According to most public sentiment surveys I’ve seen thus far, the overwhelming consensus is that 2009 was a particularly terrible year. The economy tanked, retirement savings were largely wiped out, and home equity values were pretty much eviscerated. However, where there’s misery, there always seems to be a smidgen lining of hope. Despite most people’s vastly negative opinion of 2009, the great majority of surveys indicate a very optimistic outlook for 2010. Maybe it’s because this time around, we are no longer staring at the barrel of an imminent financial sector meltdown and hearing the ghastly doomsday warnings of a possible decade-long economic depression, but things certainly feel less dire than the same time 12 months ago.

Most certainly, while we are still languishing under the worst economic recession in decades with depressive unemployment rates continuing to climb, the pace at which the economy continues to worsen has drastically decreased. In other words, while the economy is still deteriorating, it’s worsening at a significantly slower pace than before. This is very good news for the aspiring optimists and opportunists in all of us. Most significantly, there also does appear to be tangible economic metrics emerging to back up the growing optimistic fervor for 2010. While I personally think we are still many months away from a real and sustainable recovery, I think we are decidedly heading in the right direction as punctuated by the fact that I’ve been jumping back into the stock market of late and starting to invest strongly and aggressively in long term positions again – positions that I think will pay off handsomely in the future. Previously during the very early part of spring 2009, I exited and stayed away from the market to protect myself from the effects of the irrational fear and panic that was crippling the American psyche. But with the way things are now, I am pretty confident that the worst case scenario has been averted and all that remains now is for the economy to begin its long and steady natural progression towards recovery. While home prices will almost undoubtedly not return to pre-recession levels anytime soon, home prices will most likely stabilize during 2010, leading to a positive and steady ripple effect across other sectors.

In terms of my New Year’s resolutions for myself in the financial planning and income growth department, I plan to make 2010 a banner year for my bank savings account balances and investment holdings. Now is the most opportunist time to start placing one’s bets for the distant future. Despite the mild market run up since spring 2009, stock market prices on the whole are still lagging and have not returned to pre-recessionary panic levels. If you have cash on the sidelines and have been waiting for the so-called “best time to start investing”, now is the time to start opening up a discount broker account and start investing those excess savings into long term mutual funds, or better yet – into the exchange traded funds (ETF’s) of your choice. I’ve personally chosen to invest heavily into riskier financial and emerging market funds (such as the XLF and EEM funds) to fully maximize the potential of my future gains. However, your personal investment strategy is up to you and dependent on your willingness to assume risk today for a greater payday in the not too distance future.

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

Allocating Cash Savings For The Closing Of My New Home Purchase

Back in August 2009, I signed a contract for the purchase of a brand new construction 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom cottage style single family colonial home. For several months now, I’ve been patiently monitoring the construction progress of my first home purchase ever – swinging by the home lot to take photos of the inside and outside at least once every week. Most recently, the transformation from a pile of dirt to a free standing wood and concrete structure has been nothing been dramatic. With the roof tiles now in place and the windows having been installed, the home is starting to really take shape. While the housing construction is proceeding rapidly and steadily, there have been a few slow downs due in large part to the recent snow storm activity that we’ve been experiencing in the D.C. Baltimore area the last few weeks. Coupled with the time off effects of Christmas and New Year’s, construction work has occasionally stalled – but I expect things to start picking up again briskly when construction starts rolling into January.

Currently, the new home is tentatively scheduled to be completed and delivered sometime early March 2010. As such, I’ve prepared and saved up a sizable cash balance to pay towards my new home mortgage 20% down payment. With the home priced at around $622,000 (this is pretty much average for the D.C. area), I presently have set aside and reserved more than the necessary $125,000 down payment I will need for home mortgage purposes. While there have been several times that I’ve been tempted to allocate this special purpose money into various lucrative stock market investments, I managed to do the right thing and keep the funds safely segregated in their own separate bank accounts.

Funding My IRA and Opening Up A New SEP-IRA Account For Stock Investing

Most people rely on their employer’s 401(k)’s with matching contribution packages for most of their retirement planning needs. But because I am currently fully self employed with my network of online businesses and run my own legal practice from my home office, I have to depend on myself. Fortunately for solo practitioners and self employed folks like myself, the IRS provides a useful mechanism for us to still take full advantage of the tax deferred benefits of individual retirement savings accounts – namely the SEP-IRA. Because I’ve already maxed out my limited Roth IRA and Individual IRA contribution limits and desire to contribute more, I recently, I opened up a SEP IRA account with Fidelity Investments. The greatest benefit of a SEP-IRA account apart from the obvious tax deferred benefits, is that the maximum contribution limit is pretty generous – at 25% of an individual’s compensation, capped at a maximum of $49,000 for both individual tax years 2009 and 2010. Eventually, I may very well open up a few more other SEP-IRA investment accounts with other reputable online discount brokerage firms to test them all out – but for now, I’m going with Fidelity.

Relying On My Passive Online Income Streams For A Living

Unfortunately, due to several notable and rather complicated personal situations during the last few months, I’ve neglected to post on my personal finance blog and other online blogs as frequently as I would have liked to. While I’ve continued to maintain and tend to my online businesses and network of profitable websites on a regular basis, I have not really posted new articles with much regularity. But despite my lack of effort and lack of any substantial headway in the way of content creation, my online income streams continue to remain very stable (with even signs of growth). This brings me to the most powerful and compelling aspect of why I truly believe any person who is strongly self motivated ought to start blogging to make money online and not delay in tapping into the powers and limitless potential of the Internet. Because of all of the effort I had previously put into my online craft for the last 2 and a half years, I’ve built up a very substantial network of online traffic streams that remain solidly consistent despite my lack of present effort. Contrary to what most layman and blogging beginners believe, once you have built up solid search engine traffic and have earned reputational authority in the eyes of major search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo – your keyword rankings pretty much stay consistent indefinitely (and dare I say it, permanently). Once you have this search engine authority built up, it’s very difficult for new blogging and website entrants into the field to supplement your existing position. This probably explains why numerous major media companies have been trying to contact me recently to inquire about potential buyout opportunities or website acquisitions. Frankly, I have very little incentive to entertain such offers as I truly enjoy the significant incomes I generate from the sites that I own, as they require very little effort on my part – but of course, with the right offers, anything is possible I suppose.

For those of you who have always thought about wanting to start blogging online to either share your  interests with the rest of the world or just to make some money on the side or even provide your family an alternative income source during these difficult and unpredictable times – now is the time to start blogging and pursuing your web business aspirations. The more you delay, the more such opportunities will gradually slip away. Carpe diem!

Source URL: December 2009: Net Worth Report and Financial Plans For Year 2010

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

However, this is not yet the time to start high fiving or fist bumping each other, or be reveling in premature optimism. Rather, this is the time to start placing your financial bets in a strong, but calculated way in anticipation of an eventual economic recovery. There are still a large number of unforeseen factors and worldwide catastrophes that could easily derail the economic momentum train off its tracks. Because we now live in a global economy where all established and developing markets are interlinked and highly inter-dependent with one another, it’s crucial to recognize that there are many worldwide factors beyond our control that still have strong sway on the economic lives of those that live in the states. Certainly we can lower interest rates all we want, issue as many economic stimulus checks as the public demands, or extend unemployment benefits for as long as jobless folks need them – but if other major countries whose high expansion rates and growth we’ve been counting on to boost our own economic markets are not able to successfully salvage their situations and ensure social stability among their populace, we are likely to suffer as well. Let’s hope our federal government can continue to promote the natural worldwide growth of free markets, continue to adopt favorable tax rates, and not resort to protectionist agendas that serve only to stifle the efficient and orderly expansion of the world’s interlinked economies.

As an investor for the long term who anticipates a gradual economic recovery in the coming years, I’m particularly intrigued by the availability of powerful growth prospects overseas, especially in the so-called BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. A great deal of my present stock investments are focused on these developing nations as well as centered on sectors in the United States that have been especially beaten down by the 2008 and 2009 recessions such as the financials and the real estate housing stocks. While many risk averse investors continue to seek out so-called safety stocks by investing in gold, I prefer to bet on the future rather than on the short term. Flee to the safety of gold investments and buy gold bullion holdings if you must, but I’m personally placing my bets for the distant future now, rather than hiding in assets that will only offer short term security. The emerging markets, particularly China (with its ginormous billion strong population and growing appetite) will emerge from this global economic recession as the new focus of worldwide economic growth for many years to come. Whatever qualms we may have about China’s human rights track record and censorship activities are unlikely to detract from the country’s importance in our own future plans for economic prosperity. Strange and surreal as it might be to fathom – but the Communists will ultimately pull all of us out of this capitalist nightmare (who would have thunk it).

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

My Financial Blogging Business Income Continues To Grow

Amidst the backdrop of Thanksgiving, I feel quite fortunate, lucky, and blessed in the income department. While the economy continues to struggle through the worst economic recession we’ve seen in decades brought on by the housing bubble and subprime mortgage crisis, my income has remained fairly steady over this period of time with just a slight bit of retrenchment. I currently generate my monthly income through a small collection of online and so-called real life sources. Only about 4 years ago I was still working a regular full time day job as an associate attorney. Not long thereafter I went through a chaotic period of my life when I jumped from one temporary legal assignment to another as an attorney for hire. There was even one brief but unforgettable period of time when I wound up as the lackey slave for a miserably oppressive female attorney who ran her solo practice like a mafia. With numerous un-fulfilling and miserable stints as a “real attorney” under my belt, about two years ago, I decided to entertain the prospect of running a solo legal practice of my own. Around the same time, I randomly and rather fortuitously stumbled upon blogging and internet marketing as a way to generate passive income online. The rest is history. Years later, I continue to work for myself, running my own small legal practice as well as running a few online based businesses on the side. While I continue to make money online by blogging and generating revenue through a variety of income producing niche sites and by earning fees through online consulting work, my hope one day is to either make everything completely self automated or sell my entire business so I can finally retire from the rat race.

Progress and Status Report Of My New Single Family Home Construction

With a recent CNN report indicating that almost 1 in 4 current homeowners are underwater, meaning that they owe more on their home mortgages than their homes are actually worth – it truly does feel like you’re potentially signing your life away when you become a new homeowner nowadays.

I recently became a first time buyer and owner of a brand new construction 4 bedroom, 4 bath single family home – and thus far, the journey from location scouting, to price negotiation, to pending construction has been a rather disconcerting experience for me. While there have been lots of great highs experienced such as the awesome feeling I felt when I walked through a beautifully constructed model home for the first time, there have been many ongoing lows as well. Lately, I’ve been plagued by a bit of buyer’s remorse, and while I don’t seriously doubt my new home purchase to a critical degree, I do wonder at times if I might have prematurely and hastily locked myself into the largest investment of my life. After all, by purchasing such a pricey home, I’m officially chaining myself to a certain geographical area and lifelong home mortgage contract for many years to come.

As I run my home business and legal practice from my home office, my living location is actually quite flexible as I don’t necessarily need to be located near public subway transportation sites for example. Thus I have occasionally pondered the prospect of living in another state or even living overseas for a short while to experience something different in my life. But now that I’ve locked myself into a new home with monthly mortgage payments to be forthcoming when the new construction home is finally delivered sometime in March 2010, it looks like I’ll be staying in the Washington D.C. suburban area for some time now.

Other persistent issues that continue to nag at me include the home’s somewhat close proximity to electrical powerlines and the home’s location away from the city center. But after having worked through these lingering doubts in my mind, I am ultimately comforted by the fact that I made a good purchase as far as real estate investments go. I purchased the home in the latter half of 2009, at a time when local and national home prices have already plummeted 20-30%, and during a time when mortgage rates are presently at historical lows and free government homebuyer tax credit incentives are abundant. Furthermore, despite what worries I may continue to have, perhaps the very most comforting aspect of owning my own home at this time is the fact that I will now have a place to call home, and can finally put an end to my formerly nomadic lifestyle of moving from rental apartment to another every few years. I will finally have a place to designate as my permanent home base, and a primary residence where no landlord or management office can tell me what I can or cannot do in my own home.

Source URL: November 2009: Net Worth, Real Estate, and Blogging Income

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

To keep this stagnating economic train running, President Barack Obama has recently signed a new bill – extending the duration and expanding the coverage of the federal housing tax credit. Previously, the economic stimulus package only provided free tax credit assistance to first time home buyers and was slated to expire in late 2009. But with economists and pundits still doubting the ability of the economy to recover without additional stimulus intervention, the federal government has now officially extended the deadline of the federal homebuyer tax credit program until April 30, 2010 for new home contracts, or until June 30, 2010 for the final closing. The home’s closing can occur by June 30, 2010 and still qualify for the free tax credit, but the contract  to buy the home must be completed by April 30, 2010 at the latest. Those looking for a further extension after early 2010 might be disappointed as current indications suggest that this extension may be the final one.

To incentivize and encourage continued homebuying activity (as much of our economy is intertwined with the housing industry – example: banks, construction related services, home equity based spending), the new federal legislation will not only extend the current program’s eligibility deadline for new home buyers, but it will also add additional tax credit incentives for qualifying existing home buyers who choose to move out of their present homes and trade up for new homes. While the whole motivation behind the federal government’s approach towards providing housing tax credit assistance is to jump start and spur on sluggish housing sales, it really remains to be seen whether this will ultimately have a sustainable long term impact on the economy. Hopefully, the government’s well meaning emergency actions today won’t drive us into irreparably dire deficits and higher tax brackets down the line. After all, it’s been said that the road to hell is often paved with good intentions.

