Hello all and welcome to my blog. You may be here because I invited you personally or because you picked me up online or from some of my other marketing. I encourage you to engage me with any question regarding real estate, but just at important please use this as a forum to talk about our community and of course our favorite subjects of food and entertainment. For starters I am going to just attach my favorite current listing in Carmichael and some content from my Shameless Newsletter.
Movie Reviews From October Shameless Newsletter
To receive Shameless Newsletter in its entirety by snail mail, shoot me an email at mmiller@golyon.com
The Kingdom
This is an action movie about fighting terrorists in Saudi Arabia directed by Peter Berg and starring academy award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper. Foxx and Cooper lead an FBI team that flies to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terrorist attack on an American civilian compound (modeled after the actual attack on the Kovar towers). Enlisting the help of a Saudi policeman (actor Ashfaf Barhom was very good), they bring state of the art forensic techniques to the desert to solve the crime.
his movie just tried to do too much, and therefore came up short in too many ways. As a thriller, it had plot holes that you could drive a Hummer through. As a history or expose of the unholy alliance that the U.S. has with the Saudi Kingdom, it just didn't work; maybe it needed more time, or more context or something. As a message movie, it tried real hard not to offend and therefore came out impotent. For example, the female FBI agent is given the typically poor Saudi treatment for women and that is played as simply a sort of ‘when in Rome' without a legitimate retort. Also, a moral equivalence is drawn between a terrorist who says he wants to "kill them all" (meaning all Israelis and Americans) and Foxx's character who says he wants to "kill them all" (meaning terrorists who are targeting civilians.)
These shortcomings aside, it works just fine as an action movie and your garden variety dude flick. See it if you are so inclined.
World Trade Center
If you haven't seen this movie, rent it and you will not be sorry. Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena play two policeman trapped under the rubble of Tower One of the World Trade Center on 9/11. Their true and improbable story on that fateful day is told with a hyperrealistic grainy lens that will draw you in and not let you go.his is a very refreshing break from Oliver Stone's typical heavy handed propagandizing. It is unexpectedly subtle and yet intensely raw.
ow do you make a subtle movie about 9/11? You stay away from geo-politics; you don't talk about religion; you leave Britney Spears' belly button out of it; and you leave out any discussion of the second shooter on the grassy knoll. Instead, you concentrate on a few people, survivors, and you lay out the time line as they lived it.
e all got up that day and went to work only to come home to a very different world. It was palpable, as it is now. This movie is about how the people and their families who were actually there lived or didn't on that day. It is very well done and will most likely inspire you to appreciate what you have. It might even turn you into an Oliver Stone fan. That might be pushing it.
The Monthly Rant from my Shameless Newsletter
To receive Shameless Newsletter in its entirety by snail mail, shoot me an email at mmiller@golyon.com
As the uncertainty of the mortgage lending crisis leads the stock market to roller-coaster up and down, we Sacramento Realtors have to assume our roles as ambassadors to home ownership. It is necessary for us to provide a dialogue and share our knowledge to protect our clients, their financial futures and their home investment.
During the former real estate boom, I encountered many excited buyers -- you might even say "irrationally exuberant" buyers -- ready to write big offers in bidding wars without a care. I often heard, "My lender says I am approved up to $500,000, and maybe I might be able to go as high as $525,000, so let's shop up to that." It was easy to get caught up in the excitement. More is better, right? Granite counters, high-end kitchen appliances, pool, high ceilings, let's go to town!
"Wait a minute, slow down, can these people really afford this?" was the question that kept popping into my head. The fiduciary duty of any Realtor or lender is to keep our clients grounded and ask the more inquisitive questions before helping people make such enormous, life-changing decisions. Questions such as: "How secure is your current job? Do you have reserves in the event that you lose your job or you become ill or injured? Do you truly understand what interest- only means? Do you fully understand what happens with variable-rate loans? Are you prepared to ride both ups and downs in real estate values?"And, perhaps most importantly, "If you get into financial trouble, do you know who you can turn to for help?"
I see two separate roles for my fellow real estate ambassadors. The first is to prevent additional buyers from starting down a path that might lead to financial trouble. The second is helping those who already face financial hardships seek a workable solution to their current situation.
The first group hasn't made a decision yet, and they haven't signed for that big purchase with that big mortgage. They are easy to help. Educate them. Ask them questions. Help them adjust their expectations. Find a more reasonably priced home for them. Steer them toward a fixed-rate loan. Slow down and remember your fiduciary duty.
On to the second group: These are the people who now find themselves unable to afford the home they bought. They are upside down and backwards and wondering where to turn to for help. We, Realtors and lenders, need to step up and educate them with their options. Everyone's situation is different, so advice and help needs to be custom-tailored for each client. Maybe the bank will negotiate. Maybe refinancing will help. Maybe some financial counseling will do the trick. Innovate, educate and communicate.
Even during the current mortgage lending crisis, homeowners are not without industry knowledge and assistance. Resources abound, both locally and nationally, and are accessible, such as regional housing councils, affordable housing groups, community outreach programs. Nationally, one program worth plugging into is Freddie Mac's Don't Borrow Trouble -- which I found surfing for a client at www.dontborrowtrouble.com. It's an excellent resource that we and our clients should know about.
Wall Street is reflecting the uncertainty of our current mortgage market. And as ambassadors to home ownership, Realtors and lenders must remember that there is a human face to that uncertainty, which is that of our neighbors and clients. We just need to remind them, "Wait a minute, slow down and let's get the facts." In doing so, we can prevent further mistakes from being made.
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