Sellstate Veterans Realty Network

When is the right time?

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:36:00 GMT

Having spent part of my career in the Investment Banking Business I often would see on any downturn in the market the flood of people that would put in their sell orders and on any up turn they were also putting in the buy orders. Now if you consider that as a good philosophy for investment you must subscribe to the “buy high and sell low” theory. This theory has turned many a fortune into pocket change.

For some reason many people need a column written in the local paper telling them that this is a good time to buy. However, by the time that little tidbit hits the press, the time has already passed.

When you look at the current per square foot price of homes in some areas you find that if you had a lot and tried to build a home today for the same per square foot price, you would not even be able to get the walls up, let alone complete the home. Therefore my question is, why wait for further decline, which may or may not happen? At most, if we see further decline in pricing, it will be minimal since the worst seems to have already taken place. In a lot of areas the trend is stabilizing in pricing and that will be followed by increases in pricing. The ability to time the rock bottom is luck more than skill and a gamble when opportunities exist today.

When prices reach a level where they are bargain prices, it is time to act. If you believe in the better philosophy of buy low and sell high, the right time may be now. It appears that that this thought is catching on since the latest report showed an increase in home sales nationally. In the region I am located this philosophy has been underway for several months and prices have reached close or at the bottom and opportunities exist in abundance.

So if you hear the knock – knock, remember it was opportunity and hopefully you will answer the door.

Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Surrounding Area Market Report

Gary Szolosi — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:52:00 GMT

Sales of resale homes in the Greater Fort Myers area rose again for the tenth consecutive month in October, with a total of 805 properties sold - up 122.4% versus the prior year. However, the value of homes continued to drop due to the continued presence of short sale and bank owned properties. The median price is now $119,900, which is 22.6% below the 2003 level.

There were 12,611 single-family homes for sale in October in the area, for an estimated 8.3 month supply of inventory. Sales activity is picking up pace as over 1,877 properties are pending, including properties that are active contingent and require lender approval. This is an increase of 170% versus a year ago and a 5% increase versus September.

Have we reached the bottom? That is a question people ask all the time. My take on that is not so much have we reached the very bottom but are prices at a level that the buyer can feel comfortable that they are receiving value for their dollar. One of the methods I use to determine this is the cost per square foot. Currently homes are being sold for less than what you could build them and to me that means the bottom may be here or very close. The above stats bear this out since we are at levels that go back to before 2003.

Homes in Gated Communities have dropped but not as much as homes outside of gated communities. The reason for this may be because there have been fewer short sales and foreclosures in these communities. However they have dropped significantly, as well.

There are still funds available to those who want to finance a home. A large part of the sales in this area are second homes. Although some of the funding requirements have changed for foreign national, there still is a finance market available.

Foreclosures offer the greatest opportunity but also are very competitive. The great buys often have multiple offers with some going for $5,000 to $10,000 over asking. Banks seem to want to move these properties and price some of them way below even the current market. Not all of them but more than I have ever seen in the past. These are the homes that end up with the multiple bids. However they are normally priced so far under that even at the above asking offers they are still sold at below market. A good example was a two year old pool home with 2100 square feet and in excellent condition. It sold for $338,000 in 2006. It was on the foreclosure market for $101,000. There were 7 bids on it the first day. The market for this home was in the $150,000 range when you compared it to similar homes in the area. So if you are looking for some great opportunities, they still exist and more come to market daily. However, this market will not last forever and perhaps this is the time to examine the opportunities available.

Single Story For Sale in South - Units 3, 30,44-45, 64, 66, 67, 2323

Gary Szolosi — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:50:00 GMT

Pool Home on Freshwater Canal

• 2,300 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $199,000 USD - Short Sale

South - Units 3, 30,44-45, 64, 66, 67, 2323, Cape Coral - SHORT SALE – This never lived in, like new home is located on a fresh water canal, with sea wall in place. You will have quick access to Veterans Pkwy. Open floor plan with split bedroom design, blinds on windows, manual shutters, walk-in closets, irrigation system, and a great pool and Lanai.
This is a short sale subject to current mortgage holder's approval and may have time constraint.