Buy A New Home Not For The Tax Credit, But Because It’s A Good Investment

As a new first time homebuyer myself, I recently purchased a new construction home in August 2009. Despite the fact my high income precludes me from qualifying for the housing tax credit, even if I qualified for it, it’s unlikely the tax credit alone would have been the primary impetus for my home purchasing decisions. In almost all of the reputable surveys I’ve seen on the subject, including ones conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), only a tiny portion of first time home buyers cited the tax credit as the primary reason behind their recent decisions to purchase a new home. I think the strongest encouragement to buy a home now comes not from the federal government’s tax credit incentive, but rather from the innately driven love of the American people to own their own homes, and the current prevalence of favorable market conditions in the way of super low mortgage rates and depressed home prices that have plummeted 25-30% from their previous year 2005/2006 highs. I know the primary reason I decided to pull the trigger now and purchase a home for the very first time was not because I wanted to take advantage of any federal housing tax credit, but due to the fact that home prices in my target neighborhood have dropped into incredible lows and now sit at once-in-a-lifetime levels of affordability. For those of you who have been contemplating the prospect of buying a new home for the very first time or even for those of you who are long time homeowners pondering the idea of swapping up for a new and improved home – now may be the time to do it. The free housing tax credit carrot that the federal government is now dangling as an incentive for qualifying individuals might be just what you needed to push you over the decisional edge.

For both the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and the newly expanded $6,500 tax credit for existing homeowners looking to buy a new home, there are a few restrictions in the way of income limits and what type of home may qualify. Buyers claiming the tax credit must be at least 18 years or older, and no individual or couple may receive the credit if he or she may be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return. For both housing tax credits, the credit gradually phases out for individual single filers with $125,000 and $145,000 of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). For married couples, the income range phaseout is between $225,000 and $245,000. Beyond $145,000 for single filers and $245,000 for married filing jointly couples – the tax credit is completely phased out.

How To Qualify For the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

To be considered eligible, you must first and foremost be a first time home buyer – defined as an individual who has not owned a principal residence home in the past 3 years prior to the present purchase. This definition of “first time home buyer” also includes both partners of a married pair. There is some flexibility as to which tax return year the tax credit must be claimed. Under the new law as was the case under the old, a first time homebuyer who purchases a home in year 2009 may opt to claim the federal tax credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. Similarly, one who purchases a new home in year 2010 may opt to claim the tax credit on either their 2009 tax returns or on their 2010 tax returns.

In terms of how much money you are permitted to get back on your tax return in the way of tax credits, first time home buyers are permitted to claim up to 10% of the home’s final purchase price, up to a maximum tax credit limit of $8,000. One great feature of the first time homebuyer tax credit is that it’s a dollar for dollar reduction of tax liability and is completely refundable. What this means is that even if you don’t owe the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sufficient taxes to completely offset the housing tax credit, you can still qualify for a free tax refund check of the difference. Thus if you qualify for the full $8,000 housing tax credit and ultimately only owe the IRS $6,000 in taxes – you can still qualify for a $2,000 tax refund check.

Additionally, there are a few other limitations on who may qualify for the tax credit. The first time homebuyer may not purchase the home from a descendant such as one’s children or grandchildren, and the home may not be purchased from a lineal ancestor, such as a parent. The same restriction also applies to purchasing from one’s spousal ancestors and descendants as well. Furthermore, for home purchases made after November 6, 2009, the price of the purchased home may not exceed $800,000. Homes priced in excess of that amount are not eligible for the tax credit. Basically, the government doesn’t want rich folks to profit from this middle class based credit.

How To Qualify For The $6,500 Repeat Homebuyer Tax Credit

This is an exciting new addition to the federal homebuyer tax credit program. To be considered eligible for the $6,500 existing homeowner’s tax credit, the homeowner applicant must have owned his or her current home for at least 5 consecutive years out of the past 8 years, and must purchase a new home by April 30, 2010. The purchase of the new home can include a new construction home, but the purchasing contract must be signed by April 30, 2010, and the final closing date must be on or by June 30, 2010. The income qualification restrictions are the same as that of the first time homebuyer’s credit – for single filers, the tax credit phases out between $125,000 and $145,000 of modified adjusted gross income, and for married filing jointly couples, the income range phases out between $225,000 and $245,000.

While there is no explicit requirement that the homeowner must ever pay back the $8,000 or $6,500 housing tax credit to the federal government, the obligation to pay it back does arise if one claims the tax credit but then sells the house or condominium (or otherwise stops using the home as the principal residence) within 3 years (36 months) after the purchase.

Source URL: Tax Credit For First Time Home Buyers Extension

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Yes, I Am Still Upbeat For The Future: Things Will Get Better In Time

Wow, what a roller coaster ride of a month in terms of the stock market. One minute the Dow is breaking past the psychological 10,000 mark and soaring to new bullish heights – the next, the entire stock market is sinking like a rock. In terms of economic volatility as a function of gains and losses, the last few weeks have definitely not been ideal for the emotionally squeamish short term traders out there. But for those that truly call themselves long term investors, I really don’t think there is anything to fear in this market but fear itself. Back in Fall 2008 and Spring 2009, there were serious questions about the ability of the American financial system to survive the ongoing subprime mortgage meltdown. The economy, on the verge of total collapse and teetering on the brink of a major economic depression, was clamoring for immediate stimulus and decisive federal government intervention.

But what a difference a year makes. There are still lingering concerns about the economic health and ability of consumers to start spending money again to stimulate the economy, and there are still trepidations about the plight of the current housing market – but I think the absolute worst case scenario has passed. We are now in a gradual economic recovery phase. To repair the American economy and restore all of the lost jobs that vanished subsequent to the credit crisis fallout will take time, but the healing will come to fruition in due time. Meanwhile for stock market investors, there are bound to be periods of extreme volatility and shocking price swings. But as I’ve championed many times before in past personal finance blog posts, if you can take a certain amount of risk now and hold on for the long haul, you are bound to come out hugely ahead when we finally emerge from this recessionary nightmare – whether that be 12 months, 2 years, or even 5 years from now. Recessions are terrible things to behold, but the great thing about them – is that they don’t last forever. The federal government, and the American people with its never ending entrepreneurial spirit will find a way. Don’t invest recklessly and take un-calculated, un-thought out risks, but I do encourage readers to be bold if they can. Place your stock market and real estate bets today in this down economy and reap what you sow today in the not too distant future.

This month, despite the fact that the market viciously tanked and dealt out a pretty severe lashing of my stock investment portfolio, I intend to stay the course and fight against my instinctive nature urge to pull out. For now at least, any short term losses due to market price volatility remains mere paper losses – so long as I don’t sell. My small legal practice remains healthy and my persistent efforts to make money by blogging online continues to yield positive dividends. As my monthly income remains stable and I have sufficient cash savings and credit card options for emergency fund purposes, I thankfully have ample financial resources to ride out the market doldrums. I don’t see it as overly-risking or gambling my life savings away – but rather, I see it as a pure exercise of my faith and belief that in the long run, things will be okay.

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

Being Greedy When Others Are Fearful: Investing For The Long Term

If you want to save money and invest wisely for the future, it’s important to learn from the best – one of them being renown Billionaire investor, Warren Buffett. The gist of my own current trading strategy and approach towards investing can be summed up in this famous 2001 Warren Buffett quote:

• “Occasional outbreaks of those two super-contagious diseases, fear and greed, will forever occur in the investment community. The timing of these epidemics is equally unpredictable, both as to duration and degree. Therefore we never try to anticipate the arrival or departure of either. We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”

My attempt to be sunny and optimistic at the present time despite the uncertainty and fear that still permeates the economy is not because I’m foolhardy or desire to get rich quickly – but rather I believe it’s during such periods of pervasive fear and pessimism that great wealth can be made. After sitting on the sidelines and hoarding my cash in high yield savings accounts and certificate of deposits for many months while the economy suffered its worse collapse in decades, I finally pulled the trigger recently and started investing again. If your gut sentiments are like mine and you also believe that the worse has passed but that the positive feelings have not yet been properly reflected in stock market prices, then now may be a good time to start investing again.

New investors and those who have been cautiously staying away from the action for some time may now want to open up an investment account with a reliable and affordable discount broker, and start evaluating potential investment opportunities. In case you’re not sure which brokerage firm to go with, here are a few recommendations. I’ve complied a list of online brokers that have consistently received accolades and praise from the financial experts and have enjoyed favorable reviews among new investors and advanced traders alike. In the list, I particularly like TradeKing, Etrade, and Scottrade.

Progress and Status Report Of My New Single Family Home Construction

As I’ve been reporting for months now, my new home is currently under construction. I visit the construction site every few days or so to walk around the lot and take photos to document the construction progress for my own personal photographic archives. After all, it’s not everyday that we get to see the construction of our own home and witness the transformation of a simple pile of dirt into a free standing structure that will one day be called home.

Currently, the concrete and rebar mixtures for the home foundation are in the process of being laid. Once the foundation has been properly poured and allowed to harden, the wooden housing structure usually goes up pretty quickly. Barring any unforeseen hindrances to construction activity by inclement weather, the house is expected to be built and delivered sometime in February 2010. For now, I’m in the active process of applying for a home mortgage loan. Because I’ve been tracking my free credit reports and my free credit score updates on a consistent basis for some time – not to mention I’ve also been taking concerted actions to keep my FICO score persistently high, I anticipate being able to ultimately qualify for a top mortgage interest rate of 4.75% APR or lower on a 30 year, 20% down home loan, give or take depending on interest rate conditions at the time of home delivery.

Continuing To Make Money Online As A Part Time Blogger

As should be pretty evident from the advertisement banners and occasional affiliate links that pepper this website, I blog to make money online and engage in Internet affiliate marketing as part of my home office business. I also earn some nice change on the side with online paid surveys and a couple of other online money making methods. While I do operate a small attorney practice as well and earn additional income through a small collection of other income sources, my blogging income is steadily becoming a larger and larger part of my total income stream. One of these days, perhaps I will transition into a full time problogger and run my collection of income producing websites as a full time job. But for now, I prefer to see it as merely an integral cog in my total overall income diversification plan. After all, in this sluggish economy and in this period of unpredictable layoffs and economic implosions, you never know when your primary breadwinner source of income will suddenly dry up. It’s best to diversify one’s financial life with a varied mixture of both active and passive income streams if possible.

Source URL: October 2009: Net Worth, Stock Loss, and New Home Update

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Despite the fact that historically, the month of September has traditionally been a down month for stock market investors – after months of sitting on the sidelines and hoarding online savings account cash, I’ve finally pulled the trigger and re-entered the market en masse. Rather than take the often advised path of investing in small bite size chunks through dollar cost averaging, I decided to plow all of my investment cash into long term equity positions simultaneously. I don’t plan to pull out of my newly invested positions anytime soon and am very determined to stay the course for the very long haul – in excess of 5 years or longer. Despite the recent run up in the market, stock market prices are still at historical once-in-a-lifetime lows – and I have every intention to double or triple my investments in the next 5 years. The irrational fear and gloom of pending economic depression that gripped the whole world back in spring 2009 has mercifully passed and it now appears the beaten down economy is finally back on the track towards recovery.

Of course, this is not to say that we are anywhere close to experiencing a traditional bull market anytime soon that’s punctuated by rising employment numbers and increased consumer spending, but at the very least, the specter of a crippled financial system kamikaz-ing into an irreversible death spiral has disappeared – and replaced by faint glimmers of hope. Who knows if President Barack Obama’s second economic stimulus package truly worked or whether any of the resuscitative measures implemented by Congress such as the increased FDIC insurance limits, the Cash For Clunkers Bill, the $8,000 Federal Housing Tax Credit for first time home buyers, or even the appointment of new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner really did much to jolt the economy back to life in a sustained way. But at the very least, these measures have at least reassured formerly scared to death and shell shocked investors like myself that the federal government is finally ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to get this economic ship steaming full speed once again. That seemingly firm commitment, as evidenced by the number of quick and decisive emergency measures the federal government has thus taken – is enough to assuage my once irrational fears, and encourage me to think about a more optimistic future once again.

While I do not know where we will all be economically 12 months from now, I’m starting to have more faith that things will be okay in the coming years. With the possibility of a disastrous economic Armageddon finally out of the way, I’m willing to finally start placing long term economic bets for the future, and allow the normal economic tensions of fear and greed to put the market back to normal equilibrium once again. True economic recovery may be months or even years away, but as savvy investors like Warren Buffett will agree – it’s during the worst of times that enormous amounts of wealth are created by those willing to take on a measure of calculated risk. For the next few weeks and months, I intend to take advantage of every dip in the market to invest more. As I continue to make money blogging and generate income through my small legal practice, I intend to plow all upcoming profits into this market while prices are still attractive. Price dips from here on are all potential buying opportunities in my investment opinion.

Do you agree or disagree that the economic recession is nearing the end? Remember, the stock market is a forward looking entity, and has historically attempted to project what economic reality is to come an average of 6 months in advance. Optimism in terms of increased consumer spending and job growth numbers won’t likely be experienced by ordinary American consumers until the second half of 2010. Personally, I think the very sign that mergers and acquisitions are finally creeping back into the marketplace again is an extremely and exceedingly bullish sign that overwhelmingly overrides any of the current negative lagging indicators like low employment rates or even struggling consumer sentiment statistics.

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

Picking Out Final Options To My New Construction Single Family House

As I mentioned in previous networth updates, I’m in the process of finalizing the purchase of my very first home – a 2,300 square feet, 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath, single family new construction house. After weeks of persistent meetings with my real estate agent and the home builder, I’ve finally completed the process of choosing and pricing all of my optional upgrades. After much thought, I decided to ditch the cheaper carpet route and go with all hardwood floors – even in the bedrooms. Despite the fact that hardwood costs substantially more in the way of optional upgrades, I think the cleanliness and maintenance conveniences of hardwood floors greatly outweigh the dirt and dust accumulation headaches of carpet floors.

