The word on the street is that you should buy real estate, not stocks. There is a lot that can be said for this piece of advice. Let’s face it, you could buy a stock today and see it drop tomorrow, and the last couple of weeks have seen a lot of drops. Certainly the same could be said for real estate, the past few years have definitely seen dramatic drops, but overall real estate can offer a more steady investment over time.

Unlike investing in stocks, housing can help pay for itself through tax write-offs and rental income. While there are some stocks that offer dividends, for the most part you buy at one price, and sell for another.

In addition, most real estate markets appear to be bumping along the bottom. While many areas continue to see drops in home prices, the drops do appear to be less dramatic. Affordability levels are better than they have been in 50 years, another great incentive to invest in property.

Overall, housing appears more stable than the stock market at the moment, combine that with the ability for your investment to help pay itself off and real estate seems like the place to be. After-all, it’s definitely a buyers market out there!

Click here to read “Forget the Market. Buy a House”, from Smart Money.

Buy Real Estate Not Stocks is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come…

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Its estimated 93% won’t forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will,
forward this with the title ’7%’.

I’m in the 7%. Friends are the family that we choose.

Written by a 90 year old is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

I’ve learned – That you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I’ve learned – that no matter how much I care, some people just don’t care back.

I’ve learned – that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I’ve learned – that it’s not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.

I’ve learned – that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you’d better know something.

I’ve learned – that it’s not what happens to people that’s important. It’s what they do about it.

I’ve learned – that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I’ve learned – that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I’ve learned – that learning to forgive takes practice.

I’ve learned – that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I’ve learned – that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many years you’ve lived.

I’ve learned – that no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I’ve learned – that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I’ve learned – that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I’ve learned – that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other and just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I’ve learned – that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.

I’ve learned – that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.

I’ve learned – that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.

I’ve learned – that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

What I Learned By: Roger Knapp

Words to live by is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

Rarely will a consumer find so much contradicting, confusing and downright incorrect information on a legal topic as they currently do when it comes to short sales and related issues. Rarely heard of just 2-3 years ago, short sales now make up a significant majority of current MLS listings in the metro Phoenix market and the trend doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. Agents, consumers and other professionals are scrambling to get up to speed on the process, strategies and legal issues surrounding short sales. From a legal perspective, there are three (3) main issues I discuss with clients who may be considering a short sale (or other loan workout for that matter): (1) deficiency issues, (2) credit issues, and (3) cancellation of debt income issues. With respect to issue #1 – deficiencies, short sales present interesting issues and possible outcomes. Arizona has two anti-deficiency statutes that act to prevent a lender from collecting on a deficiency following a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure on certain residential property situated on 2.5 acres or less. Because these statutes deal with foreclosures, many real estate professionals, including attorneys, take the position that Arizona’s anti-deficiencies have no application to short sales. This is categorically false. Either these real estate professionals do not understand the law, or they are trying to create confusion to help attract clients for their services. While a short sale can result in a deficiency situation where a foreclosure on the same property would not (for instance, without a lender’s agreement to not seek a deficiency, a short sale involving a non-purchase money loan on qualifying property will not extinguish a borrower’s liability for a deficiency, while a foreclosure by the same lender at a non-judicial trustee’s sale will result in the lender being barred from seeking a deficiency), for many loans (specifically, purchase money loans on qualifying property), a short sale should never result in a deficiency for a borrower. Notwithstanding Arizona’s relatively broad anti-deficiency protections afforded to purchase money loans on qualifying property, lenders continue to misrepresent their rights and borrowers’ liabilities in short sale transactions. Lenders continue to demand cash contributions from borrowers to approve short sales even though they would have no right to seek a deficiency if they foreclosed on the property. Borrowers and their real estate agents should never engage in short sale negotiations without knowing exactly what rights and obligations a lender and borrower have under the loan and any particular workout scenario. For a more detailed analysis of Arizona’s anti-deficiency laws and their applicability to short sale transactions, see my letter to the Editor of Maricopa Lawyer attached. letter-to-the-editor-of-maricopa-lawyer

Marc McCain, Attorney at Law McCain & Bursh, PLC

www.mccainbursh.com mmccain@mblawaz.com

THE TRUTH ABOUT SHORT SALES AND DEFICENCIES IN ARIZONA is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers?

