Love it in this Business

Written by Fermin Washington

Being in the real estate business hasn’t exactly been easy these last few years but you know, I’m starting to learn there are other things besides price and rates that can set me apart. Many of my clients are first-time home buyers which means they’re looking for more than just a great deal, they’re looking for guidance. So I’ve become the expert in all things Santa Ana from the restaurants to the school systems to the Home Security santa anacompanies – when my customers have questions I want to be able to answer them without any hesitation! I’ve had a lot of positive feedback and I know that the market will come back like they always do and I want to just ensure that when it does and these same home buyers are selling or buying again, they come to me. There’s something to be said for leaving a lasting positive impression in someone’s mind, you know? And that also means that they’re more likely to recommend me to their friends and relatives when they’re buying.

Emergency Preparedness

Contributed by Milford Woods

I have designed an emergency preparedness plan for my family. Natural and manmade disasters can wreak havoc on your life and if you are not ready for them, it can be dangerous. I went throughout the house with a checklist to make sure we were stocked with supplies. My kids thought it was a game so it was a fun activity for them. Hopefully it was also teaching them how they should be ready when and if disaster strikes. I made sure that none of the circuits were overloaded with a lot of devices. I checked the kitchen to make sure there was not any greasy buildup that could lead to a fire. I checked the smoke detectors to make sure the batteries were working. I also made sure that my daughters knew how to call for help in the event of an emergency in case we were unable to. I even went online at ATLANTAHOMEsecurity.comto see if there was anything special I needed to do with our alarm system. We feel that we are ready for anything that may come our way.

Water - Water Everywhere

Well here we are a month later and lots has happened in the past month. Lots of storms rolling through. Winds up to 60 mph tearing up trees and pulling shingles off houses. Rivers are flash flooding steadily. City streets with water on them deep enough to stall out cars and block traffic. One such storm found several people putting a canoe on the street and racing down a couple blocks.

Until next time...

Mine is better than Yours

Yesterday a buddy of mine(Jack), and I went fly fishing for Bass. We had a fantastic time until Jack started to brag about his fishing equipment. He latched onto a huge fish and battled it for several minutes before landing it. All they while he was battling the fish he was making comments on how strong his new line was, and then it was the materials his fly rod was made of.

I told him how the rod I was using was so old and had landed so many fish and it was made of good ol' fiberglass.  He just laughed at me and told me I should up grade my equipment because someday I was going to tackle a monster fish and wind up losing it. I smirked and kept right on fishing.

We bantered back and forth while we fished. After about four hours of fishing Jack looked at me and smiled as he heard the loud crack as my old rod snapped in half. All I could do is laugh as I remembered what he had just told me a few hours earlier.I finally conceded the need for a new fishing rod.

 I guess you were right Jack, I am going to have to get a new fishing rod now. But, until then I will just use my backup. I reached down and grabbed another set-up and continued fishing. We fished for about an hour then called it a day. The next day I went in search of a new rod while Jack held the bragging rights for the biggest fish of the week at 6 pounds 7 ounces.  He out fished me by three pounds.  Wait till next time Jack.  See you Sunday for a rematch.

until next time keep your lines in the water and fish on your table.

The Rain Came Down and the Floods Came Up!

Yesterday in St Cloud Minnesota we were blessed with a little rain.  As you will see in this video report from the St Cloud Times.  More rain in the forecast for sure.  A friend of the family has posted pictures of people canoeing down the street there is so much water. When I get a link to them I will add it to this post.

Until next time
Keep dry & God Speed

Gas Prices up again

I will make this brief.  One economist says the prices should be dropping and we could see and average of about 3.50 per gallon across the country by summer.  The moment this is published for everyone to read or hear via various media, we see the reaction of the oil companies.  BAM!! The price shot up 14 cents per gallon the next morning.  It is a no win situation.  Like I said once before, big oil is holding the patents on technology that (not could, but would), ease the oil problems of this country in a heartbeat.  It would however cut into their profits massively.  Here is an example of how back in the 1970's they achieved high mileage. Until some car maker is willing to step up and take a chance at doing this we will all have to watch our driving patterns.  Keep your tire pressure equal, proper fluids full and changed regularly, use the cruse control on the highways whenever possible and safe.

Until next time
keep the engine running and the tank full?