With all optional upgrades including finished basement costs, upgraded hardwood flooring, a hardwired security system, and stainless steel appliances tossed in, the total price of the home will be around $620,000. I’m sure some of you who live in the Midwest or the South will be shocked at how much a mere 2,300 sq ft (excluding finished basement) home costs, but remember, I live in the state of Maryland – deemed by CNN Money to be the current wealthiest state in the United States, with high state wide income rates and high home prices to match. Pricey real estate in the general Washington DC, Virgina, and Maryland region is just a way of life for us. The ever present availability of federal government jobs here and the presence of highly ranked schools in my state make this area pretty desirable for singles and families alike.

In terms of good news in the real estate networth department, I’m pleased to note that my future home has already gained in home equity value, even though the home foundation has yet to be laid. Most recently, due to surging demand for up scale single family homes in my future neighborhood, the home builder who will be constructing my future house has decided to increase the base selling price for my home model by $9,000. At least in my future neighborhood (a pretty upscale D.C. suburb area of Maryland), the home resellers and new home builders are feeling extremely bullish about future housing demand.

With fingers crossed, I hope this is a portent of greater things to come in terms of future home appreciation. As I noted many times in past blog posts, I’m forever thankful that I was not unwittingly snagged by the housing craze of the last few years. By purchasing a home in 2009 after national home prices have collapsed by more than a third or even a half in certain regions, I’m in a much better position than many to experience the upside of home value appreciation. My prediction is that home prices will steadily rise from here on – certainly not at the crazy and outrageous pace that we all flabbergastically witnessed following the 2000 dot com crash, but I think home prices overall will very slowly but steadily trend upwards from here on as trepidatious home buyers return. The demand for housing never really abated, but the drastic plunge in home prices in recent years did scare away many prospective buyers, and force wannabe home buyers like myself to hold off until now. Remember, when prices are falling, consumers frequently ask themselves, “why buy now when I can buy later for less” as I myself did until very recently. But when buyers finally realize that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel and that overall home pricing declines have significantly decelerated and are on the verge of  stabilizing, they will invariably return.

Paying Estimated Taxes For Self Employment, and Factoring In My New Home Deposit Into Real Estate Net Worth

This month, as I do every 3 months, I paid out a large chunk of my business profits in the way of quarterly assessed tax payments that likely deflated this month’s improvement in financial networth. Because my monthly revenue from my blogging business, legal practice, and other small business ventures are fairly significant, I pay out a tremendous amount of money every three months in the way of mandatory federal and state income taxes. Obviously, I’m hoping President Obama will be keen on keeping universal federal tax brackets low as he ought to, but with his apparent crusade to crack down on high income earners and push through his health care social agenda, I’m bracing for the worst in terms of future tax rate increases.

In terms of real estate networth, because I also paid out a $25,000 new home construction lot deposit this month that will be payable towards my future mortgage down payment, I intend to treat this $25,000 figure as home equity for now (as reflected in the table above). Eventually when my mortgage loan application goes through and I get a more finalized home valuation number, I’ll include the home value and mortgage numbers into my net worth calculations.

Back In the Stock Market Again As A Bull Market Investor After A Year Long Hiatus

After being away from the market due to excessive fear of the unknown, I’m finally back. This month, I plunged the vast bulk of my cash savings into aggressive stock market positions, primarily investing my money into popular exchange traded funds (ETF) with great future upside like the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) among others. Both are admittedly rather risky and considered to be more volatile positions, but like I mentioned earlier, I’m now in it for the long haul. Even if the market drops or dips 5-10% lower, I intend to hold on for the ride down and hold my breath for the swing back up again. I never feared normal stock market price fluctuations. It’s always been the catastrophic 30-75% price drops that scared the bejesus out of me -  the type of market plunges we witnessed from September 2008 of last year to March 2009. But with financial markets back on the mend and with irrational panic and economic hyperventilation among the masses finally in check, the risk of future major bank failures or collapses of major financial institutions to trigger another massive and prolonged sell off seem less likely now. Of course, anything can always happen from hereon, but the probability of such a return to the brink of disaster has drastically diminished.

Those on the sidelines may want to now consider opening up an online broker account for cheap stock trades and start investing again, or for the first time. If you haven’t opened a Roth IRA brokerage account, now may be the best time to do so. I know it seems like a cliche thing to say, but prices really are quite low at the present time, particularly for long term investors willing to buy and hold for 12 months or longer.

Source URL: September 2009: Net Worth Update and Stock Market Investing

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The last few years have been quite the whirlwind for me. I know on this personal finance blog I may frequently portray a sense of stability and perhaps frequently offer up an air of someone who appears to know exactly where he wants to be in life and knows exactly how to get there – but the reality is quite far from it. I’ve been blessed with an incredible amount of luck, remarkable timing, and good fortune – with much of my financial success starting only a few years ago when I first started blogging online to make some extra cash on the side. My early attempts at trying to make money money blogging started rather surreptitiously without much fanfare and without the knowledge of most of my friends and family. Through the struggles and early process of starting my very first blog, I developed and honed a variety of entrepreneurial skills that I ultimately leveraged into the start of my own fledgling legal practice as a part time attorney. While I had saved a sum of money through my past jobs of working for other people shortly after graduating from law school, it wasn’t until after I had started working for myself and began to pursue my dream of starting my own small firm and online business that I began generating the type of income that I enjoy today. I guess it goes to show that even in a down economy, with some practical skills and a very healthy dose of chance, it is still possible to find a silver lining if one is willing to consider alternative possibilities and take a leap of faith on a dream.

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

Closing In On The Purchase Of My Very First Home – A Long Time Coming

I started my home search in early May 2009, but didn’t start devoting serious time towards scouting out locations and visiting open houses until late June 2009. Because I work from my home office and much of my various self automated businesses are able to run themselves without active supervision for reasonably lengthy periods of time, I was able to pull myself away from work and spend a great deal of time in recent months searching for my future dream home in the Washington D.C./ Baltimore area.

As a single guy, who’s dating, with no family as of yet and not anticipating one anytime soon for at least the next 5 years – instead of focusing on school districts, I concentrated on finding an upscale semi-rural community located in very close proximity to stores and restaurants, that not only offered the sleepy feel of a farming town but also offered the transportation conveniences of a major suburban center. Because I work from home, work location was not an important consideration for me. However, proximity to major highways and multiple access points to both D.C. and Baltimore City were important factors to me as both areas are places I frequently visit for social and familial reasons. In terms of price, I made the decision early on that I would not be restricted to a certain price cap – as what I was looking for was fair value, with the potential for future upside. I decided at the start that I would be willing to pay a hefty premium for a high end location in an extremely safe neighborhood and that I would not be willing to pigeon hole my preferences into a less than desirable neighborhood for the sake of price savings alone.

After months of searching, I finally found my dream home in my dream location – a brand new, pre construction, perfectly sized (2500 square feet above grade) single family home with 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, located in an excellent upscale community close to all of the transportation conveniences I desired. While the house is close to powerlines (depending on whether you think 350 yards away is considered close), the home offers everything else I could ever want in a first time starter home situated in a strategically located D.C. / Baltimore area location. While I had considered the prospect of pursuing a lower priced new construction townhouse, ultimately, I felt a single family home offered better recoupment possibilities in terms of future resale upside.

With the assistance of my real estate agent, we are now imminently close to an official signing date. Unfortunately, negotiations don’t seem to be proceeding as well in my favor. While I had hoped to be able to negotiate the listing price down or secure better builder incentives towards option upgrades, the listing agent has thus far refused to budge. However, this refusal on the part of the builder to negotiate the price down can probably be attributed to the fact that the demand for upscale housing in my desired location is currently outstripping the available supply (rather opposite as to what’s happening in most other parts of the country). Despite this, I will probably still go through with the purchase in the next few days, barring any unforeseen hiccups.

Time For Me To Start Investing In The Stock Market Again Via ETF’s and Mutual Funds

For several months now, I’ve been holding the vast bulk of my discount brokerage account funds in cash form. As I liquidated the bulk of my stock market holdings early on (it really wasn’t a whole lot) to avoid the stock market crash of early 2009, I consequently missed out on the frantic rally of March 2009 that has since seemingly continued to soar. However, I don’t plan to miss the next major leg up – whenever that may happen.

With economic indicators now indicating faint glimmers of distant hope with better than expected statistical improvements in employment numbers, corporate profitability, and new housing constructions, I think this may finally be the time to get back in. While the stock market can certainly go down further from here (a W shape recovery as many CNBC pundits are calling it), I personally am no longer gripped in utter fear of the same cataclysmic multi-decade economic depression and financial Armageddon scenario that many had been so fearful of back in the early part of 2009.

In the coming months, I will probably start watching out for investment opportunities as they arise – focusing my efforts on broadly traded exchange traded funds (ETF’s) like the financial ETF (XLF), the S&P500 ETF Index (SPY), and possibly even the China 25 Index (FXI). Yes, I am quite well aware that the funds I’m looking at are regarded as aggressive investments, but with at least 30+ more years until my planned retirement, at this point I am seeking earnings upside rather than safety or stability (particularly now that the worst case scenario has seemingly passed). Serious issues like inflationary pressures due to the ever ballooning governmental deficit, market correction risks, and future interest rate increases by the Fed will probably result in a great deal of stock market volatility down the road, but I see the possibility of spikes and dips as prospective speed humps rather than serious causes for concern. Thoughts?

Source URL: August 2009: Net Worth Update and House Buying Plans

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

From the various articles available online, you’ll frequently read comments and posts from individuals claiming that their personal cancers and miscarriages were the direct results of living too close to nearby power lines. Though when subjected to scientific scrutiny, this does not necessarily indicate a definitive connection between the two, it’s easy to see how the passionate and emotional voices could come to such conclusions. In my case, both of my parents are survivors of lymphoma cancer. Both of them successfully completed their chemotherapy treatments and both were able to cure themselves of the cancers that plagued their bodies for months. However, as far as I know – they and I have never lived in close proximity to power lines of any sort. However, if we hypothetically had, I’m sure I would have immediately jumped to such emotional conclusions as well and pointed to power lines as the leading cause of the cancers. As I examine this controversial issue, it’s important to bear in mind that when it comes to such ubiquitous and misunderstood issues as the effects of electromagnetic fields from power lines, people’s reactions may frequently be driven more by emotion and passion than by reason and true evidence.

I’m Buying A Dream House: But It’s Located Near Electrical Power Lines

After years of renting, I’m finally in the process of buying my first home. At the conclusion of months of tireless searching and countless weekdays and weekends of visiting open houses and housing prospects, I’ve finally found the perfect starter home in the perfect location. It’s a beautiful single family house -  a brand spanking new construction home in a very desirable location near major transportation routes with excellent accessibility to stores and close proximity to places I need to be on a regular basis. But there’s a problem, and a big problem at that depending on how you look at it. The prospective new construction lot I’m looking at is located somewhat near a string of power lines and within viewing proximity of several gigantic power line towers. To be precise, the constructed home would be located approximately 350 yards (1050 feet or 320 meters) from the nearest high voltage powerline.

The first time I drove through the newly minted housing development – I instantly fell in love. But after I saw the looming power lines in the distance, I began to have second doubts. Aside from the unsightly nature of the looming eye sores, I had mild qualms about the safety and health hazards of living in such relative close proximity to the gargantuan steel structures and high tension wires. After all, I was brought up by my parents and shaped by the mainstream media and social norms to naturally believe in certain things – such assorted health based beliefs like – microwave ovens emanate hazardous radiation waves, smoking causes cancer, Tylenol damages your liver, immunizing your child may lead to him or her developing autism, diet coke causes cancer, red meat is unhealthy, eating too much fish can lead to mercury poisoning, too much egg yolk will kill you, and finally – prolonged exposure to high tension powerlines can cause leukemia in children and lead to other cancers and Alzheimer type afflictions in adults.

But instead of taking such beliefs at face value this time around, and probably because the home and the neighborhood otherwise satisfied almost every other factor on my check list, I decided to investigate the power line health issue in greater depth. What I discovered was rather troubling – but not for the reasons you might think. After hours and days of research and pouring over numerous governmental issued reports on powerlines and research articles on the alleged connection between power line generated radiation and cancer in humans, I’ve come to the overwhelming conclusion that there is simply insufficient evidence at this time to establish a causal link between the two. Despite my own hard conclusions based on existing data, concrete facts, and actual measurements conducted by invited powerline company personnel of the suspected area, I don’t think a consensus on this controversial issue will ever fully be reached by all people. It seems that for every scientific study which appears to conclusively link power lines to various health issues, there’s another prominent health study which conclusively refutes it. Despite the fact that the “scientific research reports” that allege a real causal link between power line electro-magnetic field radiation and cancer afflictions only comprise about 10-20% of the total research, and a dominant 80% or so (based on my very rough fuzzy math estimates) refute a definitive link between the two, the “yes it causes cancer” crowd seems to win out in most debates, drowning out the rest – presumably through their ability to sway opinions through the use of emotional rhetoric and scare tactics.

Is It Safe To Live Near Power Lines? Does EMF Radiation From PowerLines Cause Cancer?

Power lines frequently generate intense opposition and heated protest – from homeowners to environmentalists – from power company authorities to even bloggers like yours truly. The responses are frequently conflicting and emotionally heated. The debate stems from the powerful but invisible electro-magnetic fields (EMF) generated by power lines as electricity is transmitted through them. Some say the magnetic waves corrupt DNA structures and contribute to the development of various cancers. Although these electrical magnetic fields are also generated by common house hold appliances such as TV’s, alarm clocks, cell phones, hair blow dryers, computers, can openers, and electric blankets, much of this debate tends to focus exclusively on high tension power lines and the gigantic pylon towers that support them in certain neighborhoods.

