Local Real Estate Comments and Ramblings

I just did my most recent ";Service or Life"; newsletter by email instead of in print.  There are still a few hundred in my outbox, so if you haven't received it yet, I hope you do get it in the next few hours :-).

If you would like to add yourself to the email list just let me know.  I'll be sure that you get next months issue and all the valuable real estate news that you can use!

For my fellow agents out there who are reading this ... MS Outlook email merge is pretty easy to use. It eliminates bouncebacks from folks whose isp won't allow emails that are cc'd to large groups.  Each email goes out one at a time.  Since they are sent one at a time, don't do as I did.  Send it at night when it won't matter if your email send/receive is plugged up :-). Other than that Outlook email merge is a great tool for keeping in touch with your database.

****************

How To Avoid Dangerous Health Risks

On Your Next Airline Flight…

April 2009

Dear <;<;name>;>;,

            I hope that you are doing well.  In order to save paper, I have included a link to this month’s issue of my Service For Life® free consumer newsletter. It’s loaded with useful consumer and health tips, trivia, funny jokes, entertainment, quotes, and more.  I think that you’ll really enjoy it.  It’s in adobe acrobat (.pdf) format which almost every computer has installed.

This Month's ";Service For Life!";(R)

If the link is broken just copy and paste this address into your browser   http://issue5.agentbobsells.com

Between jetlag, backaches and sore muscles to getting downright ill, traveling by air can be risky business.  That’s why I’ve highlighted a number of proven tips for staying healthy when flying your favorite airline.   It’s all detailed right here in my latest Service For Life! ^® Free consumer newsletter.  But before you dig into this issue…

            Here’s what’s new in the world of real estate: Is it a good time to buy or sell?  No doubt that the real estate market has been in the news a lot lately.  There is a lot of fear being created by the news media.  But what is the real answer? Well the best answer that I can give is maybe! For some people it is a very good time to buy OR sell.

It is a great market for buyers.  Prices are down and interest rates are unbelievably low. For 1^st time buyers who are ready to accept the responsibility and rewards of home ownership the timing is excellent! 

The same factors can really benefit sellers who are moving to a similar or higher priced home. How?  In a “better” market you buy and sell for retail.  Your current $200,000 home sells for $200,000 and you move on up to your $300,000 home.  You pay $100,000 price difference. 

But today’s market won’t bring retail on either home. Just picking some numbers, lets say you have to sell your current home for 5% less than it would have brought last year, or $190,000.  But by the same token your new home also sells for 5% less than last year, or $185,000. Your net difference on the purchase is $95,000 and you just saved $5000!  Plus you get to take advantage of today’s low, low interest rates. With a good agent (like me J) these numbers are very real and may even be conservative.

You can read more of my real estate newsletters, commentaries and miscellaneous ramblings on my website.

Agent Bob's Newsletters and Blogs

            Also, I’d like to say a few special words about my client and friends, Lamar and Lorra Harden.  I have known Lamar for over 20 years. I’ve know is wife Lorra for almost as long. In just the last year, Lamar has blessed me with 5 great listings totaling $900,000!  Lamar and Lorra also provided their home for my surprise 50^th birthday party!  Thank you Lorra and Lamar for your friendship and for your business.

            Finally, I want you to know, <;<;name>;>;, that you may call me for any reason.  And please let me know if a friend, family member or neighbor, need a caring, competent real estate professional to help in buying or selling.

            I truly appreciate your friendship and referrals.  Enjoy your issue!

                                       This Month's ";Service For Life!";(R)

Warmest regards,

Bob Southard

REALTOR®,E-Pro®,CREO®

Solid Source Realty

770-656-9134

www.AgentBobSells.com 

Read Bobs Blog 

Follow Bob on Twitter , FaceBook, and LinkedIn

P.S.   Do you suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?  Go to page 3 right now for quick-tips to ease the pain…

3/2 Brick Ranch - Handy Man Special

Location: JENNINGS ESTATE

Spacious Starter Get more for your money in this brick ranch home close to McEachern High. Offers 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, open kitchen, sun room. Fixer- Upper all brick ranch style PLUS full basement -*Varner Elementary *Tapp Middle *McEachern High

