Thinking about 2009.

Real Estate Information is the name of this blog. I guess we all have a place to lay our head at night so we all have some need for information.

While we were in Michigan, spending time with the kin folks, I got to thinking about all the people in that state that are recently out of work. All of the economic turmoil happening right before Christmas. It just breaks my heart to know that in the greatest country in the world that our elected officials are giving money in "bail out plans" to executives who are responsible for not keeping their companies profitable. Then those executives secure their financial future (Golden Parachutes) and run their companies with what's left over. I pray that the "Change" that we want as a country doesn't push us backwards toward the Carter Administration days, or worse.

Now is the time to learn about the Technology that we have and are so slow to adopt. The Internet is a powerful tool. I don't believe the majority of the world's people can fathom the power that the internet brings into our homes, businesses and our hands through cell phones.

There was a time when people thought that they wouldn't need indoor plumbing, cars, color TV, home computers, cell phones... and now Social Media. Just 10 days ago a Continental Airlines 737 veered off the runway on take-off and burst into flames. From the instant this was happening there was a passenger on board broadcasting LIVE the news about what was happening on Twtter. Hurricane Ike and the Mumbai terrorists attacks were all reported in real time on Twitter.

Yes, Social Media has it's problems, but so does the internet as a whole. We just have to learn to program safeguards in the system where the freaks of the world will use it to get their kicks.

With that said, there are always going to be Pros and Cons to any type of technology that is developed. We, as an educated generation, have to learn to use the technology for the good of mankind. We have to learn to use the Internet to help our daily lives. Now is a great time for people to learn how and start a home based internet business. You don't have to try all the get rich quick scheems. What if you made an extra $500 per month. Wouldn't that help out? There are all kinds of things to learn about. The easiest of which is ebay. How much stuff is in the garage or attic or better yet in that mini storage building that has a monthly fee? Do some Spring cleaning often and find things you don't want anymore and sell them on ebay.

Another learning avenue is through Rhea Perry. Rhea hosts events throughout the year teaching people different ways to work from home using the Internet. On of those events is Entrepreneur Days is held in the Fall. You can check out her blog at RheaPerry.com. Money can be made by Blogging, writing e-books, Affiliate Marketing (selling someone else's product for a fee) etc.

2009 is going to a year of change. The only question I have is: Who will be able to change with it? I will and I hope you will be able to follow that change right here at www.Educating4Wealth.info.

May you have a Prosperous and Happy New Year.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Adam

Identity Theft - Greater during Christmas

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, victimizing over 10 million people a year and costing billions of dollars. Identity theft can happen anywhere to anyone. In line at the store, online at home or when you're buying your morning coffee. If your identity is stolen, you can spend hundreds of hours cleaning up your credit and struggling to get back your good name.

A friend of mine, Rhea Perry, had her debit card stolen in September 2008. Before Rhea even realized the card was gone, the damage had already been done. Read her story and what she learned about Identity Theft here www.RheaPerry.com. Scroll to the Sept 28, 2008 Blog Entry "My debit card # was stolen; is yours safe?"

Below is a great article by Wade Knoxville about Identity Theft.

Identity theft is the ongoing scare of our generation. Every day, we see commercials and hear warning about all the different ways our identities could be stolen. However, it may not be very clear to you what can actually happen if you are victimized. Below is a list of the five most common frustrating annoyances that immediately follow getting your identity stolen.

1. An untold number of credit lines opened in your name.

Having a great number of credit cards opened in your name is one of the first things that commonly happens to those who get their identity stolen. If you think you may be victim of ID theft, you might want to check your credit score. You will likely notice many new cards, mortgages, loans and the like in your name. This is the number one sign that you have been taken for the ride. Contact the creditors immediately before it gets out of hand.

2. A fast-draining bank account.

If you check your bank account one day and find that all your money is gone, there is a very good chance that your identity has been stolen. If your spouse has access to your bank account, you may want to check with them to make sure they didn't spend the last couple nights at the casino or anything like that. Assuming of course that neither you nor your partner drained your account, it is most likely that you have been victimized. Contact your bank and notify them of your concern. Most will be very happy to work with you.

3. Bills of staggering amounts for things you did not buy.

Receiving massive bills in your name for things you would never even think to buy is a sure fire sign that someone has boosted your identity. Commonly, the bills will be for extravagances that should make your case easy to prove to the creditors. As an example, why would you buy eight crystal chandeliers, six flat screen televisions and a Porsche unless you were going through a manic episode? This may sound over the top, but purchases that far out are common to ID theft victims.

