Elaine King's Real Estate Blog

Today, 7/11/11, join 7/11’s Birthday celebration with a FREE SLURPEE and other fun give-aways.  Just stop by any 7/11 for a free Slurpee; click here for more information.  ENJOY and Happy Summer fun to you!

Social Media is all the buzz, with Facebook (FB) being the media darling; but how safe is your information?  Do you want merchandisers to know the TV Programs/videos/movies you watch?  Do you want potential employers to know you get drunk every weekend?  Do you want everyone of your 763 “friends” to view your kids?  Does anyone know 763 friends?  My FB friend  just posted on FB significant upcoming monies she will be getting from a stock sale with her old company, and her new personalized CA license plate.  Do you possibly see a stalker issue?  If you are a single female do you tell 763 friends about the quiet trail you run?   

Two great articles came out this past week regarding FB Privacy.  I sent them to my friends, and NO I don’t have 763 friends!  If I don’t know someone, they aren’t a friend.  My dad was a cop, and I was raised to be cautious.    This article talks about how to set your privacy settings and things to possibly delete, so they are not shared.  Please take time to read this article and the blogger comments below it!  My nephew, a 42 yr old sales rep/weekend triathloner, just CLOSED his FB account because of privacy concern.

CNN just ran a similar article, but it talked about how FB has changed and that it will continue to change.  The author recommended keeping your information private for “friends” only.   I loved this quote from the article: “How do you bust up a giant landmass into seven pieces without anybody noticing? Slowly. How do you turn an uptight, closed-off Web business built by a few college students into a sprawling creature that seems capable of sharing anything with anyone anywhere? Very, very slowly. But when something big happens, people start to notice the small stuff that they wish they’d seen earlier.”  Will you wait for something BIG to happen to worry about your privacy?  Please read this 2nd article and the blog comments below, and make up your own minds. 

Finally, stop and think before you “FRIEND” someone on FB, and make sure what you post on FB will not cause you or a family member future harm.  If you don’t want to share it with the world, don’t post it!  View this video about FB and about their “privacy policy”!

As I mentioned previously, email is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolate.  You never know what will end up in your inbox!  In the past few months, I haven’t shared anything new from my email, so below is something to make you SMILE!     It is called Have you ever wondered?

1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer’s history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font!!!
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5.  I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.

For the twitter generation, the Farmer’s Almanac is a periodical published since 1818.  It is famous for long-range weather predications (pre CNN), astronomical data (pre satellite), gardening advice (pre HGTV), cooking (pre McDonalds), conservation (pre green movement), simplicity (can’t explain that), trivia (think facebook) and humor (Saturday Night Live).  This is from the humor section; subject Farmer’s Advice - ENJOY!

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.   
 Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.  
 Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.  
 A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. 
 Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled. 
 Meanness doesn’t just’ happen overnight.  
 Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.  
 Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.  
 It doesn’t take a very big person to carry a grudge. 
 You cannot unsay a cruel word. 
 Every path has a few puddles.  
 When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.  
 The best sermons are lived, not preached. 
 Most of the stuff people worry about is never going to happen anyway.  
 Don’t judge folks by their relatives.  
 Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.  
 Live a good, honorable life… Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time. 
 Don’t interfere with something’ that isn’t bothering you none.  
 Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance. 
 If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging’. 
 Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.  
 The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every morning’.  
 Always drink upstream from the herd.  
 Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.  
 Letting’ the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting’ it back in.  
 If you get to thinking’ you’re a person of some influence, try ordering’ somebody else’s dog around…  
 Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. 
 Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

At the beginning of each new year, I clean out file cabinets, cupboards, closets, drawers etc.  While cleaning out some old files, I came across this message that I kept under Misc to keep.  I thought it was worth saving and worth sharing, especially now since I have just clicked another year since becoming eligible to order off of Denny’s Senior Meal. 

“The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, he was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let him know.  

Old age, I decided, is a gift!

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.  Oh, not my body!  I sometimes despair over my body: the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.  And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don’t agonize over those things for long.  

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.  As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.  I’ve become my own friend!  I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but looks so avant-garde on my patio.  I am entitled to love! I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

 Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4AM andnd sleep until noon?   I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.  They, too, will get old. 