While it’s nearly impossible for me to discuss the entire scientific bases for the various conclusions out there, suffice it is to say – once you are able to discard the hype and hysteria, the general consensus by the most reputable sources do strongly suggest that currently, there is insufficient evidence to make the quantum leap that magnetic fields from power lines have the capacity to cause childhood leukemia, childhood brain tumors, or other cancers in children – and that presently, there is totally inadequate and inconsistent evidence to establish a relationship between power line fields and breast cancer or other forms of brain tumors in adults. This is not to suggest there is absolutely no possibility of a casual link between the two, but that the realm of verifiable data and research can not yet scientifically link the two as cause and effect.

Extensive research has been performed on the issue and major health organizations such as the National Cancer Institute, the National Research Council, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) -  have all performed studies and looked at the available research – and opined that there is not conclusive evidence that EMF exposure poses a cancerous risk or that  residence near high voltage lines increases health risks. Authorities such as the NIH have noted that the available research, despite all of the inflammatory passions involved, fail to demonstrate that the levels of risk represent a real increase in cancer occurrences. Furthermore, such public health authorities have criticized the inflammatory research out there that report a causation link between powerline exposure and cancer, citing possible pervasive study biases stemming from the faulty selection of study subjects and failures to take into consideration other contributing factors such as poverty, nutrition, obesity, pure chance, and sample sizes based on volunteered opinions alone. Despite these authoritative findings, public hysteria will likely always remain – it’s just the infallibility of human nature.

New conflicting reports and absolutely contradicting updates by the media and various vested interests on both sides of the divide are constantly being disseminated every year on the supposed dangers of power lines, perpetually shaping the public’s emotional perception of the issue. However, if you really want to listen to the most authoritative voices on cancer research regarding EMF radiation fields, powerlines, and their effects on human children and adults, try reading the following online articles. Please let me know if there are any more authoritative sources on the matter:

1. Electric and Magnetic Fields: National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences
2. Health Risks Associated With Living Near High Voltage Power Lines: Health Physics Society (July 2008)
3. Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF): Health Concerns: Connecticut Department of Public Health (April 2008)
4. Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) Radiation From Power Lines: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (May 2006)
5. Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health: World Health Organization (May 2006)
6. Magnetic Fields Exposure and Cancer: Questions and Answers: National Cancer Institute, U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) (April 2005)
7. Electromagnetic Fields Explained: Arizona Association of Realtors (2003)
8. Power Line Fields and Public Health: American Physical Society (1995)

Effect Of Home’s Proximity To Power Lines On Future Resale Value

Admittedly, regardless of the scientific research, people will always be scared of power lines. No matter what the government or health authorities tell the masses, and no matter what little concrete correlation there is with power lines and EMF induced cancers, it’s a virtual given that a vocal segment of the population will never be swayed and will forever regard power lines as instant cancer-causing implementations of electrical doom (laced with extra helpings of government cover ups). For property owners and real estate agents, this is what we call an unfortunate, but irremediable defect – something objectionable about a property that cannot be readily changed. Similar unchangeable defects would be living near railroad tracks, living near an expressway, or living within smelling distance of a waste treatment plant.

While it’s true that location in somewhat close proximity to power lines will diminish the overall buyer pool of individuals who would consider your home as a viable purchase (possibly turning off families with very small children perhaps), its desirably is also greatly influenced by other location factors as well. While there may not be a significant drop in property value in certain otherwise very desirable neighborhoods, there may be fewer buyers who will be willing to buy the house when you decide to resell it. Some may be paranoid of the potential health hazards, while others simply won’t be able to live with the prospect of having ugly power line towers as permanent ornaments of their neighborhood landscape. While obviously there will always remain an active market for these types of homes, some have suggested that the houses and condos located in close proximity to power lines and power line towers should expect a 1-2% price hit, while others have suggested higher discounts up to 5% or more. However, in my personal research of price comparables in various housing neighborhoods located near powerlines that I’ve sought out, I haven’t found that to be the case.

Remember, everyone has a price. While off the cusp, I’m sure everyone will say that they would never purchase a home near a power line – if they were offered the opportunity to purchase a sprawling mansion for half the price of other comparable homes in the area, I’m sure they would feel differently. The fact that there are homes located near graveyards, cemeteries, nuclear power plants, prisons, and heavily trafficked highways show that everyone has a price. It just depends on how accurately a property’s price reflects all of the variables.

Would I Personally Buy A House Located Near Power Lines?

Yes, I would – assuming the home was properly priced, not located directly underneath the power lines, was not directly within view from the front or back of the home, and was sufficiently far enough to satisfy my own whims of prudent avoidance. In fact, I am currently faced with that decision right now, and I believe the answer is a resounding – yes. In the spirit of prudent avoidance, it also depends on how far the home is in relation to the nearest powerline pylon tower and proximately to the powerlines themselves. If my property or backyard directly touched the power line towers or if they ominously loomed over my property like hulking giants, that in of itself would probably be a deal killer for me.

While I personally believe the EMF health dangers of powerlines to be overblown and vastly exaggerated, I think it’s still wise to exercise a reasonable dose of paranoid caution. While I believe the direct connection between powerline EMF waves are extremely tenuous and not proven by available science, I still think it’s best to limit the distance between powerlines and one’s home – just in case. Once again, this is simply prudent avoidance – as the possible dangers, no matter how miniscule or conceivably great, are so potentially devastating if ever found to be true. Besides, from a purely aesthetic point of view, who wants to stare at one of those ugly power line towers from either the front or back yard anyway? I think if the lines are only mere steps from you home or literally sitting in your backyard, this may be a concern. But if they are sufficiently far away in the distance, I think any potential health concerns would be greatly diminished.

So how close is it too close to be living near high tension power lines? Many power line researchers have pointed out that there is generally no serious cause for concern for homes located at least 300 feet away (roughly the length of a football field) from the nearest power line as EMF levels decrease rapidly and exponentially with distance from the lines. At this distance, the EMF levels from the lines are no different from the typical background levels found in most homes. If you are not certain about the EMF levels in or around your home, it’s best to contact your local power company and request an EMF reading. Many power companies will perform an EMF measurement for free, particularly if you are a prospective home buyer interested in a new housing development.

Just to get the opinion of readers, what do you think of the photographer’s proximity to the nearest power lines based on the photograph provided directly above? This is the approximate location of the housing lot I am currently considering as a prospective home buyer. The nearest power lines are about 350 yards away (more than 3 football lengths). In the photo provided, they perhaps appear larger than they ought to primarily because they are located on the top of a hill on a higher elevation, and there are no trees yet planted to obscure them as is usually the case in established old communities with power lines. Far enough to be objectively safe or still close enough to cause fear? What do you think?

Source URL: Buying A House Near PowerLines: Do Power Lines Cause Cancer?

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

It’s About Time – I’m Finally Looking To Buy A Home For The Very First Time

This month has been a bit more hectic than usual. For one thing, I’m in the early stages of becoming a first time home buyer. Right now, my anticipated home purchase date is still likely months away, but I can already envision the prospect of finally moving out of my longtime apartment rental after all these years and into my very own single family home or town house for the very first time. If you’ve been following my previous networth reports, you probably already know that I’ve been mulling the advantages and drawbacks of buying a single family home or townhouse, versus a condominium. After much thought and back and forth debating, I’ve finally decided to focus exclusively on town homes and single family houses at this point. My goal is to find a nice home where I can reside for many years – at least 5-10 years or more. I think a condominium is well suited for single young professionals or busy working types who live in an urban setting and desire maintenance-free living with a kick-ass commute – but I don’t think it’s as appropriate in terms of investment upside or as a long term dwelling for individuals like myself who work from home and anticipate future family plans. I’m not presently married, but that stage in life is something I can see see and taste in the not too distant future. I think a house and particularly a single family residence, will better suit the future plans I have projected for myself.

In terms of housing location, I’ve yet to come to a definitive decision. As a long time resident of the Washington D.C. suburbs, I would very much like to stay in the same relative metropolitan area. However, due to the fact that I run my network of businesses from home, proximity to work and commuting time are not factors I have to really take into account. Thus, I am amicable to the prospect of moving out to the less crowded and less traffic jammed boonies of Maryland – areas like Ellicott City, Gaithersburg, and Germantown. For now at least, I’m passing on the resales, and focusing exclusively on new housing developments. There’s something sparkling refreshing about owning a brand new home that greatly appeals to me. Particularly in a down housing market as it is now, due to all of the amazing closing incentives and free options that new home builders are shelling out for prospective buyers, it makes a lot of sense to purchase a new home instead of buying an existing one. As I don’t have any immediate plans to move out of my current rental as of yet, I’m willing to be extraordinarily patient in my housing search – intending to move on to the next housing prospect if I can’t sufficiently price gouge the prospective home builder to my utter capitalist satisfaction. Sure, I’m being a rather greedy profiteer about this whole thing, but I’m just doing my part to ultimately and forcibly put the pricing equilibrium back into this housing market. I still think housing prices remain grossly overpriced in most areas.

Hopefully I can work the plunging home value and foreclosure supply pain felt by the major home builders to my advantage as I negotiate prices, option upgrades, and improved floor plan bump outs. As a prospective first time home buyer in the aftermath of the worst real estate market collapse in decades, I’m so thankful to have dodged the housing bubble bullet just a few years. I almost purchased a starter condominium home a few years ago at the height of the boom. I missed out big time on the housing surge, but thankfully also wasn’t locked in for the pricing collapse that ensued. My hope now is to snap up a great deal at the present time as housing prices are in the doldrums – and ride the price elevator up when the market recovers years from now. Those of you who are also prospective home buyers, don’t forget to take advantage of President Obama’s $8,000 tax credit incentive for new first time home buyers (assuming you qualify and aren’t phased out due to your income).

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

Planning Ahead and Saving Up For A Home Mortgage Loan Down Payment

In anticipation of my upcoming home purchase (hopefully sometime in the next few months), I’ve been saving up cash for the 20% down payment I’ll inevitably need for a 30 year – 20% down – home mortgage loan within my approximate price range. If my dream of purchasing a brand new home at pre-construction comes to fruition, chances are I will probably only need to put down around 5% as a contractual security deposit for now. The rest of the money and even the mortgage application won’t be needed and processed until the home is actually entirely built 6 months from the date that I authorize the home construction to begin.

Usually, the vast bulk of my savings are duly invested in stocks, exchange traded indexes, and mutual funds. However, to ensure that I set aside the necessary amount of funds for a potential mortgage down payment sometime in the near future and to protect myself from unwittingly investing the funds away, I’ve transferred a sizable amount of funds from my discount broker accounts into various high yield savings accounts at a number of online banks for more liquid access should I need to call upon them at the desired time.

Boosting My FICO Credit Score To Qualify For The Best Home Loans and Mortgage Rates

In my earlier days, I used to take advantage of the availability of free credit report and free credit score trial offers to check my FICO score and credit report history (promptly canceling each individual trial offer after I had obtained the desired information for no money down). But now that I’m more financially established and can actually afford to purchase more advanced credit management applications, I’ve been using the MyFICO Score Watch tool to track my FICO credit score updates and changes on a regular basis. The MyFICO tool automatically monitors my triple credit reports and FICO credit score – emailing me instant alerts whenever my FICO score changes due to sudden updates to information on my credit reports (doubling as a useful identity theft prevention tool as well). The best part is that whenever the online credit score tool informs me of an increase or decrease to my credit score, it also informs me of the reason why my FICO score changed the way it did. For example, about a months ago, my FICO score suddenly and rather inexplicably dropped 15 points. The culprit (as was automatically reported to me by the online tool) was a sudden increase in my overall credit limit usage due to several large credit card purchases I had recently made.

Because I am now on the verge of purchasing a new home and anticipate the need to take out a home mortgage loan in the coming months, I’ve been taking appropriate actions to improve my credit report history and boost my FICO score to the highest it can reasonably be. Because one’s overall credit utilization ratio is such a major component piece of the FICO credit score pie, by making frequent extra payments towards my existing credit card balances and reducing balance transfer loads, I’ve been able to essentially reduce my credit usage ratio to nearly zero. As a result, my FICO credit score has recently enjoyed a very positive and significant spike. Due to aggressive and corrective actions I’ve been taking, my FICO score now stands at 813 – on a scale of 300-850. Generally 750-775 is sufficient to qualify for the lowest prime interest rates. My goal is to keep that number high – at least until I have completed the home mortgage loan process (whenever that may be). As home lenders rely heavily on an applicant’s credit scores and credit reports to gauge risk level and to assess interest rates, it’s in my own self interest to keep my credit rating as pristine as possible for the next few months.

Source URL: July 2009: Net Worth Update and First Time Home Buyer Plans

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The mere sight of the creepy crawly legs and wiggling antennas of the common household cockroach jetting out from dark corners and scampering across bathroom counters and kitchen floors utterly freaks me out. While I don’t instantly jump onto chairs, call my mommy, or scream at the top of my lungs like a little girl, I do become visibly startled and immediately shift into fight mode whenever I encounter a lost spider or resident evil roach in my apartment. I’m sure you PETA fanatics out there may be turned off by my disdain and opposition to the plight of roaches and other household vermin, but I don’t care. Roaches and insects have no place in my home and I’ll do whatever it takes to eradicate the pests. I’ve had too many unfortunate experiences and bad memories of living with roaches during my student years.

