I did a Google search on Warren Buffet for something else I was doing
and I came across this excerpt
of a Q&A that he did with some graduate students a couple of
years ago. While I'm sure his answers to the investing questions were
wise, (admittedly I care less about that) his insight into life in
general is what drew me in. Here is an answer to a particular question
that I found captivating.
Question: How do you define happiness and what about your life makes you most happy? When you make good on an investment, do you allow yourself to enjoy that success by getting excited - and on the flip-side, when an investment turns down, do you find yourself equally disappointed - or do you try to remove emotion from your work, as much as possible?
Answer: “I enjoy what I do, I tap dance to work
every day. I work with people I love, doing what I love. I spend my
time thinking about the future, not the past. The future is exciting. As
Bertrand Russell says, “Success is getting what you want, happiness is
wanting what you get.” I won the ovarian lottery the day I was born and
so did all of you. We’re all successful, intelligent, and educated. To
focus on what you don’t have is a terrible mistake. With the gifts all
of us have, if you are unhappy, it’s your own fault.
I received a disappointing call this morning from one of my best clients. She called to inform me of multiple unpleasant experiences that she has had with a home warranty company that I've referred a lot of business to over the past couple of years.
If you aren't familiar with what a home warranty company does, they basically provide coverage to the home buyer for the first year of the home purchase to make sure that if anything goes wrong the buyer is insured against major repairs. The more technical name is a residential services contract.
As a buyer, if you never have to contact the home warranty service, you are in luck because that means that nothing substantial occurred with the house. But, like all other warranties and insurance, the residential services contract is in place in case something happens.
To make a long story short, this client of mine has had two negative experiences with the service that was provided during two claims she has had to make recently. It turns out that companies (one plumber, one A/C) that were contracted to do the work through the home warranty company both turned out to be less than professional and very unhelpful to say the least. To the point where my client recommended that I never refer future clients to this home warranty company. That's a strong statement.
Knowing this home warranty company well and the way that they do business, I made sure to give my account representative a call immediately to discuss the issues. I gave him the names of the two companies that did (or did not really) do the work. As I expected, he was very apologetic and promised to call my client directly to apologize and do what he could to make it up to her. He said that he will make sure to take both companies off of their list so that nothing like this happens again. While, I feel this was an isolated incident, it doesn't make me feel any less frustrated for my client.
The main lesson to be learned through this experience is that your reputation is only as good as the people you associate with, or in this case the service providers that your company uses. You have to be extra careful who you affiliate yourself with because not only is their reputation on the line, but yours is as well.
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RISMEDIA --
A government audit has found that thousands of taxpayers have fraudulently
claimed the first-time home buyers' credit, and the Internal Revenue Service
apparently missed them all.
The fraudulent claims — some from prison inmates serving life sentences —
totaled about $134 million, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration.
Some of the "questionable claims" for refunds were made by 87 IRS
employees nationwide,
according to Michael R. Phillips, the deputy inspector
general for audit.
There were three sets of tax credits. The first, approved in July 2008, was an
interest-free loan that offered $7,500 to qualified first-time buyers that
would be then repaid to the Treasury in $500 increments over 15 years. The second, a maximum of $8,000 for first-timers,
didn't need to be repaid, was approved in February 2009 and expired Nov. 30,
2009.
On Nov. 5, the tax credit was extended, and a maximum $6,500 added for
qualified buyers who had not purchased a primary residence in five years or
more.
All told, the "working estimate" of new and existing sales qualifying
for all the credits is 4.4 million, National Association of Realtors spokesman
Walt Molony said.
Fraudulent claims filed by 1,295 prison inmates added up to about $9.1 million
on 2008 returns.
Among filers loose on the streets, 256 used the same five addresses for their
claims. In fact, 18,832 filers used just 7,695 addresses to claim a total of
$134 million in refunds.
Of the 18,832 filings, 5,331 were filed by 1,941 paid preparers, the audit
found. About 2,500 taxpayers erroneously received a total $17.6 million in credits for
houses they bought before the tax credit took effect, the audit found.
As the nation struggles to
shrug off the worst housing crash since the Great Depression, it may be hard to
believe a housing shortage could be on its way.
The nation is simply not building enough homes to keep up with potential
demand. Just 672,000 new homes were started in April, an annualized rate and
less than half the long-term run rate needed to meet the nation's natural
population growth. Read the article: Is
a housing shortage coming?
The growth of the Austin
economy will continue to outpace the rest of the nation over the next year,
according to a forecast from one Texas economist. Mark Dotzour, chief economist at Texas A&M
University's Real Estate Center, predicts that the U.S. economy will slow in
coming months--in part the result of forces such as increased global
construction costs and the rising price of oil. But Austin is likely to add
20,800 new jobs over the next 12 months, a 2.9 percent increase in employment
that will significantly outpace national job growth, he says. Read the article: Austin will add 20,800 jobs in the next 12 months.
Real estate seller Trulia, Inc. reported 24
percent of its Austin listings reduced prices in June, which is down from 30
percent the same month in 2009. Austin was among metros with the best
improvement in price depreciation, with 20 percent fewer homesellers cutting
their listing price. The report compiled data from about 9,280 listings.