4. Elicit use of your driver's license.

Your driver's license has the power to acquire all sorts of financial gains in your name. Bank accounts to conceal stolen money, hotel and vehicle rentals that will likely wind up trashed, and airfare to exotic locations to avoid the criminal justice system are just a few of the many unauthorized uses of your driver's license that the thief may take part in. Nobody likes this kind of hassle, so be careful!

5. Criminal accusations for crimes you did not commit.

In the worst of cases, having your identity stolen by a crafty outlaw could result in the police tracking you down for crimes he committed! These cases are slightly less common but happen frequently enough to warrant mention. Generally speaking, after a lot of unnecessary bureaucratic hassling from the legal authorities, it should become quite obvious that you had nothing to do with these crimes and will usually be let go. Even still, this is an extremely unfortunate consequence of being victimized by ID thieves.

Be Proactive about protecting your Identity. Go to LifeLock today to protect your identity and personal information for only $10 a month.

Increase the Value of your home with Kitchen Renovations

The Front Porch, the Kitchen and the Master bath. The 3 rooms to make perfect before selling your house.

Have you ever thought about the Front Door area of your house? As a Realtor that is going to show your house my Buyer clients are going to make a decision if they like your house or not in the first three minutes.

Making a good first impression is crucial in this market. Is your Front Porch freshly painted and the landscaping colorful for the season or were there spider webs in the corners and weeds in the flowerbeds? That's what my Buyers noticed while I was opening the door.

The next decision making room is the Kitchen. Whether you’ve been trying to sell your home for months or you’ve been thinking about putting your house on the market, a kitchen remodel is a fail-safe way to add value to your home and decrease selling time.

The appearance of your kitchen is crucial to selling your home. Out of your entire house, the kitchen is likely the only single room that can make or break a sale. As California real estate agent Sherry Lee Cox stated in an article on the Real Estate Network, “Buyers are usually passionate about the kitchen in any home they are considering buying.” So, especially if you have worn linoleum or tired-looking Formica countertops, it makes sense to refresh your kitchen a bit if you’re trying to sell.

Now, just to be clear, we’re not talking about a complete top-to-bottom kitchen remodel. According to the Wall Street Journal, a full kitchen remodel (with appliances) cost over $54,000 in 2006, and sellers only recouped 80% of that cost! A small scale renovation is more cost effective and doesn’t drain as much capital from your pocket. The same Wall Street Journal article pointed out, “Less drastic jobs, such as changing out countertops and refinishing existing cabinets, bring better returns…”

There are a number of small changes you can make to bring out the best in your kitchen, from replacing an old porcelain sink to adding cheerful new curtains. The two best improvements you can make are replacing the flooring and installing new countertops; not only are these remodeling jobs relatively affordable, they also give you the most bang for your buck. That’s because in the last five or ten years, market standards for kitchens have shifted away from synthetic materials like vinyl flooring and laminate counters to hardwood floors and stone countertops. For your home to be competitive in the housing market, your kitchen needs to live up to these standards.

The most desirable kitchens today feature hardwood flooring and solid surface stone countertops. Depending on your budget, it’s best to remodel both areas of your kitchen in order to keep the overall look coherent; replacing your laminate counters with granite slabs only does so much good if your floor is still 20-year-old vinyl! The good news is that with all of the different stone countertop and wood flooring materials available today you’re sure to be able to find quality products that fit within your price range.

Remember, it’s best not to go overboard when you’re making small improvements as an investment. In order to recoup as much of your initial outlay as possible, you need to keep spending in check. Focus on the areas of your kitchen that would most benefit from an update and shop around for budget-priced materials. For example, imported granite countertops are gorgeous, but so are the less-expensive engineered quartz counters.

Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind that even if you don’t recover 100% of your investment, remodeling your kitchen is worth it in the end. Home buyers will fall in love with your fresh, modern kitchen, whereas a dated, tired, or nondescript kitchen might turn them off. The improvements you make to your kitchen will invariably be what sell the house: real estate broker Daniel Johnson of Colorado tells of two comparable homes in his area, one “with a refurbished kitchen, listed at $710,000, [that] recently sold, while an identical unit without the new kitchen, listed at $699,000, has had no takers.” So, even if your investment isn’t completely recouped, the kitchen renovations will attract buyers and produce results. As Johnson says, “Upgraded kitchens sell units.”

by Matt Gallo
12/04/2008

Forbes.com names Madison County, AL Top 10 places to weather the economic downturn

Helen Coster, 11.12.08

Affordable Places To Weather The Downturn

Well-priced homes, enviable job growth and proximity to vibrant cities make these top 10 spots good choices in recessionary times.

