ERMA BOMBECK, "If I Had It To Do All Over Again."

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.'
There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute. Look at it and really see it . . live it and never give it back.

This cracked me up. From the Arizona Republic this morning.
WASHINGTON - Federal investigators who submitted phony products like a gas-powered alarm clock to the government's energy-efficiency certification program found it easy to obtain approval and say the program is "vulnerable to fraud and abuse."
Investigators with the Government Accountability Office said they obtained Energy Star approval for 15 of 20 fictitious products they submitted for certification with fake energy-savings claims. Two were rejected and three did not receive a response. Two of the certified products even received purchase requests by real companies because four bogus firms, developed for the purpose of this investigation, were listed as Energy List partners.
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Among the phony products that obtained certification was a "room air cleaner" that, in a picture prominently displayed on the Web site of a bogus company, showed an electric space heater with a feather duster and strips of fly paper attached to it.
"Certification controls were ineffective primarily because Energy Star does not verify energy-savings data reported by manufacturers," investigators said in a GAO report released Friday. Work for the investigation, undertaken at the request of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, started in June last year and did not involve products that are already certified and available to the public.
Designed to promote energy-efficient products that are up to 10 percent to 25 percent more energy efficient than minimum federal standards, Energy Star claims to have helped American families save nearly $17 billion on their utility bills in 2009.
In a joint statement, EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy, which jointly manage the program, vowed to improve certifying standards, saying they have "started an enhanced testing program and have already taken enforcement actions against companies that have violated the rules." A representative said they had received initial verbal notification of the findings in February.

I have an old friend (Jeff and I went to Lincoln Elementary School together, and then re-connected on FaceBook.) who moved away from Arizona years ago and now wants to come back home.
Just for the fun of it (and with his permission) I thought that I would publish a portion of one of our email conversations, suitably edited.
I find that out-of-state clients have a hard time with our Wild West - we do things very differently in Arizona than they do in the normal world.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet my friend Jeff.

______________________________________________________
Carol;
You have been exceptionally considerate with your help and advice and I sincerely appreciate it. I have another question. We found a particular house on the internet that we're very interested in, but we want more info about it. Being the frugal Scot that I am it occurs to me that if we go directly to the listing agent we could dramatically reduce commissions. I expect to have an attorney go over everything anyway so not having an agent of our own doesn't seem to be that bad an idea...I would expect it would mean having the attorney a little more involved, but not 3% worth. I'd appreciate your advice. If we really need an agent, should we get them involved before asking any questions of the listing agent? I'm going nuts with all of this stuff. Here's the house we're looking at. (Link to realtor.com) It doesn't say "Fixer-upper" but there's got to be more to the story.

Jeff! You're being too polite - you make me nervous. That is an absolutely freakin gorgeous home! Yes, something might be afoot. It's probably a short sale, but I can't know because it's not in my stomping grounds.
As to your question:
Arizona is different from every state in the union in the fact that the REALTORS® can write legal contracts with no need for lawyers. As a result, most lawyers do not understand real estate law. Seriously.
Generally, the Buyer does not ever pay commission - the seller pays the list agent X percent and the list agent theoretically splits that with the Buyer's agent. So your plan is to say to the list agent "We will go into this deal unrepresented, and in return we will expect a price discount of the commission that would have gone to our representative?"
Maybe in the real world, but not Arizona - the thought makes the hair on the back of my neck go up. If somebody said that to me I would refuse to work with them, and here's why: liability. I don't care how many disclaimers you sign you will sooner or later try to sue me if I let you continue without representation, especially since you are obviously no longer from here. (Kidding. Mostly.) The other option is dual agency, which also is legal in Arizona. Unless the REALTOR® is very, very good I wouldn't go there, either.
The best plan is to find a local agent that you trust to negotiate the price down enough to make up for their commission. I know good agents all over the state who will get to the bottom of "What's up?" with that house, and who will take good care of you tenderfoots.
Hire an agent first and have them talk to the list agent.

The more I look at that area the more questions I have. That seems to be about the right price for the area so now I'm wondering what's wrong with the area? There wasn't an Indian burial ground there or a nuclear test or something was there? Our feet are indeed tender so how about pointing us at an agent who can hold our hands. It looks like the best deals are in that Northwest area and down in Buckeye. We're not completely opposed to Buckeye, but we prefer North. My family is in Prescott and at I-17 and Thunderbird. We also have to consider that my wife is going to need a job and won't want a long commute. The final consideration is that I will probably have to fly out of Sky Harbor fairly frequently...So, who do you know who can cover all of the bases and knows if they're getting 3-headed toads out of the canals near El Mirage?Thanks. Really.

