Daily Real Estate Stories

Real estate agents are driven to sell homes, but to do that they need clients willing to list their properties with them. So, while an agent can be amazing at selling houses, they also need to be great at generating leads and building their client list. Without them, the home selling opportunities don’t exist.

If you’re having trouble overcoming the real estate lead generation hurdle, keep reading for some tips and tricks that can help get you back on track.

Prospect Every Day

Take even just 30 minutes out of every day to focus to build leads and prospect for new clients. That activity may not seem like much time or effort, but making prospecting a part of your daily routine will not only force you to make it a priority, but you’ll also start to see results fast.

Target Your Prospecting

If cold-calling and door-knocking is destroying your morale, it’s time to smarten up and focus on targeted client prospecting. Instead of looking for potential clients in the phone book, try giving out your business card at home shows or tuck them into related books at a local library. Rather than advertising in the local penny saver, get your ad in the Homes section of your paper. Targeted prospecting is not only more efficient, it also saves money.

Stay on Top of Follow-Ups

If you need to do a follow-up with a prospective lead, be sure to pen it into your daily calendar. Make that follow-up phone call or email a scheduled, prioritized part of your day. Consistency is the key. Stay with a disciplined program week-after-week and you begin to receive at least a trickle of inquiries.

Answer the Phones

A great way to build leads is to take on a phone shift at your brokerage or agency. By acting as receptionist for a day or an afternoon, you’ll be fielding calls from potential clients who may be looking for an agent. You’ll be there to answer their questions, impress them with your knowledge and sell them on your services. Just be sure to focus your primary attention on the callers’ needs and avoid blunt salesmanship.

Focus on Word-of-Mouth

Just as you should spend at least 30 minutes a day on prospecting, the same can be said for networking. By getting your name and face out to lenders, mortgage brokers, real estate attorneys, developers and contractors, you’re increasing the chance that they’ll recommend you to a prospective client. The most effective advertisement is the endorsement of someone else in another respected position.

Get Online

Bring in leads by investing in a quality website that’s updated routinely. If you can, either start a small blog or update your site each day with new listings and helpful information written by you or another expert in the field.

Also, investing in a pay-per-click search engine advertising program can be a great way to drive traffic to your site. For example, purchasing the advertising rights to “Real Estate Agent Hometown” could make your website the number one hit for anyone looking for an agent in Hometown.

For valuable information on real estate agents & brokers, please visit realtorsbrokers.com, a popular site providing helpful home recommendations including, New York mortgage brokers, Milwaukee real estate agents, and many more!

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Being environmentally friendly was once just about recycling and using products that had minimal impact on the planet, but now it has spread to real estate. Driven by the ever important green consumers market, home builders are starting to build homes that are more efficient, and are eco friendly.

The push towards eco friendly real estate started with the government backed ‘Energy Star’ program, which was more aimed at saving the consumer money rather than saving the environment. It covers such aspects as home appliances, heating and cooling systems, high performance windows, home insulation, and exterior air seal. Energy Star homes are typically 20% to 30% more efficient than normal homes. In order for a home to receive an Energy Star qualification, it must pass an Energy Star inspection.

In 1998, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification was introduced. This certification took the whole idea of sustainable green building and development practices to the next level. In addition to the items covered by the ‘Energy Star’ program, LEED covers such items as:

• Site selection. For example, not built within 100ft of water, does not impact endangered species, not built on public parkland, not built on floodplain.
• Home Air filtration.
• Construction waste management and recycling.
• Use of environmentally preferred products and materials for construction.
• Landscaping and irrigation system (minimal amount of grass, drip system irrigation for plants, native planting, irrigation systems connected to weather station).
• Nontoxic pest control.
• Surface water management.
• Reduction of local heat island effects.

Based on these and other criteria the builder can be awarded one of 4 levels of certification.

Lets take a look at a real life example of how developers and builders are trying to become more eco friendly. The Daybreak Utah development is the largest new home development ever to be built in the State of Utah. When complete it will have over 14,000 homes all of which will be Energy Star compliant. In addition to this the Daybreak Community Center was awarded a silver LEED certification. They were awarded this certification based on the following achievements:

• More than 40% of the pavement is either shaded or light colored to reduce the heat island effect.
• Storm water runoff is controlled in order to prevent water pollution.
• Outdoor water usage reduced by 50% via the use of native plants and high efficiency irrigation system.
• Indoor water usage reduced by 22% by using low flow fixtures.
• Ground source heat pump system utilizes the earths constant temperature to efficiently provide heating and cooling.
• Use of high efficiency lamps.
• More than 57% of the construction waste was recycled.
• High level of materials with recycled content were used for construction.
• Promoted the use of locally constructed materials thus reducing transportation impacts,
• The building was designed to accommodate educational, community and recreational resources. This combined use of facilities provided savings in physical space, and reduced the mechanical, material and parking.

