Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Cast your vote

The poll booths are now open and we should all try our best to cast our vote. Not doing so is a waste of your rights, and an irresponsibility not only to your own future, but to that of future generations as well. It has become exceedingly clear that it is our only weapon against self centered, mediocre leadership. All I have seen with the McCain campaign is primarily negative ads highlighting Obama's weaknesses, while Obama's campaign was primarily one of highlighting his strength. I can clearly see the qualities of a leader and those of one feeling insecure.  Given current state of affairs, I don't know how any one can, with a good conscience, be rooting for the Republican party. Have we already forgotten the the famous quote by JFK "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?" Sadly, Republican era seems have transformed the message  into "Ask not what your rich bankers and oil companies can do for you, but what you can do for your rich bankers and oil companies!"

Looking back at the yester years, we have been attacked by terrorists, and in futile retaliation, hunted them back like Porky hunting Bugs Bunny, loosing many young American lives and many of our freedoms in the process.  Our government has accused other countries of having WMDs when they didn't, and  have accused everyone, including Americans for "either being with us or against us." We witnessed the appointment of political buddies that had no relevant experience to high government positions, with devastating effects as evidenced by the Hurricane Katrina. We are having one the worst recessions, seen incredible gas prices which had dipped down just in time for the elections, the stock market has been down to the worst levels in decades, huge layoffs of hard working Americans while CEOs have made out with golden parachutes while bankrupting their companies, bank failures at levels unseen since the S&L crisis (again during Republican presidency), and people loosing a lot of their savings in 401K, not to mention loosing a family's most priced possession, homes, to foreclosures and the biggest increase in personal bankruptcies... all during Republican presidency of not 4, but for 8 consecutive years. Now the Republican campaign has taken on an opinionated, non taxpaying Joe "the Plumber" to be the center piece of their political campaign. If this is how its going to be before the elections, I don't want to imagine what it would be like after the election if McCain wins. Joe "the Plumber" would probably be the head of National Security, "Andy the Janitor" would be appointed to be the Supreme Court Judge, and Pam from Merry Maids will probably take over Bernanke's position, ad infinitum. Not that there is anything wrong with that!  Scary times indeed.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Home sales improve in September

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) report that existing home sales improved slightly in September by 5.5% and the total inventory has fallen by 1.6%. According to NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, low home prices and low interest rates have been attracting buyers and this is the first time since November 2005 that home sales have been above year-ago levels. However, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, cautions that the credit markets are still unsettled and there could be market disruptions. The increased number of foreclosures and short sales have been contributing to lowering the median home price as these are being sold at discounted prices. Read more details at the Realtor web site

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Marina’s 'fall festival' for a good cause Saturday Oct 25th 12-6PM


Come and enjoy music, food, hay rides, a boat show and lots of fun activities for the kids, while helping a good cause. The fundraiser will help Lesli Smith, a real estate agent with Keller Willaims Realty, fight her battle against cancer.  The event will be held at the Aqualand Marina, 6800 Lights Ferry Road, Flowery Branch, GA 30542. Read more about the event at the Gainesville Times

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Sugar Hill Festival

City of Sugar will be celebrating the 8th Annual Sugar Hill Fall Festival on the 25th Saturday of October 2008. Plan for an exciting fun filled day with food, rides and a Car and Motorcycle show. You can also be a part of a good cause by choosing to participate in the food drive. Please visit the City of Sugar Hill web site for more details.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Sims Lake Park

Sims Lake Park is now open and is a welcome addition to Suwanee's commitment to providing a quality life style through its Open Space Initiative. It is a very tranquil park with a 7 acre lake and 1.2 mile hiking trail, a playground for kids and a picnic pavilion. This adds yet another reason to why Suwanee was chosen to be the 10th in the list of Top 100 Best Places to Live by the Money Magazine in 2007.




Swanee Day



Suanee Day was held today at the Suwanee’s Town Center Park. It turned out to be a beautiful day with sunny blue skies, lots of entertainment with music, and a variety of food.


Thursday, October 16, 2008

Open House 10/18-10/19 in Ellijay



I will be hosting an open house this Sunday the 19th in Ellijay for Cindy (Listing Agent), who will be available on both Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Coincidentally, it also turns out to be the Georgia Apple Festival, held at the Ellijay Lions Club Fairground. So take some time off to enjoy the short scenic drive to the North Georgia Mountains and check out these beautiful homes at the same time.















Monday, October 6, 2008

Happy Meal or Home?


MSNBC is running a story about a Chicago resident, Joanne Smith, who won an e-bay auction for an abandoned home in Saginaw, MI for $1.75! Yes, thats cheaper than a Happy Meal! Seller probably forgot to put a minimum bid!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Is America worth more dead than alive?

I ran across this blog about Credit Default Swaps, and another titled A Credit Default Swap Primer, which led me to raise the above question. Imagine the game the short sellers could/would/have played naked shorting stocks that they have taken CDSs for. If, as the articles mention, there are $58 Trillion of CDSs to insure the $6 Trillion of US corporate debt, there seem to be a lot of stakeholders that would like to collect that $58 Trillion as companies file for bankruptcy. So, are we being purposely set up for failure by some truly sadistic people, in order to collect on it? I would like to know the answer, and truly hope that it is a resounding no.

Several weeks ago I wanted to by a Macintosh and checked Craigslist to see if there are any good deals. I found an amazing deal for a Mac Book Pro for $1200; it sells for $2000 at the Apple Store. I sent a quick e-mail asking if I can come and take a look. A day later, I got a reply back; "I still have the laptop. But the thing is that I'm in the U.K. for my school (I have the laptop with me)...." and a way for us to complete the deal fast. This was just what I expected... a student in UK, trying to sell his laptop in Atlanta for dirt cheap. I have heard of this scam too many times, so I elected not to pursue this any further. But it looks like Wachovia and Citigroup have fallen into this same exact trap buying Credit Default Swaps from a tiny company in an inaccessible jurisdiction. With people like this running our financial system, I don't know whether to laugh or to cry! Truly amazing!

Here are some very interesting and disturbing eye openers that talk about the crisis we are facing.digg this article.