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Single Story For Sale in Colonial Country Club

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:02:00 GMT

Pay as you Play Golf

• 1,725 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $256,000 USD - Lowest Priced SF Home

Colonial Country Club, Fort Myers - Enjoy the privacy and charm of this spacious home in this upscale Golf community. This home offers either three bedrooms or two bedrooms and a den. This open floor plan is tiled throughout and the fantastic preserve view offers the ultimate privacy while enjoying the pool and spa on the lanai. This home is like brand new and has never been lived in. Social membership offer pay as you play golf and the use of all club facilities. Don’t miss an opportunity on this home! This is a short sale subject to current mortgage holder's approval and may have time constraints. This property is in the final stages of the Short Sale - Bring your contract. Price is firm! Great buy at this price!!!

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I'm Ready For Change, S.2191 will hurt America

Gary Szolosi — Fri, 30 May 2008 04:59:00 GMT

Since I am in Real Estate I try to avoid subjects like this but I could not resist any longer posting on this subject. I like Senator Lieberman and he is very wrong on his Bill. It will do nothing for the Climate Change and will only hurt America.

The cost of S.2191 Lieberman/Warner America's Climate Security Act of 2007 which is scheduled to be reviewed currently is devastating to your wallet. The purpose of the bill is to punish those companies that emit more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. On the surface who can disagree with reducing our emissions since it means cleaner air. However, there is no proof that reducing this will have any effect on the climate. Contrary to media hype and misinformation, no respectable scientist can produce any concrete proof that climate change is nothing more than the normal chain of events in the cycle of life here on earth.

Lets review a few fact to see if our legislatures have got things right to date. Let us start with energy and their approach to fix it, as lame as it was and still is! They passed legislation that mandated that ethanol be used to reduce CO2 and reduce energy dependence. When you hear things like reduction you feel good. I can go along with that. However, what were the real results. First, ethanol was not a product that could be refined within any economically feasible profit range without government subsidies. Albeit farm subsidies or tax credits or subsidies and grants. So the legislatures we now have really did more harm than good. They spent your tax dollars to subsidies a flawed system rather than looking an alternatives that had promise. The result is that corn is now at record price levels, @$2.00 a bushel in 2005 and now pushing $6.00 a bushel. That just doesn’t affect the price of corn flakes; it changes meat prices, the price of anything that uses corn syrup and all the things that are not being grown because corn is the cash crop today.

Let’s move to the next blunder, the devaluation of the dollar. This has been one of the significant factors in the high cost of oil but not the big one. The biggest one is the lack of your Congress and their ability to implement a change in energy policy.

Rather than spend time working on a solution they are working on a way to totally drive our economy into the dirt. S.2191 will cause the prices of everything that you buy or use to go up. Why? Because it taxes anyone that uses energy and emits CO2 and the cost of those taxes will be passed on to you.

Is there a solution? Yes! We need a plan for alternative energy and we need to pull the oil out of our ground and stop the 56% reliance on foreign oil. The amount of Shale Oil in the US is estimated at 1.5 trillion barrels which is almost 5 times the reserves in Saudi Arabia. That amount doesn’t include Anwar or the Eastern Gulf. If we put a plan together to drill and recover this oil and added a plan to develop alternatives we would conquer the emission problems and the reliance on foreign oil.

There is another form of energy that could be used called methanol. It is made of waste. It requires a $100 change to you car if done when manufactured. This is pollution free and solves a land fill problem since garbage, leaves or any waste material can be turned into methanol. Your legislatures have known this for a while but have chosen to ignore it.

It is time for change alright. Throw them out if they vote for S.2191 and if they don’t start a real energy bill that helps, they must go. The sad thing is all the current candidates for President support this idiotic bill. Your support will help change their minds. Don’t accept what I have written, look for yourself and look at what they have done and see if they have been wrong on most of what they have done.

I am afraid that what they do is flow with the popular topic of the day and really don’t do any analysis of the facts. I recently wrote Senator Nelson of Florida and he wrote me back the lamest response that was lacking any facts or solid evidence of his position.

The only way you will see change is to act.