Daybreak is just one of many eco friendly developments that can be found, and with Green consumers here to stay, builders and developers will continue to build more environmentally friendly homes and developments.

This article was written by Trela Bird, who is a Realtor providing residential Salt Lake City Real Estate services in the state of Utah. You can read more articles at Trela’s Salt Lake Real Estate Blog.

Has the current real estate market turned you off to the idea of investing in real estate? If so, you should give it a second thought. When it comes to long term investments, there has never been a better time than now to invest in real estate.

Over the past few years, we have seen many real estate successes and blunders. The most popular type of real estate investing was called flipping. This was where an investor purchased a property and held onto it for a short period of time. During this time, the property was revamped and sold for profit.

Many people had great success with flipping homes; others lost a great deal of money. In fact, many of the foreclosures that we see on the market today were flips gone badly. The real estate investing frenzy created by the flipping buzz created a false economy that eventually imploded.

We are in a full blown real estate recession, but that does not mean that you cannot still make money in real estate. The best way to do so is the old fashioned way. Purchase a property and hold onto it. Use it as a long term investment. One reason why this is such a good idea is that homes always rise in value over the long term. This is due to inflation and the rising cost of living.

Real estate investments can also be useful for the short term. You can live in the home yourself or rent it out to others. If you are currently renting yourself, you are throwing your money away. You are paying for someone else to have a long term investment. You need a roof over your head. You might as well take advantage of all of the benefits that come along with owning real estate.

There are many other reasons why buying a home in the current market is attractive. Interest rates are very low right now. Lenders are also being more lenient. You may be able to qualify for a mortgage even if your credit is less than perfect.

How many empty and neglected homes do you pass everyday? How many are in your neighborhood? Any one of them could be a great bargain. Who knows, you could make a fortune off of one of them. You only need to see the possibilities.

Sal Vannutini is the author of ” The 8 Power Profit Secrets To Making More Money With Less Risk In Real Estate, ” a free strategy report for investors. Get your complimentary copy at http://www.FastFixerUpperProfits.com today.

1. Analysis of Today’s Market

2. Update On Gold

3. Real Estate Prices In South Florida

4. Real Estate Nationwide

5. Yield Curve Is Still Inverted

6. What this means to you

1. Analysis of today’s market

As an analyst of the economy and the real estate market, one must be patient to see what unfolds and to see if one’s predictions are right or wrong. One never knows if they will be right or wrong, but they must have a sense of humility about it so that they are not blind to the reality of the marketplace.

In March of 2006, my eBook How To Prosper In the Changing Real Estate Marketplace. Protect Yourself From The Bubble Now! stated that in short order the real estate market would slow down dramatically and become a real drag on the economy. We are experiencing this slowdown currently and the economy I feel is not far from slowing down as well. History has repeatedly shown that a slow down in the real estate market and construction market has almost always led to an economic recession throughout America’s history.

Let’s look at what is happening in the following areas to see what we can gleam from them: Gold, Real Estate in South Florida, Real Estate Nationwide, Yield Curve/Economy and see what this means to you:

2. Gold

If you have read this newsletter and/or the eBook, you know I am a big fan of investing in gold. Why? Because I believe that the US dollar is in serious financial peril. But gold has also risen against all of the world’s currencies, not just the US dollar.

Why has gold risen? Gold is a neutral form of currency, it can’t be printed by a government and thus it is a long term hedge against currency devaluation. James Burton, Chief Executive of the Gold Council, recently said: “Gold remains a very important reserve asset for central banks since it is the only reserve asset that is no one’s liability. It is thus a defense against unknown contingencies. It is a long-term inflation hedge and also a proven dollar hedge while it has good diversification properties for a central bank’s reserve asset portfolio.”

I agree with Mr. Burton 100%. I believe we will even see a bubble in gold again and that is why I have invested in gold to profit from this potential bubble (Think real estate prices around the year 2002 - wouldn’t you like to have bought more real estate back then?)