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They’ll clear up your stuffed nose. 

Honey remedy for skin blemishes… cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.  

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-even though the product was never advertised for this use. 

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.  

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.  

Did you know that Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?

Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.

Easy eyeglass protection… to prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Vinegar to heal bruises… soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Hunt’s Tomato Paste boil cure… cover the boil with Hunt’s Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

Balm for broken blisters… to disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic. 

Smart splinter remover: Just pour a drop of Elmer’s Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.  

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief… it’s not for breakfast any more! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain. 

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer… if menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can’t find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly

Who Knew!! is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

Eternal Students 

Whatever their age, knowledge-hungry Mercury makes eternal students of September 19 people, whose prodigious appetite for learning is matched by the articulacy with which they communicate theirs interests to others. They have a contemplative, feminine polarity, but these are no impractical, academic types, because their earthy element provides a hands on approach, along with determination. Their adaptable nature gives them the versatility to make numerous career changes if need be.

Knowledgeable, Articulate, Adaptable

The Birthday Alamanc  by Sophia Kendrick

Virgo – September 19 is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

Practical Communicators  

Your creativity may not be of the fiery, crackling type if you were born this day, but the combination of your intuitive, contemplative, feminine polarity and your industrious element of earth makes you thoughtful and hands-0n, and your ventures typically bear tangible fruit. You are helped in all you undertake by the logical thinking and excellent communication skills of Mercury, as well as by the adaptable nature that is one of the benefits of having a mututal quaruplicity.

Contemplative

Communicative

Practical

The Birthday Almanac

by: Sophia Kendrick

Virgo September 11 is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

Intuitive Introverts

Yout thoughfulness, intuition, and inborn tendency to worry that are part of your feminine-polarity are particularly pronounced if your birthday is September 9. You also have an endearing gentleness about you, but these “soft” qualities are balanced by the “harder” traits bestowed on you by your ruling planet, element, and quadruplicity. Mercury provides your logical mindset, earth gives you a practical outlook, and your mutable nature causes you to be drawn to the company of others.

Private

Considertate

Practical

The Birthday Almanac

By Sophia Kendrick

Virgo – September 9 is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

Like a drug intervention, a closet reorganization can force a pack rat to confront long-term bad habits, such as hanging on to jeans that haven’t fid in years or clothes that went out of style with the powder-blue tuxedo.

If you suffer from packratitus, it’s time for a cold turkey closet cleanup. And by cleanup, I mean clean it out.

First step:  Empty it. No kidding. Take everything out of your closet: clothes, shoes, belts, ties, Christmas gifts that have been hiding there since 1982. Remove shelves, shoe racks and furniture.  Take a look at your empty closet, perhaps for the first time since you moved into you home. 

Now the work really starts. Here is the rest of my 12-step program for letting go of your closet clutter.

v     Divide your closet contents into three piles: haven’t worn in two years or never liked, seriously out of style and love more than chocolate.

v     Root through the first two piles for items that are in good shape and might be useful to someone else.  It’s true that one person’s trash is another treasure.

v     Throw away anything that is worn out. One person’s trash also can be another’s person’s trash.

v     Find local charities that accept gently used clothing and household items, and pack up your usable items. Take the time for this step; more people than ever need help through this recession.

v     That leave you with one pile of clothes, shoes and accessories you want to keep.  Look at each item.  Once you reacquaint yourself with what’s in your closet, you may find that you need to buy fewer new clothes thanks to the good things you’d forgotten. I have to admit that I bought a handsome new jacket only to get it home and find a long-forgotten, almost identical coat hiding in the back of my closet.

v     Scrub the closet from baseboards to ceiling with TSP-trisodium phosphate, a powdery cleaner that removes grime, stains and mildew.  Don’t use TSP on your wood floor, as it can stain.  Clean your floor with a cleaner designed for your wood, carpet or tile.

