After she fell asleep for her final evening as a 45-year old, I snuck out of the bedroom to get to work on setting up the kitchen table for her “surprise” in the morning. I was up quite late, and woke up extra early to get things ready, kids up and dressed, cake and treats set out, balloons and lights ready, snow shoveled outside, so when she entered the kitchen all would be perfect as planned for her special birthday.
At 7 AM we turned on the tunes, cranked to 11, playing The Beatles “Birthday”  song (“They say it’s your birthday!  It’s my birthday, too yeah!”) as the kids and I danced around while Mommy was welcomed to the kitchen & thrilled to see the “surprise” – the table set all pretty for her birthday.   Tami was shocked at how great the table looked this time. She is the…
Posted On Wednesday, 02 March 2022 00:00 Written by
I want you to take a moment and ask yourself: are you afraid of change? Many answer with a flat-out “yes,” some may answer “yes, depending on the circumstance,” and a select few answer “not really” or “not at all.” Are those individuals who answered “no” to fearing change fearless? Not at all; everyone fears something. However, change not being one of their fears is most likely a result of them being Anticipatory as a business leader and an individual in society today. What Causes Change Today? Our fear of change stems from primordial survival; when our environment shifts, we feel vulnerable to danger, whatever that danger may be. If you identify that you do fear change, understanding where change comes from is a starting point in overcoming it. Today, the most prominent force of change is digital disruptions. These disruptions have displaced jobs, products, services — nearly anything you can imagine. Anticipatory business…
Posted On Tuesday, 01 March 2022 00:00 Written by
We had a great deal of interesting information in the January housing report. Some of it makes complete sense, while other data is interesting. Existing Home Sales were up 6.7% in January, and it is estimated that there will be 6.5 million units sold in 2022. While forecasting sales for new construction is a bigger challenge given labor and supply chain issues, the purchase market looks strong even in the face of rising interest rates. Many site inventory as a challenge, I believe that inventory is more of an excuse than a reason. While many believe inventory is a critical component in the market, the old thought process that a six-month supply of homes for sale as a neutral market must be reviewed as a key measure. Since we are seeing solid sales, we must accept the thought that housing doesn’t sit on the market. In fact, the average home…
Posted On Monday, 28 February 2022 00:00 Written by
The District of Columbia ranks first, with the largest percentage of single-person households overall - 44.75%. The District of Columbia has a large proportion of business professionals and has the lowest median age of all states. This means that there are many people living alone while they pursue their careers. North Dakota ranks second, with 33.66% of all households being single-person households. North Dakota has seen a recent boom in population, increasing by 15.83 percent between the 2010 and 2020 census - this may be partly due to the fact that the state leads the US in job creation, attracting young professionals. These factors are likely to play a large role in the high number of single-person households.
Vermont ranks third, with 31.64% of all households being made up of single people.  Further Insights: The research also details the states with the highest proportion of widowers and divorcees.…
Posted On Thursday, 24 February 2022 07:25 Written by
 
Posted On Wednesday, 23 February 2022 00:00 Written by
A man who had served in four tours of duty for the US Military, received three Purple Hearts, experienced extreme difficulty integrating back into society due to PTSD, anxiety, and having nearly been killed multiple times in war. Once back home, veteran Joseph Serna was on probation for his alcohol struggles, which he used to fight the demons of his mind.
Sadly, the Judge had to sentence the decorated serviceman to one night in the county jail. Shockingly, Judge Lou Olivera, after driving Serna to the jail, joined the fellow military man in the jail cell for the night so his comrade could make it through and have someone there to talk to, as the Judge too had served in the military in the Gulf War. The article from WRAL says: “A judge’s act of compassion has a former Fort Bragg soldier promising to get his life back on…
Posted On Wednesday, 23 February 2022 00:00 Written by
How many of you reading this right now cringe at the thought of going to your general healthcare practitioner for your yearly physical, your dentist for a simple cleaning, or your optometrist for a vision screening? If so, you’re not alone. Many individuals sit in the waiting room of whichever doctor they’re visiting at the moment, wishing this could be done in any simpler way possible. They imagine what it would be like if, just like your job, you could do this remotely: log in to a computer and meet with your doctor from afar. Well, this fantasy has always been a reality in some ways, but as of recently, it is absolutely authentic and attainable by the masses! Telemedicine is here en masse, and has staying power in ways never before seen. Now, thanks to the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, telemedicine is almost as common as remote work,…
Posted On Tuesday, 22 February 2022 00:00 Written by
We have talked about rising interest rates quite a bit and how to share the actual information and how to do the math about the real costs of higher rates as well as the real costs of waiting! However, some people are having a tough time on how to go about bringing up the conversation quickly and easily so, I have added another bumper sticker to the toolbox!  Many of you already have and are using the “Got Mortgage” bumper sticker on your laptops. We have seen countless times how a simple message on your laptop can create opportunities; so here is the next addition to the family! All my current clients have already, or soon will receive, the new edition. Please feel free to use it proudly to convey a message, and possibly a warning! And not to worry, if rates continue to climb, I will be sending you…
Posted On Monday, 21 February 2022 00:00 Written by
My grandfather could read the weather patterns very accurately on his daily walk from the farmhouse to the barn. He knew if it would rain or snow the next day just from the look of the clouds and the feel of the air. He knew when to plant and work on the fence or tend the animals. I wish I could read the financial weather patterns as precisely as my grandfather could read the clouds. 
History is a good meteorologist. No one has a crystal ball, but the next best thing to forecasting the future is to look back to see how these same weather patterns affected our real estate and financial markets in times past. Where are real estate values headed? Where are mortgage rates headed? What about our economy in general? Is this a good time to buy real estate? Here are some weather systems moving…
Posted On Monday, 21 February 2022 00:00 Written by
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