I had previously recommended that you buy gold when it was between $580 and $600 an ounce. Currently, gold is trading at around $670 an ounce up more than 10% from the levels I recommended. However, gold has some serious technical resistance at the $670 level and if it fails to break out through that level it might go down in the short-term. If it does go down again to the $620 - $640 level, I like it at these levels as a buy. I believe that gold will go to $800 an ounce before the end of 2007.

3. Real Estate in South Florida

Real estate in South Florida has been hit hard by this slowdown as it was one of the largest advancers during the housing boom. The combination of rising homes for sale on the market, the amazing amount of construction occurring in the area and higher interest rates have been three of the major factors of the slowdown.

For every home that sold in the South Florida area in 2006, an average of 14 did not sell according to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data. The number of homes available for sale on the market doubled to around 66,000, as sales slowed to their lowest level in 10 years.

Even though home prices were up for the year of 2006, the average asking price for homes in December was down about 13 percent compared to a year ago. From 2001 to 2005, the price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade increased 120 percent to $351,200. This is also similar to what happened in Broward County. The problem is that wages during that time only increased by 17.6% in Miami-Dade, and 15.9% in Broward, according to federal data. This is the other major factor that is contributing to the slowdown - real estate prices far outpaced incomes of potential buyers of these homes.

Another factor that helped drive the South Florida boom in prices was high growth in population in Florida. From 2002 to 2005, more than a million new residents moved to Florida and Florida also added more jobs than any other state. However, the three largest moving companies reported that 2006 was the first time in years that they had moved more people out of the state of Florida than into it. Also, school enrollment is declining which could be another sign that middle-class families are leaving.

By far though, the area of South Florida real estate that will be hit hardest is and will continue to be the condominium market. Due to their lower prices than homes, condos make financial sense in the South Florida area. However, the supply of available condos has tripled over the past year and it will get worse before it gets better. More than 11,500 new condos are expected this year and 15,000 next year with the majority of them being built in Miami.

As a result of the oversupply, asking prices for condos are down 12% in 2006 in Miami to $532,000. And incentives are substituting for price cuts. These incentives include paying all closing costs to free upgrades and more.

The last point to think about affecting South Florida real estate is the escalating costs of property insurance and property taxes. These increasing costs are putting more downward pressure on real estate prices.

My strong belief is that we are only starting to see the slowdown of the South Florida real estate market and that prices will continue to fall. Due to the fact that many real estate investors are pulling out, where are the next wave of buyers going to come from at these current prices? Unless a serious influx of new, high paying jobs enter the South Florida area, real estate prices, just like any asset that falls out of favor after a large runup only have one way to go… down.

4. Real Estate Nationwide

A report released last week from the National Association of Realtors showed that in the last three months of 2006 home sales fell in 40 states and median home prices dropped in nearly half of the metropolitan areas surveyed. The median price of a previously owned, single family home fell in 73 of the 149 metropolitan areas surveyed in the 4th quarter.

The National Association of Realtors report also said that the states with the biggest declines in the number of sales in October through December compared with the same period in 2005 were:

* Nevada: -36.1% in sales

* Florida: -30.8% in sales

* Arizona: -26.9% in sales

* California: -21.3% in sales

Nationally, sales declined by 10.1% in the 4th quarter compared with the same period a year ago. And the national median price fell to $219,300, down 2.7% from the 4th quarter of 2005.

Slower sales and cancellations of existing orders have caused the number of unsold homes to really increase. The supply of homes at 2006 sales rate averaged 6.4 months worth which was up from 4.4 months worth in 2005 and only 4 months worth in 2004.

Toll Brothers, Inc., the largest US luxury home builder, reported a 33% drop in orders during the quarter ending January 31.

Perhaps most importantly, falling home values will further decrease their use of mortgage equity withdrawal loans. In 2006, mortgage equity withdrawal accounted for 2% of GDP growth. Construction added 1% to last years GDP growth, so the importance of these factors are to the health of the US economy are enormous.

The other concern is sub-prime mortgages. Today, sub-prime mortgages amount to 25% of all mortgages, around $665 billion. Add to this the fact that approximately $1 trillion in adjustable-rate mortgages are eligible to be reset in the next two years and we will continue to see rising foreclosures. For example, foreclosures are up five times in Denver. These foreclosed homes come back onto the market and depress real estate values.

The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that as many as 20% of the subprime mortgages made in the last 2 years could go into foreclosure. This amounts to about 5% of the total homes sold coming back on the market at “fire-sales”. Even if only 1/2 of that actually comes back on the market, it would cause overall valuations to go down and the ability to get home mortgage equity loans to decrease further.