Sellers reduced prices an average 7 percent, shaving off a total $73.2 million. Read the article: 24%
Austin home listings lowered price in June.
Inman News - For borrowers
with good credit and cash for a downpayment, mortgage rates remained at or near
record lows this week, according to Freddie Mac's latest weekly rate survey.
The survey found rates on
30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.75 percent for the week ending June 17,
with an average of 0.7 point. That's up slightly from last week, when 30-year
fixed-rate loans averaged 4.72 percent, but down from 5.38 percent a year ago.
The all-time record low for
30-year fixed-rate loans in records dating back to 1971 was set during the week
of Dec. 3, when the rates averaged 4.71 percent.
Rates surveyed by Freddie
Mac are for prime borrowers taking out loans with 20 percent downpayments.
Borrowers taking out loans too large or risky for purchase or guarantee by
Freddie Mac can expect to pay more.
Recent turmoil in financial
markets has made the mortgage-backed securities that are the ultimate source of
funding for most home loans popular with investors, helping keep rates charged
to borrowers low.
** But the Mortgage Bankers
Association is forecasting that rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will
gradually rise to 5.4 percent during the fourth quarter of this year, reach 6
percent in the last three months of 2011, and average 6.6 percent in the fourth
quarter of 2012.
RISMEDIA,
June 16, 2010--(MCT)--For many homeowners, electricity use is highest during
the summer — that means steeper energy bills are just around the corner.
But a lot of the energy you're paying for is squandered through air leaks
around doors and windows, or through cable boxes and appliances that sap energy
when no one is around. Before you shell out the cash for a professional
home-energy audit, however, here are some do-it-yourself ways to measure — and
then curb — your energy use.
MEASURE
IT
The average
household will spend about $2,140 on residential energy consumption in 2010,
according to the Washington-based
CURB
IT — AND SAVE
Whether or not you
decide to shell out for energy measurement devices, you can save money on your
utility bill with some simple steps to reduce your home's energy use.
A smart strip, for instance, eliminates vampire energy — the energy devices
consume when they're switched off. Smart strips, which retail for about $30,
plug into the wall and also work as surge protectors. The strip's sensor cuts
the power to devices plugged into it when they're switched off.
LITTLE
THINGS HELP
Some other low-cost
or free energy-saving moves:
Simchak said these energy-saving steps don't require technical know-how. "I haven't done anything a normal person can't do," he said. "It takes a little time and effort. But with all these products available, regular folks can do them just fine."
Read the Entire Article: Simple Tools to Do a Home Energy Audit and Save.
Their making a list and checking it twice . . . .
We thought the worst was over but it seems like every month there is some new federal guideline tied to final mortgage approval; an extra hoop to jump through. First it was full disclosure on the good faith estimate, then it was raising FHA fees and now its extensive credit checks. Its probably going to get worse before it gets better.
The most recent change to Fannie Mae's guidelines called the "Loan Quality Initiative" calls for credit checks on the buyer(s) up to the day of closing. Who can blame them. Recent history indicates that everyone involved in a real estate transaction needs to go the extra mile to assure that there is no funny business going on.
This is not necessarily a new practice. Most lenders have been following this practice for some time now. That is why it is imperative for a buyer not to do anything between the preliminary loan approval stage and the final "clear to close" stage that would negatively effect debt to income ratios.
This means waiting to buy a new car, not putting new furniture purchases for the new house on credit and not even using existing credit on credit cards that have high limits. Anything that alters the balance of the amount of debt that you carry compared to the income you generate can be a red flag for the lender, delay closing.
Smart Money (Wall Street Journal) published a very good article that explains the entire procedure.
One thing I found interesting in this article is the part that states that lenders are going to be extra diligent to confirm the occupancy plans for the property. That is not something that we have seen in the past and I haven't seen it yet at a recent closing but it does have the opportunity to effect a number of closings. Sometimes plans change during the escrow process and it looks like that could be a recipe for added chaos.
A word for the wise: just keep everything status quo until the loan funds and the transaction closes.
When Kristin and I moved into our new house over two years ago, we had to work fervently to bring the lawn up to speed. Lots of bags of dirt, mulch etc. . . . If the high temperatures weren't enough, we were dealing with hap-haphazardly laid sod by the builder's landscaper. I have since found everything from large pieces of brick to huge metal rods in the dirt our yard was built upon
(another story, different day). However, after two springs and summers and a lot of sweat equity, we were able to turn the yard into a very nice looking spread. We take pride in the appearance of our landscaping.
This Spring due to crazy temperature fluctuations including actual snow accumulation, a portion of our grass decided to call it quits. About a fourth of our backyard (the area that has struggled since day one) did not come back this year.
Having faith that it would eventually turn around, I gave it a few months to make some progress until finally giving into the realization that it wasn't happening. I recently removed all of the dead grass and spread new dirt in preparation for laying some new sod (whenever I get around to it). It looks better and some of the areas have responded and started to grow again. But, I'm having to deal with something that I haven't had to worry about in the past - persistent weeds. When the grass isn't healthy they seem to take over and can be unrelenting.
I recently came across a great website with all kinds of articles about lawn care and maintenance. From How to Have a Weed Free Lawn to the cause of Brown Spots to Summer Lawn Care tips, it is full of good information.

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