Ramona's Plumber expounds on water

http://ramonasplumber.blogspot.com/2010/02/world-plumbing-day.html?showComment=1267285401035_AIe9_BFyLaoBjl7vgCP2lIys0iAQ-0hoysd4JXI1vCY0BZtGQMFyFxDY9FXR_p4uRh_6c9jAgHATxIUbXzCSPO3UagRPmwVZRnRHLZXyeMd-LqVhAoMLU1r1zHsuZmDfrGFgMX5hraJ4IzhZm966EB8mIUYownps8CZq5W3K0ljyNbZkRJHGR05qQw6UlgK3eK3VZ-E9pokFEpM887p2qT569ChX8ncVPIXeSGAgv4TBno00C-mhb1I#c2434886887696014960
Water on my Mind - Ramona's Plumber's Blog
Greg Chick, Ramona's Plumber expounds on water and plumbing issues.
Sunday, February 14, 2010

World Plumbing day
The world Plumbing Council has declared March 11 2010 the first annual World Plumbing Day. This is the same month with World Water Day (March 22nd.). One might ask why? Just Google liveearth.org - 8 to 10,000 people die daily from dirty water.

No, they aren't Americans, they're mostly not white, so "what the hell?" & "I got my plate full!"

The world is shrinking, boarders are not what they were fences aren't either. More than 1/2 of the world is in dire need of water. Sanitation (waste removal) is equally needed. When the water is used it's dirty.

The AWWA stated that 40% of Americas' water distribution systems have a cross connection with sewer/E Coli.

Nay sayers can factually and honestly say, "We Americans use less water today than in 1973!" True to a point, but that means "Per capita use." America's population has grown to a point that we use 30% more water than ion 1973. Rain is not increasing, lakes are not growing. only 2% of the fresh drinkable water on earth is available (not frozen in glaciers.) AWWA also stated that 30% of the water we have harvested and intended for use is unaccounted for! It was lost in transport to your town.

Some alarmists and some nay sayers debate "Climate Change" The facts about water are not debatable. They are facts and ignorance is the only buffer we have.

Walk for water is a new social awareness program - check it out. Oh, and respect for all is the theme of my message, not DoomsDay or anything else. Thank you for allowing me to share my convictions, now read up and get your own. Greg.
Posted by Ramona's Plumber at 9:22 AM

Claim The Homebuyer Tax Credit!


November 6, 2009 - Congress voted to extend and expand the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program. The expiration date of the up-to-$8,000 tax credit has been pushed forward to spring, requiring homebuyers to be under contract for a home no later than April 30, 2010, and to be closed no later than June 30, 2010.
In addition, “move-up” buyers were also added to the program’s eligibility list, meaning you don’t have to be a first-time home buyer to be eligible for the tax credit. If you lived in your last home for 5 of the last 8 years, you meet the IRS requirements.
Move-up buyers are capped at a total tax credit of $6,500.

The tax credit’s basic eligibility requirements remain the same:
You can’t purchase the home from a parent, spouse, or child.
You can’t purchase the home from an entity in which you're a majority owner.
You can’t acquire the home by gift or inheritance.
All parties to the purchase must meet eligibility requirements.
The new law includes some notable updates, however.
First, the subject property’s sales price may not exceed $800,000. Homes sold for more than $800,000 are ineligible. And, also, household income thresholds have been raised to $125,000 for single-filers and $225,500 for joint-filers.
And lastly, don’t forget that the program is a true tax credit — not a deduction. This means that a tax filer who’s eligible for the full $8,000 credit and whose “normal” tax liability totals $5,000 would receive a $3,000 refund from the U.S. Treasury at tax time.
The complete list of qualifying criteria is posted on the IRS website. Review it with a tax professional to determine your eligibility. Then mark your calendar for April 30, 2010.

Thomas Stanley, Ph. D. is back at it again with his newly released book “Stop Acting Rich.” His name should be familiar to you because he is the author of “The Millionaire Next Door” and “The Millionaire Mind.”
I loved his first two books and when I saw his new book, I couldn’t resist buying it. The message that permeates each book listed above is that most people look rich because they live in big homes or drive expensive cars, but when examined closely, they have accumulated very low levels of wealth. In other words, they wear big hats but have no cattle.
For some reason, we seem to measure our success in life by how we compare to others. Is our house bigger than theirs? Is my car nicer than Jim’s down the street? To feel successful, many people fall into the trap of buying things simply to impress others.
One of the main lessons Mr. Stanley makes throughout this book is that the amount of wealth you accumulate in your life correlates directly to the size and value of your home. Here’s a very telling quote from the book:
“If you examine homes by value from the lowest to the highest, you would find that as the value of the homes increases, so does the proportion of people who are living well above their means.”
The more expensive your home, the more you’ll be forced to spend on home repairs, maintenance and upkeep. This is hard enough, before you factor in what you’ll have to spend to keep up with your neighbors. If you buy a high-end home, you’ll end up sending your kids to expensive private schools and you’ll be forced to buy them all of the expensive clothes and gadgets the other kids have in the neighborhood.
The reason this happens is because it’s hard to avoid copying what you see every day. You won’t want to look like some schmuck who drives a rusty old car and sends his kids to the public schools in out-of-style clothes from Kmart.
The trick is to live in a nice home in a nice neighborhood that allows you to live below your means. It’s better to be a high earner in an average neighborhood than it is to be a low earner in a high-end neighborhood. Remember the old saying about “buying the worst house on the best street?” Well, as it turns out, this “best street” might actually lead you to the poor house.
Most of the millionaires profiled by Mr. Stanley live on less than 80 percent of their income. They are frugal and focus their attention on investment rather than consumption. Their goal is to convert income into wealth, which is significantly different than people who act rich. (Stolen from "Broker / Agent Social" by Rob Minton.)