Prepare yourself now because you can still get great advice from the eBook. Buy it with this secure link: www.mattfurey.com) combined with a low white-carb diet (no white bread, white pastas, and limited sugars). It works for me.

Set your portfolio up correctly now by reading the eBook at www.myrealestatebubble.com.

***Disclaimer: This information and the corresponding websites do not constitute professional services, including, but not limited to investment advice. Please consult a finance and/or investment professional for services and advice.

Louis Hill, MBA received his Masters In Business Administration from the Chapman School at Florida International University, specializing in Finance. He was one of the top graduates in his class and was one of the few graduates inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society.

Mr. Hill received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida with a double major in Finance and Risk Management.

For the past several years he has been working in a South Florida commercial real estate lender that specializes in financing real estate developers. Mr. Hill has extensive experience in commercial lending and has seen firsthand the behind the scene challenges and pitfalls that real estate developers are experiencing. He has also seen how things have been deteriorating rapidly in the real estate market. He is also a professional consultant to professional real estate developers and investors.

Mr. Hill is very active in many civic groups and charities.

For the last five years or so, the real estate market has clearly been leveraged in favor of the sellers. As we turn to 2007, the market is changing in favor of buyers.

Real Estate Market for Buyers in 2007

The real estate market is a funny thing. While there are many factors that play upon it, it is essentially no different than other trade markets like stocks and commodities. The primary difference is trends tend to happen at a much slower pace than one would see in other markets. One just doesn’t see one day corrections. Instead, things tend to move slowly, but definitively, in a particular direction. One such clear trend is developing now and for the rest of 2007.

2007 can be termed the year of revenge for people looking to buy real estate. After five to six years of skyrocketing home prices and massive demand, the market is flattening out in a major way. No longer can sellers simply put up a for sale sign listing any old price and expect to make a sale. Instead, they are going to have to work much harder to move their property should they wish to sell.

There are a couple of reasons why 2007 will be the year of the buyer. First and foremost is momentum. The seller’s market had to peter out at some time and it finally has. The momentum caused by high demand and relatively low inventory just couldn’t last, and it has now clearly run its course. In technical terms, this is primarily due to the raise in interest rates and the appreciation bubble bursting. Practically, this means borrowing money is no longer obscenely cheap and home prices are pulling back from their equally obscene appreciation rates which were as high as 25 percent in Las Vegas one year.

As a buyer, you have the opportunity to sit back and look for bargains in 2007. There are a lot of recent home buyers out there sitting in homes that have lost value. Throw in the fact that questionable financing loans were used to purchase them and you have a lot of nervous homeowners out there. As we move through 2007, these people are going to be looking to unload their property. This will ultimately create more inventory than there is demand and prices will tumble.

If you have cash set aside for the purchase of a home, your patience is about to pay off. There is no dispute that 2007 stands to be the Year of the Buyer.

Raynor James is with FSBOAmerica.org - save money when selling and buying with homes for sale by owner.

Precisely how does a buyer or seller know when a real estate market most favors buyers or sellers? No buyer wants to pay too much and no seller wants to leave money on the table by pricing too low. The answer is in knowing the market absorption rates.

Property absorption rates in any local real estate market are usually considered the best indicators of whether that market is a sellers’ market, a buyers’ market, or a neutral market. The market is the market and favors no one. But knowing the current real estate market cycle is essential for success as either a buyer or seller.

Sellers’ Market — Absorption Rates 1-4;

Neutral Market — Absorption Rates 5-6;

Buyers’ Market — Absorption Rates greater than 7

The easy-to-understand process of calculating absorption rates for local markets will be helpful to anyone trying to figure out the current real estate cycle and how to formulate a winning buying or selling strategy.

For instance, assume there are currently 100 Single Family Home Lots for sale in a large, single family home community. Of these, 70 are priced at, or below, $45,000. Last month, assume that 5 lots sold for $45,000 or less. The absorption rate would then be 70 divided by 5 , or 14.0. An absorption rate of 14.0 indicates a strong buyer’s market and, that in an unchanged market, it will take 14 months to sell all the hypothetical 70 existing lots listed at or below $45,000.

This basic analysis can be used with most of property types including building lots, homes, condominiums, or even commercial properties. There must, however, be a high enough number of actual transactions to permit statistical analysis. The fewer the actual number of transactions the less statistically significant will be the results. Also, remember that within very broad but weak markets, narrow market segments may be showing non-typical strength.