v     Paint an area you’ve ignored because you didn’t want to empty your closet. Use a semi-gloss enamel that’s easy to clean and can hold it own against scuffs from shoes and scrapes from hangers.  If you prefer a paneled look, install a cedar closet liner.  It’s a simple job because of its tongue-and-groove design.  Line the walls and the ceiling.

v     Once the liner is in, install new shelves.  Use a solid material such as a three-quarter-inch MDF (medium-density fiberboard) which is more durable than wire racks and less abrasive than plywood.  Support your shelves with a sturdy wall cleat anchored to the studs every 3 or 4 feet, and finish it with a bull-nose edge so it won’t have corners to catch on your clothes.

v     Replace your wooden closet pole with a sturdy chrome rod that won’t bend or damage as easily.

v     Return your ”must keep” clothes and accessories to their rightful place. Group similar pieces: jeans, slacks, skirts, shirts, jackets, suits. That will make everything easier to locate next time you’re getting dressed.

v     Make you way through the house and do the same for every closet.  Don’t forget the kitchen pantry, linen closet, vanity cabinet and under-the-sink cupboards that we all use as catch-alls.

Rosie Romero – The Arizona Republic 

Rosie’s 12-Step Closet Cleanup is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information

The flag remains a powerful symbol of patriotism for many Americans. But where did those stars and stripes come from in the first place? Time for us to unfurl the story.

What Came Before the “Stars and Stripes”?

Try the “Continental Colors.” It had 13 red and white stripes representing the 13 colonies and a British Union Jack in the corner. George Washington raised this flag as the banner of the Continental Army on January 1, 1776. Other early flags depicted a pine tree or a snake. There were several versions of the “Gadsden flag,” which was yellow with a rattlesnake coiled over the words “Don’t Tread on Me!”

Betsy Ross–Did She or Didn’t She?

Many Americans believe a Philadelphia seamstress named Betsy Ross designed and sewed the first Stars and Stripes. The legend began when her grandson, William Canby, spoke on the origin of the flag to the Pennsylvania Historical Society in 1870. Canby said his grandmother had told him that she fashioned the flag in June 1776 at the request of George Washington. Still, despite the fact that Betsy Ross was a good businesswoman who kept careful records, Canby admitted he could find no documents to back up the story.

Canby said Washington approached Ross because he was part of a congressional committee in charge of creating a new flag. But no one has found any evidence that the committee existed, that Washington visited Ross’s shop, or that the two even knew each other. Betsy Ross did make flags, but for now, the legend of her sewing the first-ever Stars and Stripes remains a legend.

Why Stars and Stripes?

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted the following resolution, without comment or debate:

“Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

Congress said nothing about the stars’ arrangement, so different versions of the Stars and Stripes appeared during the following years, with different star patterns. These included the “Betsy Ross flag,” with the stars in a circle.

Many historians now believe the Stars and Stripes may have been the work of Francis Hopkinson, a congressman, artist, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1780, Hopkinson wrote a letter to the government about designs he had made for official symbols, including the “Flag of the United States of America.” He noted that he hadn’t been paid and asked for a quarter cask of wine as compensation.

Why Red, White, and Blue?

No official explanation of the color scheme has ever been established. Yet in 1782, Charles Thomson, the congressional secretary in charge of choosing a great seal for the United States, did explain the meaning of the seal’s red, white, and blue. He said, “White signifies purity and innocence, Red hardiness and valor, and Blue . . . signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.”

On the other hand, the flag may be red, white, and blue simply because those are the colors of the British flag. Maybe early Americans weren’t quite as rebellious as they thought.

By Jeffery Vail

This article was provided to you through collaboration with Every Learner. To learn more, play quizzes, and read additional articles, visit http://everylearner.com and get a one-month membership at no cost to you.

Copyright © 2002-2009 Every Learner, Inc. All rights reserved.

Unfurling the Stars and Stripes is a post from: Phoenix and Beyond Real Estate and Area Information