Fortunately, I’m currently at a place and time in my life where my financial means now permit me to live in a nicer home far away from roach, rat, and vermin infestation that used to plague the ghetto row houses and low cost apartment rentals where I used to live as a college and graduate student. It’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with the nuisance of roaches or had to arm myself with high caliber anti-roach weaponry to fight off the onslaught of the mighty cockroach horde. But sometimes, scenes on TV and real life will remind me of how things used to be. Right now there’s a really fascinating but disgusting show on the Discovery Channel called the Verminators that I absolutely love to watch. The reality TV show follows a crack team of household pest exterminators as they go from problem home to another, wiping out severe rat, roach, ant, maggot, spider, and even pigeon infestations. The reason I love the show is the gleeful delight and absolute warlike approach the personalities on the show exhibit towards their determination to kill off all resident bugs that infest the homes of their desperate clients. The exterminator pros show no mercy and go full out with their armament of sprays, powders, and oxygen masks to combat the invaders. One time they even brought out an actual gun to take out a mega-rat that was hiding in someone’s attic. The show, while visually horrendous, brings me back to my graduate school days when I faced a massive roach infestation of my own.

My Failed Battle Against The Impressive Roach Army That Resulted In Eventual Retreat and Surrender

Until recently, I’ve always had a roach problem wherever I lived. Even though I consider myself relatively clean when it comes keeping my home tidy, roaches always seemed to invade my home. Probably the biggest reason for that was the fact that much of my early life was spent as a financially frugal student. As I was primarily supported by my overseas-living parents during my early years, I made a conscientious decision to live in apartments and neighborhoods that were affordable, to help lessen the financial burden on my parents who had several tuitions and living expenses to pay for. But as a result of my cost saving measures, every place I’ve lived at was infested with vermin of all types – from rats to roaches. As indicated above, it wasn’t until my recent later years in my late 20’s that I’ve been able to move on up the financial ladder to higher class, vermin-free housing.

Probably the absolute worst out-of-control infestation experience occurred during my post law school years when I was still struggling to settle down with my fledgling law career and build a sustainable living. To keep expenses low and save money, I decided to move into a quiet garden apartment community in a suburb of Maryland. The commute was great, proximity to grocery stores was excellent, and the price seemed too good to be true – it was. Months into my lease, the nightmare began. While I maintained a clean apartment, washing my dishes after every meal and storing away all food products into air tight containers, I kept noticing the appearance of roaches. At first it was just one or two encounters a week. I squished the roaches with my shoe and flushed them down the toilet each time and hoped they would go away, but they never did. They simply started appearing in greater and greater numbers. It got to the point where everytime I turned on my bathroom light, I would see two or three small roaches hanging around the ceiling area or visibly trying to scurry into a wall corner. Each time I got chills and sweated profusely at the sight of the nightmarish invaders. Eventually, their presence spread from the bathroom and into the kitchen, and eventually into the living room. In time I started seeing them during the day as well, a warning sign that I had a serious problem. Roaches are biologically night animals. If you see one during the day, it likely indicates that you have a serious infestation as overcrowding under cabinets and refrigerators probably has forced them out into the open. For each single roach you see in the open, it probably represents hundreds more hiding behind your drywall or between your floorboards.

At the time I was busy with work so I had little time to deal with my apartment management and forcefully compel them to eliminate the pests. But in response to a few calls and complaints, my apartment complex hired an exterminator, but the roach baits they set forth were ineffective. Eventually I simply went full out and took matters into my own hands. I headed to Home Depot to arm myself with all that consumer bug fighting technology had to offer. I purchased every single roach bait, egg stopper, roach gels, boric acid powder, and roach spray brand I could find – everything from MaxForce to Raid. I probably purchased more roach motel traps and roach gel bait devices than I needed, but I was determined to eliminate their presence from my home forever. All in all, I probably had more than 60 individual roach bait traps for a small apartment that was only about 700 square feet in all. I lined all corners and walls with multiple roach baits, and inserted gel bait poisons into all cabinet cracks and wall corners. I also dusted hard to reach areas with a layer of boric acid, a white powder that is not grossly toxic to humans or most pets like cats, dogs, and birds, but is supposedly deadly towards insects as it eats away their hard shell skin thereby dehydrating them to death. However, while I started seeing piles of upside down roaches everywhere, indications that my baits were working, the onslaught kept coming. Everyday I would see dead roaches everywhere, but new live ones seemed to keep taking their places, gnawing on the dead roach carcasses for nourishment.

Even my poor pet parrot was not immune to the onslaught. Even though he was never physically harmed, his cage was also slowly invaded by the swarming roaches. To protect my pet parrot to the best of my ability, I made sure to keep his cage clean at all times and placed his cage on a plastic lawn furniture table in my living room. I lined the bottom of the plastic table with a thick coat of boric acid powder to ensure that the only way that roaches could invade the cage was by walking through the white powder of insect death. However, day in and day out, I would look at my parrot’s bedding liner to find that the roaches had determinedly strolled through the boric acid powder and made their way into the bottom liner of his cage to seek out food products. When I pulled out the cage’s poop tray to clean it one time, I freaked out when more than 15 roaches scurried out from the plate and began crawling the walls, heading to the ceiling to escape like some horror movie. The nightmarish sight sent deathly chills down my back, made me sweat in horror, and even caused me to bleat out a few uncontrollable expletives. Although upon inspection, the bird cage invading roaches were covered with boric acid powder from head to toe, the resilient suckers simply refused to die. While most online commentators generally cheer the beneficial roach killing abilities of boric acid powder, I must point out that the effects are often slow and unpredictable.

Although I was incredibly busy with my job at the time, I eventually found time to storm into my apartment complex manager’s office to demand that they hire a competent exterminator to fix this emergency situation. Eventually the management relented and hired a more expensive crew to come in and flush the roaches out. The professionals came in with their roach pesticide sprays and laid down lines of defensive deadly roach pesticide trails designed to kill roaches on contact that trample onto them. Then they used a special roach flushing agent to spray into floorboard cracks and underneath appliances to flush out the roach colonies into the open so that they would walk onto the pesticide laden floors. It worked for a while – as there was a huge spike in dead roach bodies as the flushed out roach families were annihilated. But even with professional baits laid out to control the outbreak, the efforts were ultimately futile. The roaches continued to crawl around my dishes, hide in my television set, relax in my stove, and even find their way into my fridge of all places. The final straw was when friends came over to visit me and one of them sat down on my sofa only to stand up moments later with a squished roach on her butt.

Eventually, I shifted into lawyer mode and sent a very threatening legal letter to my landlord demanding that I be fully released from my apartment lease obligations, citing the management’s violation and breach of our contract to keep the premises a safe and reasonably livable place. There was simply nothing else I could do. After talking with the exterminator, I learned that I was fighting a losing cause. Because my discount apartment complex was so old and populated by lower income families that had a habit of illegally stuffing multiple families into one apartment meant for only one, sanitation and cleanliness were major problems. Even though I kept my own apartment clean, massive roach infestations in the adjacent apartments were causing them to spill over into my unit. At the end, I was released from my lease and left my ghetto apartment in a hurry. Ultimately, I had to pay substantially more in monthly rent to live at a new, clean, and higher class apartment complex free of roaches and vermin. My rent soared from $800 a month at my old place to more than $1475 for the new place. While it’s a lot more money, I don’t regret a single thing about my decision to pay more in rent. Freedom from roach infestations is definitely worth the heavier financial price. Saving money is great, but having that extra few hundred in my account isn’t worth the sheer torment of living with roaches invading your life completely and taking over your sanity.

Roach Infestations Are Bad For Your Health and Must Be Eliminated Quickly (Easier Said Than Done)

So other than the scare factor, why are cockroaches and the infestation that they bring to our homes so bad for you and I? First of all, it should be noted that not all insects are inherently bad. Some bugs like spiders and millipedes actually serve useful ecological purposes. Without their presence, our human existence would be inundated with out of control growth populations of pesky critters of all sorts. Most of these utilitarian insects help to control general insect population by building webs to trap, eat, and kill off other insects, helping to keep a lid on spiraling population growth. While I’m generally afraid of insects and roaches in particular, there are bugs that I have friendly, harmonious relationships with. When I see insects like lady bugs or even cicadas, I don’t mind picking them up with my bare fingers to inspect them. I see them as friendly insects that help the environment, so I’m not automatically afraid of them. Roaches of all breeds on the other hand are a different story – they are simply vile. While cockroaches live all around the world and come in all shapes and sizes, the breeds I’m most adverse to are the classic American and German cockroach. These two breeds are the most common roach pests found in American homes.

Roaches are the ultimate scavengers and harbingers of disease, germs, and insect fecal wastes. They have no qualms about walking through through poo or other disgusting solids and liquids. Their bodies frequently carry around all sorts of germs and potential infection spreading agents. One huge problem that they cause for inhabitants of homes that they infect is the creation of roach dust that they build up and leave behind. Roach dust is made up of decayed roach body parts and droppings that become airborne, infecting our breathing and embedding itself onto our hairs, clothes, and furniture. Roach dust is a powerful asthmatic agent that has the potential to trigger significant asthma attacks in sensitive people.

Cockroaches will consume almost anything organic and even somethings otherwise inorganic. They’ll chew threw paper, cloth, oils, bodily wastes, and any type of food or liquid product you leave behind. These little evil cannibals will even snack on the dead bodies of their fellow roach comrades they come across. Nothing is off limits when it comes to their diets. In their never ending pursuit for food, roaches often follow the footsteps of humans into homes and stay close to sources of water and food – which is why they are often found in bathrooms, kitchens, and places where food is plentiful (like near your dog or cat’s food bowl).

The one singular thing that makes them so terrible and deserving of a spot in the Bible as an Old Testament plague is the fact they breed insanely fast and are nearly impossible to get rid of. Female roaches can lay up to 40 eggs at a time, laying up to a 400 evil babies in a lifetime. Their lifespan is a year long and adult roaches can go for a month without food, and even up to an hour without oxygen. They can live off of virtually anything. Even the organic glue compound found on the back of stamps or the nourishment of your dead skin flakes can sustain them for weeks.

Cockroaches are also very difficult to kill. Not only do they run like Olympic track stars, their bodies are extremely well adapted to fend off damage. Because their breathing system is made up of tubes on their bodies called trachea, they can continue to live even after their heads or limbs are chopped off – talk about walking zombies. Also, have you tried to chase down a roach with your shoe before? It’s nearly impossible. It’s like playing whack a mole on steroids as they dart around so fast, it’s scary. They are able to quickly scurry into wall corners and flatten their bodies to avoid your newspaper punishment. They are also primarily nocturnal, preferring to come out at night. When they do, they are very stealthy and experts at staying hidden, invading your cabinets, sinks, toothbrushes, and your food stocks right under your nose. At the mere presence of light, they often smartly run for cover, unlike their more stupid cousin bugs that often sit there, succumbing to flattening attacks by humans.

How Do I Get Rid Of A Mild Cockroach Infestation, and Kill Roaches Using Roach Bait and Roach Traps?

The following words of advice are only suitable for those of you who have mild roach outbreaks in your home. If you only see a lone roach wandering around your home once every year, you probably don’t have an infestation as it probably piggybacked into your home via a plastic grocery bag or something like that. However, if you are seeing them every few days, particular during the daytime when they are supposed to be in hiding, you may have a serious problem. If professional treatment and baiting are powerless, your only recourse may be to move out of your home completely like I did and not look back (if that option is available to you). Some things in life are lost causes. In serious infestations, the roaches probably have spread throughout all apartment buildings or all parts of your house. They’ve probably inhabited your base walls and have set up massive colonies of roach eggs and roach nurseries that are nearly impossible to eliminate completely. Remember, a single female roach once impregnated can continue to lay eggs throughout her entire life, spawning hundreds of hatchlings from just a single individual.

If the roach outbreak is not so dire where moving out is demanded, hiring a professional exterminator might due the trick. Professional exterminators have legal access to much more powerful roach flushing agents and pesticides to kill those little critters. For those who have children and pets in the home and are leery about using toxic pesticides, professional exterminators also have access to potent roach baits and gels that are less toxic for humans and pets. They work by slowly poisoning roaches. Laced with attractive smells to entice a roach, the victim eats the bait and ingests the delayed action poison that will ultimately kill it. When it travels back into the wall boards, it brings some of the poisoned food with it to share with others. In time, roach baits can kill off entire roach populations if the problem has not completely spiraled out of control.

In my opinion, cockroach bombs and roach foggers should be avoided. Not only are they extremely toxic to humans and pets, but their limitations are very well documented and observed. The irritants do drive away roaches temporarily, but they are not effective in killing the populations completely. The roaches will simply run for cover and hide until the toxic plumes have faded. As soon as you move back into your home after the roach bomb has done its work, they will come back out to play. Also, don’t waste your money on those pointless electronic pest control repellent scams that you see on TV all the time. Supposedly, simply by plugging the electronic pest control repellent device into your electrical outlet and activating it, the system emits an ultra high frequency wave that irritates and drives away pests like roaches and rodents. These devices are supposed to be safe for both humans and pets. However, they’re pure junk and scams in my opinion. Both rats and roaches are extremely durable and hardy animals, conditioned to survive even nuclear devastations if it ever came down to it, so neither of them is likely going to be stopped by some pointless frequency wave. To get rid of them, you’re going to have to resort to good old fashioned roach food deprivation and chemical warfare. Ditch the expensive electronic pest control repellent devices and don’t waste your money.

For those of you with mild roach infestations, here are some home remedies and homemade solutions to help you kill them, exterminate their colonies, and keep your home free of pesky cockroaches. Much of your efforts will be spent targeting notorious problem areas like the kitchen and bathroom.

Household Solutions To Get Rid Of A Mild To Manageable Roach Problem:

1) Eliminate the Roaches’ Source Of Food, Water, Shelter, and Entry – Unless you live in a shared apartment complex that allows roaches to travel freely from one unit until into another, keeping your home clean is the most effective way to get rid of roaches. Cockroaches invade our homes usually to seek out food and water. Wash your dishes immediately after every meal and wipe down kitchen counters frequently, as roaches like to snack on greases and food oils. Vacuum your carpet and wipe down your hardwood floors and tiles as often as you can to ensure no food or liquid particles remain to feed the roaches. Fix leaky faucets as well as they offer roaches a free tasty source of water to drink from. If you have pets like cats, dogs, or even birds, clean the pet living areas frequently and make sure their food bowls are washed and cleaned after use. Dog food sacks are frequently targets of roaches – always seal them in special airtight containers. Also, make sure there are no open canisters of food or liquids anywhere in your home. Roaches can sniff them out and they will find them. Practice throwing out your trash bags on a daily basis. Trash cans contain all sorts of attractive aromas for roaches. Eliminate this prevalent food source if you can.