Single Story For Sale in Central Fort Myers

Gary Szolosi — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:47:00 GMT

This is NOT a Short Sale

• 1,840 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $199,986 USD - Priced Below Market

Central Fort Myers, Fort Myers - This three bedroom /two bath home offers large rooms and is centrally located to all that Fort Myers offers. Split floor plan with addition computer space outside of guest bedroom. This home is priced below market for quick sale. Great Home – Great Location.

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May Rules change the Landscape of Lending

Gary Szolosi — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:37:00 GMT

The new lending rules have really put a damper on foreign nationals purchasing property. With the falling dollar, the foreign markets were a tantalizing market with the opportunities that existed with low prices and the difference in currency. However, as usual we have taken a positive and put a damper on it.

The new rules, if you are in what Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac considers to be a depressed area, now require that a foreign national has to put 45% down in order to secure US Funding for a loan. I had a lot of Canadian and German clients that were ready to take advantage and buy that second home and now have been shut out by the new lending rules.

It appears to me we have two ways making lending rules, they are either lax or over the edge. Perhaps in time will get this right. In the mean time we are seeing a wave of buyers being turned away because of these nonsensical rules. Less that 1/100th of 1% of foreclosures belong to this category of buyer. I would love to hear the logic in the decision that put this rule in place. We are pretty good at cutting off our nose to spite our face. IMHO

The Housing Crisis Is Over

Gary Szolosi — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:01:00 GMT

It is articles like the following from the Wall Street Journal that should get more attention from those interested in the Truth!

The Housing Crisis Is Over

By CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX

The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now.

How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor.

Most people forget that the current housing bust is nearly three years old. Home sales peaked in July 2005. New home sales are down a staggering 63% from peak levels of 1.4 million. Housing starts have fallen more than 50% and, adjusted for population growth, are back to the trough levels of 1982.

Furthermore, residential construction is close to 15-year lows at 3.8% of GDP; by the fourth quarter of this year, it will probably hit the lowest level ever. So what's going to stop the housing decline? Very simply, the same thing that caused the bust: affordability.

The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, it took 19% of average monthly income to service a conforming mortgage on the average home purchased. By 2005 and 2006, it was absorbing 25% of monthly income. For first time buyers, it went from 29% of income to 37%. That just proved to be too much.

Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst.

Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s. Numerous households that had been priced out of the market can now afford to get in.

The next question is: Even if home sales pick up, how can home prices stop falling with so many houses vacant and unsold? The flip but true answer: because they always do.

In the past five major housing market corrections (and there were some big ones, such as in the early 1980s when home sales also fell by 50%-60% and prices fell 12%-15% in real terms), every time home sales bottomed, the pace of house-price declines halved within one or two months.

The explanation is that by the time home sales stop declining, inventories of unsold homes have usually already started falling in absolute terms and begin to peak out in "months of supply" terms. That's the case right now: New home inventories peaked at 598,000 homes in July 2006, and stand at 482,000 homes as of the end of March. This inventory is equivalent to 11 months of supply, a 25-year high – but it is similar to 1974, 1982 and 1991 levels, which saw a subsequent slowing in home-price declines within the next six months.

Inventories are declining because construction activity has been falling for such a long time that home completions are now just about undershooting new home sales. In a few months, completions of new homes for sale could be undershooting new home sales by 50,000-100,000 annually.

Inventories will drop even faster to 400,000 – or seven months of supply – by the end of 2008. This shift in inventories will have a significant impact on prices, although house prices won't stop falling entirely until inventories reach five months of supply sometime in 2009. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market.

Many pundits claim that house prices need to fall another 30% to bring them back in line with where they've been historically. This is usually based on an analysis of house prices adjusted for inflation: Real house prices are 30% above their 40-year, inflation-adjusted average, so they must fall 30%. This simplistic analysis is appealing on the surface, but is flawed for a variety of reasons.

Most importantly, it neglects the fact that a great majority of Americans buy their houses with mortgages. And if one buys a house with a mortgage, the most important factor in deciding what to pay for the house is how much of one's income is required to be able to make the mortgage payments on the house. Today the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is 5.7%. Back in 1981, the rate hit 18.5%. Comparing today's house prices to the 1970s or 1980s, when mortgage rates were stratospheric, is misguided and misleading.