Market absorption is a very useful tool for anyone trying to best determine how to price their property and what the current market says is a reasonable time period for a sale to be concluded. The absorption rate analysis also helps buyers in that in a buyer’s market a low purchase offer is often a winning strategy.

E. Lee Reid is a real estate, construction, hospitality, and travel and leisure expert. He and his companies have successfully built and/or managed thousands of vacation resort condos and homes at multiple resorts in North Carolina and Florida. In recent years he converted several hotels to condo hotels in the Disney World area of Central Florida. He is a widely quoted author and speaker. Reid holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Memphis and is completing in late 2007 a Master in Hospitality Management program through Cornell University. Reid is a real estate developer, certified General Contractor, Realtor, and Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) candidate. His book, “Marketing Made Easy!” was published by the National Association of Home Builders. Visit with Lee at http://www.eleereid.com

The proposed settlement between the Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors of the antitrust suit includes the agreement that the National Association of Realtors will no longer block the ability of virtual office (Internet) brokers from the use of the Multiple Listing service.

This agreement certainly sounds like the government has proven the case against the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors has lost the fight.

The question is at what cost and who ultimately will pay these costs?

This settlement should include fines and or penalties that should as a minimum completely cover what ever it cost the government to prosecute this case. Nothing, absolutely not one dime should come out of the American taxpayers pockets to pay for any related expenses in this case.

The National Association of Realtors is an extremely wealthy organization and their motives for blocking the use of the Multiple Listing Service were done for purely selfish money driven reasons. They need to pay for their own greed.

The public voiced its opinion recently that Real Estate Agents were one of the most distrusted professions. It is small wonder they feel that way when the National Association of Realtors President Richard Gaylord attempt to deceive the public with his press release that the settlement is a victory for the public. It was never about the good of the public. It was always about the survival of his association.

Let him say what he will but I say it is only a victory if the National Association foots the entire bill!

James Joseph has more than than 25 years experience in the Real Estate Industry. As a Principal, Builder and Developer he has purchased and sold hundreds of properties and he has Brokered many, many other transactions.

In his soon to be published book “The Real Estate Revolution” he demonstrates how the shift in focus of the marketplace to the Buyer has all but left the Seller as an abandoned class, without the benefit of proper representation by the Real Estate Community.

His mission is to bring about the much needed changes and reestablish control for the Seller once more.

If you are a Seller or Owner of property and have any questions please feel free to send them to Info@TodaysRealEstateRevolution.com, I would be more than happy to help.
http://www.RealEstateRevolution.wordpress.com

When it comes to real estate, most homeowners tend to focus on the technical aspects of selling their property. While details are important, it is vital to understand you are selling a dream.

Real Estate — Selling the Dream

One of the more infamous clichés is every scam is built on the idea of hope. Common sense tells you those Nigerians sending spam really don’t have 20 million dollars in an account, but you probably hesitate just a bit because a small part of you hopes it is true. While this cliché is undeniably cynical, there is a lesson to be learned from it when it comes to selling your property.

When selling your property, it is important to understand what buyers are purchasing. They are not purchasing a three bedroom, two level home with a two car garage. They are not purchasing a big backyard or a nice neighborhood. Okay, technically they are, but this represents only a small bit of their thinking. In truth, they are purchasing something much bigger and important.

When house hunting, it is important to understand that buyers are purchasing a dream. They are not really focusing on where they will sleep at night. When they see your property, they are creating a mental image of themselves living there. The image can include things ranging from how they would arrange furniture to envisioning kids playing in the yard to mention only a few things. In essence, they are purchasing the hope of a great living experience.

When getting ready to put your home on the market, it is vital that you understand what the buyers are looking for in a property. Yes, walls and accessories are important, but they are really buying a lifestyle. This means you need to accentuate the strong living points of your property.

Most people loosely refer to this as creating curb appeal. In truth, it goes beyond the mere appearance of the home. You want to make the home seem livable, not austere as many mistakenly do. For instance, you should always be baking something that smells delicious when showing the property. For many buyers, this will translate the home from a piece of construction to a livable space and make it easier for them to imagine living there.

One of the best tactics I ever saw in this regard was a seller who whipped up a meal on the grill. He then invited the potential buyers to sit with him, eat and ask any questions they had. He started reciting all of the things that had happened with his family while living in the home. The buyers became much more comfortable with him and the home. They subsequently made an offer and he accepted.

Obviously, you probably do not want to be barbequing each time someone comes to look at your property. That being said, you should focus on presenting your home as a clean, but livable place where the buyer can imagine themselves living for the foreseeable future.