Finding out how they are getting into your home is easier said than done. Oftentimes roaches found their way into your home via air vents, front doors, or even cracks outside of your home. Oftentimes, telltale signs like roach droppings – tiny brown pellets of slime, indicate the presence of roaches. Frequently, professional help is needed to help you pinpoint the entry way. Finding out where they are living in your home exactly is also difficult without expert help. But once you locate how they enter your home and where they congregate, a liberal application of roach pesticide spray along the access points will provide long lasting walkways of doom for these roaches.

2) Use Non Toxic Boric Acid Or Diatomaceous Earth - While I’ve personally had limited success with using boric acid or even diatomaceous earth powder to control roach populations, perhaps you’ll have more success than I. Borate powders are generally non toxic to humans, pets, and children although you obviously shouldn’t intentionally ingest them. Despite prolonged exposure, my parrot, my friend’s cat, and myself managed to remain perfectly healthy in the presence of boric dusted rooms. However, these powders are supposedly toxic and deadly against insects. As insects like roaches come into contact with the powder, the powder sticks onto their outer shell, causing gradual roach death. The downside is that boric acid powder kills very slowly and sometimes it may take days before the acid takes effect. But the plus side is that the compound can remain effective for years if the powder remains dry. Boric acid powders also allow you to dust in areas where the roaches are likely to hide and where humans and pets are less likely to come in contact with – such as in the crevices behind your kitchen appliances and spaces underneath your refrigerator.

Boric acid can be purchased at local retail hardware stores and most drug stores. They usually come in a squeeze bottle with a narrow spout that allows easy dusting once cut. Retail boric acid powder is usually white although some brands color the product light blue so you can see the product better. The key is to dust in areas where roaches are likely to walk through. Roach behavior usually dictates that they prefer to walk along edges where their bodies are in constant contact with some type of wall. Thus, remember to dust the boric acid under your stove and refrigerator, along wall edges, around door frames and open spaces inside of cabinets, sinks, and shelves.

Another product that is used by some is a form of illegal insecticide commonly called “Chinese Chalk”, because of their sale in many Chinatown locations. However the sale and purchase of Chinese Chalk is illegal due to the many child related poisonings attributed to the product’s resemblance to common classroom chalk. Supposedly, one can use the chalk to draw lines of kill zones on the ground to poison any roach or ant that walks across it. It probably works the same way as boric acid, but with substantially greater toxicity and health danger to humans. I don’t recommend using it – it’s illegal anyway.

3) Use Roach Traps, Roach Bait, and Roach Gels – Roach baits in all forms contain a combination of poison chemical and attractive food lures to entice roaches to eat them. They are actually quite effective if used in large quantities in strategic indoor locations where it’s dark and moist. Like boric acid powder, they both kill slowly. However, this slow killing power is actually the most effective form of mild roach infestation control because it allows the poison to be ingested and taken by the roach into the roach lair to kill the population at its source.

The baits can come in the form of a little plastic roach bait station (roach motel) or they can come in gel syringe form. The plastic roach baits are easier to set and tend to last longer in duration, but I think they are slightly less effective than roach gel baits. Gel baits are very effective but they tend to dry out quicker, not to mention the gels are messier and harder to clean up. The gels also need to be re-applied every few weeks for maximum effect. Roach gels should be lightly applied in corners, on plumping fixtures, on interior cabinet edge corners, and under appliances where it’s usually dark. Remember not to combine roach bait and roach gels with instant killing pesticide sprays. The objective with baits is not to kill them instantly, but to allow one infected roach to spread the poison love to others. Popular retail roach bait brands include MaxForce, Combat, and Raid. I don’t have any preferences or recommendations because they’re all about the same in terms of effectiveness. Try buying all three and using them all simultaneously if you have the money to do so – their poison chemical compositions differ somewhat.

4) Use Roach Insecticide Sprays – These aerosol powered spray cans contain a lethal dose of bug killing liquids. By spraying the roach insecticide chemicals along hidden baseboard floors and on dark and hidden areas underneath and inside cabinets where roaches frequent, you provide tremendous roach killing power on contact. The insecticide sprays contain a chemical that instantly starts to kill the roaches on contact should one wander across a sprayed area. While it’s great to know that it’s lights out for any roach that crosses its path, the sprays do not provide much residual or long lasting roach control. Only roach baits can target the roach nests and hit the source of the spawning problem. However, back when I had a heavy roach problem, I always kept a few bottles around at the ready. Chasing a fast running roach is much easier with a roach spray. It beats having to swing wildly like a drunkard with a shoe or newspaper.

5) Use Water Jars (Vegas Roach Jars) - Another common household remedy to combat mild roach problems is the use of a so-called Las Vegas roach trap jar. It’s called that because the practice was recently popularized by a Las Vegas news report of its effectiveness in catching roaches. While I’ve never tried it out, the concept sounds rather interesting.  The Vegas  cockroach trap consists of a glass jar filled with coffee grounds (as bait), and a little bit of water that is placed against a wall. It is important that the roach jar trap is placed against a wall because roaches prefer to travel along edges where their bodies can maintain constant contact with a wall. Some people like to place Scotch masking tape on the outside of the jar to give the roach more traction. However, once they fall into the jar, the slippery glass surface prevents them from being able to climb out. Supposedly, cockroaches are attracted to these water jars. This type of homemade anti-roach remedy if effective, is a wonderful alternative to using toxic insecticides and baits. But frankly, I’m not fully convinced the technique actually works.

I’m sure everyone has their own secrets and methods to killing roaches. Feel free to share your ideas.

Source URL: How To Kill Roaches And Get Rid Of A Home Cockroach Infestation

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Both Your Credit Report History and Credit Score Help Determine Your Credit Worthiness, But Credit Scores Are More Uniform Measures Of Comparison From Individual To Individual

While credit reports, like your high school transcript does a better overall job in revealing the compete performance history of the individual, oftentimes, it’s the credit score, like the mathematically calculated grade point average (GPA) that is given the greatest initial attention. Like the analogous school GPA’s, credit scores are frequently used by major lenders to serve as cut off points to determine who will enjoy speedy approval and those who will require further scrutiny. As such, a high credit score serves up the best first impression when it comes to getting quickly approved for credit cards, car loans, and mortgages. Your complete credit report transcript conveys the rest of your credit history, but it’s your credit score that provides that first impression to determine whether you instantly qualify or not. If you’ve ever wondered why some people can get online and get instantly approved for a credit card in seconds, that’s because their credit scores are likely so remarkably high, credit card issuers feel they have more than enough information right off the bat to grant application approval. The same can be said for pre-qualification terms for mortgage or auto loans for favorable rates.

For those of you who buy into the financial wisdom of some personal finance pundits who advocate a cash only lifestyle and preach against all forms of debt, I personally think that is an all too safe but foolish perspective to cling to. It’s not credit or debt that is so evil, it’s the lack of financial education and mismanagement that dooms one to failure. Unless you are a millionaire, come from a very wealthy family, or your last name is Gates, Buffett, or Walton (of Walmart fame), you will inevitably need to take on student loans, car loans, or a housing mortgage loan in some form or another sometime during your life span. A cash only lifestyle is appropriate for engaging in small time transactions, but for the pricier car and home buying process, you will inevitably need to call upon your built up credit history and credit score eventually.

So What Is The Purpose Of Having A Good Credit Score And How Is It Calculated?

Your credit score is basically a three digit number that is mathematically generated by credit reporting agencies based on information found on your individual credit report. The credit score is a numeral representation used to assess your past debt payment history and predict your ability to fulfill future debt obligations. Everytime you perform actions or transactions that relate to the extension of credit in the real world, that request for credit is submitted to the three major U.S. credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) for recordation. By taking that continuously updated information and plugging it into a special mathematical formula, credit bureaus can generate an up to date credit score on demand to accurately predict your present and future ability to pay off incurred liabilities. Positive actions like on-time payment and low credit usage will boost your credit score, while negative events like bankruptcies, foreclosures, and failures to pay on time will hurt your score. Experience and trends have shown that those with higher credit scores are more responsible with credit and are less likely to default on loans. However, because credit transactions are not always equally sent to all big three consumer credit reporting agencies and not all information is processed by all three in the same mistake or error-free way, there are bound to be slight differences and discrepancies among different credit bureau scoring results, even if they all utilized the same credit scoring methodology. Keep in mind, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all individually generate their own credit score results on request.

But in general, one’s credit score is a fairly uniform mathematical measure of credit worthiness. Banks, credit card companies, and mortgage creditors are in the business of taking on risk, and thus utilize this invaluable scoring system to gauge prospects. In exchange for taking on risk, these institutions are willing to extend you money on loan, but in return they expect to be compensated for the financial risk they take on in the form of additional interest rate payments. Different degrees of risk and possibilities of default demand different levels of interest. If you’re a risky debtor with a shaky credit history, you will be required to pay higher interest payments to the creditor to offset the risk. If you are a more reliable debtor, chances are your interest obligations will be a lot less. That is why it is important to keep your credit score high – it’s one of the most important things that lenders look at when they evaluate your financial profile. You might be a nice guy or a nice gal, really deserving of credit approval, but if your credit score is lackluster, your chances may be shot.

What Is The FICO Credit Score Made Up Of, and How Are The Scoring Categories Weighted?

When most people speak about credit scores, more likely than not they are referring to the FICO credit score, the popular credit scoring system created by the Fair Isaac Corporation. There are currently several alternative credit scoring systems out there, most notably, the new VantageScore jointly developed by the big three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, but the FICO is still the most widely used scoring method. I recommend avoiding the VantageScore for now and staying clear of credit vendors that attempt to hawk it. Because the VantageScore also uses a three digit scoring system but on a different numerical range from 501-990, obtaining it at this time will only serve to confuse you. Because most lenders have not broadly adopted the use of the VantageScore yet, you are better off focusing on the FICO exclusively for now. There really is no particular purpose for consumers or lenders to adopt the VantageScore at this point in time as its development was primarily business motivated rather than designed to benefit the consumer. The credit reporting agencies simply got tired of having to pay royalties to Fair Isaac for utilizing their proprietary scoring formula and wanted to create their own cheaper version. For now, stick with the genuine FICO – it’s the most widely used credit score and currently still the most relevant by far.

The FICO credit score is formulated on a scale from 300 to 850, however most people will have scores between 600 and 800. It’s unlikely to find many people with scores below or above this general scoring range. As a rule of thumb, any FICO score that is above 700 should be deemed good, although in this current market, a FICO of 750 will probably be needed to guarantee you the most favorable loan rates. Here is how the FICO credit score is generated and broken down into its composition categories according to pie chart percentages:

1) Your Credit and Debt Payment History – ( 35% of Your FICO)

This is the absolute most important factor in determining your FICO credit score. To have a high score, you’ll need to develop a history of timely and punctual bill payments. When lenders evaluate you as a prospective credit candidate, they want to see that you have a solid history of not only fulfilling debt obligations, but that you also have a track record of paying on time. Past late payments and unpaid debts sent to collections will significantly damage your FICO score. Negative factors like bankruptcy and defaulted payments will hurt your score as well. How badly a failure to pay or a late payment will affect your credit score is determined by the total number of past due items, how long they were past due, and the length of time since your last late payment. Because the payment history category is weighted to favor more recent transactions over older actions on your credit history, it’s never too late to start paying on time. Better late than never.

2) Amounts and Balances Owed – ( 30% Of Your FICO)

The second most important factor other than timely payment is the total amount of credit money that you owe and the proportional amount of your total available credit utilized. If you are already carrying a substantial amount of active debt in the form of existing home mortgages, home equity lines, car loans, student loans, or credit cards, you are less favorable as a candidate to take on additional debt. Because of your existing debt obligations, you are seen as a greater potential credit risk. However, your total amount of outstanding debt can be hugely tempered and your risk factor greatly minimized by having a lower debt usage ratio.

Under the FICO formula, someone with an outstanding credit card balance of $900, with a total available limit of $1000 (utilization ratio of 90%) is deemed to be riskier than someone who has an outstanding credit card balance of $2000, but with a total credit limit of $10,000 (utilization ratio of 20%). Being saddled with a lot of debt isn’t necessarily bad in terms of your credit score if you are well under your total available credit limit. Obviously the more zero balance revolving credit accounts you have on your credit report the better, but the amount of your credit usage in proportion to your total credit available goes a long way to boosting your score.

Example: As someone who regularly engages in credit card arbitrage, I frequently carrying large 0% APR balances on my 0% balance transfer credit cards. But despite my high credit balances, I maintain a stellar FICO score (FICO of 758), attributable to my low overall credit usage ratio. I might carry credit card balances in excess of $20,000 on multiple cards, but because I have over $80,000 of unused revolving credit available to me, my low proportional usage keeps my FICO high.

3) Length of Your Credit History – ( 15% Of Your FICO)

When it comes to the FICO credit score, the older the credit account, the better. That is why consumers are sometimes encouraged to initiate credit usage at an earlier age, if only for the sole purpose of building up credit. College students are sometimes advised to open at a least one student credit card for the purpose of building up a credit history file. Those who stick with cash only and wait till later in life to start opening credit accounts are ultimately short changed when it comes to their FICO scores. The same rationale is also why it is almost never advisable to cancel old credit cards. Unless you are obsessive and compulsive when it comes to credit card spending, you should keep those older cards around and let the accounts age like fine wine. You don’t necessarily have to use those cards – just put them away in a drawer if you have to. Because the length of your credit history is based on the average ages of your total active credit accounts, it’s in your best interest to keep old accounts open indefinitely. If you absolutely must cancel a credit card, cancel a newer card instead. Closing out an old account will have the unintended backfire effect of hurting your FICO credit score.