This is all good news for the broader economy. The housing bust has been subtracting a full percentage point from GDP for almost two years now, which is very large for a sector that represents less than 5% of economic activity.

When the rate of house-price declines halves, there will be a wholesale shift in markets' perceptions. All of a sudden, the expected value of the collateral (i.e. houses) for much of the lending that went on for the past decade will change. Right now, when valuing the collateral, market participants including banks are extrapolating the current pace of house price declines for another two to three years; this has a significant impact on the amount of delinquencies, foreclosures and credit losses that lenders are expected to face.

More home sales and smaller price declines means fewer homeowners will be underwater on their mortgages. They will thus have less incentive to walk away and opt for foreclosure.

A milder house-price decline scenario could lead to increases in the market value of a lot of the securitized mortgages that have been responsible for $300 billion of write-downs in the past year. Even if write-backs do not occur, stabilizing collateral values will have a huge impact on the markets' perception of risk related to housing, the financial system, and the economy.

We are of course experiencing a serious housing bust, with serious economic consequences that are still unfolding. The odds are that the reverberations will lead to subtrend growth for a couple of years. Nonetheless, housing led us into this credit crisis and this recession. It is likely to lead us out. And that process is underway, right now.

Mr. Moulle-Berteaux is managing partner of Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund firm based in New York.

See all of today's editorials and op-eds, plus video commentary, on Opinion

The Best Opportunity in 35 Years

Gary Szolosi — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:58:00 GMT

With all the press and pundits talking about the doom and gloom scenario, they for some reason have failed to view the glass as half full. It is often said that the best teacher is history, so here is a brief history lesson. It was back in 1973 when interest rates were about the same as they are today. That was considered a buyers market then, however inventory levels were far below the level of today. Since then there has only been 2 years that offered similar interest rates as today. It was 2001-2002, rates were similar but this was the height of the seller’s market, which offered low rates but higher prices and fewer homes to choose from. We have had other buyers markets but they were in the 80’s and 90’s with interest rates ranging between 8%-21%.

With supply at record highs and low interest rates available, the selection and cost has not been similar for 35 years. In fact there has not been a better time to purchase in almost four decades. For those wise buyers, I think they are looking at the glass as being half full and ignoring the pundits that have a track record of getting it wrong most of the time. So if you really want to rely on something, historical data is unchangeable and the facts substantiate that there has not been a better opportunity than now, to buy a home.

Single Story For Sale in Colonial Country Club

Gary Szolosi — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:36:00 GMT

Pay as you Play Golf

• 1,725 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $256,000 USD - Lowest Priced SF Home

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Single Story For Sale in Colonial Country Club

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:49:00 GMT

Pay as you Play Golf

• 1,725 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $256,000 USD - Lowest Priced SF Home

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Dont let a Crash ruin your day!

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:50:00 GMT

Ever had your computer crash or a hard drive go bad and you have to reload all your programs. You can find the disk but the activation code or license number is somewhere but you can’t find them! I have went through all of the above and the other day heard about a program that gives you a list of all installed programs on your system and gives you the activation codes or license numbers to reactivate, if you ever have to reload the program. It searches your computer and you print out the list of programs installed with all the information you need to reinstall. It is available at Belarc.net. The great thing is it is free. If you combine this with The Carbonite Back up system you will never have to worry about another crash. If you are not familiar with Carbonite it is an on line back up system that copies all you files to an on line directory. Should your system crash you just put in the new hard drive and reinstall all your files from the on line back up. Great system and it is under $50 a year. These two products take all the worry out of hardware crashes or a virus ruining your day.

