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I’m sitting at my desk making client calls and generally doing the things I’m committed to do.  This has not been that kind of results day you want to tell everybody about though I’ve made sales calls and am sure I’ll get those calls back that will turn into business.

In the background is KKSFmy local light jazz station providing some great tunes that add a friendly and soothing mood to all my work.  So picture this, between every call I occasionally hear the advertisements all day about how to buy foreclosure real estate, real estate auctions, credit repair opportunities, financial seminars about making big money in bad times, paying off credit card debt with a magical formula, and on, and on, and well you get the point.

This is what people want to hear about or the adds would be different. so Here’s 5 tips or questions to stay financially healthy as you create your own good news everywhere you turn.

1. Don’t Participate - Choose the music, television, as a matter of fact every outside source of general media content, even this the Internet you listen to, read, or watch.  Even conversations with others must be controlled.  I don’t need to to teach GIGO but I do.  People know that what Goes In to our heads will manifest itself in our actions so if it’s garbage, gossiping about life isn’t fair won’t improve a thing, garbage is just what came out!
2. People Without A Vision Perish- I strongly recommend you have a plan for all areas of your life that are important to you to make progress in.  Life is supposed to be fun, make it that way.  Have you ever watched a planning session where the participants were intensely designing how to have things go wrong, fail, blow up, no they don’t do that, it happens with neglect and not staying connected to our vision daily.
3. What Do You Want - Right now and at the end of every task or activity during your day ask this question, it will keep you focused on what’s important and not always urgent.  Staying active to produce results whether earning income, grocery shopping, party planning, client conversations, banking, and many other things you do causes you to be laser beam focused on results.  This goes for all earning and spending choices as well.  It’s a good practice to pay yourself before you pay the bill collectors.
4. What’s so Important About That - When you answer the question “What do you want” then ask this question but not just once, go 5 layers.  Said differently, each time you get the answer, ask it again for that answer you’ve just revealed.  Two interesting things will happen: 1) In one of your answers you will encounter money, wealth, or riches, and 2) you will get a glimpse of your life’s purpose (which by the way will not have anything to do with money).
5. How Will You Get There - If you are not an organizational thinker you might get somebody who is to be a part of this discussion.  Honestly answering this question will yield a sometimes long list of action items or steps in a process of system that will deliver the results you want.  It matters not if it’s money, a mate, expensive toys, a position in life, this is where the juice is and so few people actually practice what they learn, they settle for understanding alone which has a shelf life of about 2 weeks tops.

Be one of the ones to practice this and let us all know how it goes - thanks for the read!

Danno

Being in real estate and finance for over 30 year and having a degree and background in personal development makes it difficult to confront these kinds of choices when offering advice to clients I’ve known and respected for a long time.

By all account responsible & caring people, this older couple is facing a dilemma that will impact their life in ways they cannot anticipate completely.

That is the purpose of this writing and my request to you, my readers.  Please offer your advice and comment on impacts you see they should consider before making their decision.

This couple in their late 50’s, have raised 3 children all of whom live in Silicon Valley with their families. They have a modest home in a safe and quiet neighborhood that has held its value well in these turbulent times.  Their credit is excellent, they have little credit card debt and most of their savings has been consumed during the recent economic downturn through lack of work.

In the high times when real estate appreciating was exciting and financing was freely available to even those with poor qualifications, they purchased a 6 month old property in California and put it up for rent with a reputable agency they still have and have developed a close relationship with.  Tenants moved in and are still there today paying the same rent since the beginning.

Expenses exceed income for this couple and all that can be cut has been they tell me and now it’s time for the decision to stop making payments they can no longer afford. Since the rent does not cover their expense and the debt on this property is 1/3 again as much as the value of the property, the bleeding must stop.  By all calculations & the best of estimates it will be years before the value returns to a level our couple could sell just to break even, losing even more along the way.

So I ask you the question, if a short sale to the current tenants doesn’t work, should they simply stop making payments on this property and turn in their keys?

Do you see other options for them to consider?

If they do this, what impacts should they expect now and in their future?

In the world of mortgage financing, people know about reverse mortgages.  From those I speak with, what they think about them is generally not accurate or for sure negative in nature.  This is a unique call to action that has diminishing value over time so word to the wise. . .

If you or someone you know is at or near retirement age, has a home with equity anywhere in the US and is planning on staying in that home, a reverse mortgage may be the perfect solution to the struggle of dealing with diminishing fixed income for the remainder of their life, or until they sell that home.

• Take a lump sum distribution which you can do anything you want with, including investments if you have that skill.
• Supplement monthly income to live the life you’ve earned with complete choice about the amount of monthly income from this contract
• You do not need to qualify for this type of financing
• Existing loans on the property will be replaced with this contract (technically this is not a loan)
• Jumbo loans (over $417,000) are beginning to re-appear
• No hassle of packing, moving, or renting from someone you don’t know just to free up some cash.
• Keep the property long enough to take advantage of future increase in value
• Terminate or accelerate this contact any time up to age 90

Might be a good time to consider this type of income supplementation before property values declines to much further, which they may over the first quarter of 2009.

I have resources if you need them & will happily share more details - Please comment!

Danno