4) Types Of Existing Credit Owned – ( 10% Of Your FICO)

The FICO scoring system favors credit users who are diverse with their usage. The system likes to see users mix it up a little and not just focus on one type of installment usage – like credit cards alone. In general, older individuals with longer credit histories usually tend to have a greater mix of credit account types, thus higher scores. While revolving credit accounts like mortgages and car loans help to inject some diversity into your usage, one shouldn’t go out of one’s way to mix it up purposely. Focus more on paying all bills on time and limiting your credit usage instead (they comprise 65% of your FICO credit score). In my opinion, this category has the least relevance and the least impact on your overall credit score.

5) New Credit or Recent Credit Sought – ( 10% Of Your FICO )

This is where hard credit checks and soft credit checks come in. Everytime you affirmatively submit an application for a loan or additional credit, a hard credit pull is made against your credit report. The resulting credit pull will have a short term negative hit against your formulated FICO score (in time the score will recover). In general, new and recent requests for credit are seen as risky factors in the eyes of lenders. However, new requests for additional revolving credit that follows a recent late payment will likely cause a more significant drain against your score, as they are seen as ominous signs of financial desperation.

However, the way the FICO system is set up, frequent requests for credit within a relatively short 30 day period is discounted in terms of aggregate negative effects on your credit score. This is to compensate and alleviate the effects of those who are merely interest rate shopping for mortgages or car loans who are likely to submit numerous applications within a short period of time. This is the reason why balance transfer arbitrage seekers are often advised to submit their numerous credit card applications simultaneously within a short period of time to minimize the overall hit against their credit score. As always though, only hard credit checks negatively affect your FICO. Self credit checks initiated by you to examine your own credit report or credit score will never hurt your rating.

What Is Not Considered In Your Credit Score, And How To Boost Your FICO

While the FICO score is a very important factor to those seeking instant approval for credit or a quicker path to the best loan terms and conditions, it’s not the end all. Lenders also carefully scrutinize your credit report and other financial factors like income, job stability, education, and amount of money you have in your checking and savings accounts to determine your credit worthiness. That’s because many relevant personal risk factors are not appropriately reflected in the credit report or the credit score model compiled by the big three credit reporting bureaus. Such information include age, race, sex, income, savings, marital status, education, and your current type of housing.

The FICO score also struggles with formulating an accurate score representation for new entrants into the credit world. Those with short credit histories like recent immigrants or college students are unlikely to have much of a credit report transcript to work off of. As evidenced by the Fair Isaac Corporation’s efforts at formulating and developing its new FICO Expansion Score to gauge the credit worthiness prospects of those with incomplete or thin files, the existing FICO system as is probably still needs some improvement, and is far from perfect. However, until a better thing comes along, consumers need to find ways to improve and keep their credit ratings high. Unless you don’t have plans to seek new employment, apply for a new credit card, obtain a home mortgage loan, find a new apartment, or apply for insurance in the next few years, it’s in your self interest to improve your FICO credit score and keep it high in case you ever need to use it.

As it is relevant to your ultimate credit score, I’d recommend taking several minutes to download a free credit report at annualcreditreport.com. With this free federal government service, you get to request a single credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus every four months. Instead of requesting all three credit reports at once, you might want to stagger them out to three times a year for continuous monitoring. If you spot an error, notify the bureau (online, by phone or by mail) and the creditor (call and also send a letter) immediately. While your credit score isn’t free, there are ways to get get your free credit score from the big three credit reporting agencies. Remember, if you want consistency, stick with the FICO score exclusively for now.

Source URL: What Is My Credit Score and How Is My FICO Calculated?

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

When you think of Ed McMahon, you don’t exactly associate or lump him with big time wasteful spenders like MC Hammer and some of the other well known celebrities of the past who rose to fame and fortune quickly but ultimately frittered away their money into bankruptcy on trivial pursuits. No, when you think of Ed McMahon, you think of the aging but charismatic late night show announcer, the TV personality, and the face and voice of the American Family Publishing sweepstakes team (not to be confused with the more popular Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes) that arrives unannounced at the homes of winners to present them their grand prize. You certainly don’t see or hear about him throwing his money away on fast cars, fast women, or holding lavish sleaze parties to great excess.

So I was quite surprised when I learned that someone like the now 80 plus year old Ed McMahon has now found himself in difficult financial straits and faced with the prospect of mortgage foreclosure on his multi million dollar home. This housing bubble and credit crisis seems to be quite merciless and universally brutal, even to those who simply lived their lives with the best intentions, but still succumbed to hard times. With little regard to feelings or reason, the mortgage credit crisis and the powerful forces of housing supply and demand have devastated many good families.

Ed McMahon and His Wife Pam Speak Out About Home Foreclosure and The Possibility Of Losing Their House

Ed McMahon recently appeared on the CNN Larry King Live show (CNN video clip) with his wife to discuss their difficult foreclosure nightmare and explain how a former multi-millionaire such as himself could fall from financial grace after all these years and have his house foreclosed on. During the conversational interview with Larry King, many of Ed’s words about how it all happened rang true:

“If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. A couple of divorces flown in – a few things happened. You want everything to be perfect, but that combination – the economy, a little injury, breaking my neck – you just can’t work with this thing around your neck.”

“In some sense, I want to speak for the million people who now have foreclosure signs on their houses. I just want to give them hope, give them optimism and some guidance. Get the best corrective people you need around you, keep working at it, don’t stop. There’s a lot of people who are hard workers, did everything right, didn’t do anything wrong, and all of a sudden they are in this boat, and I speak for all of them as far as I’m concerned.”

“For everyone out there who’s going through this, we really sympathize with you. Be optimistic. It can be done. All kinds of things can happen. Let it work out great for you.”

When asked by Larry King to comment on the public assumption that the McMahons are multi millionaires and asked how they could have fallen behind $644,000 on their house mortgage payments, McMahon’s current wife Pam chimed in (tearfully at times):

“People do assume that you have hundreds of millions of dollars, and I think over the years it’s a combination of Ed working so hard and not looking at proper management which happens a lot. Because you’re a celebrity, people think you have a lot more than you have. And you always want to take great care of all your friends and family in all you do. We didn’t keep our eye on the ball and we made mistakes.”

“But you have to not give up. Whether we keep our house or we don’t keep our house. The whole financial issue might be the thing that ruins marriages, ruins relationships – but our marriage is strong.”

“You have got to realize that you can get through it. You never know what good things can happen for you tomorrow. Keep the faith.”

My Thoughts On Upper Class Celebrities, Ordinary Middle-Class Americans, and How To Protect Oneself From The Realities Of The Recessive Economy and Housing Market

After listening to the interview, I have to say I really started to sympathize with the plight of those in foreclosure. I know Ed McMahon and his wife Pam aren’t exactly representative of the classic foreclosure case, but at least they can relate to the pains of someone who can no longer afford his or her home mortgage loan payment and compelled to face the reality of home foreclosure. It’s an embarrassing and even humiliating experience that no one wants to be forced into. Home ownership is the American dream and when you can’t afford your pride and joy any longer, it’s a tough pill to take.

As I am currently still a happy renter and have not yet become a home owner, it is in my own personal and financial interest to see that there is no housing bailout whatsoever instituted by the government. This would obviously be the most self centered and self motivated route to take as opposition to any housing foreclosure bailout or assistance would help to ensure a growth in the glut and oversupply of available homes on the market, thereby substantially driving down real estate prices for the next 2-3 years until I decide to finally enter the housing market as a buyer.

But I do sympathize with most of the owners of the more than 1 million American homes (CNN news article) that are now shockingly finding themselves in foreclosure jeopardy. Sometimes in life, you do everything right with good intentions and yet bad things still happen when you least expect it. In Ed McMahon’s case, he may have lived an early life of entertainment and celebrity success and held to great esteem in his work, earning millions of dollars through the process, but apparently he failed to adequately plan for the future and prepare himself for inevitable financial emergencies.

The reality of home ownership life is that even those with good Fico credit scores who are able to qualify for and obtain prime fixed rate loans on their houses, bad things still may happen. Sometimes through no intentional fault of their own, people lose jobs, divorces happen, child custody battles rage on, or injuries and illnesses come up making one unable to afford one’s house anymore. With a stagnating economy in recession and plummeting real estate market prices eliminating much of the home equity built up in homes, such drastic and hard financial times can hit the best of folks. Without a proper emergency fund or savings set aside to handle such occurrences, even millionaires and celebrities, let alone ordinary people like you and I, can get hit by troublesome cash flow crunches.

The solution I think is to know and realize early on that life is inherently unpredictable and fraught with financial peril. Like the stock market, no one can accurately predict the good and the bad that will happen in the future. We can only anticipate and plan for the worst but hope for the best. While there are basic financial planning steps to take, such as investing for retirement through tax deferred vehicles like a Roth IRA account, one of the most important decisions is to save and build up an emergency fund. The amount that you will need to set aside for emergencies will vary from person to person, but it’s important to plan for emergencies. For example, my car recently broke down and I had to face a sudden and emergency $1,200 auto service repair bill to replace my vehicle’s alternator and battery to get it working again. Fortunately, I had saved enough on the side to handle such an emergency occurrence and expense.

The other important thing that we should glean from the Larry King – Ed McMahon interview is to stay optimistic and keep fighting. Never give up in despair. For those who are mired in housing foreclosure, credit card debt, or even perpetual unemployment, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t forget, there are many similarly situated people out there trying to stay financially afloat just like you. Just keep plugging through and maintain the faith.

Source URL: Even Celebrities Can Fall On Hard Times And Face Home Foreclosure

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Ever since the beginning, the great American dream of prosperity and happiness has always revolved around owning a piece of land (preferably with a house on top of it). Home ownership has always been associated with security and stability. The mere act of possessing a parcel to call your own has always symbolized the triumph of moving from the unexplainable stigma of renting to a greater plane, found only on higher rungs up the economic and social ladder. But in recent years, even those who thought they had found their American dream have seen it shatter into a nightmare of swirling foreclosures and defaulting subprime loans. For prospective future home buyers like myself, we can only hope that the correcting market will find a way to prevent the dream from fading out of our financial grasps.

The Rapid Rise In Home Prices Has Almost Put Home Ownership Out Of Reach For Many

During the housing surge in 2003, I witnessed most of my older friends snap up brand new home constructions left and right. Their newly purchased homes seemed to appreciate and grow in value at an unstoppable velocity. Homeowners at the time saw their home equity surge to staggering heights in a short period of time, and many couldn’t help but bask in the financial glow of their paper net worths. But for everyone else like me looking in from the outside, it was a difficult and demoralizing time. I thought I was missing out on the greatest boom in history.

The fact that I resided in a nice Maryland suburb of Washington D.C. known for its historically high real estate prices made it even worse. Single family starter homes in areas convenient to work easily tipped the scales at $700,000 for old homes and nearly a million dollars for newer, nicer ones. These are just your basic houses, without the frills or additions. To seek out more affordable options, I would have to move further out into the distant suburban boonies of ghetto Baltimore and deal with a 2-3 hour round trip commute to D.C. everyday – a very hard pill to swallow, and one I just could not reconcile with.

The Heavens Finally Grant Us The Housing Collapse Needed To Help Bring Normalcy and Order Back To A Real Estate Market Gone Wild

It was not until the housing bubble finally popped and released its full fury that the market has finally started to regain its senses and inch its way towards equilibrium again. For the last few years I thought the American dream of home ownership was disappearing from the reach of many ordinary middle class Americans like myself. Thankfully the dream has not disappeared, but merely faded out of sight while the housing hype and hysteria rode its doomed coaster. I am utterly relieved that housing prices have finally began to make its descent back to normalcy, to better match the steady growth of jobs and employment wages.

For too many years, housing prices were inflated by irresponsible homeowners and unscrupulous subprime mortgage companies offering easy money, sped on by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions. Mortgage companies aided and abetted the creation of the housing bubble by tempting highly advertised mortgage loan offers of 1% interest rates, interest only adjustable loans, pick a payment packages, and agreeing to fund home purchases for buyers with questionable credit histories. Inflated home appraisals were also a big component of what fueled the housing bubble. For years, home appraisers were pressured by mortgage originators, real estate agents, and home sellers in tandem with borrowers alike to overvalue the homes they appraised. With the unspoken collaboration of unethical home value appraisers, real estate prices soared to unchecked levels. At least one of my friends who worked as an appraiser was cognizant of the demand to keep home price valuations artificially high. Those who failed to play ball and produce the desired numbers would lose business and commissions to another appraiser willing to churn out fraudulent home valuations. This all resulted in a real estate system that soon became broken, corrupted, and in desperate need of a good shell shocking.

While I sympathize with current homeowners who are dismayed at retreating home prices, I think in the grand scheme of things, this type of market blood letting is a must for the sake of our nation’s economy and housing future. Home prices must accurately and efficiently match the supply and demand of the market, backed by the strength of jobs and wages. Hopefully, rapidly dropping prices spurred on by an ever increasing housing inventory supply will weed out the flippers and those with subprime credit who irresponsibly bought too much home than they could reasonably afford.