Last week, unemployment hit a 20-year high, rising to 6.5% over the month before.
Folks in Denver-area Adams County may fare better than others nationwide. Year-over-year job growth is 3.4%, thanks to a diversified local economy that includes aerospace, aviation and bioscience jobs. Homeowners pay a scant $1,536 in property taxes and enjoy some of the most affordable properties in the country.

Residents in Madison County, Ala., Pulaski County, Ark., Hamilton County, Ohio, and Greenville County, S.C. have a similar story. They're within commuting distance to Huntsville, Little Rock, Cincinnati and Greenville, respectively, boast enviable job growth figures and round out our list of the top five spots to live affordably during an economic downturn.
Behind The Numbers In compiling our list, we looked at three factors: affordability, property taxes and job growth. Moody's Economy.com provided us with an affordability index for each county. A score of 100 indicates that a family earning the median income in the surrounding metropolitan area can afford to buy a median-priced home. The higher the score, the higher the affordability.

In Pictures: Affordable Places To Weather the Downturn
The U.S. Census Bureau provided information on 2007 property taxes, and year-over-year job growth data came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
We cut out counties that don't include distinct townships that are within an hour's drive from an urban area.
Lone Star SpotsSeveral counties in Texas appear on our list. This is because homes statewide are relatively affordable thanks to low fees for building permits and liberal zoning policies. Property taxes, however, zing homeowners; Texas has neither state nor city income taxes, so local governments rely on property taxes as their main source of funding.

Read the whole story at http://tinyurl.com/5tr2xo

3 People You Should and Should Not Give Christmas Cards To

by Wade Knoxville

With Thanksgiving in the books and Christmas less than a month away, everyone's turning their attention to an inescapable obligation of the holidays: buying Christmas cards. While few enjoy this task, it is simply assumed that you will both receive greeting cards from others and buy your own for them. Especially if you work at a large organization or in a big, friendly office; there's just no way around it. However, this doesn't mean you need to buy Christmas cards for everyone. Here's the scoop:

You should buy Christmas cards for...

Your boss!

That's right - call it brown-nosing, or call it sucking up, but it's just plain courteous to buy your boss a Christmas card. When you work side-by-side with someone all year, day in and day out, how could you not? Plus, let's not forget - he or she is probably the one signing your paychecks, so it never hurts to show some appreciation during the Holiday months. A sincerely worded Christmas card can go a long way toward demonstrating your loyalty toward the organization and good will toward him/her.

Your cubicle mate/closest co-worker!

Everybody has a cubicle mate or close co-worker without whom the day would be a total, insufferable drag. The least you can do is give that person a heartfelt and sincere Christmas card during the frosty holiday season. After all, they probably hate coming in to work as much as you do, and the fact that you gave them the card will brighten their day all the more.

The office flirt (see below)

This one depends on your marital status and intentions. As you well know, every office or workplace has an "office flirt" - ie, a woman who seems hell-bent on making passes at every man working there at some point or another. Now, when it comes to giving this person a Christmas card, you have a decision to make. Giving her a card will be seen as you "flirting back" with her, which could in turn drive her to flirt harder with you. If this is what you want, go ahead and get her a card!

You should not buy Christmas cards for...

The office gossip hound

Another common fixture at workplaces everywhere is the gossip hound. The person who seems more concerned with spreading and inventing gossip than with eating or breathing. Unless you happen to be close friends with the gossip hound (like if he or she is your cubicle mate), you probably shouldn't give her a Christmas card. Doing so implies that you are okay with her gossiping ways when in all actuality you probably aren't. Not giving her a card, on the other hand, is a small but much-needed reminder that her pettiness is unappreciated.

That pesky middle manager who's always on your case

Everybody's got a pesky, buzzword-spouting, haughty middle manager whose job description seems to be lecturing you about how the company is "moving forward." Few office personalities are more grating and irritating than this guy, and as such, rewarding them with a sincere Christmas card is simply unadvisable. Even if everyone else gives this person a card, you should resist, for it is only once people stop treating Christmas cards as mindless 'gotta give 'em to everybody regardless of liking them or not" traditions that their true dignity will be restored. Take a stand!

The office flirt (see below again)

Earlier we advised that you should give the office flirt a Christmas card if you're interested in her. But what if you're not - say, because you're already married? In this case, giving the office flirt a card is a recipe for disaster in the form of horassing text-messages, voicemails, or potentially even ugly in-public encounters with her while you are out with your significant other. Unless these are your ideas of fun and laughs, it's probably best to cross the office flirt off your Christmas card list.