Oil / Gas prices and the Average Budget

Hello again.  As you can see it has been awhile since my last post. Been a little busy and not much time at the computer.  I am here to address the gas prices once again. Back in March of this year i stated that the average price of a gallon of gas would average 3.80 by the opening of fishing. Well here we are less than a week away from the fishing opener and Mothers Day (happy mothers day to all mothers) the gas price across the state is now at 3.907 and dropping.  Oil has taken a 15 % reduction in the last few days so the price has started dropping. In our area the price had hit 3.99 per gallon and held there for nearly a week before starting its downward turn. Now they are saying we could have and average of 3.50 my mid summer. When all this gas price craziness started this time we were at 2.65 to 2.89 per gallon. now they are saying our average is going to be 3.50.  Thats an in crease on the average of .85 per gallon. On a 20 gallon tank you will pay $17.00 more to fill your tank. If your using 4 tanks of gas a month (average) you will pay an additional $68.00 from your already strained budget to cover the same distance. Oil barons getting a fatter wallet while the rest of us struggle a little more. The really sad part of all this. The big oil companies and their high powered execs. pay very little of any taxes. I was reading a few weeks ago about one company having a 50+billion $ profit and not paying any taxes. Hello, pay your share, the rest of us have to.

Enjoy your summer and your family
until next time.

Oil / Gas prices and the Average Budget

Hello again.  As you can see it has been awhile since my last post. Been a little busy and not much time at the computer.  I am here to address the gas prices once again. Back in March of this year i stated that the average price of a gallon of gas would average 3.80 by the opening of fishing. Well here we are less than a week away from the fishing opener and Mothers Day (happy mothers day to all mothers) the gas price across the state is now at 3.907 and dropping.  Oil has taken a 15 % reduction in the last few days so the price has started dropping. In our area the price had hit 3.99 per gallon and held there for nearly a week before starting its downward turn. Now they are saying we could have and average of 3.50 my mid summer. When all this gas price craziness started this time we were at 2.65 to 2.89 per gallon. now they are saying our average is going to be 3.50.  Thats an in crease on the average of .85 per gallon. On a 20 gallon tank you will pay $17.00 more to fill your tank. If your using 4 tanks of gas a month (average) you will pay an additional $68.00 from your already strained budget to cover the same distance. Oil barons getting a fatter wallet while the rest of us struggle a little more.

Enjoy your summer and your family
until next time.

Gas prices climb again

Still have not got around to the next set of vehicle repairs. However, I took the wife to work this morning and guess what I found out.  The oil barons of this world have decided they need a little more profit yet again.  Yes you guessed it.  The gas price jumped again.  This time it jumped 9 cents per gallon.  For those of us that have a vehicle with 18 gallon tanks that translates into an increase of 1.62 per tank.  The average driver uses about 4 to 6 tanks per month. By the end of the month that can add up to an additional expense of 6.48 to 9.72.  Who would think that a simple little price hike of .09 would affect our budgets so much. We either pay the price or cut back our driving and spend more time at home.  Talk about being on a leash.  They drop the price a little to allow us to move around then when we are getting comfortable with our freedom bam! a harsh jerk on the leash as the price climbs steady over several days or weeks.

not sure where it will end but i fear we can expect prices averaging 3.80 across the state by opening of fishing in may 2011

Packers vs Falcons

Contribution by German Flowers

So far I've been following all the NFL playoff games and after the three nail biting games this past weekend, I'm looking forward to what this weekend's games will bring. This weekend my buddies are also coming over to my apartment so they can watch the games on the HD channels provided via DirectTV. The game I'm most looking forward to is probably the Green Bay Packers versus the Atlanta Falcons. The game is going to be played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, and features two of the best young Quarterbacks in the NFC, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons.

The two teams met once in the regular season with the Falcons coming out on top 20-17. That game was won with only nine seconds remaining in the game on a Matt Bryant field goal from forty-seven yards out. I actually watched that game and remember quite a bit of it. Back then, the Packers couldn't muster any sort of rushing attack on the Falcons defense with Rodgers himself having to scramble for fifty-one of their seventy-seven rushing yards. They actually only called a running play eleven times out of the fifty-nine plays they called. Since then it looks like they've found a running attack behind seldom used rookie James Starks who had one hundred and twenty-three yards last game. It'll be interesting to see if that changes the results this time around.