My Housing Plans and Recommendations For The Future

For now I plan to rent an apartment for the foreseeable future, at least until my life takes a turn (marriage etc). I still hold on to the American dream of home ownership, but for now that dream will have to wait until market prices settle. Fallout from the credit crisis and subprime mortgage debacle will take years to sort out and run its course. But looking at the high cost of home prices today, I also know that so long as I remain single and rely solely on my own income, my dream of owning a single family house will not be possible. The American economic system was simply not designed for single middle class individuals – only through pooled resources as a married team can a couple afford a home.

But for everyone out there who is not head over heels in debt and has a good FICO credit score with a solid credit history, now is an attractive time to be a prospective home buyer. Today’s market is definitely a buyer’s market. Home prices are more reasonable now that interest rates are low again. But I think most people should still hold out. While bidding competition from investors is currently very low because there are few buyers, there are still many more significant price drops to be had. Don’t believe anything you hear from delusional housing market pundits like the National Association of Realtors.

Unless you can successfully get the home seller to accept a low ball offer that is substantially less than the listed price, I would recommend that buyers wait at least 2 more years until 2010 before they even consider buying a home (renting is not as terrible as some people seem to think). As always, don’t buy more home than your current stage in life requires and always buy within your means. The general rule of thumb is that most prospective homeowners can afford to mortgage a property worth 2 to 2.5 times their annual gross income. Obviously it’s much easier to afford a home mortgage when you are married with two income streams than it is on just one single person’s paycheck. If I had prematurely jumped into the house buying craze years ago, I would probably now be owning an upside down mortgage on an overpriced home rapidly losing its value, and struggling with mortgage payments.

Source URL: Pursuing The Slowly Fading and Elusive American Dream of Home Ownership

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

These popular house flipping shows should be regarded as entertainment only and not seen as a step by step blueprint guide to flipping projects. If you are looking to get inspired and want to become more involved in the real estate investing business, watching these shows will certainly give you a good introduction into the realm of flipping. But they won’t teach you how to properly finance your flip project or even address necessary aspects like how to obtain the appropriate construction loan or even how to properly budget for unexpected repairs. But entertaining they most certainly are.

Here Are A Few Of My Favorite Flipping and House Hunting Shows:

1) Flip This House (A&E Channel) – This show is probably the original house flipping program of recent years. Each episode tracks the purchase and renovation of a single home, listing the price of the home, renovation cost, and the expected profit from each flip. For newbie flippers, this show provides the least realistic portrayal of the amateur flipping process as the show only spotlights the trials and tribulations of experienced and professional real estate teams.

However I love the show and found it irresistibly entertaining due to the endless stream of scam and fakery controversies that have continuously plagued every season of the show. The Flip This House show and its television network are currently embroiled in at least one lawsuit involving allegations of fraud and breach of contract, as well as other well publicized rumors of flipping fabrication and scams.

The most notorious episode involved Atlanta “real estate developer” Sam Leccima and his season two housing flip scam debacle. His on the air house flipping prowesses were later exposed and discredited as shams by news investigators when it was revealed that he had duped many investors in an elaborate flipping cover up. Apparently not only did he fail to own a real estate license at the time of the show’s filming, he also never owned the houses he allegedly flipped. Much of the work shown on the show was revealed to be actually temporary and shoddy patch up jobs designed to look good on TV. Home staging presentations were faked with his own friends and family posing as potential buyers. Fake Sold signs were slapped in front of unsold homes to make his on the air flipping projects appear successful. How the A&E filming crew failed to realize what was happening as it occurred is beyond me. Very fishy indeed.

Other allegations of fakery involved the humorous and entertaining Montelongo brothers. After watching several of their episodes, I got the feeling much of the whipped up drama was being exaggerated and staged. At some point the episodes grew so ridiculously off the wall that they became asinine, such as when one of the Montelongo bros supposedly had a mental breakdown and had to visit a psychotherapist, or when the family had to sneak into a hotel with their pet dog and birds because their home was being worked on.

However, the show’s most popular real estate team was probably season one’s Trademark Properties, which featured folksy leader Richard Davis and his lovely fan favorite sidekick Ginger. However, due to contractual legal disputes, they’ve since moved over to another television network to start their own show.

2) The Real Estate Pros (TLC/Discovery Channel) – This show exclusively features Trademark Properties which left A&E after filing a lawsuit against the television network over allegations of breach of contract stemming from nonpayment claims. The characters are the same and the show revolves around the same flipping adventures of the Charleston based company.

3) Flip That House (TLC/Discovery Channel) – Unlike the other shows, Flip That House features mainly amateur singles and groups of house flippers as they work together through the process of purchasing, budgeting, renovating, and appraising. The conclusion of each show always ends with a final renovated home value estimate from a real estate agent, but the appraisal usually entails some ridiculously high projected profit that reeks of unrealistic expectations. Despite construction and budget obstacles, the flippers also always seem to come out on top.

Thankfully in the spirit of realism, some older episodes now showcase a Flip Forward feature where viewers can catch up with past flippers to see how their venture actually turned out. Oftentimes, it’s revealed that many flipper properties ultimately languished unsuccessfully on the market for months to years despite the original projected profit spin.

4) The Property Ladder (TLC/Discovery Channel) – This show is one of my best favorites, but only because I enjoy watching train wrecks of amateur flippers crashing and burning their way through the house renovation process. Most of the time I cannot believe some of the wacky approaches out there when it comes to flipping houses. The show features host Kirsten Kemp as the expert property developer who advises these bumbling fools as they strip, hammer, and spend their way into the financial hole. They never seem to listen to her but strangely frequently come out on top, to my viewing disappointment.

5) Flipping Out (Bravo TV Channel) – The show centers around the real estate flipping and personal life of Jeff Lewis, a colorful Los Angeles high-end real estate developer with an obsessive compulsive management streak. The fun part is not watching his team purchase homes and resell them for profit, but rather watching him multi-task his business deals and still keep tabs on his beloved cat “Monkey”, housekeeper, and former boyfriend and business partner Ryan. “Drama for sale” seems to be the theme of this interesting flipping show.

6) House Hunters (HGTV Channel) – With the implosion of the real estate market, there seems to be greater demand for home staging shows and programs that focus on the home buying experience. As a prospective home buyer one day, one of my favorite new shows is House Hunters, which tracks the house hunting experiences of families and couples as they visit prospective houses while verbalizing their likes and dislikes about every aspect of each home they visit. At the end of each episode, they have to decide which home they liked the best and which they would like to make a purchase offer for. It’s very educational and beneficial for me to see how others go through the home buying thought processes as they visit homes and scrutinize the pros and cons. The fun part is always trying to guess which one they’ll ultimately go for.

Source URL: A Review Of Popular House Flipping and Home Hunting Television Shows

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

1) Your Home Asking Price May Be Set Too High

As much as you’d like to think that you or your real agent determine the market value of your home, at the end of the day, it’s the market and the buyer that set the price. They determine how much your home is worth and how much they are willing to pay for it. Overpricing your home is the number one reason why homes don’t sell. Much of the interest in a home is generated within the first 30 days it is placed for sale. By overinflating your asking price, you price out many prospective buyers, particularly if they feel you have no intention of budging or negotiating lower.

Remember to price your house similarly enough with the other comparables in your market as you are competing with these other houses. You want to generate buzz – so pricing it slightly below market may help generate sufficient interest to encourage higher bids later on. Houses that sit too long on the market tend to turn off potential buyers and make them wonder if there are other hidden reasons why the house isn’t selling.

2) The Real Estate Market Is Very Slow And Conditions For Selling Are Bad

When the housing market is slow, there is usually an overabundance of housing supply with too many sellers and not enough serious prospective buyers. The real estate market tends to operate in local pockets, but frequently the national housing sentiment can put a drag on valuation and drag down prices. In such a slow bear housing market, the only way to sell your home fast is to price it at a slight discount and sell it at a lower asking price. Buyers during a slow market want bargains or seller concessions such as waived fees, upgrades, or freebies like plasma TV’s. However, if you are simply unwilling to drop prices, one ultimate solution is to wait it out, although that can last months or even years.

3) Your Home Is Located In a Poor Location

When it comes to selling your home, price and location go hand in hand. Homes located in low crime safe neighborhoods, with easy access to public transportation and highways, proximity to job abundant city hubs, and located near good schools will always be easier to sell. Particularly in a slow housing market, homes located in comparatively less convenient and attractive neighborhoods will find stiffer competition from better located houses. Your recourse is to try lowering the home price further to match the market perception, or to spend more money on additional home improvements to make it more attractive.

4) Your Home Isn’t Maximizing Its First Impression Through Curb Appeal and Home Staging

First impressions are important as buyers need to be wowed and be able to imagine themselves living in the house they are looking at. Try putting yourself in the perspective of a potential buyer and dress up your home accordingly. Repainting your home is the easiest, most cost efficient way to get the most bang for your buck. A new fresh coat of paint does wonders to improve the interior of any home. Putting out new carpet, cutting the grass, and trimming the hedges are also very impactful ways to maximize curb appeal.

Your objective should be to make your house look like a model home – filled with pleasant furniture but not actually lived in. It’s best if you aren’t living in your home while it is being shown to the public if you can help it. But if you must, be sure to hide and clean up all trash containers, random boxers, and junk clutter. Keep your beds made and all dishes washed. Keep your lights on and stock your home with fresh cut flowers to enhance its appeal and impression.

5) Your Home Is Not Easily Accessible Or Convenient Enough For Agents And Buyers

To maximize the speed and price of your home sale, you want as many agents in the area to show the home off to their clients as possible. Thus you want to make it easy and convenient for them to do that. Make sure your home entrance is equipped with a real estate lock box that holds your house key for agents and prospective buyers to use. Try not to make agents have to call you for permission to enter as that only creates delays and hassles, and makes them turn elsewhere.

The best thing you can do is not to be around when your home is being shown. If you are home, let the prospective buyers and agents in but take yourself out of the picture by staying out of their way – I suggest staying in one room. Let them roam freely on their own but make it known you are available later on for questions. Your hovering presence in your own home only crowds it, making the home seem smaller to buyers. Being around will only make your prospective buyers feel like they are intruders – instead you want them to freely envision themselves one day living in the home. Besides, if you are tagging along with the buyer and the agent, they will feel uncomfortable and unable to talk freely among themselves. Even if they don’t exactly know their way around your house, let them wander on their own.

6) Your Real Estate Agent Isn’t Doing A Good Job Of Marketing Your Home For Sale

These days, selling a home goes beyond simply having your agent place your home in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). If your agent isn’t actively going out there promoting and marketing your home through networking with other agents, or posting advertisements in newspapers and on the web, then she or he isn’t doing a good particularly good job for you. Today the internet is a great source of marketing as many computer tech savvy agents use housing newsletters to promote their properties.

A real estate agent is essentially a sales job that requires an appearance that conveys a pleasant, honest, and responsible demeanor. Make sure your selected agent has these positive qualities and is attentive to your needs and isn’t abrasive or constantly feeding you with erroneous advice when it comes to pricing your home. If all your real estate agent does is stick a For Sale sign on your front lawn, while that might have worked years ago when the housing market was burning hot, that’s a clear indicator today that you might want to find a more pro-active real estate agent.

Source URL: Top 6 Reasons And Considerations Why Your Home Isn’t Selling, And Ways You Can Improve

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Failed Building Projects Result In More Apartment Conversions

During the height of the recent housing boom, it used to be that many apartments were being hastily and rapidly converted into condominium dwellings to take advantage of surging home prices. However, with the annihilation of the housing bubble, many housing projects stalled. With the housing downturn, there is now a significant glut of unsold homes being inundated with a continued influx of foreclosed houses into an already distressed marketplace. Many of the unsold residential buildings, condominium complexes in particular, are now being converted into apartment rentals as builders and developers have thrown up their collective hands and given up trying to sell in such a flat market.

I currently rent a one bedroom in a recently built condominium complex in Maryland near the adjacent Washington D.C. border. The condominium complex was a high flyer during the height of the real estate boom, but was not able to escape the market collapse. One bedrooms were previously priced at an astounding $330,000 upon construction completion a year and a half ago, but prices have since plummeted to $250,000 with no bottom in sight. Many of the units were originally snapped up by speculators looking for a quick pre-construction flip. Many of them are now left with dwindling selling prospects and have turned to renting units out as their only viable option. Unlike traditionally managed apartment complexes, home owners forced to become rental landlords are generally not as focussed on maximizing their rental value in my opinion. Many are in dire straights in need of immediate rental income assistance to fulfill mortgage payments or face foreclosure. If you are a vulture renter, you are in luck as sites like Craigslist are littered with plenty of desperate townhouse and condo owners looking for rental tenants. Their misfortune is helping to drive rental prices down in many hard hit markets, although a few stubborn markets continue to buck the trend.

It’s Time For Me To Start Playing Homeowners Against Each Other To Get The Best Rent

I know it is terribly opportunistic of me as a renter, but I did not create the mortgage and housing mess. I am just reacting to current favorable and advantageous conditions in the housing rental market. Keep in mind, many of these same housing speculators were price gouging prospective buyers at the height of the real estate boom so it’s hard to have much sympathy for them when the tables are finally turned.

As my current rental lease expires in the next few months, I look forward to securing a very favorable rental agreement at the same place or at least in the same neighborhood. Next door to my current complex are two major apartment projects simultaneously under construction, but nearing completion. They were originally slated as condominiums but were later converted to apartments when selling homes no longer became attractive. Many area projects have also followed a similar shift. As a long time renter who has no active plans to buy a home in the next few years, this is great news being piled upon already good news. With desperate homeowners and apartment conversions flooding my area, my bargaining power as a rental tenant continues to grow. I plan on pitting all apartment rental prospects against each other to capture a great rental price. If my current landlord hopes to get me to sign the same lease agreement, rather than produce to me a substantial price drop, he’s in for a rude awakening in a few months.

Source URL: Home Seller’s Pain Is My Gain As A Renter – Taking Advantage Of The Mortgage Crisis

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.