Obama is NAKED!

Senator Obama is Naked

Has anyone else noticed that Senator and Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Hussain Obama is NAKED? Just like the naked emperor, some Americans are drinking from the same contaminated jug of Kool-Aid as Obama. Unbelievable. First, Obama utters the words “typical white person” in an interview. I don’t care what the circumstances were or are. If Senator McCain had said the words “typical black person” in any way, shape or form, he would have been forced to resign his position as a United States Senator, forget the Commander in Chief job altogether. Al Sharptan and Jessie Jackson (who’s son is one of Obama’s most trusted advisors) would have been marching from O.J. Simpson’s house in Miami all the way to Alaska in protest. Obama does it and carries on as usual. NAKED.

I watched the Democratic Nation Convention this week and saw President Bill Clinton say that he had little experience before being elected. That the fact that Obama has little experience in big time politics that he was “ready to be President” (I don’t think he, or Hillary meant what they said, they just did what was politically correct, they followed protocol….NAKED) and lead the nation. Then, two days later, McCain introduces Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska as his running mate. What does the Obama camp do? They attack Sarah Palin’s experience! I fell off my chair! She has MORE experience that Barrack Hussain Obama does! She holds an office as Governor of a state! Obama has no executive experience at all! She is a first term Governor, he is a first term Senator. Suddenly, the white woman is not good enough but Obama, a black man, with similar experience, who is at the HEAD of the ticket is a better choice to lead the nation? NAKED.

Has Sarah Palin’s husband stated that he hates America? Maybe he did before but now that his wife is a Vice President candidate he decided to love America? No, he has always loved America, unlike Michelle Obama who only started loving America after he husband became the front runner. I know this because SHE SAID IT. I saw and heard her say it. NAKED.

Was I the only one who saw Obama stand up for his Pastor over and over. The one who said the US Government invented the AID’s virus to kill blacks? The one who proclaimed “God Damn America” in a speech to Obama’s congregation? If that had been Senator McCain’s Pastor, America would have demanded that McCain resign at once. Obama stood by his Pastor until SOMEBODY ELSE had to tell him to let go! He did not have the COMMON SENSE to condemn this man……. the devil himself. How can he make decisions as a commander? He can’t make obvious leadership decisions that the everyday man would make. NAKED

Senator Obama gives a great speech. So did Adolph Hitler. I don’t want him (Hitler) President of my country either. What I see is plain and clear. What I can’t understand is what 50% of the rest of America is seeing! I have seen Jimmy Carter NAKED as well in 1975. He was the Democratic nominee. In 1976 he was elected to the White House. He was going to change America. He did……. for the worse. Other than Bill Clinton, what Democrat President in the last 75 years has been re-elected to a second term?

Obama is a good looking man, he speaks with a silver tongue and he has everyone around him drunk with excitement. If he were to be elected, he would have to do the job. Just like jimmy Carter before him, he will fail. Can anyone else see that raising taxes in this economy is suicide? Pulling our troops out of Iraq premature will jeopardize the safety of our children? Obama talks a good game. If he was in Tampa the day before the election, he would promise me that the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s would win the Superbowl. The next day he is in Atlanta telling those people that he promises them the Atlanta Falcon’s will win the Superbowl. He makes up change as he goes along. He tells America everything they WANT and are DESPERATE to hear. He is NAKED! At least Senator McCain, like his slogan, talks straight! I’ll take the “straight talk express.”

If the election were based on looks, charm and charisma, Obama, NAKED Obama is the man. If you are going on experience, merit and actual qualifications, it will be a landslide victory in November for the McCain / Palin ticket. I don’t have to pretend that they are clothed because they ARE! Obama? NAKED. I’m not going to say what a nice tailor made suit he has on. HE IS NAKED.

As a minority myself, I can say that I believe Senator Obama were white, Hillary Clinton would be the nominee. How can the Obama camp condemn the experience of Sarah Palin? The Democratic leadership, or lack there of is really showing me something. They are NAKED, yet everyone keeps telling them how great that new suit looks. As a Hispanic, I would have loved to see a fellow Hispanic become President. To see a woman or a black as Commander in Chief will be a GREAT DAY IN AMERICA. Perhaps even Senator Obama himself……………..in 20 years when he is no longer naked!.

Hillary Clinton put it best. “John McCain is one of the most loyal and accomplished US Senators in history. Obama gave a speech in 2004”. Maybe America is trying to apologize for all of the terrible things that have happened to the blacks over the years? Maybe it is a guilt complex. Maybe he is just to cool to resist. I say to you a black person WILL be Commander one day.  Colon Powell, Condoleza Rice! I like that ticket TODAY if it were an option for me, I’d be all over it! They have my vote right now. A NAKED, first term Senator? No way. I saw a bumper sticker that pretty much sums it up. “I’ll take a third term of Bush before a second term of Carter”

50% of America, open your eyes. Senator Barack Obama is NAKED, NAKED, NAKED. Nice sox Senator.