Home Sales Market Update

Gary Szolosi — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:11:00 GMT

Real Estate although painted with a broad brush by the press has always been a local market. It is impossible to make a claim that the Real Estate Market is up or down unless we explain that we are talking about more down areas than up areas in general or we address a specific market. It is too broad to even state that the Southern Florida Market is up or down since Southwest Florida may be experiencing an up market and Southeast Florida may be flat or down. So when ever you are looking you need to check the specific market reports for the area of your interest. If you only look at the broad brush reports you may miss an opportunity thinking that the market is down and thinking that, I’ll wait until it hits the bottom before I make my move. The problem with that strategy is by the time you read about it, you have missed it and secondly unless you are reading new on your specific market you may be acting on bad information.

I suggest that anyone that is looking to buy or sell research the specific market and follow those related news reports to make their own informed decisions of the current trends in Real Estate.

Fort Myers was one of the first to experience a down turn in its market almost three years ago. In 2008 it is bucking the Nation trend and is seeing resurgence in activity. In the last 12 weeks Home sales of Single Family homes is up 45% over the same period the previous year. At the start of 2008 inventory was at a 22 month level. In other words the supply of homes would take 22 months to sell at the current rate of activity. As of April 1, 2008 that level has dropped to an 11 month supply of homes. This is a dramatic drop and does signal a significant change. If you combine this fact with the average price increasing by $15,000 we see that this area may have seen the bottom.

A four month supply of home is a good level and the supply is still high but declining. This still indicates a buyers market but the signs are there that the end is near and perhaps the wise buyer will take advantage of the opportunities that remain. It is the writers’ belief that through the third quarter of this year we will still have many great opportunities since there will remain many short sales and foreclosures that will continue to suppress any significant price movement.

So in summary, if you are a buyer, now is the time to act. If you are a seller and can wait until the fourth quarter to list your home, you will see an increase in prices.

Short Sale on 1523 NW 31ST PLACE in NW - Units 51-53,55-57,59-61, 76,80-82,98,U29A

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:47:00 GMT

NW - Units 51-53,55-57,59-61, 76,80-82,98,U29A, Cape Coral - Announcing a Short Sale on 1523 NW 31ST PLACE, a 1,338 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $196,000 USD - SHORT SALE.

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Short Sale on 1200 SW 31ST TERRACE in South - Units 3, 30,44-45, 64, 66, 67, 2323

Gary Szolosi — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:40:00 GMT

South - Units 3, 30,44-45, 64, 66, 67, 2323, Cape Coral - Announcing a Short Sale on 1200 SW 31ST TERRACE, a 2,300 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $255,000 USD - Short Sale.

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Single Story For Sale in West

Gary Szolosi — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:22:00 GMT

Golf Course Community

• 2,912 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm single story - MLS® $354,900 USD - Reduced $40,000

West, Lehigh - THIS 4 BEDROOM WESTON FLEX IS BRAND NEW WITH ALL WINDOW TREATMENTS COMPLETED. OWNER IS MOVING TWO DOORS DOWN. MANY UPGRADES WITH AN OVERSIZED LANAI ADDED. GOLF COURSE VIEWS FROM YOUR LANAI. THIS HOME IS PERFECT FOR A SECOND HOME WITH PLENTY OF ROOM FOR GUEST OR A YEAR ROUND RESIDENCY IN THIS GOLF COURSE COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE COST OF CLUB MEMBERSHIP. PAY AS YOU PLAY OR GET A LOW COST ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP. ALSO HOA FEES ARE SOME OF THE LOWEST IN LEE COUNTY. DON'T WAIT, THIS IS PRICED TO SELL!

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Single Story For Sale in Southwest

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:39:00 GMT

St. Charles Model

• 2,150 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® #200717434 $369,000 USD - Priced to sell!

Southwest, Lehigh Acres - This Popular St. Charles floor plan is located in Westminster Golf Club. Great views of course from a large screened Lanai. This three bedroom/two bath home is priced to sell. This home has is like brand new. Owner has large home next door and has only had a few guest stay overnight at this home. This is a fantastic golf community that allows all the advantages of a golf community without the membership cost. Shop and compare and you see that this home is a fantastic opportunity.

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Single Story For Sale in West

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:36:00 GMT

Golf Course Community

• 2,912 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm single story - MLS® #200631189 $394,000 USD - Priced to sell! Reduced !

