On a personal note: my cockatoo Punkin is under control but the picking of her feathers still is occurring. My scarlet Macaw Merlin is now growing his feathers back & hopefully although they are itchy will now leave them alone. Who knew parrots responded so strongly to grief over other animals in the household!



You may have heard all the headlines about the mortgage companies going out of business, the housing market stalling & foreclosures on the rise but have you heard from your broker that now you should BUY BUY BUY? Well if not let me be the first. The #1 mistake buyers make is NOT buying in a buyer's market. Most people buy when prices are going up & scarcity of property is bringing property prices up.



BE SMART, BUY LOW how do you think most investors do it?



WHY? Real estate for the most part is not a short term investment. It is a long term investment that all charts, graphs etc that the beancounters use will show you that Property outperforms almost all markets in the long term & is one of the few tangible investments that rarely results in a total loss. There are different tax benefits that can be applied such as accelerated depreciation, 1031 exchanges & more that you can discuss with your CPA.



This is not the time to SELL UNLESS you are relocating, moving up or laterally, or just plain have to as you cannot afford your escalating interest rate. As fewer people can qualify for mortgages rentals will be more in demand. You can even own property in let's say a high employment market like Houston from California IF you have a reputable property management company that handles the details of rentals, maintenance, leasing & repairs for you.



I know that our real estate office is gearing up for the transition in the marketplace by creating & organizing for more investors and the services they will need in the future.