A Time To Measure

Another Labor Day approaches! In 2005, it signaled the end of the boom, the bubble popping, the nail hitting the tire or whatever you want to call it. The slowdown began. By March of 2006, two more tires were flat and by Labor Day 2006, just one year after the boom, the tires were off the car! 2006 to 2007 was more of the same! I believe Labor Day 2008 could be the beginning of the recovery!

The one big difference between the last few years and today is one simple fact. Houses are selling! Record foreclosures, “short sales” galore. The banks are being stingy with the money, nobody will loan money to home buyers…………………………… yet houses are still selling.

Much of the sales activity is investor related. That should sound the alarm bells for America. TRUE INVESTORS ARE NOW BUYING! I remember in 2005, when the amateurs were overnight real estate investors, everyone followed the armature! Just like the “Day Traders” of the stock market a few years ago. Everyone was a player in the stock market. Then the bottom fell out. Who became wealthy? Those true investors who were there to pick up the pieces!

Who will become wealthy in 2009, 2010 and 2011? Those buying the deals today! Why not? You can buy at or below 10% less than today’s market value as added insulation to your investment! STILL, there is a great supply and demand differential. Inventory is still high. There is still time to right your bad investments from 2005 and 2006! Jump on the real estate train today and ride out what has become our national nightmare! Ten years from now, real estate values will be double what they are today!

If you are not getting the message, here it is again: BUYERS, THIS IS YOUR MARKET!

The Reality of Realty

The Reality of Realty

So you want to list your house. Who do the consumers want to list with? Let me give you an example of average layman thinking: The house in this example is worth between $475,000 and $500,000. The consumer interviews three agents. One agent is a familiar face in the community they live, responsible for many, many sales in that community. The second agent is another experienced pro and the third is an inexperienced agent referred by a friend.

Agent one wants to list at $499,950, agent two wants to list at $489,950 and agent three wants to list at $600,000 and is offering a 2% discount on the broker fee. Since the seller owed over $500,000 on the mortgage, they decided to go with inexperience because the price was music to their ears! Forget the fact that the other two agents provided a detailed CMA (like an appraisal, only done by a real estate agent to determine value, using houses similar to the subject that are active for sale, pending escrow, that have recently sold and some similar to the subject that failed to sell…….usually because they were overpriced). Further, the other two agents have 50 years experience between them and have successfully sold over 3000 homes between them. The Seller went with PRICE over experience. How do you think this is going to turn out?

About 50% of consumers make this exact same mistake every day in America. Then after they are listed, they find it very hard to get in touch with their agent. This is sometimes the case because they are working their other job at Target or Wallmart and can’t work real estate while at the other job. When they do get in touch with them, they are asking for price reduction after price reduction. They certainly are not spending money marketing the home because they gave those marketing dollars away when they listed at a discount. Months pass, no offers, few showings. The listing expires.

Part II: Did they learn anything or will they repeat the same mistake again and again? Don’t think this applies to new or inexperienced agents only. Some new agents are able to successfully market homes when they are under the wing of a more experienced agent. It’s how most good agents get their start. It’s why some make it in this business, but the overwhelming majority of new agents fail and are out of the business within 12 months of starting. You see, it’s hard to make a living in real estate when you can’t make any money. Back to my point, some experienced agents play this game as well. When competing against another agent they know, they bump up the asking price or that CMA value. You see, they think (and they are correct) people like them better if they have the highest price. It works. Much of the time, they get the listing. They have their assistants call weekly (never them) and they start to work that price down! One of my competitors listed a home in Cheval. They overpriced it by almost $500,000. I think the original list price was $1,200,000. After about TWO years, the house was sold for $775,000. Did the market fall that far from 2005 to 2007? NO. The game was played, either by ignorance or on purpose, it was played. Had the home been listed at market in 2005 ($990,000) it would have sold in less than 30 days for full price. The seller carried the mortgage, the taxes, the insurance plus all the upkeep for almost two years and lost over $200,000 alone just in the sale. The agent still got paid. Further, they advertised that listing for two years and probably sold 3-4 other houses that were priced right in the process by working buyers who called their office on the overpriced listing……..extra money at their clients expense.

I still believe in being as honest as possible no matter how ugly the truth is. I still need to put my head on a pillow at night and sleep. It is what my God and savior Jesus Christ expects of me and what I expect of myself. All that this honesty has gotten me in this dismal market is a place as #1 in the entire world with ERA Franchise systems (Team Arcuri) as well as finishing 2007 as #4 in the world. I think God has kept is hand on my business because I have continued to be as honest as possible under impossible market conditions. The TRUTH is always the better route, even when you see others taking the other road. I refuse to go down that path and mislead the consumer for a quick buck.

I refuse to flip flop on the issues like Obama just for a vote. I only tell the truth. If it is not what the Seller or Buyer wants to hear, it is the same story.  Like Senator John McCain, I am the “Straight Talk Express” of real estate

That is The Reality of Realty!