I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten … and I eventually remember the important things. 

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or when a beloved pet gets hit by a car?  But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.  I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and  to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. 

 So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.  I can say “no,” and mean it. I can say “yes,” and mean it.  As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think.  I don’t question myself anymore.  I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.    

 So, to answer your question, I like being old.  It has set me free.  I like the person I have become.  I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.  

 And I shall eat dessert every single day! “

 ~Author Unknown~

As I mentioned in one of my earlier BLOGS, email is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolate.  You never know what will end up in your inbox.  I received the email below from a friend and it made me smile.   I am sharing with you and I hope it makes you smile.  Nothing heavy, no hidden agenda, just a SMILE! 

• A penny saved is obviously the result of a government oversight.
• The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
• The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.
• The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a new replacement for it. 
• He who hesitates is probably doing the right thing.
• Did you ever notice:   The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are ‘XL”.
• If you think there is some good in everybody, you obviously haven’t met ‘everybody’.
• If you can smile when things go wrong, you must have someone else in mind to blame.
• The sole purpose of a child’s middle name is so that he can tell when he’s ‘really’ in trouble.
• There’s always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example, I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don’t hurt.
• Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words ‘The’ and ‘IRS’ together it spells ‘Theirs.’ 
• Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.   
• The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
• Some people try to turn back their life’s odometers. Not me, I want people to know ‘why’ I look this way. I’ve traveled a long, long way and some of the roads weren’t paved. When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.
• You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks. 
• One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.
• Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
• Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it’s called golf!

APHORISMS are a short, pointed sentence expressing a wise or clever observation of truth.  Here are a few for you to ponder today.  What other ones can you come up with?

1.  The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow. 

2..  Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail. 

3.  If you don’t have a sense of humor, you probably don’t have any sense at all. 

4.  Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs. 

5.  A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you’re in deep water. 

6.  How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night? 

7.  Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without. 

8.  Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks? 

9.  Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job. 

10.  No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car. 

11.  There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity. 

12.  There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM.  – Like this: It could be a right number. 

13.  No one ever says ‘It’s only a game.’ when their team is winning. 

14.  I’ve reached the age where the happy hour is a nap. 

15.  Be careful reading the fine print.  There’s no way you’re going to like it. 

16.  The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket. 

17.  Do you realize that in about 40 years, we’ll have thousands of wrinkled old ladies running around with tattoos?   

18.  Money can’t buy happiness — but somehow it’s more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.

I hope you enjoyed this break from real estate.  Remember, life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

I just found that perfect 2010 calendar in my after-Christmas online shopping.  Just in case you forgot a holiday gift, I recommend the 2010 Hooter’s calendar.  Write me a line and let me know if you find other calendar’s of interest. ENJOY!

If you have been an FHA Buyer in the San Francisco East Bay, looking to purchase a property the past nine months, the process for buying a home has been very difficult.  Most bank owned homes will not consider FHA offers; they are only selling to Conventional (20% down) or all cash/investor offers.  WHY?  Because they can!!!  There is so much interest in the investment community to purchase entry level homes at 1999 prices.  It is not uncommon to have 8-30 offers come in on a home.  In addition, inventory is extremely low.  (See Shadow Inventory blog below)

This blog will not offer a solution, but offering some humor. :)  The below video, although some “tongue –in-cheek” does characterize the journey of an FHA Buyer…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM7oWKgCVo4&feature=email

Email is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolate, you never know what will end up in its inbox.  I received the email below from a friend and it made me smile.   We all have days when we need to smile, so enjoy this list from my friend to you… 

* Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue. ISN’T THIS THE TRUTH! 

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.   

* Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.  SEE MOM’S WARNINGS WERE RIGHT!   

* Drive carefully.  It’s not only cars that can be “recalled” by their maker. 

* If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.   

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.  

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.  THINK ABOUT THAT!!! 

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on. 

* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well.  Just get up and dance. 

* When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane. 

* Birthdays are good for you.  The more you have, the longer you live. 

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person. 

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. (I LOVED THIS ONE!) 

* We could learn a lot from crayons… Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull.  Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.  REMINDS ME OF A FAMILY REUNION, NO? 

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.  

Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today; I did!