Raynor James is with FSBOAmerica.org - get a free one month listing when you sell your home for sale by owner.

The real estate market in the Chicago suburbs is as vibrant as it is in city itself. A large number of residential and commercial real estate are always available for sale or purchase in Chicago’s suburban areas such as Cook County, Lake County, McHenry and Boone counties, Kane and DeKalb counties and DuPage and Will counties. There are also other Chicago suburbs where real estate market continues to flourish.

There are real estate firms which deal exclusively with one particular suburb, and others that deal with all suburbs. The south suburbs are relatively new. The real estate prices are high here. Some of the buildings have still preserved the architecture of previous centuries.

Excellent commuting facilities leading into the city have resulted in relatively higher prices for real estate in this area as compared to some other suburbs. The northern suburbs are considered “”elite.”" Here we have villages with beautiful houses and magnificent churches, a good choice for those who are looking forward to buy residential real estate. The northwest suburbs cover huge tracts of land. The population density is low. The architecture of most of the buildings reminds one of a typical 20th century urban landscape.

Those looking for commercial real estate can go for vacant spaces in shopping malls. Residential real estate is also available in the countryside as one keeps on moving farther out in these suburbs. In the western suburbs one finds a variety of real estate, as these suburbs have a very diversified culture and economy.

There are affluent sections, as well as agrarian and industrial communities with their feet on the ground. One can get a range of real estate in western suburbs. It is clear that in general the real estate prices might be a bit on the lower side as compared to the main city area of Chicago, but as all of them have good connectivity with the main city area, one can settle down in one of these suburbs without having any major impact on one’s quality of life.

Chicago Real Estate provides detailed information on Chicago Real Estate, Chicago Commercial Real Estate, Chicago Suburb Real Estate, Chicago Real Estate Developments and more. Chicago Real Estate is affiliated with Atlanta Commercial Real Estate.

I’m not going to quote any articles. I’m not going to quote any politicians. It’s plain and simple. We, as Long Islanders, citizens of New York and as Americans are taxed too much. When I hear a politician talk about “affordable housing” or some government program to “help people”, I cringe. I’m all for people being able to afford to live the American Dream, but what about a more simple approach to “solving” our problems?

Taxes. One word. It’s simple enough. And let’s put another word in front of that. Lower. Okay, so now let’s put them together - Lower Taxes. It’s amazing how no politician can seem to put these two words together to “solve” problems.

Compare these two words with another two words - Affordable Housing.

Lower Taxes. Affordable Housing.

One implies that people will work hard, earn money and pay less in taxes - but still do their share to pay taxes such as property taxes, income taxes (state and federal), sales taxes and every other kind of tax. Lower Taxes - implies that the government will actually MAKE DO with what they “earn” and not create another program such as “Affordable Housing”. Lower Taxes - implies, no actually puts more money in the pockets of hard-working people who then can take that money - save it, invest it, spend it - thus helping the economy - but more importantly - themselves, their families and ultimately - their community!

I don’t know about you - but for me - I don’t want “affordable housing”. To me, “affordable” anything, from the government - is simply another two-word combination - Government Handout.
Young people don’t want another Government Handout. Older people don’t want it. Really - no self-respecting, able-bodied person wants any kind of handout and for those that do - I hope you have a good reason for one - such as illness or another type of condition or serious and real circumstance that prohibits you from being able to care for yourself or family.

I am all for taxes being used to help those in need. That’s a must - but it’s got to be done with some kind of temperance. The word “temperance” is not in the vocabulary of a politician. The word means control. Clearly, these politicians, both locally and nationally, do not have any understanding of the word. Spend. Spend more. Spend even more. Oh and just raise taxes to pay for all government “solutions” (code word for spending).

Like any family - you’ve got a budget. You use some credit to pay for some things. You get a mortgage most likely to buy a home. You take out a loan to get a car so you can drive around. And you balance household expenses and related bills. You work and pay what you can and save or invest what you’ve got left over. Government - no. Government operates as if there is a complete unlimited amount of money to continue with spending, spending, spending.
Well it’s time we, the citizens, said “No!”

We don’t want more programs. We don’t need “Affordable Housing”. We need government to get off our backs, restrict their spending and “programs” and operate on a budget - come hell or highwater! Period!

At least that’s my opinion. What do you think?

(c) Copyright 2008, www.tommcgiveron.com

By Tom McGiveron

Tommcgiveron.com.