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Displaying blog entries 1551-1560 of 1876

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Monday, September 7, 2009
by Liz Warren

Change is in the air with Congress working on restructuring the failing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Mortgage bankers are suggesting creating a "good bank" and a "bad bank" and getting rid of both of these institutions. The good bank would deal with the profitable mortgage loans and the bad bank would deal with work outs on bad loans and resolutions for people in trouble.

What does this mean to home buyers if the reorganization happens? It could mean that the government would guarantee the regular conventional fixed rate plain vanilla loans.

The loans that are not mainstream such as Jumbo loans or other non conforming loans may not get serviced through the reorganization. The National Association of Realtors is trying to lobby to get these nonconforming loans serviced. Although Freddie and Fannie are staying the same right now, look for changes by some time next year.

 

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Credit Card Changes

Monday, September 7, 2009
by Liz Warren

What do the new changes for credit cards mean for you? If you haven't noticed, many credit card companies have already made preemptive strikes. Since January 2009 many companies have raised interest rates  and fees by 20% and slashed credit limits for an estimated 58 million card holders.

August 2009 new regulations came into effect on receipt of your credit card bill, how much notice consumers are given before their rates are changed and other items.

It's predicted that the credit card industry will be in turmoil for another year. Be sure and watch for notices from companies because if you don't pay attention you may be subject to more fees!

Here are some interesting stats:

*about 85% of credit card owners pay interest or fees every month

*48% incur penalties and or exceed their credit card limits

Naturally, the higher interest rates on balances may cause credit dings which will cause a lower credit score. This could trigger higher interest rates when you purchase goods- such as cars, refrigerators or any other consumer goods you purchase on credit.

You might want to consider switching your card balance over to a lower rate at some point. Just be aware of the good, the consumer protection laws (Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure) going into effect, and the bad-the impact of your card's higher rates and credit limits!

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Morning Coffee

Monday, September 7, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next."
~ Abraham Lincoln


TEACH VALUES 101!

What do children and government have in common? That depends on which classroom you visit. If you have children and are actively involved in their lives, you are likely to encounter a classroom filled with intelligent, interested, involved and respectful children.

Unfortunately, many teachers today will tell you that's not what they are seeing. In some 1st & 2nd grade settings, children fall asleep because they spent the night in the family car while mom or dad sold drugs. Others are antagonistic and disrespectful, traits also learned from other family members. Still others are raised in a "no rules" family, where parents simply abdicate their parental responsibilities.

Many parents still take their responsibilities seriously. In fact, there appears to be a resurgence of young parents who teach their children the values of honesty, integrity, and service to others. It's about time. If you're one of them, I applaud your commitment to making the world a better place.

There has also been a dearth of honesty, respect and morality over the past 30 years or so. Children brought up during that time often experienced the negative effects of a no rules society. Today those same individuals are beginning to lead companies and be elected to office, yet we are surprised that company CEO's and elected officials could ever lie and mislead as they have been exposed to do recently.

As the children of today's classrooms are disposed to believe and behave, so will they as the adults of tomorrow's generation. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, you can make a difference for the next generation of leaders. Take time to encourage, nurture, and teach the children in your family. Sometimes, a single comment or gesture can give a child the impetus to become great.

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Oregon Trail School District Test Scores

Tuesday, September 1, 2009
by Liz Warren

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Morning Coffee

Monday, August 31, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Time is clay. Make something."
~ Unknown


TIME'S A'WASTING!

To paraphrase a favorite tune, "If I could save time in a bottle..." I could have saved literally millions of minutes so far. Of course most of us think in terms of a 24-hour clock that gives us another chance to save each time we wake up. We think of time beginning anew with the start of each day. Not so. Time is actually a continuum, a straight line.

If you were born in 1952, you could have saved 27,856,800 minutes by now. Born in 1968? You'd have a bottle full of 19,447,200 minutes. No matter when you were born, it's easy to calculate just how many minutes you could have saved by now. The real question, of course, is how many minutes are left. Bet you didn't want to hear that.

Not to worry. It's what you do with what you've got that counts. So why not begin looking at time as clay - as something you roll in your hands and form into anything you like. Remember making little cars, or a house, or a little clay doll when you were little? Back then, no one told you what to make - you just let your imagination guide you.

As you got older, you were told what you could do, when you could do it, and how much time you had to get it done. You quit playing with the clay, and didn't have the time to let your imagination guide you. More than likely you fell into a routine (a.k.a. a rut), one possibly designed by someone else's imagination.

Why not take some of the time you have to rediscover the joy your own imagination can bring? Think back to those wonderful days of clay - and make something!

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Hood to Coast Race Coming This Friday!

Thursday, August 27, 2009
by Liz Warren

As every local resident knows, Hood to Coast is quite the event on Mt. Hood! Friday afternoon is a menagerie of runners, vans and support people that take over our area. The set up was in the works today at Timberline and various other locales getting ready for tomoorow's major start up event.

WATCH OUT FIR RUNNERS, VANS, and SUPPORT FOLKS

Check out details here

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Grand Lodges Condos at Government Camp

Thursday, August 27, 2009
by Liz Warren

One of the newest Condo projects in Government Camp is the Grand Lodges. This project can't be missed and if you haven't taken the tour, you should stop in the office and check it out. Underground parking, great views, spacious units, top end finish work makes for something worth seeing! The convenience of condo ownership in the winter is a plus!

Interested in seeing any  of these units or others in the Government Camp area, give me a call. It's time to start thinking about skiing!

In the past couple of days several units hit the market with new pricing points starting at $529,000. Here are the details below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cell Phones- Do Not Call List

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
by Liz Warren

CELL PHONE NUMBERS GO PUBLIC THIS MONTH.

REMINDER.....  All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
.... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone:    888-382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

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Mt. Hood Foreclosures

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
by Liz Warren

They're still coming and here is the current list of foreclosued homes in the Mt. Hood Area from Brightwood, Welches, Government Camp and Rhododendron:

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Morning Coffee

Monday, August 24, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -
but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes


STUCK IN PORT?

Imagine the Pearl Harbor attack of 1941 going unanswered . . . Many of our ships found at anchor by attacking planes went down, never to leave the harbor again. Imagine the economy floundering with interest rates at 12%, and learning that the head of "the fed" has taken a six-month, non-working vacation to Tahiti. Imagine how you would have felt on September 12, 2001 if our president had appeared on TV to tell us how sorry he was about the attacks without announcing action to protect us in the future.

We expect our nation's leaders to act in times of crisis, don't we? But - what do we expect of ourselves when a family crisis arises, our sales flounder, or we notice the numbers on our scale beginning to creep upward to uncomfortable levels? Do we set sail, or lie at anchor hoping "someone" will do "something?"

Babe Ruth sailed against the wind more often than with it. He is remembered for his home runs - 714 of them - yet he struck out 1,330 times in his career. Best of all, he set sail and got out of the harbor (took his bat to the plate) 8,399 times. Had he stayed safely in the dugout, he could have avoided all those strikeouts.

So - what about you? Having difficulty setting sail lately? Perhaps it's time to give your engine a little maintenance, or take out a needle and thread to repair torn sails. You may also want to pull out your map to redefine the direction you'll be taking in coming months.

If you've been spending too much time at the "Captain's Table" and not enough time on the bridge with the wheel in your hand, perhaps some planning now will send you full speed ahead out of the harbor and with some exotic port of call in sight. Bon Voyage!

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Displaying blog entries 1551-1560 of 1876

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