Short Sale Myths
A short sale can be an excellent solution for homeowners who must sell and owe more on their homes than they are worth. Unfortunately, a number of myths about short sales have developed, and it is important to understand the reality of this process should you find it meets your current needs.
Myth #1 – The Bank Would Rather Foreclose than Bother with a Short Sale.
This is one of the most common misconceptions. The reality is that banks do not want to foreclose on your property because the foreclosure process is incredibly costly. Banks, investors, and even the federal government have all publicly stated that if a person is qualified for a short sale, the deal needs to be considered. Overwhelmingly, banks receive more on their investment through a short sale than a foreclosure.
The qualifications for a short sale include:
Financial Hardship – There is a situation causing you to have trouble affording your mortgage.
Monthly Income Shortfall – “You have more month than money.” A lender will want to see that you cannot afford, or soon will not be able to afford your mortgage.
Insolvency – The lender will want to see that you do not have significant liquid assets that would allow you to pay down your mortgage.
Myth #2 – You Must Be Behind on Your Mortgage to Negotiate a Short Sale.
While this may have previously been the case, today lenders are looking for verifiable hardship, monthly cash flow shortfall, or pending shortfall and insolvency.
If you meet these three requirements and believe that you soon may be unable to afford your mortgage, act immediately. Any delay could limit your options. Do not wait until the countdown clock to foreclosure has started and you have even less time left.
Myth #3 – There is Not Enough Time to Negotiate a Short Sale Before My Foreclosure.
This is a myth that probably hurts homeowners the most. Many do not realize that foreclosure is a process, and that there is time to make decisions that may result in better outcomes.
The foreclosing party—in most cases a lender—can stall a foreclosure up to the final day of the process. Today, many lenders will stall a foreclosure with as little as a phone call from you explaining that you are trying to sell, and almost all lenders will stall a foreclosure with a legitimate contract. For real estate professionals who understand foreclosures and short sales, there is time available until the foreclosure process is complete.
Myth #4 – Listing My Home as a Short Sale is an Embarrassment.
It is understandable to have reservations about letting the world know that you owe more on your home than it is worth. However, according to recent estimates, more than one out of eight homeowners in the U.S. is in the same situation. You are to be congratulated for admitting you need help, taking action, and finding a professional who can work with you toward a solution.
With recent estimates showing 40-60% of U.S. sales will be short sales or foreclosures, you are not alone.
Myth #5 – Short Sales are Impossible and Never Get Approved.
This is a complete falsehood. Are short sales more difficult to execute? Yes. Do you, as a homeowner, need to learn about a new process? Yes. Are they impossible? Absolutely not.
For example, agents with the Certified Distressed Property Expert® (CDPE) Designation receive thousands of short sale approvals on a monthly basis. These professionals have undergone extensive training in methods to help homeowners in distress and process short sales. While there are no guarantees in any transaction, more and more short sales are being approved regularly. This is far from an impossible process.
Myth #6 – Banks are Waiting on a Bailout and Not Accepting Short Sales.
You may have heard this, but the reality is that banks (and the U.S. government) are trying to do anything they can, within reason, to avoid foreclosing on properties. It is preposterous to believe they would deny a short sale in hopes that some future legislation would pass and pay them for losses.
Today, more banks are aggressively pursuing short sales and working with agents who understand how to process them. Freddie Mac recently hosted a national training Webinar for real estate agents where they expressly stated the organizational goal of “eliminating distressed assets through modification or short sale.”
Myth #7 – Buyers are Not Interested in Short Sale Properties.
This is a myth that potential sellers hear all the time. Thankfully, this is just not true. In fact, many agents are getting calls from buyers who say they only want to look at foreclosure and short sales.
For buyers, short sales and foreclosures have become synonymous with “good deals.” More specifically, international buyers are targeting these properties. Listing with an experienced agent who is educated in the short sale process will provide you with a great chance of quickly seeing a contract on your property.
In conclusion, Agents with the CDPE Designation have been trained in all aspects of the short sale process, and know how to deal with the parties involved in foreclosures. Finding a CDPE can explain what options you have, and get you on the path to recovery.