of units from would be sellers who are simply not willing to reduce their prices and are putting their properties on the rental market to buy time until the prices firm.

Stay tuned to the market for interesting times.

REMAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, #109 in the Aikahi Park Shopping Center, Kailua, HI 96734 -- Telephone 808-237-5310.

Bureau of Conveyances to Automate

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:30:43 -0600

It appears that we may get our Hawaii State Bureau of Conveyances to move into the modern era as they are planning to convert to an on-line records system. This will allow owners to opt out of a manual process beset with bureaucratic logjams of the first order. This may also help with the identity theft issue. Thank heaven for the task force that was convened by the DLNR that includes professionals from title companies, banks, lawyers, labor, the Hawaii Association of Realtor (HAR). This is long overdue. Governor Lingle is pushing this with the legislature. If you are so inclined, it is always good to weigh in with your own opinion on such things.

REMAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua, HI 96734

Tax Legislation Kicking In in 2008

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:15:40 -0600

There are a couple of new laws taking affect this year in Hawaii that we all need to know about. Our legislature passed two tax cut laws last year that will grant a tax credit up to $160.to our low end wage earners

The state will try again to regulate health insurance rates. I would guess we can look for several of our health insurers to pack their bags and go! I hope we will be able to get them back when the unintended consequences of this kind of legislation becomes evident to the geniuses in public office in Honolulu.

From another front, a one-hundred per-cent income tax exemption has been authorized for lease to fee sale of condo units to AOAO's. Finally, let's all be aware that the reason for the tax credit refunds is that our constitution requires such a refund when tax collections are up over five percent in two consecutive years. Taxes are killing all of us. I am attaching a link just in case you want to read more about it in the Honolulu Star Bulletin.

http://starbulletin.com/2007/12/31/news/story04.html

REMAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734

Home Sales are Off, Prices Up

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:35:09 -0600

According to the Honolulu board of Realtors, HBR, single family home sales on Oahu are off 10% in 2007. Condo sales were off almost 14% in the same period. Median prices for Single Family Homes were up 2.1% and Condos up 4.8% for the same period. This kind of reduction in the number of homes sold makes life a little difficult for our sales Agents, but in the main most are still doing pretty well. Our guys are just working harder and smarter to be sure that they are keeping their businesses working.

One might wonder if this might indicate a slowing in our economy in Hawaii, given the slowing in our tourism business that I discussed earlier.

REMAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Suite 105, Kailua, Hawaii, 96734

Hawaii Hotel Room Occupancy Drops

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:16:11 -0600

Our hotel room occupancy in December was approximately 9 per-cent lower than in December 06. As of last week our occupancy was just over 60 per-cent. This is not good. Kauai increased their occupancy rate to 56.6%, just behind Oahu and Maui dropped 8.7% to come in just a little higher than Oahu at 64.4%. On the Big Island of Hawaii, they were down to 50.2%. With our visitor load dropping, are we going to see the home market tighten up?

Of course, prices were up everywhere except Maui where they dropped to $296 per night. On the mainland where tourism doesn't play such a dominant role as it does in our economy here in Hawaii, occupancy was up over 3% but in the main, their occupancy rate is still below 50%. Maybe our tourism industry isn't doing so poorly after all.

Here in Kailua, our restaurants have been jammed over the holidays. With our home prices increasing slightly, we have a good solid buyer's market even though the sales levels are off a bit.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua, HI 96734 (808) 237-5300.

Mortgage Rates

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:07:10 -0600

Mortgage rates trended upwards again at the largest banks in Hawaii. After dropping below 5.75% last week, we saw rates offered at 5.875 percent and 1.5 -1.625 points on a thirty year fixed rate loan. American Savings Bank and Central Pacific Home loans both offered a six percent rate with 1.75 points. This followed an increase in the core price deflater that in turn caused long-term bond yields to rise last week. Even still, interest rates are historically attractive, making it a great opportunity for buyers to invest in the Hawaiian Home Market before investors in India and China figure out how much they can buy in Hawaii with their inflated currencies. I guess even Korea might be added to the mix. In short, this is a great buyers market! Get out and hustle up some business.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734

Home Prices Down for TEN Months

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:24:16 -0600

Home prices continue to drop in the good old USA for ten months now. The latest drop of 6.7% was the largest drop since April of 1991. This is discouraging consumer spending, and we might soon see it impacting our tourist industry here in Hawaii. I guess this could impact our home sales which have been declining in volume, but have been holding reasonably firm accross the island of Oahu. Kailua seems to be somewhat insulated from that, and we don't see any significant sell of in the immediate future. These are indeed interesting times.

RE/MAX Kai Lani, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive #109, Kailua, HI 96734 www.remaxkailani.com

Government Spending in HAWAII is Outta Control!!!

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 12:19:50 -0600

In the aggregate, the people of Hawaii had income of $34.6B in 2006. Government is the biggest employer in Hawaii. From us the government took enough revenue to pay $12B in wages, salaries and benefits to our bureaucrats. WOW! If we are going to shell out more than a third of our income to buy government "services", it might be nice if we could actually get something in return for our investment. Our roads and highways are a shambles, our schools are a national disgrace and our other infrasturcture constantly fails. It's pretty hard as a tax payer to figure out where all of this money is going.

As a sideline, it is interesting that this money is pretty heavily disbursed on Oahu which receives the Lion's share of $10B. The Big Island of Hawaii enjoys $756M in "services" from the government while Maui gets $578M and Kauai, $289M.

Hawaii 44th in the Foreclosure Competition among the States

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:15:22 -0600

While things are tough on the Mainland, Hawaii is doing a lot better. We had only 113 foreclosures during November. This represents an increase of 53% over november of 06, but by comparison, things are not so bad here. This puts us 44th in the country for forclosures. This said, the mainland problems could give us a case of whiplash just to keep us humble. Let's be certain to be careful about the loans we refer to our partner mortgage brokers and banks. Jerry

Tighter Loans in the Offing, even for the Fully Qualified Borrower

RE/MAX Kai Lani — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:07:43 -0600

Boy, the situation on the mainland gets worse and worse? Ken Lewis, the CEO of Bank of America is worried that borrowers with strong credit scores might not be able to make their loan payments if the housing crisis worsens. This would seem to portend tightening of the availability of funds for even better credit risks. This in turn could make the housing downturn even more difficult for all of us. It further seems that our culture has made it more acceptable for debtors to simply walk away from their home loans when they get upside down on their assessed value to loan ratio. We are living in interesting times. Jerry