Weekly Photo Challenge: Journey

The Way is in The Heart
April 7, 2012

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Let’s Sleep on It

Photo of the Day
May 4, 2011
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What’s a good number of hours to sleep each night?
Enough to wake up renewed and refreshed.

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Perspective and Light

Photo of the Day
March 18, 2011

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.
~Ivy Baker Priest

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Simplicity

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
~ Leonardo Da Vinci

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Sunday Inspiration

Photo of the Day: Dream

February 6, 2011

Lately I have been talking with people who are expressing feeling stuck, uninspired, unmotivated, unable to focus, and generally feeling a bit off from their normal selves. They are in a state of unease and/or depression due to these feelings.

Perhaps it is good to realize that all things are temporary. The universe and we inhabitants are always in a state of flux and change. Your life will be different in the future–different in a minute, an hour, a month, a year, and all other future time frames. If you’re experiencing some of the feelings described above, consider the fact that today, now, is one brief moment in a lifetime. Focus on what you want. Take a moment to dream and be inspired.

Here then, some inspirational quotes on dreams to start the week:

Dream and give yourself permission to envision a You that you choose to be.
–Joy Page

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
–Harriet Tubman

I tell people I’m too stupid to know what’s impossible. I have ridiculously large dreams, and half the time they come true.
–Debi Thomas

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.
–Henry David Thoreau

If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.
–Les Brown

No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams must be free to fly high. No government, no legislature, has a right to limit your dreams. You should never agree to surrender your dreams.
–Jesse Jackson

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.
–Gloria Steinem

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
–Eleanor Roosevelt

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.
–Sarah Ban Breathnach

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
–Anatole France

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Home Owners Becoming More Realistic

Home owners are becoming more realistic about the current marketplace.
So where does this lead us?

August 18, 2010 – Zillow.com reports that home owner confidence about the value of their home has declined in the second quarter.

“Home owners have become much more responsive to current market conditions than they were just two years ago, when a more typical reaction was denial.” ..—Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow.com

Even with this new realism, over 72% of adult Americans still see owning a home as part of their future and their personal American dream according to a survey for Trulia.com.

Currently, 68% of renters who plan to purchase a home said it would be more than two years before they do. What would encourage them to buy now? These six factors were cited:

1. Able to save a down payment (47 percent)
2. Land a new job (28 percent)
3. Interest rates stay low or fall lower (27 percent)
4. Some other factor that persuades them that buying makes financial sense (24 percent)
5. Get a raise (23 percent)
6. Local real estate market stabilizes (9 percent)

One might have thought that market stabilization was more of an issue given all the foreclosures, short sales and declining values and yet it shows up at the bottom of this list of factors. A full 47% surveyed need to save for the down payment. Think about this—almost half of those surveyed.

If you’re a first-time buyer looking at a $200,000 home and you want or need to put 20% down, this amounts to $40,000. A buyer will also need funds for closing costs unless the seller is willing to pay these. The good news is that there is down payment and closing cost assistance for buyers.

Also on the good news front is that interest rates are at a forty-year low. Here is a sample of rates for today according to one site I’m checking:

30-year fixed conforming: 4.25%
15-year fixed conforming: 3.75%
30-year fixed FHA: 4.25%
30-year fixed VA: 4.25%
30-year fixed Jumbo: 5.25%
7-year Jumbo ARM: 3.75%

People who are currently in their seventies and older bought their homes, first and foremost, as a place to live and raise their families.

Appreciation was not the principal reason for buying. It’s very likely that home values will not rise significantly in the short term.

“Our forecast remains largely unchanged: We’re in for an L-shaped recovery that will likely keep annualized home value appreciation very low for the next three to five years.”  —Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow.com

There are certainly situations where money can be made in real estate. If you have patience and TEAM (my term for Time, Energy And Money, as well as a good team of people: Realtor, lender, closer, etc.), foreclosures and short sales represent a potential opportunity to make money. Easy money? It all depends on your definition of easy.

Back to the average homeowner, the one who is primarily looking for a place to live. What else does a homeowner get when they buy a home besides a place to live? They get greater freedom. They can make changes when and how they like. Paint the walls any color. Update the kitchen and baths to your taste. Plant a garden in the yard. Add a porch or deck. Change the carpeting. Add wood floors.

Maybe, just maybe, the idea of home ownership as the American dream is really about a larger dream: The dream of freedom and independence. We all appreciate freedom and independence. Maybe would-be and future home owners are seeking this type of appreciation. Who can put a price tag on that?

Home, the spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest. —Robert Montgomery
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Need help with your American dream of home and freedom?
Call or write me.

Kate Walsh, Realtor
Lakes Area Realty
612.220.3309
info@designhouse9.com
Twitter: designhouse9

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Beauty and Bread

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in,
where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”
—John Muir

Flowers next to a window in a restaurant

The photo above was taken at Forepaugh’s Restaurant in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They served us a potato bread that was delicious. You can always taste the difference between homemade bread and store-bought bread. If you like homemade bread, here’s a recipe for a quick bread that is flavored with savory herbs. Bon appetit!
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Herb and Onion Quick Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 T sugar
1 t salt
1 T butter
1 package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2-1/2 cups white or whole wheat flour
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 t dried dill weed
1 t crushed, dried rosemary

Directions:

1. Scald the milk and dissolve in it the sugar, salt, and butter; cool to lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the cooled milk, minced onions and herbs. Stir well with a large wooden spoon.
3. When the batter is smooth, cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until triple in bulk—about 45 minutes.
4. Stir down and beat vigorously for a few minutes, then turn into a greased, small loaf pan (or a couple of smaller loaf pans). Let stand in a warm place about ten (10) minutes before putting in a preheated, 350 degree oven.
5. Bake for about an hour. Smaller loaf pans make bake faster so check accordingly.

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“When you have only two pennies left in the world,
buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.”
—Chinese Proverb

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