Information

Contact Information

Bob Southard

770-656-9134

Contact Reply Form

Forward to a Friend

View Other Flyers

Pricing

Price: $60,000

Additional Pricing Information: PRICED FOR VERY QUICK SALE

Property Location

2915 BARRETT CT
POWDER SPRINGS, GA 30127
View Map

Links

SEE 100'S OF POWDER SPRINGS HOMES FOR SALE

Features

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 3

Parking Spaces: 3

Year Built: 1974

Subdivision: Jennings Estate

Lot Size: .22

Garage Size: 2 CAR CARPORT

School District: COBB COUNTY

Square Footage: 0000

Agent Name: Bob Southard

Broker: Solid Source Realty, INC

MLS #: 3890805

Attributes

Interior Amenities

Basement

Exterior Amenities

Grass Lawn

Photo Gallery

View as SlideshowView Photo Gallery (6 Photos)

Powered by vFlyer.com

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

VFLYER ID: 2436906

****************

Bob Southard, e-Pro, Realtor ®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy a home, Sell a home, in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram,and Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, North Fulton, South Cherokee, County, Ga. Call me for all of your real estate needs.

Visit my website

Call me for all of your Real Estate needs

770-656-9134

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

Follow Bob on Twitter , FaceBook, and LinkedIn

20:Then he asked them, "Whose face and name is this?"
21: They said to him, "Caesar's." So he said to them, "Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 

Mathew 20-21

**************************

So do you know how much you gave back today?  I was listening to Neil Boortz this morning and he had Sean Hannity on as a guest.  They were talking about all of the Tea Party rallies being held around the country today (including a big one here in Atlanta) and the Fair Tax.

The idea came up to ask people today how much they paid.  It's seems like a simple question but you likely will get several different answers..

• I didn't pay anything ... I got money back! Wrong! You made an interest free loan to the government out of each weeks paycheck and then they mailed some of your money back.
• I only had to pay a little ... I had to write a check for a few hundred dollars.  Wrong again! See the above answer and then add a few dollars to keep them from coming after you.
• Those S.O.B.S  I had to write a check for $$$$ (some large dollar amount)  This will be the rarest answer and the most correct but still not 100% correct.

The truth is that nobody will know the exact answer.  The government likes it that way so they can tax the life out of us and we'll never realize. Kind of like putting a frog in a pot of cold water and then turning on the heat.  He'll never know to jump out and just gets boiled up for frog legs.

You think you got money back? HAH!  Even if you got a refund equal to what you paid in, your employer still paid a payroll tax on your behalf just for the opportunity to create a job for you.  Your boss gets taxed not just on his/her  profits but on the amount they pay you.  Wake up! that's money they could use to give you a raise or expand their business.

Did you stop at Dunkin' Donuts for some calories and caffeine today? Sure you paid a little sales tax and you were aware of that.   The donut man has to pay tax on his payroll and profits, the truck driver that brought the dough and coffee beans pays taxes, his employer pays payroll and income tax, the farmer that grew the grain that made the dough, the importer who got the delicious beans, the manufacturer who made the coffee cups and the donut box, the electric company, and every other vendor or service provider that was used to get you coffee and a donut was taxed.  All of those costs of doing business are embedded in to the cost of the coffee and donut! When you buy the coffee and donut you are paying all of those taxes because they were hidden in the cost. Businesses don't pay taxes.  Taxes are built in to the cost of good or service that you purchase, the business collects the tax and forwards it on the the government.

What if .... we just took all those taxes away and just paid one time at the end of the line?
There is proposal before congress to do just that!  It is called the Fair Tax. It creates one simple tax at the end of the line and eliminates all the hidden taxes and stupid loopholes.  The  first $30,000 or so of your income will be exempt based on your family size.  

Most CPA's favor the fair tax because it will allow them to actually counsel their clients in making sound business decisions instead of making decisions based on tax consequences. Most congressmen hate it because it will make the people aware of how much they are paying.  Remember the frog in the boiling water?

Here are just a few of the up sides:

• You keep 100% of your paycheck  + your boss is not taxed on how much they pay you
• People who right now do not file or hide income instantly become taxpayers! Illegal immigrants, drug dealers, cash incomes earners like bartenders, all become taxpayers!
• Foreign visitors pay tax
• America becomes THE place to locate a new business.  With no corporate income taxes business from all over the world will locate here. Wow! Talk about creating more jobs!
• WE the people will see what we are being charged and can hold our gov't accountable.

My big day in Cobb State Court....