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Price Reduced on 202-3956 Pomodoro Circle in The Isles of Porto Vista

Gary Szolosi — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:58:00 GMT

The Isles of Porto Vista, Cape Coral - Announcing a price reduction on 202-3956 Pomodoro Circle, a 1,469 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm 3 story "Condominium". Now MLS® #200756071 $193,000 USD - Best Price in Community.

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Condo For Sale in Four Mile Cove

Gary Szolosi — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:02:00 GMT

• 1,241 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm "Condo" - MLS® #200714499 $269,000 USD - Boating Community

Four Mile Cove, Cape Coral - Island Cove offers the boating enthusiast an opportunity to experience swift access to the Gulf while enjoying the carefree lifestyle. Whether that is Kayaking, Canoeing or power boats, this community has it all. With a convenient launch area for kayaks and canoes or boat slips at your door, the pleasures of a Florida lifestyle abound. This new community located close to everything that is happing is both beautiful and built to last. All units come equipped with hurricane glass, eliminating the need for storm shutters. This third floor unit overlooks the preserve area and kayak launch site. It offers privacy from it spacious Lanai, and a view of nature at its finest. The community also offers a resort size heated swimming pool, spa, tennis courts, and a community center.

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Price Reduced on 1783 Four Mile Cove in Four Mile Cove

Gary Szolosi — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:02:00 GMT

Four Mile Cove, Cape Coral - Announcing a price reduction on 1783 Four Mile Cove, a 1,241 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm "Condo". Now MLS® #200714499 $269,000 USD - Boating Community.

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Southwest Florida Real Estate Market shows an optimistic outlook!

Gary Szolosi — Mon, 28 May 2007 05:05:00 GMT

April figures would have to be considered a positive sign that Southwest Florida is bucking the national trend by showing some positive signs. Since November we have seen some positive signs in the area of the median price of homes. This is largely due to proper pricing. Homes will sell and there are buyers, if the home is properly priced. Although these positive signs are not across the board, Single Family home have seen a median price increase and that is key to seeing a change in market conditions.

Inventory levels remain too high and until we see some movement in this, we will remain in a Buyers market. Developers are grabbing their fair share of the market with unprecedented savings and incentives. Although this remains a silent part of the inventory, it is a significant sponge that absorbs a lot of the potential buyers needed to absorb the inventory on hand. As the year moves forward we will see less supply on the developer side, with their attractive incentives and a return to a more stable market.

I certainly don’t anticipate any rapid turn up or down but see that our market will slowly move in the right direct of a balance between supply and demand. However, I also believe that the time to negotiate that super bargain is moving and time is of the essence.

With the level of spending that is happening in Washington and our debt rising, it will not be long before we see mortgage interest rates moving against the buyer. The rates today are still very reasonable and a slight move can erase any savings even if the median home priced moved in the opposite direction.

In this area, the key indicators don’t show that to be the case. Procrastination may be a costly choice. If the market continues on its present course, the opportunity to negotiate a more favorable conclusion diminishes with time. Interest rates will be the next obstacle a buyer will face given our present course of spending in Washington.

My recommendation would be to act now before I am proven correct.

My first 48 Hours of War

Gary Szolosi — Sat, 26 May 2007 15:27:00 GMT

As a Navy man you seldom view a war as a Marine or Solider might, but having been in a similar engagement in Viet Nam as the ground combatant I wanted to share this with you on this Memorial Day. Hopefully it will give you some perspective to draw upon.

It was June 1966 and I had just arrived in Viet Nam. Hell, I was twenty years old and knew just about everything there was to know and in fact I was invincible. This was my third year in the Navy and I had just finished a survival training course in the Philippines with the Negrito Tribesman and was ready for whatever this godforsaken land could hurl at me.

It was nearly 10pm before I got all the in-processing completed in Saigon and I was about to take a primitive style cab through the countryside to my new base in Nha Be, some 20 miles south. This all seemed a bit strange since this is a war zone and I am watching flares being dropped by planes and tracer flying through the air but I was sure that everything would be ok, after all I had my rifle and side arm and I am sure nothing would happen.

