Blog, Blah, Blah....

Check out my guest on the topic of finding and hiring the RIGHT contractor.  David Lupberger of www.ServiceMagic.com, shares with us why we hear the horror stories about contractors not showing us, and what we can do about it.  the answer may surprise you , as you are more in control than you think.  Also be sure to hear about his "Little Black Book", of the premier contractors in your area-just for asking!

This show was eye-opening, but was also so helpful to save you from bad hires ever again!

Well, life has gotten in the way and it has been a long time since I have blogged... Anyone singed up is going to get a rash of updates, but they'll be shorter than usual.  My apologies, as business has been blooming as spring has.  Those of us who are buys, are not about to look at the economy and complain.  the truth is, there are buyers, there are houses, and there is money--all the elements needed for a great transaction.

Speaking of transaction, take a listen to Bill Kramer who was my guest a while back.  He is one of the owners of Envirian Real Estate and has been in the business for 20 years.  On the show, he talked about the "real deal" with realtors, commissions splits--it's all out there.  so if the relationship with a realtor seemed a mystery, Bill will shed some light.  he was a GREAT guest and lots of great stories after all those years in real estate.

Say it with me....P-U-R-G-E....
Ahhhhh....

Well, if you tuned in yesterday, you laughed and organized till you dropped.  Sara Fisher, Certified Professional Organizer and dear friend from Atlanta, was my guest.  She kept us laughing, and repeating the mantra....
P-U-R-G-E....Oh, boy that felt good.  Even Paul, my co-host got into it, as we held hands and swayed!!  I was a bit surprised as I thought that Paul would certainly zone out, considering organizing might ordinarily fall to the "girly" side of things, but he hung right in there--as well he should, because his own office looks like a bomb went off it it!  He also swooned over Sara's southern accent, turned on like a cool mint julep just for him!  So we all picked up some great tips, including our caller Judy--who won an overnight package at THE FLANDERS HOTEL, in Ocean City, NJ.  Hey, it pays to call my show!!

One of those tips was to make sure that the container you are using is appropriate for the item.  If you have really important papers to store, using a cardboard box could be disaster in a flooded basement, a leaky attic, or might even be a breeding, nesting place for bugs. 

My favorite tip, though was right at the beginning, when Sara let us off the hook by saying it is not about "perfection" or "rigidity".  She says that we have to live in our houses, and "do life".  We will be bringing stuff into our living spaces, but it is about taking little steps and beginning to get the feel of everything having a home-in our home.  The goal is to create a comfortable, non-stressed environment.  Look around you....do you feel the love and the peace??

Sara, as always (in life and on the air) was fun to listen to and offered great wisdom for those of us who are "organized-impaired".  To get a hold of her, you can find her on her well-organized website at www.asimplespace.net/  To find a local organizer visit www.napo.net

NOW, GO CLEAN THAT CLOSET!!! 

Tired of the yada, yada, yada on this subject?
Yeah, I was too, now I am totally jazzed!!

I didn't think there was anything new, and I certainly wasn't excited over the possible fixes laid out by the government to handle the Sub-prime mess---Yes, but that was before I talked to John Vogel, Professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.  He appeared on my show this past Thursday.

Why aren't guys like this front and center in the news with their ideas being implemented.  There so much to share about this, but in short--here goes.

His idea is called the Last Change Mortgage (right click to download full article) and it is a "Share the Pain" solution.  Nobody gets off scott free, neither the lenders nor the homeowners.

John asserts that believe it or not, when all this first happened, all parties were likely acting rationally--this started before the housing bubble, and on the lenders' side, they kept seeing massive appreciation, so getting more folks into homes was a no-brainer, and the downside wasn't much if the housing prices kept going up.  On the homeowner side, for the most part, families were trying to get into homes sooner than later, otherwise they feared that they would not be able to afford the same house next year, since they were already chasing real estate appreciation.  And then....

THE PERFECT STORM HIT-And we now see the outcome.... 

So, here are the highlights....

• A pool of money for the Last Chance Mortgage is created
• The homeowners in trouble borrow this money at 3%
• The lenders take less than what is owed on these mortgages, a kind of global short sale on these mortgages-making these home values realistic and affordable again.  The LENDERS PENALTY FOR MAKING A BAD DECISION
• Lenders are happy with this because they do not want the real estate back, especially in the state of disrepair in which it usually returns.  Their loan loss ratios recover, and they are getting healthy again, too.
• The number of foreclosures is dramatically reduced, along with all the ripple effect of unemployment, crime, retail indicators (being able to afford to fix-up), and many others.
• The homeowner gets to stay in the home (assuming they can afford this low, low rate), and they get all the benefits of homeownership, such as interest deduction, etc--they JUST DON'T GET APPRECIATION.  The HOMEOWNERS PENALTY FOR MAKING A BAD DECISION. When and if their situation improves, they can sell and move on to a home where they can enjoy all of the benefits including appreciation.
• With new layer of affordable housing created by this, more homeowners can come into neighborhoods, revitalize these homes, and begin have what was intended by the American Dream! 

There is much more to it, but this is an overview.  This is the best idea yet!
If you have any comments, please post them, I'd love to hear them, and pass on to the author of this brainstorm!