North Korea is asking for it

North Korea fired two short range missiles today. They continue Io test the patience and will of our mighty military. We are waiting on China to step in and do something so that we do not have to be the global protector. When do we step in? They have missiles that can reach Hawaii. We must be very careful not to act to swiftly or harshly but we must respond. We have placed harsh economic sanctions on the communist regime but they continue to test our patience. I hope that China will step up and stand by us in this trying time. I don;t think North Korea needs much reminding what happen last time they tried something in Hawaii.

Facebook for big money

Now that the phenomenon of online social networking that has emerged in many areas of business today is finally gaining popularity in real estate. real state agents are using websites like facebook and myspace to stay in front of their sphere of influence and are receiving large rewards for it. i interviewed an agent that came to work for our real estate firm and she told me that she would pay $5,000 a year for facebook if it costs that much. She told me that she couldn't afford not to. She has received 8 transactions this year already from facebook and people should knew from up north that are moving to Florida to buy real estate. Her clients are fiercely loyal and she is having the opportunity to reconnect to them and explain where she is and what she is doing. It is very difficult in real estate to keep up with past clients and future leads to make sure they remember you when they go to buy or sell. Social networking sites allow to stay in front of your clients without having to solicit them. It is revolutionizing the way that businesses advertise. It is a phenomenal way to stay in touch with current and past clients.

14.7 million people were unemployed in June

Our unemployment rate rose to a twenty-six year high in May. We are in a recession. Experts expect the unemployment rate to go well over 10 percent before it stables out. I don't think that even counts the millions of people that are self-employed that are making any money. The trades of our economy that were always in demand have fallen off as well. The plumber, the roofer, the yard guy, have all seen declines in their business. The amount of discretionary income in society has gone down drastically. People are mowing their own yards and fixing their own toilets. people do not have the money that they had even three to four years ago. A good friend has a business that caters to high end clients and he told me that in our town where we grew up that tens of millions had been taken out our town. I didn't even know that there was tens of millions in our town but I can assure that we couldn't afford to lose it. the stock market and unemployment are the first two glaring signals. I think that the next will be rising inflation. We are trying to spend our ways out of this recession. President Obama continues to print money like its worthless and soon it will be if we are not careful.

S.C. first lady says she's willing to forgive husband

jenny Sanford, the wife of disgraced South Carolina governor has decided that she will stand by her cheating husband. Her husband who is the standing governor if South Carolina admitted to the affair and others. He apologized for this affair in particular because he was falling in love with an attractive woman from South America. he said that he would attempt to fall back in love with his wife. It make you wonder if this woman would stay with him if he was not a public official. It is a very peculiar spot that these women are placed in when their husbands stray. You never hear it the other way around. There is never coverage of high profile women being caught cheating. I'm fairly certain that it does happen. Maybe it doesn't? What will the media think of her for standing by her man? It is a very delicate PR game that this family must play because no matter what she will be criticized. There is no right answer for her to make. That option is not available. Stand by her man or flee and be a proud "Oprahesque" woman?

Mugshots on TBT

We discussed in class during one of the guest speakers about the mugshots link on tbt.com.
I thought that it was really shady and in poor taste to put people on the Internet that had only been arrested and not been convicted guilty. I though that it was really bad idea.

However, now I nd myself going to tbt.com instead of tbo.com because of the fact that the mugshots are on the front page. I have always received the tribune growing up and am familiar with the writers that are frequently featured. However, I still find myself typing tbt.com instead of tbo.com every time i go to see breaking news or current events for school or pleasure. It's very revealing that I choose to go this website for the mere fact that i can't wait for the day that I see someone i know on there. Also, I think it's neat to see the people that are smiling from ear to ear as if they have accomplished something. It's almost surreal that we get to see this moment of shame in some one's life.

the greatest job in the world

The tourism department in Queensland had a phenomenal idea for raising awareness about their country. The started a viral campaign that has taken the web by storm. They posted on-line that they were offering a job in this economic climate that would pay six figures to visit all that Queensland has to offer. The job is do all of this amazing stuff for free and report about it. The winner was picked by a fan poll on line. The guy that won was from Britain and he must blog and report about the interesting stuff that he gets to do with his new job.
Queensland calculated that the awareness alone was 1000% over what they expected. They spent about 2.5 million to advertise the contest and received thousands of entries from all over the world. It was a wild success and made me want to visit one day.

Housing News

Rates for 30-year home loans edged up this week, remaining above record lows reached over the spring. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.42 percent, up from 5.38 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Sales of existing houses came in on the upside for May, with a 2.4 percent increase nationally over the month earlier. That's the first consecutive monthly gain in resales in the U.S. since way back in September of 2005. But then again -- last month also saw sales of newly-constructed houses fall by six tenths of a percent, as low-priced foreclosures swamped the market and pulled buyers away from builders' showrooms and subdivisions. Meanwhile, prices in both the resale and the new construction segments continued to head downwards. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home sale price in May was $173,000, 16 percent below what it was a year earlier.
The number one reason for the drop was the heavy presence of foreclosures carrying rock-bottom prices in many markets. Foreclosures present a different phenomenon than I have seen in my real estate career. These great new deals have presented a dynamic between buyers and sellers that I have not seen since the real state boom of early 2003.
This difficult task is acquiring these listings from Asset Managers or directly from the banks. We were forced to establish a business entity between my real state company, a mortgage company, title agent, attorney and turn key contractor to facilitate any property under any condition. This coalition has yielded 43 transactions this year. we are poised for a strong second half of the year. Stay tuned.