Some forty minutes later I arrive at what appears to be some sort of base. I assume the drivers has brought me to the right spot but the guards at the entrance are all Vietnamese and with my limited vocabulary, I attempted to see if this is a friendly compound or has my cab drive turned me over to the enemy. Now I am 6’2” and a little over 200 pounds and the three guards on the gate may have a collective weight of 220 pounds, so I may be intimidating to them. We try to have a dialog but all they do is keep waving me to go on and speak some gibberish that I can’t make heads or tails out of. So I precede not having the slightest idea of where I am or what lies ahead. I might add that it is raining and rather cool for this area. Since my ride to the new base was in what could be best described as a motorized rickshaw, I was actually soaked and that was adding to my discomfort.

I saw a sign that said Duty Officer and a warmth of relief filled my body since I now knew that I was at least in the right camp. I proceeded inside and talked with the night duty officer that was a new ensign fresh from the academy. He had only been their two days and was not sure of what was going on. He said that the Captain had advised him that I was arriving today and had asked that he be sure to let me know that I was to attend a briefing at 0600 tomorrow. It was now very late and I asked him where I was to be bunked and he gave me directions.

As I surveyed my new surroundings I started to grasp the idea that the living conditions may be less than that found in your upscale flop house. I arrived at my new quarters that was a tent that had accommodations for 40 lovingly and 20 comfortably. I was happy to see that it was set up for 20.

Again, it was near midnight and the tent was half full of sleeping people. I didn’t have a flashlight, so I flicked out the Zippo and walked the tent looking for an open space. The only open space was next to the entrance and the rain was pelting this bunk with the force of a car wash. I tried my best to rearrange the tent flaps to avoid the shower and was somewhat successful, however, the mattress was already soaked, and so it had to go. I didn’t have a blanket so I figured this was going to be a cold night. I made one more pass through the tent in hopes of find a better place to park myself but the only thing I found was what I thought was a cat. It turned out to be a rat and I almost pulled out my side arm and shot it until it dawned on me that I could end up in a fire fight in my own tent had I made such a foolish move. So I retired to my wet bunk, with the rat still on the prowl and tried to get some sleep on my first night, in country.

It is now day 2 and the rain is still falling as I prepare for my first briefing at 0600. I am tired, cold and have had very little sleep. I meet the Captain prior to the meeting and was pleased that we have someone with his background as a commanding officer. At the briefing he first discusses the intelligence that has come in form the previous day and the outgoing patrols leave. With the remaining Newbie’s he tells us of the plans for this base. Seal Team 1 will be making Nha Ba its base of operation for the Mekong delta and Rivron6 will operate in conjunction with their efforts. Our main goal will be the gathering of intelligence and keeping open the two main shipping channels to Saigon. We were going to commence what was called operation Game Warden.

Now for a twenty year old kid, this was a pure adrenalin rush. We had names like Game Warden, Intelligence briefings, calling in air support, rules of engagement, search and seizure procedures and all the other terms that just seemed to add to the excitement. Never did I consider that on any of the missions that I was asked to conduct, that it could be the last day of my life. I learned as time went on that there was a lot to be afraid of and that I was not invincible.

I had many days after those first few days that taught me why I love my country and why I don’t take anything for granted anymore. Those first 48 hours were the best and it only became harder and more stressful after that. Our combatants today face the worst everyday and are fighting an enemy that doesn’t play by any rules. They have a total disregard for life and freedom, as we know it and are willing to die to make sure that we are converted to their way.

We as Americans have to have the resolve and belief that our prior generations had when we say we will not allow any terrorist to diminish our way of life. There is no time more important than the present to unite and become one voice against the evil in this world that would like to see our way of life destroyed. I believe all Americans need to search their souls and ask if they believe we can turn our backs to a force that wants to destroy us. Or do we stand and fight and defeat the enemy now!

God Bless this Country and Have a Great Memorial Day!