Back on Feb. 11, I was pulled over for an expired tag on my car.  I had just taken my daughter to the Doctors office at West Cobb Pediatrics and we were heading for the big McDonalds there at Lost Mountain Road and Dallas Hwy.  The officer was actually quite polite but he did give me a ticket.  No slack for a broke Realtor who just had to take his kid to the Doctor.   A few days later I finally got the Jag to pass the Georgia emissions test so that I could buy my updated tags.

A few weeks later I got a letter informing me to show up April 15, 8:30 am,at the Cobb State Court building at 12 East Park Square in Marietta.  The Honorable Judge Nancy Campbell would be the judge for my case.  The letter also told me that I could pay $169 bond and then forfeit the bond instead of showing up.  They could just take that for my fine and we would be even.

Cobb State Court, 12 East Park Square, Marietta

$169!!!
Like I said, I'm just a poor broke Realtor.  Somebody told me that if I went to court and proved that I now had tags I might be able to get out of it.   I'm no lawyer but I've seen them on TV so I figured... what the heck, worst case scenario is that it still costs me $169.  My list of excuses defenses was growing.  I mean, really, I already bought the tag and paid the county it's tag tax and late fees, I know my tag was expired so I rarely never drove the car, I was taking my daughter to the doctor (I even have a copy of the receipt with time of day on it!).

Side note: Saying I've seen lawyers on tv is sort like saying, I have watched "Flip This House" I don't need an agent.  If this had been a serious event there is no way I would have gone without a lawyer.  Like I said, my maximum risk was $169.

So today was the big day.  I left home early and it was a good thing.  The traffic at Macland and Powder Springs was terrible but I made it to the Marietta Square by about 8:10 and was in the courtroom by 8:20.  I signed in and the prosecutors were already calling names of folks who were there.  By about 8:25 one of the prosecutors called my name.  OK, this is it, now I can tell my story...

The prosecutor asked me if I had tags now, so I gave him a copy of my tag receipt. He then informed me that I had 2 choices.  I could plead guilty, have my fine reduced to $86, appear before Judge Campbell, and get out of there ... or plead not guilty and they would schedule a new court date with my choice of a Judge or Jury trial.  About 1 millisecond later I told him I can pay the fine today if that's ok :-).  

At almost exactly 8:30 court was called in to session, I appeared before the judge, the bailiff took me upstairs to pay my fine and I was in my car driving home by 9am. The  downside to the whole story is that I did get a ticket and a  fine.  But all in all my entire experience with the Cobb County government was a good one.  The police officer was friendly, the court was extremely well run, and all of the officers of the court were quite nice. I hope that any of you reading this never have to do business with Cobb State Court, but I want to say that if you do, it's not so bad.

***********************

Bob Southard, e-Pro, Realtor ®, Solid Source Realty, Inc. Buy a home, Sell a home, in Powder Springs, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Dallas, Hiram,and Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, North Fulton, South Cherokee, County, Ga. Call me for all of your real estate needs.

Visit my website

Call me for all of your Real Estate needs

770-656-9134

Copyright © 2008 By Bob Southard, All Rights Reserved

 

Follow Bob on Twitter , FaceBook, and LinkedIn

Ok, I learned this one was I was a kid and once you read it you'll know how obvious that is. Anyway it's my favorite Easter joke and I love to share it.

Knock Knock:

Who's there?

Ether

Ether Who?

Ether Bunny!

>
>

Knock Knock:

Who's there?

Cargo

Cargo Who?

Cargo beep beep.... run over Ether Bunny!

>
>

Knock Knock:

Who's there?

Boo!

Boo Who?

Oh, Don't cry ... new Ether Bunny will be back next year

Ok, now all of you can groan together

Happy Easter!

Unemployment is around 8.5% and that is about the same as it was in the 1980"s .... right?

Not quite. It seems that there are actually different number reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Up until the the mid 1990's the number that was commonly reported or quoted was the "U6" number.  "U6" a broad figure that includes people that have been unemployed so long that they have basically given up or taken very low paying or part time jobs just to have some sort of income.  So in the mid 80's we had a "U6" unemployment of about

In the mid 1990's the way of reporting was changed to use a much narrower "U3" number.  This is the figure that is most often quoted today and reflects the 8.5% (or so) figure that is considered today's unemployment rate.  8.5% was the "official" figure that came out in Early April.  However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics still tracks the "U6" number as well.  You just don't hear about it.

If you want to compare "apples to apples" then you need to look at the "U6" number as reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. And what was the recent "U6" number .......