The Economy and Real Estate Today

Gary Szolosi — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 11:45:00 GMT

Our educational system is woefully short in the education of how our economy works and survives and stands as one of the strongest in the free world. Although our dollar was once the bench mark of the monetary system its current shortfalls are not predicated on the capitalistic system that is still the strongest and most resilient system that exist. Without getting into specifics of dollar strengths and monetary systems I would like to touch on three things that I feel are necessary to understand certain basic principals of what fuels growth and the ultimately the housing market. I predicate my dialog on the fact that I am a conservative and a republican and I do have a bias. I will attempt to quell any partisan thoughts and try to make this blog as neutral as possible. However, part of our economy depends on attitude. When you have half of the people fighting the other half because they disagree with their politics then this does have an effect on the economy because they support things that may be bad for them. You be the judge! I plan to stop at three areas. Taxes, Investments and Real Estate.

Let us first start with Taxes. It is a myth that the poor are taxed and the rich pay very little taxes. In reality the opposite is true. The more you make the more you support the government and all the entitlements. The tax system is designed to be so complex that no one understands it and in that regard it has succeeded. We have one party saying tax the rich and give to the poor, with the other saying stop taxing and let the economy work. In reality the poor pay no taxes today and anyone earning less than $40,000 pay little or no taxes. If you raise the taxes on the wealthiest individuals you will take dollars from the next area we will cover which is investment. John Kennedy, Ronald Regan and most people that really understand economics know the outcome of removing this capital from the market and putting it in government hands. The most the government can do is spend the money on goods and services. It does not spend the money on equipment that creates jobs. Yes their spending money may keep an existing job but that is not growth.

Investment is the key to the capitalistic economy. We view a 13,000 Dow and say somebody must be making money. We invest in 401K and other retirement programs and don’t even realize that we are the seed capital of our economy. We only look at how much was it up or down. Without that seed capital a Wendy’s or Chico’s or any other company that went public could not exist today. All the jobs that they created would be gone. It takes people with money to start them and people to invest in them after they are started. If you tax the rich where they have no capital to start them you have no companies to invest in and no jobs to create more capital. That is what they called trickle down. It was pooh-poohed but it is a fact. Municipal-Bonds create your roads, hospitals and water treatment plants and local services, corporate bonds fund the expansion of corporations so they can hire more workers. They are all part of your retirement funds if you are in any type of growth or bond funds. The road you drive on would probably not be there if it were not for a bond fund that financed it. If you tax the buyers of those funds so much that they don’t have the money to invest, who is the loser?

Real Estate is the American dream with the white picket fence and the swing in the backyard. That only happens when the first two topics are handled correctly. If you raise taxes so high on those that can afford to invest you stop the influx of capital. You do away with the dollars to invest in mortgages. Capital becomes tight and it is all a result of high taxes on the people you blame for being successful. It is like cutting off the hand that feeds us. High taxes hurt everyone and the poor more than the wealthy. You only have to look at how our government spends money to understand it is not where you want to invest. Their track record both Democrat and Republican is dismal. Let’s build America as our forefathers had in mind and do it through helping fuel the American dream by putting someone in that home and holding down all taxes on the wealthy and the poor.

VA Tech Tragedy

Gary Szolosi — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 09:11:00 GMT

We grow up with a feeling that we live in a land that is safe and secure and all of a sudden tragedies like the VA Tech. shooting occurs. It has happened in the past but I guess I have never been touched more than by the recent tragedy. My children are no longer attending college and my grandchildren are a long way from attending but my thoughts went to the parents of those children that were senselessly killed. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of how I would accept the news that my son or daughter, with all their promise, has been killed by the random act of a mad man. It would test your faith and resolve to make any sense of the situation but you must say, if you believe, that there is a plan and that plan included the loss of your loved one. It was difficult to watch the convocation and listen and watch those that had suffered first hand but I look at this as an opportunity to show man’s compassion and forgiveness in realizing that the individual that did this, regardless how despicable, was not of a sane mind. We are blessed with reason and this individual was lacking that reason we take for granted. He has put families, relatives and friends to the test because there is no logic to the results of his actions. We are blessed that as survivors we can take this opportunity to make this world a better place since tragedy brings out the best in man. Pray for those that have suffered losses and pray that they may be comforted but remember that you and I are only able to have an effect on those that surround us. Make that a positive effect and remember in your prayers those that have lost something more precious.